speedblogness

Give it up for Toyota and their creative sponsorship of the AMA National Motocross Series!

What they have done is unprecedented in motorsports.

They have designed a rolling facility that travels to all of the AMA National Motocross races and gives AMA professional privateers a home away from home and it is about time that some of the kids get a reasonable shot at top level racing. I'll be the first to admit that many will not make it to the top. Giving them the tools they need to take a shot at getting there is something that has been non-existent in the sport, until now.

Check out this quote by Toyota officials on how they plan to help AMA Privateers succeed.
"A rider is a rider whether they are on four wheels or two, male or female, at every AMA Toyota Motocross weekend. Our goal has always been to give back to the Motocross community through our sponsorship, which may mean improving the fan experience or providing support to Pro riders that do not have Factory backing," said Brian Smith, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., Corporate Manager, Truck and SUV."

"The Privateer's Toyota Zone is complete with a pressure washer station in the bed of a Tacoma truck available to privateers and take-away lunches for privateer racers and crew".

Topping that off, Toyota has offered the one of these riders the opportunity to earn a professional ride with a factory supported AMA pro team.

"All eligible athletes enrolled in TMX will have the opportunity to advance through the program and receive valuable media exposure and TMX rider awards. The ultimate reward of racing as a Toyota sponsored professional rider will be awarded to one deserving rider. The rider will represent Toyota by proving their ability, desire, attitude and passion".

This kind of talk is usually smoke and mirrors BS. However Toyota has stepped up in a major way and is giving AMA National Privateers some real support.

I say give it up for Toyota who is a huge corporate presence, who could have just shoved their marketing spiel down our throats for the cash they are laying out in sponsoring the AMA Nationals.

Instead Toyota has taken the long term position of growing the sport while promoting their products and I am finally on the side of whoever dreamed this kind of marketing program. Toyota is truly giving back to the sport of motocross.

It's actually amazing the guy or gal who dreamed up this "giving back to the sport" still has a job!

I worked for a company during Chevrolet's sponsorship of the AMA motocross series and it was a lackluster joke by comparison.

Bottom line is that I really wanted to throw out a big thank you to those at Toyota who dreamed up helping the young up and coming (and mostly poor or broke) AMA National privateers, their families and supporters. Next car or truck I buy now has a 99% chance of being a Toyota.

So there you go, a marketing program that gives a lot and takes a little and it works!

Check out the TMX website for more details

So Karoline landed a set of nice passes for the IRL (Indy Racing League) Detroit Grand Prix yesterday and I had a few thoughts on the whole deal.

Belle Isle and the IRL offered a very nice layout for those who had suite passes. They included a place out of the sun in the suite area, catered food and drinks and something I have never seen before, air conditioned first class porta pottys (5 star bathrooms).

But what I really wanted to write about is the battle between Cart (Champ Car World Series) and Tony George and the IRL (Indy Racing League) which is just about over.

Sadly I have to think that the once mighty Cart is on it's last legs. The sad reality is that all of the big teams have packed up and left Cart and joined Tony George’s IRL. Yep most of the original founders of CART including Roger Penske have bailed out of Cart and joined the IRL.

What I find interesting is that after years of running two American road racing series that we may finally have one series without all of the drama that these two corporate groups have created over the past few years. Ya right!

Tony George has given piles and piles of money to this deal and so he deserves to win, I guess. I mean after attending this race you begin to see that Indy Car racing is simply a corporate show of money and power. As with all other motorsports the past few years, the teams and drivers are nonexistent to the core racing fan. This means that if you got money, Michael Andretti is at your beck and call. No money, no Michael.

Today you either buy grandstand seat or good luck seeing the race. By that I mean it is very difficult to wander around and watch as banners cover a great majority of the track. Next to Formula One (Number One boring race series in my opinion) there is little offered other than a sweet corporate party for a bunch of rich people.

Despite what was reported on Speed TV, the Belle Isle race was not all that great. As a roving spectator I found the viewable racing to be rather uninteresting. The reality is that it is next to impossible on a location like Belle Isle to really get more than a passing glimpse of the cars during the race.

Although we did have grandstand seats over the pits. They to offered little real viewing, even with the mega tron TV the had set up.

We did have paddock access which proved to be the best part of the day. A few of the LeMans series teams actually hung around and so there were some cool cars that you could actually walk up to and touch. They were even letting people (yes regular Joe's) sit in the cars for photo ops. The truth is the LeMan teams were very nice to the crowds. Of course there were no LeMans drivers to be seen.

None of the IRL teams were offering up anything other than a flyer or two on their drivers. In fact Team Penske had no flyers on their drivers! We found that very strange considering that this race was put back on the schedule by Roger Penske’s hard work, god bless him for bring the race back to a town that is so far on its knees that it’s hard to believe we still build cars here.

The bottom line is that the IRL teams, especially the drivers were pretty much closed off affairs.
When you did see a driver they were surrounded by corporate types and had their hands full dealing with the usual ass kissing photo ops. This is the sad reality of becoming a professional sports athlete of any sort today.

Again the race itself was a bore when compared to the AMA Motocross at Red Bud or the AMA Supermoto event at Waterford Hills. Both of which were super cheap and offered really competitive racing compared to an IRL or Cart event.

Truth is I love all motorsports. Problem is the whole corporate thing in your face at every turn is ok for showing off your product. What it has done is more though. Now the drivers are pinned down to constant corporate ass kissing. The fans are just a byproduct of a bunch of rich people looking for a pat on the back.

There is nothing wrong with sponsors playing a big role in a team’s situation. But that gets back to the heart of the problem because the drivers are constantly busy and when they have a moment of free time they hide away in there mega million dollar toter coaches until more ass kissing is called for or they have practice or the race to attend to.

Tony George (aka Mr. we want to groom American drivers from the dirt tracks of America, ect) seemed to have changed his tune. Today’s IRL has few American drivers. Sarah Fisher who is a competent race car driver despite what the press wants you to think is still driving an underfunded car that functions as a convenient backmarker. The sad state of the Toney George/IRL era of racing.

Danika Patrick on the other hand is sitting in a drivers dream situation. Lots of money coming and she still can't win a race. She raced for Bobby Rahal who through a pile of cash down to get her started. She left him for Andretti /Green and has no excuse for not winning at this point in her career and yet she continues with the standard "Book of excuses" As do Andretti/Green whose stock piles of cash can't get her to the front.

In the end Buddy Rice (another awesome US driver) who was kicked to the ground a while back (after winning the Indy 500) managed to move all the way to second place in the race (finally we had an American to cheer for Tony G) and he runs out of fuel with a lap to go. At the same time Rice ran out of juice, Scott Dixon plowed right into him collecting Dario Franchitti along the way. Yet another Yellow flag finish. Something we all looked forward to (NOT).

All around good guy (Brazilian) Tony Kannan won the race. He was a deserving winner.

He then spent at least an hour changing hats at victory circle while hugging a gazillion wanna be rich folk and of course every free loading politician from Michigan. I felt bad for the guy. I mean he just got done spending 3 hours in a massively hot racecar and now he's got to suck up to the Armani gang. After all that crap they hauled him off to the interview room for more grilling.

Along with the above mentioned torture I'm sure he made a few bucks and had a little fun along.

So here's to Tony (Mr. All American) George for dropping them Cart boys like a lead weight. Wait a minute, isn't 90% of the teams that raced in Cart back in the day now racing in Tony's IRL?

Now that I think about it who the hell do I know in Cart nowadays. Oh yes Rahal's kid. But didn't I see Rahal/Letterman Racing at Belle Isle. I suspect that Rahal knows which series might (yes I said might) get his kid to Formula One. Not that it means anything, just ask Scott Speed what it’s like to be an American in Formula One today.

I am so happy to have grown up in the 60's and 70's when racing (abate very dangerous racing) was still in the hands of MEN who raced for the love of racing. Who took chances, yes life and death chances every time that sat in a race car. Those guys and gals were racers inside and out.

That is my take.

This is the "If you ever wondered what these procedures can do for your life" part of my blog.

So I thought I’d throw out my thoughts on a couple of medical procedures I've gone through in the past few years.

Lasik Eye Surgery: Awesome. I had the surgery in mid 2002 and it has changed my life. I wore glasses most of my life and now that I no longer have to deal with that, I have to consider it the number two thing that has changed my life for the better. When you are in and out of a helmet as often as I am, you begin to realize how this surgery changes your life. To no longer have to deal with putting glasses on and taking them off constantly is like nothing you can imagine. I highly recommend it!

Please note: I suggest that anyone who is considering this surgery takes the time to investigate and find a lasik eye surgeon that they are comfortable with and who can produce information on previous customers and surgery's. I would also peruse the internet and find as much information as you can so that you are able to answer any questions thatyou may have regarding this surgery. There are a few specific issues that you may deal with after the surgery, such as dry eyes (solved with eye drops) and some halo issues (noticable more at night with traffic lights and outdoor lighting in general). Mine went away after about a year and they did not keep me from doing everything as I normally would.

Sedation dentistry: Another cool procedure that rocks if you hate going to the dentist.

Since I was around 10 years old I have had nothing but grief with my teeth. And I have seen my share of dentists. Some good, some even great, but many, to many to remember that were hacks.

Between a few of the hacks and the military (U.S Army) they were screwed up pretty permanently. After many root canals and a few surgeries, and a slew of caps, I finally had them completely redone between November 2006 and May of 2007. It was an expensive undertaking (around 25K) and it was a five month process.

Despite my misgivings about getting the work done, I spent some time and visited a few dentists whom were recommended before I found one I liked.

Because of the long hours I spent in the chair the sedation end of the deal made the whole process a breeze. The end result was awesome, I now have front teeth that are straight and correct in length and my bite is much better. I am very pleased with my new smile.

If you don’t like going to the dentist, sedation dentistry is the way to go. I highly recommend it!

Please Note: As with Lasik I highly recommend that you spend some time and do a little research on whom you choose to perform this work. Any sedation has possible drawbacks and there were adjustments to the amount I was given during my various visits. I can attest that I did not feel any pain, in fact I recall very little of the time I spent having the work done. It is an all day process and you can expect to spend most of the day once you've returned home sleeping.

Of the many professional motocross riders who have won championships since I got involved in the sport (around 1966) You have to put AMA Motocross Champion Doug Henry near or at the top of the list in regards to greatness.

Doug is the man who developed the current generation 4 stroke motocross bikes. He was the guy who made them work. He was the guy who Yamaha laid their future in dirtbikes with.

Doug’s resume includes winning the 1993 AMA 125 Motocross and AMA 125 East Supercross Championships, the 1994 AMA 125 Motocross Championship, 1998 AMA 250 Motocross Championship and was named the 1998 AMA Professional Athlete of the Year. Winner of the gold medal in the 2005 X-Games Supermoto race. Doug recorded 25 AMA Supercross/Motocross overall wins during his pro racing career. In 2005 Doug was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

After semi retiring from professional motocross Doug won a GNCC cross-country race in his first attempt on a stock Honda.

From there Doug joined the AMA SuperMoto championship and was a title contender right from the start. And although he never won the championship, it was not for a lack of effort.

Doug Henry was the consummate racer and was a race fans dream. There were few time I can recall NOT seeing Doug accessible and hanging out with race fans. Where many of the bigger names hide in their toterhomes and come out only during autograph sessions. Doug was always out and always hanging out with his crew and the fans.

In early 2007 Doug suffered a devastating and what appears to be a career ending injury while practicing. At the 2007 AMA SuperMoto round in Detroit Doug was missed more than he can know. His legacy does however live on in his teammate Mark Burkhart who has finally ridden to his true potential. Mark won the race and you could almost see in Mark many of the qualities that Doug had in winning championships.

So the bottom line is that I feel that it is important for us to remember riders like Doug. A guy who did not just take the money and run. Doug was one of the few guys who accepted all of the corporate BS that goes along with motorsports racing today and gave everyone 150% of his time when he was at the race track. Guys like Doug and Mark Burkhart are what make motorsport racing a great place to be whether you are doing it or watching it.

Doug was and is an inspiration for any racer who is striving to win a championship.

Doug Henry was the man before and continues to be the man today.

We hope that one day Doug is able to recover and walk again. He deserves that opportunity.

At the 2007 X Games Mark Burkhart gave credit to Doug for his winning championship form.

Doug has suffered more than one devastating injury during his career. Budds Creek, MD was not a track that was kind to Doug over the years and his 1995 crash where he fell from nearly 80 feet in the air to flat ground resulted in Doug breaking his back. Amazingly Doug suffered no paralysis from this insane crash. No Fear sold a poster showing Doug's back and the incision and stitch marks running from below his neck to his waist. Check out the video of the crash. he suffered two broken wrists at Budds Creek, mere feet away from the jump where he had his earlier injury.

Despite all of the devastation to his body Doug rehabbed, rebuilt himself and went on to win yet another motocross championship on the YZ450 he developed for Yamaha.

He stormed into SuperMoto and I have to think this may have been his year had he not been injured. After talking to some Yamaha team members at the Detroit AMA SuperMoto round it appears as though Doug has a long road to travel before or if he ever rides again.

In today’s media driven celebrity, Doug Henry managed to be a credit to his team, his sponsors, to his fans and to himself. He stood out as a real winner in many disciplines of our sport and for that Doug ranks near or at the top in professional motorsports.

It's really hard to put into words all that Doug has done for the sport of motocross and SuperMoto. In terms of sheer will and determination Doug is ranks right up there with Rickey Carmichael one of motorsports elite racers.

I am hoping as I did with David Bailey, Danny Magoo Chandler, Ernesto Fronseca, Wayne Rainey and the many others who have suffered paralysis through a crash that they may have a complete recovery or something close to that so they can go on living a normal life.

As many know this was not the case with Bailey and he has suffered mightily.

One thing that Bailey has fought for and is pushing for riders to wear is the Leatt Brace and I hope that moms, dads and riders old enough to understand that they could suffer the same or like injuries as Doug Henry wear any and all protective gear that will allow them to live a full life long after their racing or riding career ends.

Karoline and I stay hopeful that we'll see Doug will walk again, we are fans Doug!

Additional information

View video of Doug Henry's 1995 crash at Budds Creek

Wings of life - Spinal cord research

If you want to see some of the Doug Henry photos Karoline and I shot at the 2006 Detroit AMA Supermoto race follow this link.