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Sprockets MX Track
The motorcycle rider in the picture below is me back in 1972 on a 400 Maico.
I was wondering where the track actually was and got my first clue from an old
ad in Cycle News that gave me an approximate address. I noticed the
buildings in the distance and thought they were different enough they might
still exist. I didn't have any luck but since I am a pilot, I was very
interested in the Cook Airfield that was close to the location I was looking at.
While looking at Crosswind
Aviation's terrific web site, I came across the picture below and realized
those buildings in the background sure look like the hangers on Cook field!
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So, I took a guess at where the
track was and sent a message to the good folks at
Crosswind Aviation, Inc. and
showed them a picture of where I thought the track might have been.
Gregory Thomas was kind enough to write back and tell me that he though the
track was about 1,000 feet North of where I had it. So, that puts it about
where the overlay is in the picture to the right.
The track configuration changed quite a bit but the corners of the field straight stayed about the same. Best I can remember, I must have been in the Southwest most corner of the track... about the "A" position which looks about right.
It's crazy that I had that picture with the hangers in it because I don't have many pictures of me on the bike at all... in fact the ones below are the only pictures I have. I know there are some movies but for the life of me, I'm not able to find them.
Ok, after a little more looking, I found a few other photos and one of them might help confirm the positioning. In this mini's race you can see a hanger, "D", in the background. Although I couldn't get a good look at the hanger from the back, viewing it from the front you can tell that it's the same style as the one in the current picture... even has the propane tank in the same spot!
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Anyway, I'll post the pictures I have here so they don't get lost.
The picture below is about the "B" position on the track layout. Kind of looks like there's fruit on those trees... who knew?
Below is probably the "B" position again. Hard to tell but my guess is Kathy just moved across the track and shot from the other side.
This is the front straight, about the "C" position, passing by the "grandstands"... which even in the day, didn't look all that grand.
I didn't want my wife, Kathy, to feel left out of the fun so I bought her a 125 CZ. Just taking a few hot laps so she can get a good picture of her bike! ;-)
One of the most underpowered bikes in the class but I did manage to win the only race I ever entered her CZ. Must have passed the same guy 20 times... I'd pass him in the turn and he'd outrun me to the next corner. Finally, I left the gas on and dove into a corner way faster than should have been considered sane and managed to put two corners between us. After that I was able to work myself into a reasonable lead. After the race, he looked me up in the pits and said, "Wow, that was an unbelievable race!"... and I couldn't have agreed more.
I didn't race long, only from about 1971 to 73 but it was among the best times ever! From when I started, I never lost as a Junior... at least if I didn't break. Raced my first three races on a 125 Bultaco Sherpa S, once passing 27 riders in two laps, but never finished a race on that paper-mache Bultaco! Broke it every time! The local Maico dealer, John Moon, took pity on me and made me a deal on a 250 Maico. I rode both the 250 and 400 but the 250 Maico was the absolute best! I just got sponsored and had only ridded a couple of times as a Senior. I had won the first two motos on the 250 in Baldwin, Ks and was leading the third when I had a horrific crash that destroyed my knee. After that and my wife and I thinking about having a baby, it never was the same again.
So, I'm looking back and trying to put together some of the pieces from back in the day... if you know anything about Sprockets or Baldwin, give me a shout and let me know.
I don't know who these all are but I'll add them to the page in case someone else does.
Definitely a different Maico... doesn't look like stock fenders or tank. From the next picture, I'd say this is a 250.
Gary Witt #134 is on the left and rarely was he behind... very smooth and extremely fast. He's probably on a 250 Yamaha. The Maico guy from the previous picture is in the middle and I have no idea who's driving the Maico on the right.
Check out the announcer's booth in the background. They used to call out the rider's names as they came down the front straight as well as commentating on riders all around the track. He was talking about me once, counting all the riders I was passing (he counted 27 in three laps). I almost crashed listening to him and not paying attention to what I was doing! Unfortunately, my throttle stuck wide open and I crashed on about the last lap! But you know what they say, "If you don't fall off at least once in a race, you're not riding hard enough!" ;-)
Picture is kind of damaged but check out the silo, "E", behind the announcer's booth.
Google Maps in 2013.
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