Saturday, February 28, 2009

Thursday, February 26, 2009

In the end, it's just you and a couple of the late hangers on...



At the end of 25 miles it came down to Rich King #80, Kenny
Coolbeth #31 and Bryan Smith #42. And the flagman.....

Mile Racing at It's Finest--Springfield!



Labor Day Weekend 2006--AMA Grand National Flat Track Mile Finale. 140 on the straights
and pretty close to 95 in the corners. And you can throw a blanket over them--all 17 of your
closet friends banging handlebars and tossing it into the turns.
There is NO better show in racing. Take it from a pro.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Brothers in Arms

http://www.sideburnmagazine.com/ENTER.html

Click the link above to follow the love of flat track and other
different forms of motorcycling from across the pond.
The guys at SideBurn Magazine put out a great website and from what
I hear a super print mag as well. I haven't had the pleasure of viewing a
print copy yet, but their website rocks! Great stuff guys---keep the great
work up!!

The King Suits Up




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEQAnCL3e5Q&NR=1

The above shot I took of The King at Syracuse in 1975. The link is another borrowed clip from
YouTube of The King suiting up at Del Mar several years ago when he got on a replica of the
infamous TZ Miler. Listen carefully to the wonderful wail of chainsaws on acid......
Look for Gary Nixon to walk up and shake his hand before slinging a leg over the TZ.

Indy Mile 1975 Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj97mObeEyw


The above link is to a video of the infamous Indy Mile in 1975.
It is a direct link to YouTube.com and is only a borrowed link.
I was there but I am not the owner of the video. My thanks to
the person(s) that put it together and made it possible for us to be
able to watch and share it. Good times!


Note 9/7/09---for some reason, YouTube has removed the above link of the
original clip of the Indy Mile from 1975. However, here is a link to several more
recent videos, including The King and The TZ's return to Indy from 8/29/09:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kenny+roberts+indy&search_type=&aq=f

Flat Track Dot Com

http://www.flattrack.com/

This is a great website with your standard message and forum boards that is a good link with news and info for keeping up on the world of flat track motorcycle racing.
There are a lot of posters on this site, from your everyday run of the mill fan to guys like Mike
Kidd, '81 AMA Grand National Champion and now the man in charge of righting the ship with
AMA Flat Track with the new owners of the series, DMG.
Check it out! And remember, go fast, turn left, and do it again...

Chris Carr's XR-750



This was one of Chris Carr's display bikes at the Ford Quality display tent
at the Springfield Mile during Labor Day Weekend in 2006.
Super sano equipment at it's finest.

Wes Cooley, 2-Time AMA Superbike Champion



The special time of year that all WERA racers look forward to, is
the WERA GNF at Road Atlanta. I had the pleasure of going there
in October of 1990 with my good friend Jim Knipp. It was my first
ever trip to the 2.5 mile red clay course, but I loved it at once when I
saw Wes Cooley pulling monster wheelies out of then turn 5 during the
endurance race. And I swear he knew I was there after a few laps because
they started getting higher and wilder! It was simply friggin awesome, seeing
that wonderful rider-control and that monster power. Bruce Hammer and
John Uhlrich put together an awesome team and super equipment over the years
and adding Cooley, the former 2-time AMA Superbike Champ to the fray was
icing on the cake that year. A true champ, a wonderful person, and a guy with
really big nads that could always crank it to the max in the seat.

The King in Deep Thought



I took this one of The King at Syracuse in '75. It was either a week or two after
the now infamous '75 Indy Mile. You could tell he was in deep thought as to the
way the season had and was going, and knowing the crown was all but out of reach
to Gary Scott at that point.
It wasn't a good day, either. The TZ wouldn't hook up on the greasy clay-like surface,
and he put the parallel twin into the bales and wall between 3 and 4 in practice and tore
the front end off the bike. It came back on the back of the truck in 3 pieces. Not pretty.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Don Castro, Indy Mile 1975


Here is Mr. Castro trying to qualify for the now infamous August '75 Indy Mile.
Dean Adams also has a copy of this shot on his website @ http://www.superbikeplanet.com/
You'll find the links to it in the earlier posts. Great site and great people.
Not to mention super work! Check them out!

Don Castro Natl #11, Kaw Triple, Terre Haute August 1975


This was the Sunday before the Indy Mile the upcoming, and now infamous, '75 Indy Mile.
Erv Kanemoto showed up at T.H. with this ultra-trick H2 Kaw with ex-Yamaha factory rider
Donnie Castro--he was still wearing his leathers from his factory ride the previous 2 seasons with Yamaha.
It didn't make the final at Terre Haute, nor at Indy the next w/e, but it sure wasn't from lack of talent from either the rider or the 'wrench.' It was some slick looking piece of machinery. With a
2-stroke wail like a thousand chainsaws. It was sheer music to the ears for an old 2-stroke fan!

Erv Kanemoto's Kaw 750 Triple Flat Tracker, Terre Haute 1975



You can just see Gary Nixon on the left side of the shot under the tarp w/ sunglasses on.

Rex Beauchamp Natl #31 H-D Factory XR, Terre Haute 1975


The Late, Great Rex Beauchamp, Terre Haute 1975


Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Riding Man Link by Mark Gardiner

http://www.ridingman.com/

Here is the link to Mark Gardiner's site for his book, dvd and other goodies that chronicles his exploits on The Isle of Mann.
Thanks again Mark!

Some Flat Track Shots

Here are a couple of links that Mark Gardiner with Road Racer X posted in the last couple of weeks. Mark is the author of 'Riding Man' which is his story on his going to The Isle of Mann for the TT races. He pens a regular column for RRX (http://www.roadracerx.com/) online and also has done some work in their print edition. He also used my shot of The King at the infamous Indy Mile of 1975 on the TZ flat tracker in a story he did in the May '08 print edition.
Please enjoy and relish in the memories.

http://www.roadracerx.com/features/backmarker/backmarker-still-more-from-honda%e2%80%99s-flat-track-heyday/

http://www.roadracerx.com/features/backmarker/backmarker-honda-flat-trackers-part-2/