Through the years, everybody has always known who the fastest guys were. Their names were household words among the families that raced motorcycles. Everybody knew who they were. They received their hard earned praise from all their peers anywhere and everywhere they went. And rightfully so. But what about all the other riders that so faithfully showed up at the race tracks week after week, loading their motorcycles into their vans, pickups and trailers, sometimes in the wee morning hours. Some driving many miles to the races, knowing full well they had no chance whatsoever of running up front with the top riders at the races that day. The mid pack riders. The guys that never even made it to mid pack. The riders that finished dead last, or close to it, week after week. If truth be known, these riders made up the bulk of the racers at any race track on any given weekend. These were the riders that paid their gate fees, their entry fees, and bought hot dogs and cokes for themselves and their family and friends that came to see them race. These were the guys that helped the promoters and track owners turn some sort of profit so they could continue to operate. These were the guys that bought new motocross bikes to race from the local dealers. Bought riding gear, helmets, boots, knobby tires, fork oil and chain lube, helping them stay in business. We all know who many of them were. The riders that soldiered on, week after week, never winning anything, but were still there faithfully every week all the same. This discussion is for them. Some were very likable, funny characters we all remember, but never got their due recognition. I know of many, but will let you guys start the discussion. Please understand that this is not meant to distract in any way from the top riders of days gone by. They rode hard to get to the top and that's what we all tried to do. This is for the guys that never made it to the top but were out there week after week trying their best. Bear in mind also that most, if not all, of these riders had no sponsorship of any kind. No free bikes given to them to race. Their contribution to the sport was from the earnest and simple love of racing motorcycles. I feel honored to have known many of these guys,hung out with them, raced with them, bumped handlebars with them, only to laugh and visit after the races and tell our stories of our victories, near victories, mis-haps, crashes (yeah, there were lots of stories of those) and the like. These guys and the friendships formed while we were doing what we loved to do is what makes racing motorcycles so grand. It was grand back then, and it is still grand today to look back at those marvelous times we were having when we were in our prime,youthful, and seemingly bulletproof. Take a minute to look back,....... remember,....... and come up with some names. I know there must be many that we all remember that made racing fun.
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