This is an opinion piece; just the opinion of someone who has supported, participated in, has worked at events and has loved the sport for over 40 years. My entire life has been spent at flat track races across the country.
I am not whining; I’m making observations and expressing my opinion. I’m not alone in having an opinion on this. Please keep the hate mail and hateful comments to a minimum as I love this sport as much as you do.
I’d like to talk about the vocabulary that is used. To keep our sport authentic, original and true to its history, I believe that AFT changing the already known vocabulary used across the country at local events everywhere doesn’t seem to be in its best interest. I understand they’re trying to reach out and encourage motocross, Supermoto, MotoGP and other sports enthusiasts to crossover and become interested in flat track racing so using a different vocabulary to try to show similarities with sports Is a move to draw new participants and fans. I understand the direction and support the idea of growth in our fan base but not of the expense of our rich history; I just don’t necessarily agree with it. A couple of the changes to the vocabulary are “pits” to “paddock” and if you win “you’re on the box” and win “1st ,2nd and 3rd“. Something else as a reminder; heats are used to determine the lineup for the main but with 16 riders you only need 2 heats. A semi is not needed and where I come from it’s called an LCQ, a last chance qualifier. These are just observations of changes, not complaints.
Now on to more important matters….
I read the memo that was released from American Flat Track and I listened to the interview on the popular podcast “Off the Groove” with Scottie Deubler and Chris Carter when they interviewed the CEO of American Flat Track. Although Mr. Lock did address some of my concerns, he did not address all of them. I’ve taken my time, read all the comments posted on social media and considered exactly what this means for the sport I love. I know that there’s a lot of pushback from people that think that we should just shut up, not give our opinions, concerns or alternatives and just go along with the program. However, being in the sport for over 40 years, I can say that anyone who knows the flat track family, keeping your mouth shut really isn’t in our DNA. With that being said I would like to address a few things that concern me as a lifelong participant and fan of flat track racing.
First, I will address the statement by Mr. Lock during his interview when he stated that gone were the days when an unknown “amateur rider” would come to a professional event hoping to win. There are several things about the statement that really concerned me. I’m not real sure that Mr. Lock understands that when a rider reaches the level to even consider racing at American Flat Track’s professional level, they have already spent years perfecting their craft. Most of these riders have had over 10 years of experience, or more assuming that they started when they were 6 years old; the majority of these riders starting much younger than 6 years old. So, when some young kid comes out of the woodwork to challenge the Pros, they have already earned their pro license, giving up their amateur status, or they wouldn’t be able to compete.
These riders and their families have traveled thousands of miles over a number of years, put thousands of dollars, dedicate thousands of hours, blood, sweat, tears and every penny they had with the assistance of family and friends to even get to that point in their career. To quote ABC’s Wide World of Sports, “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” is a way of life for these riders. These riders have raced thousands of events over their career before they even attempt to go pro. Like I stated earlier, to compete in American Flat Track events each rider must possess a pro license, so, Mr. Lock calling them amateurs really doesn’t seem right. I think the term you were looking for was Rookie because true amateurs cannot hold a pro license. I felt his statement was in total disregard of the hard work and dedication that these future pro riders put in before they even consider entering an American Flat Track event.
Let me give you some examples that I have seen in my life, some that were mentioned on social media and from the history of flat track that could not and would not happen under this format. I was reminded on social media about the time in 2011 when Willie McCoy, a semi-retired racer at the time, built his own bike, showed up at the Springfield mile and won. Garth Brow winning Ascot as a rookie and then going on to win 5 events at the Grand National level in his career. How about Hank Scott. in his rookie year in 1974, went to Syracuse, NY and won the mile. Hank went on to win another 17 victories in Grand National championship events. What about Terry Poovey? He won his first national in 1978 at the Meadowlands and went on to win 11 more in Grand National championship events. Now this one everybody should remember; in 1975 Jay Springsteen, in his rookie year, won Louisville and Harrington, DE back to back. He went on to win 43 Grand National championship races and holds the 3rd highest number of wins of all times in Grand National history. Now I can’t forget a more recent event that makes my point. Brad Baker in 2009, his rookie season, went riding into Daytona winning the season opener on March 4, 2009, then continued his rookie season to win Bulls Gap in Tennessee, Hagerstown, MD and yes, Springfield, Il. Also, in his 2009 rookie season, Baker also won the Pro Single National Championship. Brad made the podium 10 times out of 13 in the 2009 season.
With the new rules set forth by American Flat Track, none of these historic events would have or could have happened because the “rookies” will not be allowed in the new, selected 16. The saddest thing is that we’re not going to have the future generations of Garth Brow, Jay Springsteen, Terry Poovey, Hank Scott and yes Brad Baker’s winning at this level as rookies. These are only a few examples that I could think of off the top of my head. I almost forgot to mention the local riders that have received their pro licenses, who show up out of nowhere with a small following of local fans, a huge following of hidden heroes and their families, show up at a national and clean everybody’s clock. That my friend is the true meaning of American Flat Track racing.
I would like to discuss the decision to limit the ‘Super Twins’ class to 16 riders. I do not agree with this decision and believe that the format put forth by AFT doesn’t make any sense. If you’re trying to save time or fit it into a time schedule, it seems to me that with 16 riders you don’t even need timed qualifying, you should just run 2 heats like the local events across the country would do if they only had 16 riders in their main event. If they wanted to run more races, they could run 3 heat races, two with five riders and one with 6. Time each heat race, the fastest heat race winner gets the pole; the second fastest heat winner lines up second the 3rd fastest heat winner is 3rd to line up and so on down the line. There is no need whatsoever to run a last chance qualifier or semi with 16 riders in the main event. The reason I don’t think 16 riders are adequate is because, according to the nation numbers information on the website, there are about 68 pro riders. Yes, that’s right about 68 people hold pro licenses for 2019 in the twins class. What’s going to happen to these riders? What happens to the riders that are not one of the few that are chosen when they already invested thousands of dollars into a competitive motorcycle that you aren’t allowing them to compete with because they aren’t part of the selected 16. At this point I will refer to the previous paragraph where I gave examples of the historic events that will no longer be able to take place under this format. my biggest concern with the 16-rider concept is the impact it will have on the racing. I believe it will take the most competitive sport in the world and water it down.
You see the beauty of American Flat Track that made it different from other professional motorsports is that it was obtainable. We, as fans, saw riders that didn’t have the biggest hauler or showed up in a broken-down van win. They didn’t have all the fancy equipment, they didn’t have a mechanic. they did it themselves or their dad was their mechanic and the rest of the family was their pit crew. Fans love the underdog; they love a rider that shows up out of the blue and proves it’s not always the rider with the most money that wins that night, but the rider with a fast bike and skill does! In doing that, the new rider on the scene is well on his way to becoming a new fan favorite. These are the riders who earned their pro license, traveling around the country for years to sanctioned events, working to attain their dream of becoming a future Grand National champion. That dream has now become unattainable unless you happen to be one of the chosen few, approved by some mysterious entity, to even be able to compete.
The privateer teams work so hard to provide solid reliable equipment for their riders. The cost of travel alone is always a concern for privateer teams, but somehow, they figure it out and show up ready to ride and to compete at the best of their ability. These are the teams who know that with a little bit of racing luck, a good machine and talented rider they could be on the box that night. AFT, it seems, has decided that these teams should be priced out and not be able to compete. The result of fewer teams, factory, privateers or independent is not good for any sport, especially one that’s trying to reemerge as the best sport in the world.
I believe that AFT is turning its back on what makes American flat track different, its inclusiveness, it’s family atmosphere and that everyone at the event is part of something bigger. That something bigger, my friends, is being a part of the flat track family. As all of you know the flat track family is a large tight knit community; we look after each other, we help one another, we can compete to the best of our ability, leave it all on the track, then we celebrate as one big family in the pits, not the paddock because we’re not horses. We congratulate the victors, console and uplift the riders who had a bad day; that is the heart of flat track racing. These are the types of things that I’m alluding to when I say completely changing our history instead of building on it.
I totally agree with Mr. Lock when he said that at this level the teams need to look more professional. I also agree with Mr. Lock that the riders should be more recognizable. I think that Mr. Lock took over in 2015 and had this master plan already hatched. I think he should have utilized and included some of the already successful and highly established individuals on social media, videographers, track reporters and radio hosts dedicated to expanding the sport however they could with their great productions and commentary along with the hundreds of thousands of followers and fans already dedicated to the sport instead of rejecting them at every turn. Anyone who knows and loves flat track knows who I’m talking about right now so I don’t need to name names. These were the people who helped keep the sport alive before you came along Mr. Lock and will be here after your tenure with AFT is over. To reject these dedicated hardworking people who support riders, spending their own money, time and energy only because they love the sport, is a huge oversight on the part of American Flat Track. But I digress.
I understand and agree that AFT has not promoted the riders as well as they could have in the past. I applaud them with their idea to tell the stories of the riders and were they come from. Speaking for myself, I really don’t care what is their favorite emoji is or if they were an animal what would that be? But I would enjoy listening to riders interacting with each other and bench racing from time to time. I would love to see in-depth interviews with all riders that ask them the hard question not puff pieces. I think it’s detrimental to the sport to seemingly ignore the #1 plate holder for this season in the Singles class just as much as it doesn’t seem reasonable to ignore a rider with back to back podiums either. I’m sure AFT has a reason, but I’m not sure we’ll ever know it.
This year seems to be a transition year for American Flat Track. Let’s just hope the tracks are safe and the air fences are able to stop the riders so they don’t slide under them and hit the wall. Air fences are great and are a necessity for the safety of riders but hay bales have been a staple for so many years because if you hit a hay bale, it hurts some but it’s stops you and it’s not the wall! Maybe a mixture of both would be safer. When you have multiple riders over several seasons slide under the air fence and endure more injuries because they were not stopped by the air fence there might be an issue to address.
I think there’s a way we can move forward and modernize the sport without completely changing it. Why not try to build on the good things that make up the Legendary history of our sport.
I love flat track racing and will until the day I die. It’s a part of me, its who I am, it’s a way of life. So, in 2020 as American Flat Track moves forward, I will wait and see what ends up happening. In the meantime, I know for myself, I will be attending more local events across the country next season. My love for flat track will never change, I will choose to support local riders and tracks and watch AFT from afar as they work through the changes. I plan on attending a select few AFT events in 2020. Let’s see what changes in their plan for 2020.
There is so much more that I could say about the new changes but I have taken up enough of your time. However, I hope this will start a POSITIVE discussion and I feel this is a good place to start.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
A die-hard fan
8/14/19
#localflattrackracing #rootsrundeep #ridetolivelivetoride #vintageracesRULE #staytruetohistory #Neverforget #bestracingintheworld #gofastsideways #AFT #MichaelLock
