Industry Speedway August 12

Usually there is a freeway report about how bad the freeways suck but this afternoon upon advice of our flagman and checker flag waver I ventured over on the toll road in search of stress free travelling. Going east to the races the toll road takes my change (actually more than change) so I try to stay off of the money taker.

It is hard to understand why I would be in a hurry to get to the track but I wanted to prove a point. I am not sure what that was but after spending Monday trying to make the forks and handlebar (a new one) point the same way as the new fender I was determined to ride after my encounter with Beach Ball and the dirt at IMS. My front tire had been flattened and the bead was filled with dirt but the wheel was still straight and all the spokes were still there.

My determination is offset by my lack of good judgement but good judgement and speedway racing doesn't sometime go hand in hand. There is a great movie called Bar Fly and in one scene this drunk is trying to drink a shot of whiskey off the bar top but keeps spilling the glass, after several tries then he takes a neck tie and places his right hand on the shot glass and laces the necktie around the back of his neck and takes his one unshaken hand and pulls the tie which allows the shot glass to reach his mouth without spilling a drop.

Somehow I relate to the poor fellow who can not get the glass to his mouth cause my right arm refuses to raise it self above my handlebars but since I don't wave much while riding it is not a big concern.

As the season progresses the rider shortage continues with only two names besides myself on the program for my division as Brad Moreau was moved up after winning last week.

Well the two other names on the program didn't show but another rider signed up leaving a giant total of two. So the decision was made to place us in second division. I don't have a problem with that as I used to ride second division. In the first race Chris Thomas was on the line with me and I was involved with him in my high side last week at IMS and I did not want to try and out gate him again I would just wait till he fell then go by him.
After he fell there was a red flag and a restart which was a big mistake because I altered my original plan of completing the evening without hurting myself. I didn't crash but in my effort to try and go fast (I did pass someone) my shoulder gave way. After that I tried one more race but the nerves that transmit information to my unused brain where pain in interpreted just plain overloaded.

After sitting on a bench and letting my shoulder calm down I looked forward to Buck Blair winning the main. Buck hasn't been riding and has been waiting for his leg to get better but I convinced him to ride tonight. (see the early mention of good judgement and speedway) Having a fat pay envelope full of my previous winnings I gave it to Buck for his entry in hopes we could share in his main win. But our hopes of drinking with the likes of Bill Gates were dashed when the starting gate refused to function and my nephew got sent back on the green flag start.

Well Friday looms in the much too near future and unless a miracle flies through the window and heals my shoulder I guess I will be spending more time getting freezer burn on my left hand trying to ice my shoulder and missing IMS. Aside from missing Friday there still could be a way to get some track time while I am a gimp. I have noticed that the sidecars at Industry are right next to the track entrance which is very convenient. If you are hanging off the back someone else takes care of the handlebars. They have starters (no pushing) and training wheels. I could just duct tape my bad arm to the back and use my good hand for waving at the girls. No one ever questions your sanity if you are involved with sidecars.

Train Wreck at IMS August 7

This edition lacks any track action shots as after I unwilling became involved in a train wreck somewhere on the track and I have no idea where as the bounce on my head before the train showed up did some serious memory altering.

So these pictures were taken before the races started.

My goal at the track is to have fun and try to go fast. I am really trying to beat the other guys not just ride around the track. If you don't try and out gate the others riders they will not wait for you and if you back off because a green rider is out of shape or turning right or not turning the other guys will still be on the gas.

There are lots of eager kids at the track and these young boys and girls bounce right up after falling all I do is just bounce. Last night I didn't make the main as my front fender was gone and my anatomy needed a visit to Pick A Part. Someone said I should have been in the hospital but that would require an ambulance ride and I am allergic to vehicles with flashing lights on them. The first person to reach me instructed me not to move and I wondered if another train was coming as they some time travel in pairs.

Poor Buck Blair (send him money) had to suffer with me all the way back as I couldn't drive myself. Wednesday afternoon before leaving to go to Industry I told my son that he needed to try speedway again. He asked, "Why?", and I told him "so he could drive me home."

I have not raced Costa Mesa for several years so before the races I asked Brad about riding there. It is much closer than any fixture to my house, not within crawling distance but I do pass a large Kasier Hospital on the way back.

I couldn't hear what Flanders was saying as I lay twisted in the dirt and the train horn might have blown out my remaining working ear. But I now have a nickname and Tyson Burmeister who is way too young can't have it.

Just call me SUGAR DADDY....

Industry Speedway Aug 5

A clear night, a bright full moon, no traffic on the freeway, grand stands packed, standing room only, too many riders for the program, playboy bunnies helping the riders in the pits, $500.00 show money and a hundred thousand dollar purse and great racing, (some of these statements are valid and some are false, you pick the ones you like) and of course I won the main again.







First I hurt my shoulder, then my foot and last Sunday far away from any dirt track I destroyed my arm while sailing my boat and now have a ripped mainsail for proof. The rider count gets smaller but the riding and action has not slowed any and there certainly no shortage of pee-wees ready to bang bars.













Hedden had a new pair of leathers and now there are three riders wearing the same team colors. If they need a fourth they should consider more senior riders, specially those that need a new kit. My jersey was new at the start of the season with only one recent tear in it from high siding but my pants are from the Korean War and have vintage Made in China labels. I might as well alter the truth here as Flanders our brave and knowledgeable announcer behind the microphone does. After a few beers as the track becomes dusty he starts to add so many years on to my real age I start to feel like I raced with Abe Lincoln (never did) and I am, no matter what he says, close to Jack Benny's age of 39.













While we are on the subject of eternal youth there is a Under 21 Championship coming up soon at Auburn and Russell Green needs a little help in the money department to get there in style. If you have any extra money before you pay your bills or gas up your transportation just send it (money not your dam bills) to me (not him as minors can't be trusted with money) and I will pass any left after deducting the handling expense on to his lovely mechanic.


The Grand has a roof on it, a big screen with reruns for those who had grown up on TV, a full service bar (which I have never used) and really great performers for our National Anthem.




















It would be really nice if the staff had a free parking valet service for the riders so after the races and the exhausting autographs signing is over they would go get my trusty Nissan and load my trailer.

If you compare the first picture of the track at the start of the blog with the wet surface with the above picture with end of the night blue groove in place you will see that the surface does change through out the night. This is one reason the fast riders are always changing their gearing, tire pressure and tire edge in hopes of going faster. I have been told that a new tire every week makes you go faster (and your wallet get thinner) and I am in dire need of something to make me go faster (like new body parts).

Ridgecrest Motor Speedway July 31

Have been to Ridgecrest several times as AMA District 37 has desert races south east of this fair grounds and earlier in the year I raced desert twice close by but then there was snow on the ground. Ridgecrest is east of the Sierras and is close to the China Lake Naval Test Facility. I am not sure how hot is was this afternoon but on the way there you pass by a turn off for Death Valley.





The official name for the fixture is Desert Empire Fairgrounds and the track bore no resemblance to any descriptions other riders that had ridden there had given me. With the heat ample water had been applied to the track surface and I thought the Speedway Midgets (cars) would blow off the top before we rode. (wrong) The first event was a Super Pole race where you got a half a lap approach to the start and did one flying lap for time and the fastest rider took home the money.
With the slick surface and a new track for several including myself a few slid out and some tried riding through the hay bales.















The last six Friday nights I have ridden at IMS but tonight's Ridgecrest races had been planned much earlier in the year before IMS program existed. So tonight IMS was for first division only (except kids) and the other division riders could ride Ridgecrest and add their scores to their IMS season points. I have driven farther to race so I will not grouse about the traveling (341.8 round trip) and in Southern California any Friday afternoon on the freeway the traffic is not to be believed. On the trip up there a fifteen wait on Highway 395 halted travel as it was being paved just past Red Mountain and on the way back later the toll road in Orange County was closed for more paving.

There was a last-man-out race for both divisions and to be political correct it should have been called a last-man-or-woman race as Michelle Ferman #223 was ready to take on everybody when the tapes went up. I won the first one lapper and hung in to the final two lapper where I disappointed my coach (Boss Woman Holt) by trying to pass on the outside where the dirt was heavier.

Steve Evans works very hard to put these races together and he is going to have another race next Saturday Night at Victorville, which makes next week a three night experience for speedway in Southern California. On my drive back I spent time listening to those crazy music stations you pick up in the high desert and tried to rationalize spending more time on the slow-ways next week by riding three nights.

There were a bunch of pee-wees and a power-puff riders using conventional little dirt bikes racing tonight. Which brings up the question why isn't my grandson out there with his momma. My grandson has never been on a motorcycle but his mother has.

The fairground has good lighting but it is really high up and you can see the track without any problems but my Nikon just can't get enough light for a good exposure, I really need a better flash attachment.

According to the weather reports on the Internet the temps at Ridgecrest have been running between 108 and 110 degrees during the day. I thought I would only survive by sitting on a block of ice there but there isn't any humidity and I didn't get to the track until after six when there was some wind to help cool the place off. The program was full of track time and was a lot of fun. There wasn't much time to sit around between races and the track surface was constantly changing and the fans in the stands were not sitting on their hands.

The ride back home was much quicker as there wasn't any traffic and the races were done before ten o'clock. I had thought about duck tapeing my trophy on my bike's handlebars and riding up and down the sidewalks in a Marlo Brando fashion but since my black leather jacket was no where to be seen and the closest sidewalk was next to a Wal Mart I just loaded up the bike and headed south.