July 28-30, 2000
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| Top Left to Right: Curtis Sparks, Tim Helter, Jim White, Mike Coe, Allen Knowles, Ken Delk, Boyd Calvert, Tom Carlson, Harry McDermott, Barry McCarty, Bottom Left to Right: John Scott, Marty Hart, John Lukos, Donny Banks, Todd Williams,Wes Arnold, Dean Sundahl, Gary Denton. |
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| Tim Helter leads Jimmy White and Donny Banks |
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| A look at the autograph area during the Saturday night festivities. |
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| Left to right; Todd Williams, Gary Denton, JW, and John Scott. |
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| Barry McCarty and Donny Banks. |
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| JW's Ride. |
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| Helter Skelter's Kawi. |
Hero. For some its sports superstars like Michael Jordan or Mark McGuire. For others it’s their parents, a sibling, a president or a movie star. For Diehard ATVers like us it’s Gary Denton, Marty Hart, Jimmy White, Curtis Sparks and the rest of the factory stars from the late eighties heyday of ATV Racing. Legends 2000 brought ATV Racing’s heroes back together for one last high-stakes race. Fittingly, the race was held at America’s oldest ATV race—the Pine Lake facility in Ashtabula, Ohio during the GNC TT national weekend.
The pits were a abuzz with excitement. A keen eye during Friday afternoon’s practice session spotted many of the legends taking some hot laps with the GNC regulars. Former factory Honda 3-wheel superstar Marty Hart was turning in some fast lap times on Travis Spader’s Duncan/Roll/Golden West 250R. Hart was reunited with longtime sponsor Duncan Racing for the weekend. Team Honda’s ATC200X four-stroke specialist Curtis Sparks was of course riding a thumper—a fast Sparks-tuned 400EX. The real eye-catchers were the custom Kawasaki quads of Jimmy White and Tim Helter. Longtime Factory Kawasaki 3-wheel pro Jimmy White showed up with a prototype Team Green Kawasaki KX250 quad similar to the one currently being campaigned by William Yokley on the GNCC circuit. Team Green fabricator Doug Roll of Roll Design specially designed the chassis for TT. Former Team Green support rider Tim Helter had a KX-powered quad of his own, featuring a Lone Star frame and Works Performance suspension.
Saturday afternoon heat race action saw Team Green Kawasaki’s Tim Helter claim the win in Heat 1 on his custom KX quad. 8-time GNC 4-wheel champion Gary Denton pulled one of his patented holeshots and led heat 2 from start to finish. But the real excitement of the day was Saturday night’s Legends 2000 party at the Pine Lake pavilion. A huge crowd showed up to get autographs and mingle with ATV racing’s superstars of the past. Later in the evening, the legends were honored center stage with glass trophies commemorating their contribution to the sport of ATV racing.
Race faces were back on for Sunday’s main event as the heroes prepared to take to the track one last time. As the green flag dropped, Gary Denton again edged the pack into the first turn, pulling the holeshot with Marty Hart close behind. The Chino Charger was on the gas and began to pull away from the pack, leaving longtime 250 Pro quad fast guy John Scott and Hart to battle for second place. Denton took the checkers and the easy win. Scott eventually worked his way around Hart for the two spot with Mike Coe and motocross specialist Donny "the Bulldog" Banks rounding out the top 5. What happened to Team Kawasaki’s Jimmy White? White was pushed to the outside on the start and was forced to work his way up from a near last place start. He ended up finishing a respectable 7th place overall.
In victory lane the Chino Charger Gary Denton summed up the thoughts of many by saying, "I would like the thank the Fischer family and Fast-Trak Promotions for putting on such a great event. It’s been fun hanging out with old friends like Nac’s and Hinson again. It’s an honor to be here with all the past champions. I didn’t realize how much I miss racing. I miss this aura of excitement. This whole event has brought back some memories that I’ll cherish forever"
Although Denton may have been the winner on the track, everyone in attendance won off the track. From the GNC racers to the spectators to the legends themselves, unforgettable memories were had by all.
Heat Race 1
1. Tim Helter
2. Donnie Banks
3. Jimmy White
Heat Race 2
1. Gary Denton
2. John Scott
3. Marty Hart
Main Event
1. Gary Denton
2. John Scott
3. Marty Hart
4. Mike Coe
5. Donnie Banks
6. Curtis Sparks
7. Keneth Delk
8. Boyd Calvert
9. Jimmy White
10. Dean Sundahl
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Dean Sundahl
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King Dean has won the Parker 400 11 times in a row, the King of the Desert 11 times and the Baja 1000 7 times! With those accomplishments, he may be the legend of the legends! "Dyno" Dean flew into Ohio from his hometown of Santee, CA. Let’s see, what quad would suit the king of the desert the most? A kick-ass Banshee, you say? We agree, that’s why we hooked him up with Open Pro-Am class point’s leader – Bryan Shipley. Bryan has been around ATV racing as long as most of the legends themselves. Bryan was cool with loaning Deano his tricked out Duncan Racing Yamaha Banshee, the same one that Spader won the championship on last year. Sundahl finished in the top ten overall, but more importantly had a blast all weekend.
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Gary Denton
The Chino Charger still has it! Denton backed up his 8 GNC titles with
the Legends 2000 win. Gary said he didn’t realize how much he missed racing,
until he was at the track hanging out with old friends and actually getting
to suit up again. George Balhan loaned him a Denton worthy quad that performed
extremely well. In watching Denton destroy the legend competition, we’re pretty
sure he could easily take a top five in the TT events of the current pro class.
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Marty Hart
Hart-Attack made his way to the legends gig on the Duncan Racing/Roll
Design/Golden West Honda 250R of Travis Spader. Marty hadn’t rode or raced in
11 years, so he called his long time mechanic, Loren Duncan, and arranged for
a motor to put in a 250R chassis he bought. A week prior to Legends 2000, Marty
made his way to a motocross track in Arkansas for some last minute seat time
before jetting to Ohio later that week. How did he do at the MX? He won both
motos! As they say, just like riding a bike you never forget – literally. Marty
pressured John Scott for the two spot in the main of the legend's race, but
had to surrender to the younger Scott, taking a well-earned third.
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Curtis Sparks
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The powers that be at American Honda didn’t have to think too hard when they
went forth with signing Sparks up with a full ride. What more could you ask
for? Sparks was known for his smooth-consistent-precise rides and he always
got the most out of his equipment while others only dabbled in the mechanics
of their machines. Honda was treated to the best in the business. He not only
won just about every race Honda sent him to, but he helped the whole team with
his incredible knowledge of three and four wheeled racing and mechanics. Today,
Curtis has fine- tuned his business, Sparks Racing Engines, into one of the
most successful ATV Racing companies ever! He and his sponsored riders, whether
they’ve retired or not, will forever be a part of the elite Curtis Sparks Racing
team. The combined team has more National Championships and more big ATV race
wins than any other team in history! How’s that for a successful business? Curtis,
since he’s always knee deep in building someone a race winning motor, didn’t
have any time to go out and practice for the big legend’s race – while most
of the other entries got some early seat time. You would think that would be
a big disadvantage. Not for Curtis, he raced on pure talent alone and worked
himself through the pack in his heat race, then went on to finish a respectable
6th place in the main! If you get a chance to watch any of the old
videos that are around, look for Curtis Sparks in the video and study his style.
You’ll see he was usually much faster than the rest of the field, but somehow
he was always way smoother. The whole ATV racing scene should be proud to have
such a legend as Curtis Sparks.
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Mike Coe
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Due to severe weather, some flights were delayed, including Team Honda
ATC Mike Coe's. "The Coe Show" missed the Friday and Saturday morning
practice. He arrived ten minutes before the Vet +30 heat races were scheduled
to run. Justin Gandy and Ray Howard of the Hollywood Racing Team suited him
up on Gandy's Sparks Racing 250R, complete with the number 23 on the fenders.
With barely enough time to sign up, Mike high-tailed it to the starting line.
The instant Mike threw a leg over the quad and put it in gear the race was
on. Who pulled the holeshot and led for three laps? None other than "The
Coe Show". He hadn't raced an ATV in 9 years, but there he was leading
250A and +30 class front runner, David Porter on a quad that he didn't even
ride to the starting line--let alone ever practiced on.
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Donny Banks
Banks borrowed Shane Hitt’s quad for the Legends event. He used number
3 slash but you can always spot the "The Georgia Bulldog" on a racetrack.
Just look for the tall lanky guy hovering over his rear grab bar for the maximum
amount of traction available. Donny has been in the scene all year as he promoted
his first AMA ATV GNC earlier this spring. He’s also been riding the Vet class
here and there. Banks was incredible on a rough motocross track. "There
is only one thing I would want to change about my career, and that’s my second
place at Loretta Lynn’s final moto, I lost the national championship by two
points that year," said Banks when asked what he would change about his
career.
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Jimmy White
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Team Kawasaki and Doug Roll of Roll Design should be commended for all their work in delivering a beautiful Kawasaki KX quad to Ashtabula. Jimmy said he needed a bit more top end out of the motor for the long straightaway, but there was no time left to port the cylinder. JW got the attention of Kawasaki in 1982 when he won the San Jose, CA National as a privateer. In that event Honda had five factory riders on hand. JW went on to win 3 Mickey Thompson Championships and almost won a fourth on a Tecate-4 quad in 1987. Kawasaki fielded 6-8 support riders, but JW was their factory guy. They couldn’t have found a better guy for the job.
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Barry McCarty
Barry is one of a few riders that should have been employed as a factory
rider, but never was. Hard to believe but Suzuki past him up. Thanks to Chuck
E Racing, Krank-It Racing, Duncan Racing and RPR Racing, Barry had a successful
career without a factory ride. In 1989, Barry came within two points of taking
the national championship from Gary Denton. He remembers himself and Denton
waving at each other on the track in the heat of chasing the championship down.
Unfortunately, Barry had to sit out the Legends event do to a shoulder injury
sustained while riding a dirtbike. It was tough to see Barry sitting idle with
a shiny brand new looking Suzuki LT 250R Quad Racer (courtesy of Nick Little)
with the number 20 on it -- all ready to go. O-well, we were just glad to see
him show up at all.
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John Scott
It was hard to tell John Scott was out of shape and hadn’t ridden a quad
in years. He was flat out hauling! Scott rode the Hollywood Racing/Sparks Racing
Yamaha YZ 400 superthumper. "Curtis always made my motors go like hell,
after riding this Yamaha, I see he’s still got it – this thing is great!"
It was appropriate that John rode a Sparks Racing four-stroke since he won the
’88 Four-Stroke Pro class on a Curtis Sparks Racing Honda 250X.
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Kenneth Delk
Kenneth was a bit underpowered on the fast Ashtabula coarse on his new
Honda 400EX. He started racing on an ’83 Honda ATC 250R. We remember Kenneth
making the long trip to San Diego from his hometown of Trinity, NC all worth
while. He won the race and beat Marty Hart and the rest of the front runner
regulars! Delk won a 250 Pro national at Southwick and was always a Mickey Thompson
front runner.
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Boyd Calvert
Boyd started on an ‘88 Suzuki LT 500, so racing the open classes was
always the norm for him. In ’89 he won the Open Pro National Championship! Nac’s
racing suited him up with sponsorship over the years and came through for the
legend's race as well with a tricked out Yamaha Banshee.
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Wes Arnold
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Wes was the oldest legend to make the scene. He was part of the grass roots of the sport of ATV racing. He resides in Gary Denton’s hometown of Chino, CA. Wes was a factory support desert racer for Team Honda for about five years. Currently he’s still employed by Honda, he’s the Assistant Manager of Special Tools at American Honda. In his retirement year, 1986, he won the Baja 1000!
Harry McDermott
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Trinity Racing’s founder and president was also a member of a very special racing team. Never before and never since has a magazine funded a race team program. 3-Wheeling Magazine debuted an ’81 ATC 250R named the ghost – it was one of only a few trikes that Honda made white. Dean Kirsten and Tom Chambers made it all happen with the powers that be at Wright Publishing. The team was selected, all expenses were paid and the end results were great. The idea not only pleased Harry, but it made for great advertising for 3-Wheeling Magazine. After that Harry got picked up as a Honda factory rider! Harry’s highlight of his career was winning the Baja 500 in front of his wife, son and mother. This was the only desert race that any of them ever attended, so it was pretty special for him. Harry will always be known for his never-say-die character. He finished every single race he attended! Harry explains his last race, "I really took pride in my career of zero DNFs. I remember my last race – I crashed hard and fractured three ribs, broke my wrist, put the handlebar through the back of my leg, and suffered a concussion. I somehow re-mounted and rode off -- but in the wrong direction for God knows how long! Later I got turned around and back on track. Just when I thought it was all over, I seized it up only two miles from the finish. I pushed it for over a half mile! Just as I was about to pass out, it freed up, I was able to start it and I finished the ride from hell".
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Tom Carlson
Tom is the proud owner of TC Racing Engines. After deciding not to participate
in the legend’s race, TC’s top gun, Doug Gust reminded him of his long time
saying -- "Go ahead and just run it – Boy!" That’s all it took for
Tom to put on his gear and race one last time. ATV racing enthusiasts will remember
big ole’ Tom on his three-wheeled mongo powered 350X hauling ass and winning
many Open Three-Wheel Nationals. Tom looks back at his most memorable moment.
"It was 1984. I had my ATC 200X dialed in and it was running spot on perfect.
I was racing in the 200cc Pro class against the factory riders. Some were on
lightning fast sleeved down two-stroke 200s. I ended up with one of the fastest
heat wins and qualified for a choice spot on the front row! Somehow I pulled
a three bike length holeshot on everyone, (including the peppy two-strokes),
everything seemed to be going perfect. I pitched it into the big sweeper and
spun it right around. Now I’m facing the 19 riders, who are full on-tapped trying
to jockey for good position. Needless to say I was the cause of a huge 20 rider
pile up, -- oops!"
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John Lukos
Wolcott, CT’s John Lukos is a good friend of Doug Gust. Perhaps that’s
why he was as talented as he was? Regardless of who taught whom, Lukos was always
on the gas, especially in motocross. His biggest highlight was winning the pro
class at the ’92 Loretta Lynn’s GNC. Now that he’s not racing he’s putting his
time into his demolition company. Lukos rode Doug Gust’s Nac’s Racing/TC Racing
quad in the Legends race (the same one that he won the ’99 National Championship
on).
Tim Helter
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The former PA resident now lives in Fort Myers, FL and owns a landscaping company. His entire pro career was aboard a Kawasaki. Helter was faster than most and picked up a ride from Kawasaki Team Green onboard a Tecate 3-wheeler. The 007 of Helter and his Team Green ride was always a concern in the Honda pits. He usually raced the Pro 200 and Pro 250 classes (Kawasaki suited him up with sleeved down Tecate 250’s for the 200 classes). We had thoughts of Helter giving Denton a run for his money in the Legends race. Helter looked wicked fast in heat race action, (he won his heat by a good 10 quad lengths), but got involved in a tangle up in the main. His fondest memories of the sport are the people themselves. Helter says that the people in ATVing simply are the best in all motorsports. We agree.
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Todd Williams
Originally, Todd was going to use Harold Goodman’s quad in the legend’s
race, but after strolling through the pits he found the very same quad he used
to race. He quickly talked to the new owner and made the switch to his old Honda
250X. This seemed appropriate since his whole career was aboard three and four
wheeled four-strokes – always sporting #11. The 250X was a bit slow compared
to the rest of the field. None the less, Williams had a blast all weekend long.
During his career he was heavily supported by Sparks Racing. He wanted to make
sure we thanked Curtis Sparks for all the successful years and the great friendship.
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Allen Knowles
As most already know, Allen is Mr. CT himself. The extremely successful
CT Racing is the pride of Knowles. In case you didn’t know, it was Knowles who
developed the patent on the mighty 310 and 330 Pro-X cylinder for the 250R.
Unbelievably "Knowlsy" made the journey from Sante Fe Springs, CA
with just a few checked luggage items. In cardboard boxes with handles was the
whole quad he planned to race! He and his CT crew assembled the quad Thursday
night in his hotel room! Friday morning, they turned it sideways through the
door and they were all on their way. As you can see in the pictures, project-luggage-quad
turned out extremely well! Allen sported one of the coolest looking R’s at the
track! Highlights of Allen’s career include a fourth overall in the ’87 Grand
National Championships in the Open Pro class.
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Dean Kirsten and Tim Orchard
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If you asked long-time ATVers what was the best ATV magazine of all-time, the majority would probably say 3 Wheeling magazine. Kirsten and Orchard were the men behind the popular Wright Publishing mag. Unfortunately, 3-Wheeling went the way of the dinosaur back in 1989. It was cool to see these guys make the trip from California. They came with a bunch of great pictures that they captured back in the day and sported free 3-Wheeling collector’s pins and stickers. They were honored to be invited – we were honored they came.
Steve Casper
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‘Stick’ has been one of the editors of Dirt Wheels magazine for what seems like forever. Many of the spectacular action photos over the past 15 years have been snapped by Casper. He flew in from California for four days and did some fishing while he was in Ohio. Anyone that knows "Stick" – knows that he’s way into fishing. He even carries his collapsible fishing pole wherever he goes. He’s also fascinated by all forms of wild life. You won’t find a more knowledgeable wild life guy – he’s like Cliff from Cheers when it comes to wild life trivia. Don’t be surprised if you see "Stick" Casper on the next Survivor Show, he’s trying to get on. Knowing him, we think he would win the million bucks for sure.
Eric Putter
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Eric Putter got his journalistic start in ATV racing back in the late eighties. He stepped away from the sport for the glitz and glamour of motorcycle journalism. With the resurgence of ATVing, Putter’s back freelancing for ATV Sport magazine. Fittingly, his first gig back was the Legends event. Eric worked hard all weekend long digging up pieces for the big Legends 2000 feature in ATV Sport. Come to think of it, we never saw Eric not working. Every moment he was extremely busy shooting something the rest of us missed or getting an exclusive quote from someone. Look for some in depth articles in the future from the "Puttster".
