Weekend at the Races

I spent this weekend in Phoenix to attend a motorcycle race. More on that later, but first here's the story of my side trip. I flew into Phoenix early and on Friday I drove to Tucson to visit the Pima Air & Space Museum. The huge collection of civilian and military aircraft includes everything from a Wright Flyer replica to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner prototype. I moved quickly, and in five hours still only saw perhaps 2/3 of the collection. Some of the planes have been carefully restored. Others, especially those parked outdoors, are weathered and even decayed. I was particularly intrigued by the machines stored outdoors. There were lots of Cold War craft, and I believe that every century-series jet was represented. There are multiples of Lockheed Constellations, Boeing B29s, B52s and KC97s in various configurations, along with a very nicely kept Convair B36 Peacemaker. The planes and equipment were labeled well. Some of the planes are combat veterans and some have carried U.S. presidents. There's an enormous Thiokol solid-propellant rocket booster lying next to the door to the museum, but I was stumped figuring out how to photograph it effectively. The sign on it says it weighs 1,000,000 pounds, but it makes more than 3,000,000 pounds of thrust. This is not a USAF museum, though many of the aircraft were described as being on loan from the government. I did not get to visit the adjacent Davis-Monthan AFB boneyard because this part of the trip was a late decision and pre-registration is required for access. Next time.



















 
On Saturday, March 27, the day after I saw all of those cool airplanes, the American Flat Track national championship series visited Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park (formerly Firebird Intl. Raceway) in Chandler, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix. Wild Horse is a big multi-use facility, with a man-made lake for boat races, a drag strip, large paved areas for drifting and road racing, and a dirt track for off-road truck racing. That dirt track was used for the Arizona Super TT motorcycle race. The racing surface is wide and smooth. There are left and right hand turns and multiple jumps. There are four TT events on this year's eighteen race AFT schedule.

As usual, there were two classes for twin cylinder and single cylinder bikes. Both classes were won by Yamahas. The twins class win gave Yamaha it's first victory in flat track racing's top class since 1981. Rider JD Beach (95) came from far behind on his Yamaha MT-07-powered machine to pass the Indian FTR750 of Briar Bauman (14) by a narrow margin. Beach is originally from Snohomish, Wash., but now lives in Kentucky. Being from the Pacific Northwest myself, I've known Beach and his family since he was a child. In addition to the AFT championship, Beach is also pursuing the MotoAmerica road racing championship. He won a Superkike race in Virginia one week after the Arizona event.

The singles class was won by Wisconsin rider Jesse Janisch (132) on a Yamaha YZ450F. Janisch has multiple race wins to his credit and led this one from flag to flag.

Former motocross, supercross, and supermoto champion, off road and Indy car racer Jeff Ward (336 is contesting the TT rounds of this year's AFT series. 57-year-old Wardy ran well with the youngsters in the singles class, but did not make the main event. He finished two positions out of a transfer spot in his qualifying race.















 
May is a busy month. The following weekend after that race in Arizona, my wife and I drove from our home near Portland, Ore., south to Carmel, Calif., to attend the Quail Motorcycle Gathering show and ride. This is the fourth time that I have attended this show and the third time that I have displayed a bike. We took along my bright orange 1975 Yamaha RD 350. It's a nice machine - mostly original condition with some minor refurbishments. It looks good enough to place on a show field with some high end restorations but it isn't too precious to ride.

While my wife went sightseeing on Friday with a friend, I participated in the pre-show ride. Around 100 riders follow a 100+ mile route through the hills in the area, ending up at the Laguna Seca racetrack. There, we got to make a few fast-as-you-dare laps around the track before heading back to the starting point for lunch. The ride and track laps were shepherded by a couple of CHP motor officers who blocked intersections so the group could proceed unimpeded and they totally disregarded for the posted speed limits. Those guys tore on the roads and around the race track with their lights flashing. What a hoot! The tacho on my RD spent more time in the red zone in one day than it normally does in a year. At a post-ride dinner that evening, motorcycling legends Mert Lawwill and Malcolm Smith were honored for their accomplishments. I did not take any photos during the ride or at the race track.

On Saturday, about 300 vintage, competition, and custom motorcycles were arranged on the show field at the fancy Quail Lodge & Golf Club. Brough Superior, a British brand, and the Honda CB750 were featured, celebrating their respective 100th and 50th anniversaries. There were many fine examples of each. A CB750 took Best of Show honors. Awards were given in several classes. My favorite bikes are the obscure small-displacement Italian machines with their oddly shaped fuel tanks. I saw one Cat minibike and a couple of Mini Trail Hondas. I entered my Yamaha for display only, but not for judging. I do not go to many car or bike shows. I like this one because of the ride and race track laps, and also because the show is so open and inviting. There are no ropes or barriers between the spectators and the displays, and not a single "do not touch" sign in sight. The price of admission includes a really nice catered lunch.























 
Last edited:
There it shows all the love so many pour out to get their dream to come to life I loved the Bultaco best but Tom your bike is also very nice and it's great that it is a rider.
 
Got home from the bike show in Carmel and had two days to put things in order before heading to southern California for the SoCal Half-Mile flat track race at Perris Auto Speedway on May 11. It was overcast and cool when my plane landed in Ontario, and it rained a bit in the days before the race. The possibility of more rain had the organizers on edge. Unlike motocross and road racing, this is a dry weather sport. But the weather improved and it was perfect for the event. Perris is a banked clay car track with concrete walls and tall fences. At this race they ran the usual two classes for single and twin cylinder bikes, plus an intermediate class for slightly less potent twins, and a fourth class for modified street bikes called Hooligans. It was a long day of racing.

The premier twins class win went to Brandon Robinson, a journeyman racer on an privately entered Indian. A factory team Indian finished in second place, and to everyone's surprise one of the factory Harley-Davidson machines finished in third place. It was their best finish so far this season. H-D has really been struggling for the last few years.

Wins in the intermediate twins class and singles class were taken by Yamaha-mounted riders. Yamaha has come on strong recently, and last week the company was announced as a new series sponsor. First and second place in the Hooligans class went to riders from my home area, one on a Harley an the other on a KTM. It's always nice to see the local riders do well at away games. The H-D rider who took third place in the premier class is also from my area.

I was supposed to go back to Calif. again this weekend for the Sacramento Mile, the first of a string of races on mile-long horse tracks. Heavy rains were forecast so the organizers cancelled and rescheduled it for early August. I'll miss the next round in Illinois on May 26, but I'll be back to the races at the mile event in Lexington, Kentucky, on June 1.



















 
I hadn't been to SoCal in a couple of years, so while I was there for the motorcycle races I also I allowed time to visit two of my favorite places, the NHRA drag racing museum in Pomona, and the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

The NHRA museum is at the LA County Fairgrounds, in building constructed in 1939 as a Works Progress Administration depression-era project. It is filled with drag racers and memorabilia to explain the history of drag racing in general, and the NHRA's role specifically. The cars are presented with detailed descriptions, and the walls are lined with cases full of photos, hardware, trophies and more neat stuff. There is a cutaway funny car that you can sit in to have your picture taken.

The Petersen Automotive Museum is housed in an enormous four-story building that was originally a department store. It sits at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in LA. The bright red walls are covered with ribbons of stainless steel. According to the designers, the facade is intended to "make a visceral statement that evokes the imagery of speed and the organic curves of a coach-built automobile." Sure.

This museum has a selection of thoughtful permanent exhibits that describe the history of the automobile and motorized transportation, with a California point of view. There are always lots of movie cars, hot rods, and racers to see.

I've been to this museum several times before, so I sort of breezed through the familiar permanent exhibits. I was mainly interested to take the Vault Tour of excess cars, and to see the temporary exhibit “Winning Numbers: The First, The Fastest, The Famous”, from the collection of competition cars belonging to Bruce Meyer, a California real estate developer.

The Vault Tour takes you through an underground parking lot. The area is packed with cars, ranging from US and foreign classics to Can Am and IMSA racers, and a few motorcycles, too. Some have been on display upstairs before, while others have not. Many of the cars are restored and some are in heavily deteriorated original condition. The tour was 45 minutes long and we saw just a portion of the cars. It would take hours to see them all. I was disappointed to learn that no photography is allowed in the vault.

The Bruce Meyer collection is a stunning assembly of historically significant race cars from diverse disciplines. There are several LeMans winners, including the Porsche 935 (41) that took overall honors in 1979, becoming the only 911-based vehicle to win OA and only the second production car to win since WWII. I really liked the bright red 1965 Bizzarrini w/Chev power (3), the silver 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa (11), and the white 1960 Corvette (2). All are LeMans class winners. The yellow hemi-powered Greer-Black-Prudhomme dragster was said to have a record of 237 wins and four losses from 1962-1964, running sub-8s and 191 mph. There are a few vintage lakes racers on hand, too.





















 
Beautiful photos as always from Tom, thank you.

The most iconic coupe ever built is in the background of one of these photos. I hope you got some photos of it as a subject.

It is the chopped and channeled 36, known as the Pierson Brother's Coup. A friend and I were talking about the Pierson Brother's Coup just yesterday, while I was at his shop getting some help bending a vintage Bug kart seat pan. He went to school with some of the Pierson's, and knew all of the early players in the Southern CA hot rodding and karting scene- which at the time, went hand in hand.

Here are a couple of articles on that coupe:
http://www.bryantfamilyauto.com/pierson_coupe_story.htm

https://www.rodauthority.com/featur...should-know-pierson-brothers-1934-ford-coupe/
 
Thanks, Dave.

Here are a couple of photos of the Pierson Bros. coupe. The sign beside the car said it ran to 150 mph at Bonneville in 1950. Here also are pics of the '52 So-Cal Speed Shop belly tank racer. The sign next to that car says it went 198.340 at Bonneville, and set records in five classes that year via a series of engine swaps. Finally, a couple more photos of the Greer-Black-Prodhomme dragster, and the 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa (I love the hood scoop), and the first production 1962 Shelby Cobra, chassis #CSX2001. That car had a successful rally and racing career in Europe.















 
@Tom S. NOW you're talking! Thanks for posting that second group! I think it is so ironic my friend and I were JUST having this conversation, and then there are your photos. These are special. Good job! If you get the chance, read up on the Pierson Bros Coupe. Back in the day, coupes weren't even hot rods, and there was a debate about it that this car ended. :)
 
Thanks for posting the Bruce Meyer car and image. It reminds me of my neighbor Tom Payne and the cars in his stable at the farm.
I’ve got reading homework to do.
Great work Tom.
Steve
 
On June 15/16 my buddies and I rode our dirt bikes in dual sport event in Central Oregon's high desert. The two-day Fort Rock Dual Sport event took us on courses consisting of dirt roads, some single track trail, and just a bit of pavement in an area of volcanic terrain at about 4,000' elevation, all on public land. We rode 140 miles the first day and just more than 100 miles on day two. It's very dry and dusty in this area. You pray for rain but expect to see none and that's how it worked out. My regular ride is a KTM. It was apart for repairs, so I rode my old Suzuki DR-Z400. The Suzuki is a swell spare bike to have around. I won a fifth place trophy in the poker run. That wouldn't be too exciting, except that my best pal got sixth place. Boom!

Photos below include a couple pics of me, one of the riders meeting on Saturday morning, a shot at a dusty checkpoint in the forest, and panorama shots of Hole-In-The-Ground, a volcanic explosion crater that's a mile across and 500' deep, and one more of a large field of pumice.











 
Last weekend the American Flat Track series was in Lima, Ohio, for the annual race on the half-mile oval at the Allen County fairgrounds. This is one of my favorite races.

The track is unique in the series because the racing surface is made of pea gravel instead of the more common clay. This allows for multiple racing lines and lots of passing, but the pea gravel roost is incredible. Weather plays a big part. These races don't run in the rain, but rainy weather before the event will affect track prep and conditions during the race. When the track is moist, the roost is like wet concrete being shot out of a fire hose. When the track is dry, as it was this year, it's more like a shotgun blast. Riders cover their gear and bikes with blue painters tape or clear tape to protect from damage.

The premier class win went to Jared Mees (1). He is the current champion, previous Lima winner, and the event promoter. He was out front for pretty much the entire race, but he was pressed by vet riders Henry Wiles and Jeffrey Carver. All three were on Indian motorcycles.

Shayna Texter (52), is the only female competitor in the series and she won the race for single cylinder machines on her factory Red Bull KTM. Shayna's KTM teammate, Dan Bromley (1), was second, Third place went to California racer Chad Cose (49), on a Honda.

New this year is a mid-level class for twin cylinder machines. Engines must be based on those from production street bikes. Because the Indians use a dedicated race engine they are not allowed in the class. Chad Cose did double duty by riding two classes, and took the win in this class on a Kawasaki.

The Sacramento, Calif., mile race that was scheduled for May 18 rained out, as did the Springfield, Illinois, mile that was scheduled for May 26. They have been rescheduled for August 9 and August 31 respectively. On July 13 the series moves to Weedsport, in upstate New York for a short track race. I've never been to that track before and I'm excited to see it.

Photos include the track overview, riders meeting, pre-grid, and races.

























 
On July 13 I attended American Flat Track's New York Short Track race in the Finger Lakes region of that state. The race was at Weedsport Speedway, a 3/8 mile banked oval located on I-90, just west of Syracuse. This is a nice facility that hosts some big car races, including World of Outlaws. The weather was great, not unlike that here at home in Oregon, and much more comfortable than it had been in Ohio a week earlier.

The track has sort of a "D" shape, with a razor sharp front straight and a back straight that forms one long curve. The transition going into turn one is abrupt, and it tended to guide some bikes on a line that went high up the banking. It took most of the practice and qualifying sessions for people to figure it out. There were a few crashes in the process, but no one was seriously injured.

Factory Indian rider Briar Bauman (14) won the big bike class. It was a nice recovery from Ohio, where he dropped out with tire failure while challenging for the lead. He was scored in 16th place at that race. Jeffrey Carver (23) took second place, Henry Wiles (17) was third, and Bauman's younger brother, Bronson (37) , was fourth. All were on Indians.

With the season slightly more than halfway done, Briar Bauman leads the championship chase. But for the poor finish in Ohio, he has been on the podium at every race and has won twice.

Dalton Gauthier (122) won the 450cc class over Morgen Mischler (69) and current champ Dan Bromley (1). It was notable that all three riders were on European machines. Gauthier rode a Husqvarna, and the other two were on KTMs. Bromley's bike is the factory red Bull / KTM entry.

This is a comeback season for Gauthier, who was suspended for two years for failing mandatory drug tests. Gauthier has come back strong and leads the season points standings over Honda rider Mikey Rush (15), and Bromley in third place.

The Rookies of '79 is an injured rider charity organization that was founded by a group of racers who all had their rookie season in 1979. The group includes Wayne Rainey, Scott Parker, Charlie Roberts, Tommy Duma, Ronnie Jones, John Wincewicz, Jackie Mitchell, and Lance Jones, plus others. Rainey went on to be a three-time world road racing champion and Daytona 200 winner. Parker won the dirt track national championship nine times. The charity has paid out more than $1 million to injured riders over the years, funded through donations from sponsors and individuals and an online memorabilia auction. I have donated several photo prints to their auction, autographed by the racers. They also have an annual golf tournament to raise money.

The group also hosts an invitational racing series where all of the riders are on 70s/80s vintage 360cc Bultaco Astro motorcycles. These store-bought flat trackers are a thing of legend. They don't race at every AFT round, but they were at Weedsport and it was so much fun to watch them go around. There's nothing like a dozen screaming two-strokes to get your blood up. Organization leader Charlie Roberts (64) won the main event. In his decades of racing it was his first win at a pro event and he was nearly in tears with the emotion when I interviewed him after the race. Roberts' teammate Jackie Mitchell (32) took second place, coming back from a crash during practice in that awkward first turn.

The series heads to South Dakota next week for the Black Hills Half-Mile in Rapid City, and the Buffalo Chip TT in Sturgis. I will have to miss those, but I'll be back for the Sacramento Mile on Aug. 9, and every race for the rest of the season.











 
Top