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.