Went to Waller for the local flat track last night and got more than I'd thought I was going to get. There were 14 mad doggers running and a huge crowd of spectators and riders. It was a national VDTRA vintage race night! Some old local heros were there like Darrell Hurst still racing. He's won in the Astrodome at the GNC stuff, a local legend. And, from Beaumont, Texas, the man who the event was named for, the "Carroll Resweber Flat Track Series", was the four time Grand National Champion, Carroll Resweber. I'd read about him all my life and seems he knew some folks that I knew and I never knew that, LOL. One of his buddies that got him on the Grand National scene was Tommy Byars Sr, who was Bubba and Tommy Junior's dad, who I raced with in AMA road racing and CRRC back in the day. I was closer to Bubba than Tommy because me and Bubba had some good scraps on 250s back then, were racing each other. Tommy Sr was a very nice guy and I looked up to and respected him, but never knew then that he was close friends with Carroll Resweber, it just never came up!
Anyway, I got a second in 125 Amateur and blew my start in the mad dog, but still finished fifth after passing most of the field in two turns. I tucked in behind fourth in a six bike train, but never found a way around fourth up to the podium. My bike was fast and hooking up great and I KNOW with a good start I coulda won the danged thing, DAMIT! But, it wasn't to be. Actually, I though I had the bike in gear, but it was in neutral when I dropped the hammer on it.
ops: Oh, well, I rode hard and had a great time. Flat track is actually not that hard to do if you do TMGP minis on motards. I'm so used to getting it sideways on asphalt, dirt was nothing. LOL Within three practice sessions I was going pretty good and managed to qualify the thing third on the grid for the main, not too dam bad I thought out of 14 guys with some national VDTRA guys running it! Boy, I'm looking SO forward to getting my stroker dirt tracker in this week! Next dirt track is in two weeks. John Casley called Joe Prussiano at Hallett, Oklahoma and told him there were 14 entries and he was POed! LOL! I think they broke the 954RR at Hallett, stuck the tranny in third, but still managed to bring it home third overall. Joe is a VERY good rider.
It was quite fun, also, watching all the vintage iron. That stuff is NOT SLOW! I saw lots of old BSA thumpers, some twins, XS650 based twins, but mostly thumpers. There was one Norton thumper, AJS, some later vintage stuff from the seventies. The sound of BIG thumpers tearing up the dirt was to die for! I really love this stuff, grass roots racing, and, heck, it's popular! Part of that might be that it don't cost an arm and a leg to get into like road racing big bikes, but part of it is the small town America thing. I mean, far as spectators, what the hell else is there to do in Waller Texas on a Saturday night? LOL!
The Track
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Carroll Resweber is the old fellow in the center in the red shirt.
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Some national guys.
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My mad dogger, until my stroker gets here.
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