Hey Andy S

[Andy S]

the spectator and entertainment opportunities at Auburndale are practically innumerable.

It was our first time there and somehow we managed to sit right in the middle of a family split between the older folks at the front of the bleachers and their younger offspring at the back. As the night progressed the argument developed at the back until the language got so bad some other spectators called the police over to step in. I think this was the week after the infamous tazer incident...

That said, the racing was good, the folks we sat next to were friendly, and the peanuts we bought there were superb!

[flvideo]

Hey Matchew, Where in Tampa? We used to go to a track I think was north of Tampa. Also went to that Dade city track. I went to a flat Track race one time in Ft Mede. I went with a Triumph Dealer and I was under age so he had to sign as my parent so I could race and he didn't like that. I did a lot of enduros on motorcycle. Now that was fun. I think a 250 was the biggest I ever raced. I took a 250 on an enduro once and it like to have beat me to death. I had to admire the guys that raced 500's or 650's. It took a man to handle those in the woods. Rex sorry to Hi-jack your thread. Bob...

[Osmosis Jones]

We're talking racing...he'll be fine....

I couldn't tell you where the Tampa track was, Bob...I was pretty young then....but the Dade City track had a road course, a flat track and a scrambles course all on the property. The guy I raced with/for (who was working for my dad) was the 1969 AMA Champion(not sure what class) His name was Dave Brown and they used to show him on the opening montage for the old Wide World of Sports show on Sundays. He was wrecking coming out of turn four at Daytona. I remember when it happened. He was in the hospital for a few weeks.

I really wasn't that hot on a motorcycle. Maybe if I had kept at it but my real love was cars. But you knew that already.

You need to put up some pictures of you racing. I'd like to see some of those.

[mr south 59]

Hey Andy S, it good to have ya aboard. I'm glad to see that at least a few of 'um know the difference between speedway and flat track. In the mid '70's when I raced some indoor races in Orlando on the 1/8 mile they had a few classes of speedway bikes. It never really took off but I always wanted to try it. And you aren't kidding about the wrecks. Pretty spectacular. I once put a clutch lever thru my leathers and knee cap at Barberville on a 360 Yamaha while running with Jay Livingston and Kenny Roberts.

Bob, I know that we have talked about us running flat track at Dade City before. The roughtest flat track I ever raced bikes at. But did you ever run at Ocala or Hialeah or Tampa at the fair grounds?

Bobby "the promoter" Deihl was also a flat tracker.

[mr south 59]

I had forgot about the road coarse at Dace City. I did run a few cafe races there when I drove for Dino's Cycle Center in Ocala. What I do remember about Dade City is when we were walking around the property the first time I raced there and found about 200 toilets in the field behind the flat track. I thought to my self, this place is a real $hit hole. Really tho, the racing surface was so bad it was the worst track we raced at.

[Andy S]

Got round to uploading a few pics from my trip to see speedway USA-style up in Indianapolis. This was the last but one meeting before they shut the track down, it turned out:


Waiting at the starting tapes. Neither one flipped when they dropped the clutch on this occasion!


Taking a corner in the intermediates race.


Keeping the clutch cool while waiting for everyone to settle down at the tapes.


For the technical minded - a closer look at one of the bikes, this one seemingly imported used from a rider in Eastern Europe.


This is how they took the flag around the track during the national anthem at the start. Maybe OSW could take the front wheels off the buggy and try something similar?

[Andy S]

And a couple of other pics I found from my on-track excursion on opening night at OSW. Looking back at the pics it's amazing how many cars raced that night and haven't been seen again, and how many have been lost to wrecks this season - notably Billy Cuddy's #64 and Timmy Todd Jr's great looking #25 Sportsman that got mangled up at NSS.


Boneman struggling to get out of the car he'd borrowed for the night...


A nice pic of Edm's #44 on the starting line.

[flvideo]

Hey Andrew, Yeah the fair grounds and Dade city. I think I rode in a race on that long course once. We rode some scrambles in dade city too I think. That may have been another track I seem to remember hearing the track we were at had closed. THat was along time ago. Matt the only picture I have left was one in our drive way with my little brothers. I had a little harley then. Do you remember the 165 single cylinder? They probably quit making it about 1965. I'm sorry I didn't remember you're a youngun. My EX wife destroyed all my pictures, military records and stuff I can't even remember any more. She was a real WITCH. Andy Did you ever ride a BSA 500 single? I had one several years ago and that thing was a bear. That was before starters and that thing come close to putting me over the handle bars several. It had a mountian of caompression. Welcome to Karnac should a said that to begin with. Bob...

[Boneman]

What?!

"Boneman struggling to get out of the car he'd borrowed for the night... "

Struggling to get out? I was actually getting in. You see I ran to the car and lept into it, feet first from 3 yards away, just like Bo Duke on the "Dukes of Hazzard". Struggling to get out...puleeze!

BTW: that car is the famous Edmobile Sportsman.

[Winger]

"Boneman struggling to get out of the car he'd borrowed for the night... "

Struggling to get out? I was actually getting in. You see I ran to the car and lept into it, feet first from 3 yards away, just like Bo Duke on the "Dukes of Hazzard". Struggling to get out...puleeze!

I remember seeing some races as a kid where the cars were parked on the track against the outside wall facing towards the center of the track. The drivers were lined up across the track. When the green flag dropped, the drivers ran to their cars, jumped in and started racing. It was pretty neat to watch as a kid. Course back then they raced in t-shirts. The only safety items were a helmet and a seatbelt.

[Andy S]

Andy Did you ever ride a BSA 500 single? I had one several years ago and that thing was a bear. That was before starters and that thing come close to putting me over the handle bars several. It had a mountian of caompression.

I didn't, but I remember fondly trying to help my brother start his Jawa lay-down speedway bike many times. The compression in that thing, especially after an engine rebuild, meant you had to massage the cylinder into the right position via the back wheel to have any chance of starting it al all. On a good day you could start it up on it's frame stand by using two hand to hurl the back wheel round and dumping the clutch. On a bad day - i.e. most days - it was a two man job to push start it, with more than half the attempts resulting in the back wheel locking solid the minute the clutch was let go and bike skidding quickly to a stop. Always a fun balancing act to hold on just enough to carry on pushing if it was spluttering to life, but not too much so it pulled you off your feet if it sparked to life and shot away!

But when it turned over and started, what a sound! And what a smell too. That burning methanol is a smell you never forget when you get into the sport!

[Osmosis Jones]

Yeah....

....I believe ol' Andy's gonna fit right in around here.

Props to da Marrowboy for getting him off the shelf and into the stewpot.

Ther's a name for that kind of start, Winger......Lemans or something like that.......I dunno...not up on the sissy-boy, road course stuff........



JUST JOKING for all you sissy boys who like road courses.....(cough cough, Tripper, cough cough)............

[Andy S]

Struggling to get out...puleeze!

Sorry for the misunderstanding. It's just that it looks an awful lot like Ralph Miller is on his radio over by #96 calling the tow truck over to give you a gentle hand getting out...

[flvideo]

Yeah Andy that smell is something you never forget. I don't get to smell it near enough anymore. I know what you mean about the compression, with my old BSA you had to get it right on compression or it would eject you. It had a kick starter and I don't ever remember push starting it. That was a road bike, the racers we pushed all the time. The 250's were bad enough I can imagine the 500 single would be a bear to start pushing it. I have had many skinned knees and hands because a bike I was pushimg fired and left me hanging. Bob...

[Andy S]

You always knew when he needed an engine rebuild because when you tried to push start it it would take the two of us running full speed before he dumped the clutch and jumped onto the seat to bump it, and *still* the back wheel would just lock solid and refuse to move. After a rebuild you could start it by spinning the back wheel by hand, or with him sitting on the bike and me pushing. Still had to warm the bike up for at least 15 minutes every time you started it though, or else risk the consquences!