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“Wild Will's Kenny Roberts Novice Moment”
This is a story about my first AMA Pro Novice year, 1970, The same Year as King Kenny Robert’s Novice year. Of Course it was Gary Scott and Mike Kidd’s Novice year also but they’re not in my Story but Kenny Is. This was also the Year of the Filming of “On Any Sunday” Da da da da Staring National Number One, Mert The Squirt Lawwill, and Dick Mann, and Dave Aldana. There were more stars in “On Any Sunday”, but there not in this story, but Lawwill, Mann, and Aldana are, as well as EVIL Knievel.
It was a chilling Thursday Night in the Month of March in Brownwood Texas, the week following the Daytona 200. Dick Mann had just won the Daytona 200 on the Honda CB750 4 cylinder. I guess that was the first 200 win on a 4 cylinder. After the Daytona 200 win by Mann, He didn’t have a ride at the very next big race of the 1970 season. Lawwill had already won the Houston Astrodome Short Track National earlier that year on A Harley Sprint, but I remember at the Dome he just took the number eight off the back of his old leathers, and left the number One. Dick Mann finished second behind Lawwill at the Astrodome Short Track on an Ossa, after leading Lawwill for most of the main event. Jim Rice won the Astrodome T.T. in 1970 on a BSA.
That chilly Thursday night we were having a monthly Motorcycle Club meeting in the back of the Local Yamaha Shop. During the meeting Terry McDonald’s Wife, Wanda got me off to the side and asked me a favor. Now Terry was then a Novice and was a Mechanic at the Yamaha Shop. Terry now owns the Yamaha Shop, and has since 1972.
Terry hadn’t got to go to Daytona That year like he had the year before in 1969, when he won his heat race at the Daytona Short Track, so Wanda asked if I would go with Terry to Phoenix Arizona for a big race we had Just gotten a flier on.
J. C. Agajanian Promoted The Race and Evil Knievel was going to attempt to jump fourteen cars, which meant the Purse had to be at least 5000 Dollars, A nice sum in 1970, for sure.
I say Evil was going to attempt, because he was going to make the jump on a 750cc Laverda Twin. Anyone remember those. I remember they were made in Italy, and they looked like a large 305 Honda. Basically, just Larger.
Now I had already sent in my application for my AMA Pro Novice license but had not received them yet, and I was just going to go with Terry and share the Driving and pit for him. Actually, the day after we left My Pro License came in the Mail.
I called and let Mr. Milner at the Local Honda shop know that I wouldn’t be in until the following Monday, and I had to miss school the next day which was a Friday...Real Bummer, Right?
It was like 1200 miles to Phoenix best I remember with El Paso being about Half Way. We were in Terry’s Red Ford Econoline Van, fixed up with bunks and stuff on the inside and Terry carried his Yamaha DT1 on the back of the van on those carriers we use to put the wheels in.
It was a weird trip to say the least, since we went through rain, sleet, snow, sand, and wind. You name it we saw it on that trip that year back in 1970. That first night I finally went to sleep out on that stretch of West Texas near Fort Stockton, but when I woke up late that night It was White everywhere, and Terry was driving along in that van at like 15 maybe 20 miles per hour. Terry said, “It was snowing so bad I almost stopped but figured 20mph was better than nothing”.
We went several hours that way, and then when we pulled in for fuel, Terry found the Shift Linkage had frozen on the Van and it was stuck in second gear. After fueling up, Terry ran water on the linkage to thaw it out then we went on down the road, as the snow was letting up. That’s went Terry went to sleep. When Terry awoke, he said he was looking out the side window of the Van, and watching the white stripe marks go under the van. This is what he told back home after the trip, as he explained I was going sideways down the highway. Now that little story is not completely correct, not that I would argue that I wasn’t going sideways down the highway, mind you. The part that was incorrect was the part Terry told about the stripes going under the van, since Snow covered the highway and you couldn’t see those painted stripes.
I remember Terry asked me what I was doing, and I told him dodging stuff. Terry laughed and said “Yeah Your Dodging Moonbeams.” And thus began the Story back in my hometown
Of Brownwood Texas, of Wild Will Dodging Moonbeams. I have been Dodging Moonbeams for over thirty-five years now, and haven’t hit one yet. lol
After daylight we got out of the snow and started to make better time on the trip. After El Paso I remember the terrain changed to like Desert, with lots of rocks. I also remember seeing billboards along the highway advertising “The Mummy”. Hundreds of those Bill Boards telling us not to miss it, The great find of the twentieth Century, or something like that. It was a tourist trap and we stopped to eat and went and saw the “Mummy”. I remember
A lot of Stuckys, for some reason. Stuckys was about all the eating there was back in 1970 on those long stretches of the Interstate.
The race in Phoenix was on a Saturday Night and we got there real early and rested before the pit gate open. After entering the pit and setting up Terry and I checked things out. It seems Terry McDonald was the only Texas rider entered that night except for one other Novice, and he was Butch Stubblefield, mounted on an Ossa. I have mentioned Butch before; as he was the first rider I can remember that showed up at a Flat Track race with a Disk Brake. Butch also went on and Owned and Operated a Honda Dealership in Dallas called Honda South. I worked for Butch twice at the dealership; once in 1977, and again in 1986.
I guess this was what you called a West Coast Race even though it wasn’t really on the West Coast. Lots of fast Experts there that night led by National Number One, Mert Lawwill. National Number Two, Dick Mann was there without a ride and Lawwill loaned Mann one of his spare K R’s to ride that night. Rookie Expert, David Aldana was also there that night on a BSA.
About three O clock in the afternoon, I met Evil Knievel as he was checking out his launch ramp, before the crowd arrived for his big Jump. Knievel was walking up and down the ramp jumping and stomping to check out the ramp. I tell you this because later he acts a lot different.
They had some real good races that night in Phoenix, Arizona, as Terry McDonald got second in his Novice heat race, and third in his semi. In the main event Terry was running in third place until he melted a compression release. The only time I saw that done.
I don’t remember who won the Junior Main event back in 1970, but I do remember that Expert Main event, but before they ran the Expert Main that Night in Phoenix Arizona, Evil Knievel did his Jump of fourteen cars.
When it came time for Evil to jump, he came out of his big motor home he had been in since checking out the ramp earlier that afternoon. Evil never let the fans see him before his big entrance before his Jump, as he just stayed in the Motor home for hours.
When Knievel made his exit from the motor home, he was dressed in his white leathers with the blue stars. He also had a cape that he wore when he was pulling wheelies and it would fly behind him.
Evil also was sporting a cane and was limping real bad. Now he didn’t have a cane earlier when he was jumping up and down on that ramp, but now he had a cane and he went to the microphone and talked to the crowd like he always did.
Evil gave his usual anti-drug speech to the crowd and talked to them about his jump that night. After he had the crowd on the edge of their seats, he removed his cape, left the cane with his assistant and mounted the Jumping Motorcycle to attempt his Jump. The Bike Evil was jumping with was a Laverda 750, but was being sold as “An American eagle”.
I actually raced an American Eagle in 1970 but it was really a 175cc Kawasaki, with American Eagle on the Tank.
Evil took the Laverda engine American Eagle and did several passes of the ramp to get his speed correct. Of course he made an extra pass or two just to jazz the spectators up, you know, they thought he was going up the ramp, but he veers off at the last moment. Then Evil approached the ramp for the final time, he flew up the ramp, and went up, up, up and over the 14 cars, easily clearing all fourteen cars and landed about ¾ the way down the landing ramp with a big thud, a little wobble and then straightened it out to the delight of the Fans. The crowd went nuts, as usual and Evil returned to the Microphone and talked some more to the crowd.
After Evil was through for the Night, The Expert Main Event was run at that Phoenix Arizona Half Mile Track. David Aldana, who was rookie Expert 38X that year, took the win over a close running second National Number One Mert Lawwill. Terry and I was standing in the infield at turn four and Lawwill was so close to Aldana coming off of turn four, but still reached up and tore off another tear off. I remember Terry commenting about Lawwill was so close that he needed a clearer look.
I believe that was the First Win for Aldana as an Expert, since the Race took place in March at the beginning of the 1970 Racing Season, and I mentioned this in my Story, “The Night Wild Will Crashed David Aldana”
But the name of this Story is “Wild Will’s Kenny Roberts Novice Moment”, and I haven’t told that part yet, have I? Well that little moment took place earlier in the evening right before the racers took to the Track for Practice.
Some of you may ask what is a Kenny Roberts Novice Moment?
Many of you know what I am talking about, but for those that don’t I will explain.
The moment I am talking about took place at the End of the 1970 Season, and was Kenny Roberts Novice Year, and it was at Ascot Park. Number One Mert Lawwill lost His title to Gene Romero
As most know from the movie “On Any Sunday”, and at Ascot, Lawwill laid the Number One Harley down, and in frustration just walked off and left the racer. Well standing close by was Novice Racer Kenny Roberts, who Campaigned an X6 Suzuki Husler that season at the weekly Ascot Half Miles, and Roberts picked up the Number One Harley Of Mert Lawwill, and quickly looked and found a Photographer that got a Shot of the Novice Roberts Holding Mert Lawwill’s Number One Harley.
I don’t remember the Photo of Roberts Holding The Lawwill Harley being published when it was taken, but it did become sort of famous after Roberts won the Number One Plate himself at the end of the 1973 Season. I saw it in Cycle News and it was looking back at the 1970 Photo and said it was like a forecast of things to come back then. I am pretty sure it was a Mahony Photo.
The Famous Novice Moment captured on film got some more press but much more recently. A couple of years ago there was an article about Ken Maely The Shoe Man, in a magazine at the Yamaha Shop, and there in the article was the photo of Kenny Roberts Holding the Number One Harley Of Mert Lawwill.
That’s what I mean By “Kenny Roberts Novice Moment”.
Anyway back at that race in Phoenix Arizona, As the Ambulance Arrived with the Track Prep finished, and the Riders meeting had been held, riders prepared for the First Practice session, and I was standing at National Number One Mert Lawwill’s, Pit, and I was just standing there, doing nothing just watching Number One. Lawwill finished putting his leathers on, strapped on his open face helmet with the tear offs taped on the face shield, and removed the KR Harley from the stand and then……
He looked at me, and motioned for me to hold his bike, never saying a word. Of course I grabbed the Handlebars of that Number One Harley and held it with Pride.
Why do you think I was holding the Harley? Do you know what Lawwill did while I held the Harley K.R.? As I stood there holding the Harley, Lawwill looks around on the ground and finds a small stick, Yeah a stick, a bit smaller than a match stem. Mert takes the small stick and pushes it into the little hole on the outside of the diaphragm in the Tillotson Carb he had on the K.R. while I held the bike. He was using the stick to work the diaphragm back and forth to prime the engine for an easy start. After priming the engine Lawwill took the Handlebars back from me and nodded for me to give him a push start, Which I gladly did. The Harley instantly coughed to life and Lawwill rode off to the Practice line.
So that was My Kenny Roberts Novice Moment, but there was no photographer close by like Roberts had later that season at Ascot.
My only witness was my fellow racer Terry McDonald who watched from about twenty yards away and later remarked that I had a Smile from ear to ear while holding the Number One Bike of Mert Lawwill.
I shared this little story with Mert Lawwill’s son, Joe at Del Mar. 2003. No I didn’t tell him all of it just the part about his Dad. I told Joe that His dad may not remember me but I remember him. I also told Joe about meeting his dad Mert in 1964 at Dodge City Kansas, when I was just thirteen, as I told Joe who won what and who got second and third in each of the three days of racing back in 1964.
But though there was no Photographer around For My Novice Moment with Lawwill’s Number One Bike in 1970, I still have My Memories.
Hope Everyone enjoyed the story from 1970.
Willard Kelley
aka
Wild Will From Stephenville
The Cowboy Capital Of The World
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