Denny Swartz and Marty Tripes were racing hard

I like what's happening in modern day Supercross - guys like Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen are putting KTM on the podium and into the winner's circle. When I was traveling the circuit for Cycle News East, I was at the end of an era where many of the brands were in the hunt - Maico, KTM, Husky, etc.

Here's an example of how it looked in the early '80's.  Maico go-fast rider Denny Swartz (usually best on the 490) was making a run on Marty Tripes in this photo. But even at this time, it's evident technology was shifting; Tripes had the YZ monoshock while Swartz was on the conventionally-suspended twin shock system.

What I like to note about this photo is that the racing was great...but look how close the riders are in respect to the ground.  We didn't demand that our stars were 40 feet in the air.  Riders went fast and stayed low and with that, they had more time to keep power to the ground, which translates to better racing.

Mini kid gets an attaboy from dad

I don't know/remember what happened here, but it can't be good.  Mini Team Green kid is letting the tears flow while dad (or some other figure of authority) takes a break from the Miller High Life to console the youngster. Seems that in this case, the authority figure is a good guy...not a screaming mini dad trying to live vicariously through the child.

Anyone who has been on the MX scene knows the game: It's not an "all in" sport like many schools promote today, where everyone is a winner.

In MX, second place is first loser.

Motocross is in many ways a tough sport.  Put a little kid on the line and when the gate drops, it's time to man up or eat dirt and be a wannabe.

I'm not sure how the scenario above played out.  Let's hope that in this case it was all good and junior grew up to be solid citizen and community leader.

Scott Burnworth used head-tilt to increase cornering speed

Here's a stop-the-high-speed-action image of Scott Burnworth making quick work of the St. Pete National MX course in Florida.

Note the most excellent head tilt.  I was so into the sport that I didn't truly need a bar-banger of a race; I would simply enjoy the nuance of each rider as they negotiated the terrain.

I read recently that our head weights about 18 pounds. My theory here is that The Burner is using his entire body as a momentum missile, leading with head mass to propel the RM Suzuki into the turn.

Are any of you buying on to this? Well, at least I tried.

Steve Wise looks dazed after a moto

Here's another example of how MX factory stars were coddled in the pits.  Steve Wise looks to be drinking some apple juice and jug water....budgets were through the roof and each top rider got everything they wanted...ya right.

National motos were great and after the race, walking the pits was even better. It looked more like a war zone that race facility.  Riders dropped to the ground where ever there was a spot of open grass, hopefully with a spot of shade off the rental car.

No, the bling bling props weren't there, but the racing was excellent, thanks to great guys like Steve.  Wise went on to an amazing dirt track and Superbike career with Honda and I was able to do a series of interviews with him during that period. He was a class act then, he's a class act now.  Great effort without the fringe distractions made boys grow into men.

Wardy's long hair causes KX to bottom out

I'm not sure where Jeff Ward was coming from in this shot, but it must have been high elevation to crush out the suspension on his KX. And what was notable to me was the long mane of black hair flowing from the back of Wardy's helmet. 

We all loved the long locks in those days.  I think it was a Marty Smith thing at first, but most anyone who was into the scene wanted that So-Cal longhair look. I can remember sitting in the back row of the lecture hall in community college, smoking cigarettes (yes, in class in those days) and reading Motocross Action magazine.  The prof may have been bringing me the best in U.S. history, but I was more concerned with the image of champions.

Great to see that we can still look back and chuckle a bit.  It was a wild time, but what I remember most is how great it felt to be track side when these out-of-my-league factory stars would line up and ride.

If someone can tell me what displacement this bike is, or the year, please post a comment.

Mark Barnett had a rough life in the pits

Here's the 1981 version of R&R between motos - under the canopy next to the box truck, sitting on the ice chest and guzzling a few gallons of jug water. Sounds like a far stretch from today's top riders and custom motorhomes, doesn't it?

This era of race reporting was so amazing because there was very little "them and us" mentality.  Riders lived out in the open and were full access.  No barriers had yet been created, we operated as a community in the pit area.  It was mostly mutual respect; if a rider needed some space you gave it to them.  I hope that in my years as a Cycle News East journalist and later PR rep for Wrangler, I never intruded beyond what was necessary.

But thanks to the open air environment, I was able to capture many interesting images and share them with our readers.  It's a piece of history that we should hold dear, as that part of racing how now been lost. I'm not against a progression in the sport, but we'll never again see the days when a champion like Barnett is all access.

Rick Ashe had a factory MX hairstyle

Here's a shot with so much going on I don't know where to start.  We have Goat Breker's factory KX 500; Kenny Keylon is checking out the action to the left; and Kenny's dad is in the background (leaning against the truck) probably trying to eyeball some Kawasaki magic he can translate to his son's CR250.

And we must stop and pay tribute to Rick Ashe's consummate motocross style.  The bushy 'stache and part-it-down-the-middle mane of hair were all the rage during that era.

Wasn't MX great?  Everyone was walking around, hanging around...we actually acted like we liked each other.  Hey, I think we did!

Gary Pustalek was the precursor to Chris Farley

Gary "Iron Man" Pustalek was always up for a good joke.

The guy had the amazing ability to go from straight face to a gag...and since this was years before Chris Farley made it big, I think the similarities between the pair make it clear Pustalek was the precursor to the stand-up Hollywood funny guy.

Motocross cut a broad swath in those days.  It wasn't just about a dozen factory stars. The sport was seasoned with great racers like Iron Man and many others who were riding on support deals, taking a shot at greatness from the fringe.

But make no mistake that despite not having comparable equipment, or support, or factory big dollars...guys like Gary were as big in personality and humor as anyone else on the gate.

Glover liked to pass Barnett in practice

I used to love to hang out at Supercross races.  My editor probably thought I was nuts, but I didn't want to miss anything, not even one lap of practice.  Here's Broc Glover finding a fast line through a whoop section with Barnett checking it out a bit more to the inside.

How great a life it was.  The open-air stadiums held the risk of rain, but when it was hot and sunny it almost felt like a mini MX National.  I enjoyed walking the track, making a few photos like this one in practice, then cruising the pits and visiting with most anyone who would talk to me...and with a few exceptions, that was most everyone.

I've measured every other point of passion in my life against those Cycle News years.  It was high engagement on every level and I was totally immersed in the culture.

Johnny O' taught us Gaiters were cool

(Had a recent comment on this post...it's "Gaiters" not "Gaters" and thanks for the correction!)

Racing seemed fun to me in my early 80's Cycle News East days.  I came from another planet called Wisconsin, then moved to an eastern domain called Atlanta...which was still a million miles from the epicenter of MX in those days - California. None of that mattered much when we'd congregate from all over the nation at a MX National or a Supercross.  On those special days, we'd get to see the latest in MX style.

Here's John O'Mara modeling the cutting edge...JT Racing inclusive of Gaiters.  Johnny was 10+ on the fashion scale and when ever these guys came to the gate, we were anxious to see what might be debuted on that given day.

I was never held high mechanical aptitude, but I sure was one for rider fit and finish.  Thanks to the O'Show and others who were pioneers of cool.

Tripes is leading Sun; who's 33?

Here's what I love about having this Retro Motocross blog:  I have the shots...you have the memories.  When I can't remember the details (which is becoming more frequent) you can fill in the gaps.

Here's a shot from Daytona; it's Marty Tripes (7) carrying speed and pacing ahead of Chuck Sun (63).

Who's #33?  And what is PDQ?  I know what we called that acronym as a joke, but I need the facts!

Thanks for helping me relive some great years in my life.

The Trans-USA was great in its day

Here's how life was in my retro motocross days...you could come up with a silly cover shot idea and pull top riders together to ham it up for the camera.  Do you think this could happen in today's MX scene?  What happened to having fun?

I was covering the fall Trans-USA series.  It seems the factories were declining in interest and rider attendance could at times be spotty.  But in those days I looked past the negatives and was happy to be part of all things MX.

From left to right:  Tommy Benolkin, Donnie Hansen, Broc Glover and Dave Hollis...all tugging on the #1 plate.  Think this was the year Hollis took it. If you need to correct my memory, drop a comment.

Donnie Hansen always looked buttoned down

To Retro Motocross blog followers:

I apologize.  Life and my job got in the way of posting exciting MX photos from yesteryear.  No excuse for putting work and other personal issues in front of MX. Sorry for losing my priorities.

Here's a sharp image of Donnie Hansen making time at a Supercross race. When Donnie was hot, he was almost unstoppable.  He was a consummate Team Honda rider. Every part of Donnie was factory; his bike, his gear and his riding form.

Good memories from these days, when I was working the floor of the stadium for Cycle News East.  I always knew that after I clicked the shutter for Donnie, David or Broc or Darrell or some other superstar would fill my viewfinder in the second that followed.

I was living a dream.