Jerky’s World

Year 1 Issue 3
Howdy kids! Here we are for another edition of Jerky’s World! Man, the snow is starting to fly up here in the north. The racing season has come to a close and we found ourselves waiting patiently for the annual GNC awards banquet. It caps off the time before the holidays and the start of the new season and normally goes over bigger than Oprah and mail order Godiva. This past awards banquet was nothing but spectacular and proper acknowledgements go out to Byron and Shelly Goggin for a great show. For those of you that did not get to witness the banquet, it was something straight out of the famous AMA Motorcycle banquets held out in Las Vegas. The lights, the stage, the people, and of course, the very prestigious gold cups and glass awards. It is always a good time and it gives a little relief to the whole race season and all those friendly faces that you won’t see until next year.

Highlights of the banquet would have to be the facility itself. The rooms, the swimming pool, and the all-night diner were very complimenting to the whole weekend. Another would have to be the party that commenced after the banquet where everyone headed for a beverage of choice, socializing, and some dancing. It was the expertise of the great John Pellan cutting the dance floor smoother than a dull Kinsu and the hilarious natured jokesters from NJ that made the night a classic. Props go out to the boys from — Florham Park, Shadyside, and Brick New Jersey. The crowd was pretty tame except for a couple of those rowdies that always show up at parties. All I can say is that it wasn’t me. I think those trouble-makers must have been with that Shriners chapter from Milwaukee. Anyhow, it was a great time had by all and for those of you out there that didn’t make it you missed out. I am still trying to figure out who was sitting at that patio furniture set up on the bottom of the pool.

The banquet also marked plans for the next season by many. I happened to have gladly excepted the task of wrenching for GNC Pro #6 Keith “Chicken” Little for the up-and-coming Wrenchhead.com series (they’re the proud sponsors of the 2001 SFX Stadium Series). The Nac’s rig is laid out and the whole crew seems to be pretty excited about the coming season. Four riders — Keith Little, Greg Little, Jimmy Elza, and Dana Creech will all be camped underneath the big rig. The team is pulling all the necessary components together to build a serious arsenal with their Lonestar, LRD machines. It should be a good indoor season and we hope to see some of you at the races.

I would love to hear of all the worst presents received during the holidays. Send in your responses to me and I will pick the top ten worst presents of all times and list them in one of the upcoming issues. It could be those bunny slippers, the fruitcake, an empty bottle of Bone-R powder, or maybe a love toy that your grandmother purchased at a neighborhood garage sale. It doesn’t matter, send it in and we’ll give something to the top loser of the bunch. I can name some classics that I have received but I will save them until that issue.

Sound OFF:
Last issue, I kind of went off on the label issues and signs. Well this one follows suit with those issues in that people do not use common sense. Have you ever ridden with the famous left-laner! You know, that person that swears that because there are two lanes on a highway they have the right to stay in the left lane and piss everyone else off. You know what I’m talking about. Man that ticks me off. If someone gives them the finger or something, they pull over to the right lane to let them pass and then back to the left lane after the car passes. Johnny left-lane and his comfort zone at 55mph. Maybe you have been in the passenger seat when Johnny left-lane decides to piss everyone off that passes your window. It is inevitable to look over and see the anger and hate as the angry motorist shows you that you are the number one guy on the racing circuit. What is the problem with people understanding that the left lane is to either go fast or to pass someone? It’s as bad as camping out on the porcelain of a Mexican restaurant with a newspaper when there is a line out the door. Common sense and a little respect, that’s all I’m asking. Maybe we should all carry paint guns for this purpose – as they hold up traffic while crawling along in the hammer lane we could blast off a paint ball at them. Kind of mark out the slugs of the road to warn us normal drivers of the hazardous motorist. Just kidding.

In Depth with Jerky!
Over Thanksgiving, I had the pleasure of sitting down with a hero of mine and prodded him with questions worse than Jim Baker about his affair with Jessica Hahn.

I am pleased to introduce Steve Johnson from Wiseco Piston. In 1985, just a pup off the trail of a professional motorcross career, Steve joined the Wiseco team as a race tent jockey selling product and answering the cycle tech line. Years passed by and Steve stuck with the position to find himself in line for a promotion to sales. All the while, banking on the perks of the job like going to the races and traveling the world. In the last five years, Steve commenced to start the special products division and produces the pistons and big bore kits responsible for some of today’s leading riders and their championships. Steve had built quite a reputation with 15 years of service and was just recently promoted to Director of Off Road Products. Not only does he get to put that mind to work on some sano designs, he also gets to deal with the top riders and racers of the nation on a day-to-day basis.

Please join me as I go in depth with Steve Johnson…….

Steve Johnson
Alias/Nickname: Seize-co or Uncle Steve
Age: 35
Marital Status: Married for 5 years to wife Kathy
Residence: Leroy, Ohio
Hobbies: Bicycle riding, home construction, snowmobiles, flying, MX racing, vintage flat track
Ride: 2000 KTM 520sx, Yamaha Blaster, 1991 Ford F-150, Case 850D Dozer
Favorite Track: Highpoint
Beverage: Canadian Club Whiskey / Gatorade
Food: Steak / Boston Strip
Heroes: David Bailey / Ricky Johnson
Motto: You’re not out of control until the third flip.

Jerky: We know that you are a big part of the racing industry, tell us about your early racing career.
Johnson: My first bike was a Gemini 50 that my Dad had picked up for me when I was five years old. I learned to ride that in the fields around the house and seemed to take a liking to the whole thing. In 1977, I bought a Suzuki RM 80 and started to race locally in the CRA of NE Ohio. In 1983, I graduated from high school and had raced enough local qualifiers to earn my Pro license. Two weeks after graduation I packed everything up and headed for Florida with my mechanic, Jeff Belle, in order to train for the Pro Nationals. It was then that I decided it was all or nothing and that I had to do this in order to see how well I could finish. My main intent was to get a couple of main event starts and to get enough points for a nationally ranked number. I raced the Nationals and some Supercross in 1983, 84, and then finished out my pro career in 1985 due to injuries.

Jerky: What was that whole Pro racing career like and how hard was it to make it to main events?
Johnson: When I moved to Florida I had hooked up with Kenny Keylon, who was a top ranked rider with Yamaha at that time. He and I were inseparable and lived, trained, and breathed motocross. We constantly pushed each other to get better and we were able to train with some of the top riders at that time: Ricky Johnson, Broc Glover, David Bailey, the list goes on. I actually only finished three of the five nationals that I raced in 1983, but had two top ten finishes that earned me National #81. The Supercross season was another story in itself. I never made a main in Supercross–always because of something stupid. If it wasn’t someone crashing in front of me, it was me hitting a hay bale or knocking the bike out of gear while in the last transfer spot. It was definitely Murphy’s Law all the way and it always seemed to involve Jeff Hicks, now currently employed at Fox. The other seasons had their ups and downs due to injuries, but overall it was a great experience and I am glad that I did it.

Jerky: What were some of the most memorable highlights of your racing career?
Johnson: The most memorable would have to be the first ever National that I raced. It was in Atlanta that year and I was the total new guy on the block. I was the traditional three-digit privateer #796 from Nowhere, Ohio and had never raced in this type of venue before. Ricky Johnson and I had pulled bad gate picks and had to go all the way to the outside. He and I had trained in Florida together and knew each other fairly well so I didn’t feel as intimidated as I should have. On the starting line, Ricky leaned over to me and told me to follow him around the outside and to do as he did. Who was I to say no! When the gate dropped, I followed RJ right around the outside of the first turn with the other 18 riders beside us. Right after the first turn there was a set of whoops, a tabletop, and then another set of whoops. Ricky blitzed the first set of whoops and then launched off the face of the tabletop and over the other set of whoops. It was a total banzai move that he had practiced just for the start. I did as RJ had told me and followed him. When RJ and I landed we were in seventh and ninth place respectively. We had pretty much passed half of the field in mid-air. I rode around after that with George Holland in toe and passed Keith Bowen and Bob Hannah after they took each other out. I ended up taking a ninth in the first ever Pro National moto that I entered. Moto 2 was about the same way in the fact that I rode around in the tenth or eleventh place to take a ninth overall. After the race, Larry Griffiths from Yamaha came up to me and asked me “Who the hell are you?”

I was #796 from Ohio who trained with Kenny Keylon in Florida. Larry and I chatted for a little while and he ended up giving me a “B” ride with Yamaha that year. They basically gave me two bikes, parts, and technical help for the Nationals that year.

Other great memories that come to mind are passing Bob Hannah at Binghamton that same year, and finishing tenth at the Highpoint National.

Jerky: I know that everyone reading this is all up in arms about the two wheeler stuff so tell me how you got involved with the quad scene after racing bikes for all those years.
Johnson: It was sometime after 1985 when I got into the whole three-wheeler thing. I had come across a 1984 Kawasaki Tecate 250 that we called “The Booger” and raced it in a couple of harescrambles and a few TTs. It had to be about 1987 when I started to get into the whole quad-racing scene. I raced some of the local stuff around my home and actually took home the CRA Team Harescrambles Championship with my buddy Mike Bentley. Actually, I think he ended up riding like twenty minutes and I rode the rest. (Laughing) In 1988, I started riding a Yamaha Warrior and raced the National GNC circuit in the Open A class. I remember that year because I smoked the class at the Highpoint National by a mile. I was wearing all my 1985 Team TAMM gear because the color matched my quad and I was about the only one jumping the finish line double and doing it on a bone stock ATV with only Turf Tamers on it. I saw Larry Griffiths that day and he hooked me up with Clark Jones who was Yamaha’s quad support guy. Clark ended up giving me another “B” ride that year with a new Warrior, Banshee, and about $2000 in parts. Riding that Warrior was a real challenge. The battery would always flop out of the battery box and I would have to use my foot to keep it in place when landing from jumps.

Jerky: You pretty much got another ride from Yamaha. Were you signed to do all the Nationals or was it something that you liked doing for fun.
Johnson: I was having fun at riding the quads and it was primarily a deal that as long as I was doing well I would be able to keep the quads. I raced the ’88 and ’89 seasons on the Banshee in the Open class and finished up with National #5. I didn’t follow the whole series and only raced certain races — most being MX.

Jerky: How did you like TT racing — or was that not your cup of tea?
Johnson: Actually, I liked to race the TT stuff but I didn’t have the money to invest in a separate TT machine. I improvised when it came to TT setup. I just put TT tires and wheels on my mx suspension and ran it. No sway bar or anything like that. I just loved to ride and would basically man handle the thing around the track the entire race.

Jerky: Any top finishes in TT? Which tracks?
Johnson: Most of the races were out at Fischer’s Pine Lake track. I can remember getting two third place finishes behind Denton and Gentry. There is a classic picture of me at Pine Lake entering the first turn with about eight guys at mach-3. The best part of the picture is me on two wheels muscling the quad through the sweeper with Gentry and Denton right beside me on their tricked out lowered machines. That had to be the craziest ride of all the TT racing that I did.

Jerky: Are there any other ATV races that are highlights in your mind.
Johnson: I ended up with a fourth in the 4-stroke A class at the Blackwater in 1989 with a brand new stock Warrior that Yamaha had just sent me. They had sent it a week before the race, so I threw a big-bore kit in it and ran it. It had the stock exhaust, headlights, everything was pure bone stock. The reverse gear really saved me that day, that and the electric start. I also raced some GNCC’s on the Banshee. I would pull the holeshot every time, but the big boys would catch me in the woods. I wasn’t too comfortable in the woods on a Banshee because of its tendency to not turn. I ended up in the top five every race that I entered though — so I think that was OK. Main thing is I had a blast racing ATVs!

Jerky: Tell us about your Quad War days of the late 80’s.
Johnson: Yeah that brings back some memories. It was a bike and quad race and at intermission Dave Coombs Sr put together something similar to what you would see at a Quad Wars event these days. It was a totally staged gig in Madison Square Garden in New York. It was the New York quad guys against the New Jersey quad guys. I remember Davey Coombs and Jeff Glass going at it head to head on their bikes. It was hilarious these guys we’re really going at it. Jeff had taken things a little too far and stuffed Davey really good in a berm. Davey retaliated by ghost riding his bike over the finish line.. As he propped up from the dirt to look if his aim was genuine, the bike took out one of the finish line poles and that ended up taking Jeff out. The whole thing was like hitting a hole in one off a tree or something. It was absolutely hilarious. And Davey is probably going to kill me now that I spilled the beans – but it was a classic because Jeff was just about to win the thing – but got walloped out of nowhere instead.
Another memory from that place was the first time that I raced against Darren Naccarrato. It’s cool to have raced against him. He was really into the sport and it showed with everything he did. I’m glad his parents are carrying his dreams of bettering the sport of ATV racing and recreation.

Jerky: Speaking of the sport, where do you see the ATV industry as a whole going in the near future.
Johnson: As long as biased ugly media and 60 minutes don’t step in again the sport should be fine. I will never forget that show in the eighties when their so-called pro rider catapulted himself over the bars in a set of whoops. It was so staged that not even a bad rider could have gotten off as bad as that guy did. That was the real push to the end of the factory-supported racing. It really hurt our sport. I think that the massive renewed interest in this industry is quickly changing the way the general public sees ATVs. I think that more and more people are seeing ATVs as a fun wholesome activity–and not the “death machines” that they were brainwashed into believing in the late eighties and early nineties. The introduction of TV coverage for the indoor series and the GNCCs should help out tremendously.

Jerky: What about the GNCs? How do you think that series can get more coverage and recognition?
Johnson: It comes down to sponsorship. I think that sponsors might interpret the GNC series a little more if it’s MX and TT events were split. Many sponsors cannot justify spending money on a series that only has six races per style. For example, It would not be financially feasible for a tire company that produces TT tires to be a title sponsor for both TT and MX. The series has some bugs in it but I think that it will grow with the right people behind the scenes. Another good change can be the introduction of the ATVA. The right people in the right place could make this sport huge like it rightfully deserves to be.

Jerky: As we are on the subject of the industry and advances in it, where did you get the idea of being a track owner/promoter?
Johnson: It has been a long time passion of mine to be a track owner. Not only from a standpoint of being able to ride and play on my Case 850D Dozer whenever I wanted, but also to maybe one day have a Pro National event. That was my dream and my wife, family, and friends were there to guide me along – and still are.

Jerky: Tell me how Crow Canyon came to be?
Johnson: I had been looking for a decent place for a track for quite a while. I had originally found some land near my house. The deal kept getting stalled and finally it just fell through. In 1998 and 1999, my wife and I searched every country mile in Ohio trying to find something that would be Pro National material. My brother-in-law sat down with me one day and we figured out some numbers and he agreed to become my business partner in the whole process. I was actually sitting at home one day when he called me from California with some land information in Ohio. He asked if I knew where Urichsville, OH was located and if I could go look at the land. At the time, I was not thrilled with having to drive over an hour and a half to get to the track, but I changed my mind the instant I walked the first portion of the 360 acres. It was absolutely perfect. I instantly saw GNCC, GNC, and Outdoor National races as I walked the place. It was like walking around and looking at the beautiful property of Steel City. It had the town, the freeway access, hotels, and restaurants all within two to three miles of the front gate. Through discussions with Dave Coombs and Jeff Russell of Racer Productions, I knew what I needed in order to have a race of that kind of caliber.

Jerky: Now that Crow Canyon MX had a home, it didn’t take long to get AMA District 12 started back up after a ton of years?
Johnson: That was a little more complicated in getting it started. In short, we tried to get into the CRA and they said no way. I decided to build on that note and started up District-12 with five other track owners from the Northeast and North Central Ohio areas. It has been really good to us and we see big things down the road. Drew Wolfe, from District-11, and I have teamed up to bring back the Ohio State Championship series next year between D-11 and D-12. It is a way of crowning the overall Ohio Champions once and for all.

Jerky: Now that you had found a place and plans were coming together, tell me about how you got the opportunity for a GNCC in your first year of track ownership.
Johnson: It basically happened as one of those “being at the right place at the right time”. The place where that round of the series was originally scheduled in Ohio could not get the appropriate permits to have the race cross a road. From there, it was a scramble to find a suitable place. My business partner and I were still waiting on all the legal stuff with the land and had asked Jeff Russell from Racer Productions earlier in the year to come up and survey it to see if it was GNCC material. Jeff had already been to the facility and knew the area, so he was aware of what had to be done in order to get the facility ready for an event. I remember that call all so vividly… my wife and I were sleeping when the phone rang at 11:00pm on that particular Friday night. It was Rita Coombs telling me to get my ass out of bed because I had one week to get the track ready for the next round of the GNCC. In my mind I was absolutely thrilled and the other part of me was in panic. It was from there that my soon to be week was going to be the week from hell. Up to this point, we were just trying to finalize the paperwork for the land. We commenced to taking off the week and hauling all the equipment down to the track for a week of fast paced track prep. It really ended up working out pretty well with the time and resources that we had. I have to give so much credit to the Racer Productions staff for all the help and allowing me that first GNCC I have to say thanks to all the friends and family that helped as well. Unbelievably, we dropped the check off to the realtor to close on the land the Tuesday of that week!

Jerky: That was 1999 and this year you had your second GNCC? What are the plans for the future?
Johnson: We have another GNCC for next year to be held in June and we’re working towards maybe adding a GNC event the year after that. For right now we need more parking! Last year we had about 500 riders and this year we had about 700 riders. The way this sport is growing, we really need to do some more clearing in the bottom portion of the bowl to allow for more parking. I need to do it quickly because we have a Loretta Lynn’s area qualifier coming up in April of 2001 as well. We are also in need of some bleachers and another water truck to help us out. It will all come with time. Things just can’t happen overnight, but they are quickly getting done. They always say that good things come to those who wait. It sure did and still is in my case.

Jerky: What’s your involvement with the new Cannondale FX400? Did you ride it? What do you think of it?
Johnson: Wiseco is the supplier of the MX400 piston and this engine is being utilized in the quad Chassis with some modifications. I had the opportunity to ride the MX400 and I liked it. It turns as crisp as a Honda, handles way better due to the Ohlins suspension, and the motor is the smoothest I have ever ridden. It has no vibration and no hit or engine lag.

I like a little more hit for big jumps and such but for the average racer it would be awesome. I am sure that they could offer some hop-up chips for the EFI and tailor the power to each type of racing, SX,TT, GNCC, and MX all require power curves that they can program with time. I can’t wait to ride the FX400, if it’s as fast the MX400 no one will have to buy a YZ426 and throw the bike away to be competitive.

Jerky: Thanks Steve
Johnson: No, thank you! You are the God of journalism, my hero, my idol, my man of mystery. I will call you, Mini-Johnson.
crowcanyonmx.com
wiseco.com

Have fun drinking your egg nog and being part of the dysfunctional family gatherings.
Until the next time……

Jerky!

(Editor’s note)
We secretly hid a video camera to capture a day in the life of Jerky.
He’s seen here fixing an ATV Scene computer. Let’s watch……

 

Tags:

Comments

comments