Objects in the Mirror…

Jeffrey Butts

Mentioned in this column before the AMA (no – not the doctors) mortally wounded the chase for the Grand National Championship by separating dirt track and road racing in the points chase beginning in 1986. If that weren’t bad enough, last year (2006) they split the dirt track title into two pieces; the “Grand National Twins Championship” and the “Grand National Singles Championship.” Twins run 750cc bikes on the mile and half-mile ovals while the Singles are 450cc bikes that run short track ovals (quarter mile) and TT. Fortunately most of the current riders at the top level compete in both flat track series. I recently took in the TT race at Castle Rock, Washington: “The Rock.”

I always thought the TT was the best of the series venues. The first of the modern era TT races took place at Ascot Park in Gardena, California. Most TT tracks were patterned after their basic model, a kidney bean shaped track formed from a quarter-mile oval. From the start on the front straight, sweep left into the big first turn and then, right before the back straight starts, hang a 180 degree, tight radius left into the infield followed immediately by another 180 to the right, bringing you parallel, but inside, the front straight. This short straight has a jump in the middle and then the mirror image of the first three turns bring you back onto the oval again at the very end of the back straightaway. Sweep through the big turn and back down the front straight to begin another lap. Tracks like Fremont and Vallejo, California and T-Car Speedway in Carson City, Nevada used this layout. Certainly there were some variations. Lodi, although never a part of the National Circuit, was a very famous track with a modified “L” shaped track and it launched some famous careers including Kenny Roberts and Alex Jorgenson among others. Castle Rock (“The Rock”) was another “non-standard” track. Dave Allen and I watched the last two races there before the eruption of Mt St. Helen’s buried the track under several feet of ash. In 1979 we saw Washington rider Brad Hurst crash on the first lap of the main event and then pass everyone to win by the end of the 25-lap main. We also attended a non-National event in the late 1980’s but it just wasn’t the same. When I saw that a National points double feature race was running Friday and Saturday in early August (Friday TT, Saturday ST), I made it a point to head on up to Washington for the TT.

I don’t subscribe to Speed Channel and have not seen a pro dirt track race in over 20 years. I should have guessed the technology would change but I was not ready for what I saw. The limit of 450cc was a surprise to me and it meant that the big twins would be absent. It was like going to Laguna Seca and watching the current Sports Racer class. Interesting but nowhere near as visceral as the original Can-Am. These kids (and most of them are the age my children) are riding, well, motocrossers. Not really, but they sure look like it. Monoshocks. Front fenders. Hell, they have freakin’ radiators fer cryin’ out loud! And the riders are dressed in lightweight gear with pads and motocross helmets. No doubt about it, they were fast. Way fast. But it just didn’t seem the same. Fortunately the sponsors of the race had arranged for a demonstration heat and main event for “vintage twins” that juiced me up.

I arrived at the track at about 4PM, just before the practice sessions started. These were somewhere around six laps apiece (two per rider) and served to provide qualifying times for the 43 riders in the upcoming heat races. In addition to the vintage twins they also ran a points race for “Pro Am” riders, those not yet graduated into the pro ranks. Five bucks to park. I was OK with that but I got screwed big-time at the gate. The tickets listed were $25 for General Admission, $20 for seniors General and $30 for Grandstand seating. When I asked about the difference between Grandstand and General, I was told it was position. The more expensive seats were along the front straight. You could sit anywhere from the exit of the sweeper onto the front straight and the start/finish line. General was a series of smaller bleachers starting near the end of the straight and continuing until the middle of the first turn. There was nowhere else to watch from. The infield and the back half of the course were “no access.” I anted up for the Grandstand figuring, correctly, that I could sit in General Admission areas too. My big surprise came when I went to walk into the pits to see the bikes. “Gotta have a wristband dude”. Nothing at the Admissions gate said Jack Shit about that. “Well, where do I get one of those,” I asked the 500 pound gate keeper? “Over there at that little booth” he said, bits of his hamburger bun dripping from his mouth. This shed was next to the pit entrance and totally out of sight from the parking area or the ticket booth. Of course with a wristband you could sit in either bleachers or grandstand and cruise the pits. I pled my case to the lady in the shed (I swear she was a dead ringer for The Simpson’s Patty Bouvier). She took a drag on her cigarette and decided to give me a “deal.” Only $10 and I could have a wristband. No way I was going to let a Hamilton stand in the way of a close look at the scooters so, $40 poorer, I finally got what I wanted. You know, the sad part of it is that I never did go back to the Grandstands. I sat just outside the start of Turn 1 where you could watch the riders pitch their bikes in…and where the best riders were still on the gas.

The qualifying was quite good. Shades of NASCAR, the top 25 experts were within seven tenths of a second of one another (24.1 – 24.8 seconds) with Ken Coolbeth’s Honda on the pole for the fastest heat. Chris Carr, 7-time AMA National #1, was second top time. After the times were announced there was a 90 minute break while the track was prepped for the evening’s races. I took advantage of this time to cruise through the pits and look at the bikes. Like I had mentioned above, to my “old world” eye, from a distance most of these machines looked like motocrossers to me but were dirt trackers all the way when viewed up close. Some of the big name riders also had their 750cc twins out for view. Chris Carr’s XR-750 sat in a separate sponsor booth near the admission gate. His pit held no less that four KTM singles. Joe Kopp had his XR-750 out with his ATK (ATK? Essentially a Rotax) in his pit. I worked my way towards the back, wanting to get a glimpse of the delicious collection of vintage twins. There was quite a gathering of Bonnevilles and a Yamaha or two, and nearly every one of them was in a Trackmaster or similar custom frame. In my opinion, these bikes look and sound so much better than the newer machines that it more than makes up the difference in any speed or technological improvement. I passed the back of one motorhome and spied two Bultaco Astros. They were lashed in to the back bulkhead, obviously not running tonight. Outside, however, was a nice looking Harley. This nostalgic stable belongs to Roger and Sara Landberg from Elma, Washington (about halfway between Olympia and Aberdeen). Roger is a fifty-ish heavy equipment operator who works in the timber industry. He told me that, counting his parents home, he has only lived in three houses in his life. His current home is in the Capitol State Forest. He said that he can ride any day on trails that take off right from his home. Roger started racing in 1971 and competed mostly in flat track and scrambles. He began racing a Pursang in vintage motocross in 1995 and now regularly attends AHMRA events. In addition to the XR and the two Astros, Roger’s stable includes a Sherpa T trials bike. A ’74 Pursang, a ’70 360 Bandito and a KTM450. The XR story is a great one. A gentleman bought the bike on the west coast and arranged to have Roger pick it up and meet him at an AHRMA event in Billings, Montana. Roger soon made a deal with him to purchase it. I don’t know if you’ve looked but these machines are going for $25-30K+ on the Internet. This bike, Joe Kopp’s first 750, traded hands for a mere $17K. Roger did a nice job riding too, starting from the first row he was in third, dropped to fifth, and made it back up to third again. Wonderful bike and wonderful, friendly people.

Heat races were fast, but uneventful with Coolbeth just missing the last transfer spot in the first heat and Carr winning the second. The third heat was a terrific race with local rider Scott Baker making a pass in the last turn on the last lap to pip nationally ranked JR Schnabel’s Yamaha. The fourth heat was a major crash-a-thon, bringing out the red flag two times on the first lap. There were three semis with the top two riders in each transferring to the main. Joe Kopp won the first race and Coolbeth the third. The main event was pretty close. Schnabel led the pack, turning times that matched qualifying speeds. A crash on lap 6 red-flagged the race and the track was cleaned up with everyone making the restart. Carr, who had been stuck behind the Yamaha, passed on the outside of Turn 1 to take the lead. Carr led with Schnabel nipping at his heels until lap 14 when they bumped in the right hander and Carr was out when his chain came off. Now Schanbel was in the lead again but a beautifully executed pass on the inside of Turn 1 five laps later gave the lead, and eventually the win, to Washington rider Sam Halbert (Rotax).

With the trend in AMA sponsored racing being split into races for a larger number of more specialized championships, I believe that the #1 plate means less than it did in the 1970’s. I read a similar criticsm shortly after the Daytona race in March. The organization was taken to task for too many confusing road racing classes in several motorcycle monthlies. I sure wish they’d go back to combining the points from multiple racing venues in awarding the Grand National Championship. But back to the race at “The Rock,” it doesn’t take away for the skill of the riders in any event, that’s for sure. The racing was so good that I completely forgot that these weren’t 750cc bikes. For a little while.