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Last year
I raced at Santa Fe was 1964. First racer I met on my first trip to
the famed track was Tom Cates. Back then...you got your chance at
beating the Grand National Champion every Wed. night. Resweber was a
regular back then.....................
As a youngster, I always wanted to race cars at the local dirt-track,
but was too young. I never had an interest in motorcycles...but I
found an old piece of junk Simplex. It ran for about a week. That
was the first part of 1957. I took it to the local Triumph shop, and
ended up with a Triumph Cub. I was happy for a couple of weeks...but
it wasn't fast enough, so back it went. Piston, cam, etc...and that
kept me happy for another 3 weeks, but a TR-6 was in my future. I
rode it on the street for a couple of weeks...then turned it into a
full blown dirt bike. The guy who sold me the bike was married to an
old high-school girlfriend. He and I started cowtrailing together.
He was doing some racing...and took me under his wing. His name is
T.D. "Tom" McCollum, and I just bought a 5th wheel from him. I give
him credit for about 90% of whatever I did on bikes.
Within 2 months of that first cowtrailing session...we set off for
DeAnza Park in Riverside. I was a novice (#101y) and won my heat race
first time out. I led the main event until three laps from the end,
then fell off. The first part of That led to the weekly short-track
races at Selma, CA. When I thought I could "beat the world", I headed
to Daytona for the last race on the beach...which brought me back to
earth. I blew up early. I had my first taste of being "on the road",
and after getting back to Bakersfield...started making plans to go to
Santa Fe. Tom Cates was the first person I met after being out on my
own. What an awakening that was. I found out that I wasn't near as
fast as I thought.
I continued running T.T.'s, scrambles, hare & hounds, etc. around
here, but the road was calling. From then until 1964...I was a
hermit. Santa Fe every Wed. night...and the Nationals on the
weekends.
I won
most every week at our local track (Sprockets Park)...riding in the
250cc and open classes, which was no easy task. We had several open
main events here where the field was made up of 11 National Numbers
out of 12 riders. I won the Pacific Coast T.T. Championship three
times in those early years...but I always wanted to race against the
best, so I stayed on the road most of the time. I was even the winner
of the Indiana State T.T. Championship one year, but because I didn't
live there...the second place rider got the $$$ and the trophy.
One of the biggest days in my life was beating Joe Leonard at a
short-track race at Kerney Bowl in Fresno. My bike was perfect...and
his was junk, but I beat him...and that was all that was important to
me.
That race...and beating Resweber in a Santa Fe trophy dash were BIG
for me back then. T.T.'s and short-track were my favorites...but back
then we had to ride everything.
In 1960, the word got out that Leonard was going
to quit the bikes and start racing cars. I got together with Joe's
tuner (Monte Miller of Fresno)...and Joe and I traveled together
throughout the 61 season. When he retired, I bought his motorcycles
from Monte.
I didn't set the world on fire...like I thought I would...but I won
plenty of races. I had a wife and two boys...and began thinking about
their future. After Sid Payne crashed in front of me at Peoria...I
decided that 1964 would be my last year. The marriage didn't
work...and I was soon racing Formula A, B and C cars in the SCCA...then
went to stock cars at the paved Mesa Marin Raceway here in town for a
couple of years, then to the late model dirt track cars across town.
I've done a lot of silly stuff...but a lot of the old bikers will
remember me most for my music. I always carried a trumpet with me
when back east racing. I played at a Holiday Inn just down the road
from Santa Fe...making enough extra cash to be able to afford more
than the famous "Johnny Gibson peanutbutter & jelly sandwiches" for
dinner.
These
days I still ride...but just on the street, and not very much of
that. The guys on the track know where they're going...unlike the
average idiot on the street. I have a 2001 FXDX Harley for the long
trips...and a converted 883 former Bostrom Bros. dirt-tracker that's
my T.T. bike (Tavern to Tavern). I also have the KR and Sprint and a
couple of other flat-trackers...all of which are in the Danny Rouit
Dirt Track Museum in Clovis, CA.
My biggest project these days is helping out #20-Johnny Murphree (who
called while I was typing this). I also help out Jimmy Woods campain,
and may get onboard with Ken Coolbeth in 2005. I also sponsor the
Digger Pro 600 class in Eddie Mulder's series.
I love
every second that I'm around the dirt bikes...and, the Good Lord
willing and the creek don't rise, I'll be helping the young kids as
long as I'm able.
Today Digger lives in Bakersfield, California and
still has a couple of his race bikes.
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