The Last Mile?
THE LAST MILE?
RACE WATCH
America’s most famous Mile takes its last laps
MOST AMA EXPERT FLAT-trackers agree: San Jose is the toughest Mile. It is, after all,known as The Mile, the race that separates the men from the boys, the winners from the losers. When you roll your bike onto the oily black dirt for the annual May race, you had better have had your act together.
That might change by year's end. There's talk of replacing the motorcycle show7 at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, home of the legendary San Jose Mile, with stock cars. The word from San Jose’s perennial promoters, Bob Barkheimer & Associates, is that the dirt oval will be paved, and that the good of boys from NASCAR will soon be banging fenders through the track’s turns.
Vice-president for Western Operations of NASCAR, Ken Clapp, indicated that as of last May, nearly a 100.000 dollars had been spent on plans and permits. In all. approximately $10 million is earmarked for the project. With such a huge commitment from NASCAR, Clapp says there's at least a 90-percent chance Shobert describes these two turns as “real fast.” On the other hand. Turns Three and Four “are real slick and slow. Plus, the track conditions there change throughout the race.” that the cars will replace the twowheelers. Those closer to the bike crowd feel it’s still a 50-50 proposition, at best.
In either case, the May 22 San Jose Mile had a sense of finality to it. Several fans went so far as to scoop small portions of the track’s dirt surface for souvenirs, while others bought commemorative T-shirts. But to the racers, the major concern still was how best to circulate this tricky track.
Because San Jose is special. There are numerous other Miles on the Camel Pro Series; but when it comes to this particular type of racing, San Jose, above the others, warrants its reputation as The Mile.
“When I was a kid growing up in Texas,” says Bubba Shobert, defending CPS Champ. “I'd pick up a magazine and there was always a story about San Jose. I guess it being so close to the magazines (located in the Los Angeles area, 400 miles to the south) helps. The location, maybe that’s what made the San Jose Mile so famous. Even so, there’s always close racing here.”
Alex Jorgensen, from nearby Stockton, California, agrees: “There’s always a big dice at this place.”
Part of San Jose’s mystique lies in its turns. Turns One and Two constitute a single, evenly radiused arc, allowing the riders to enter side-by-side at 130 mph. In unison they’ll pitch their 300-pound bikes into a speedscrubbing slide, fighting for a piece of the blue groove. Only in a hot dice, says Shobert, will the front runners tap their brakes to slow down.
To the spectator’s eye. Three and Four are a mirror-image of One and Two. But from a rider's eye-view, things are much different.
“That's one of the toughest turns on the circuit,” says Jorgensen of the Three/Four combination. “It looks flat, almost off-camber when you go through it. You win or lose off that turn.”
Indeed, Turn Four has made heroes of some, losers of many. The rider with the best exit there stands the best chance of winning at San Jose.
May’s event was no different. The entire race came down to who would get the best exit out of the last turn. And this time, that person was Steve Morehead, barely edging Shobert.
And so, the 33rd—and allegedly last—San Jose Mile was put into the record books. Still, there are some unanswered questions: Will there be yet another Iasi San Jose Mile? As of May, the Barkheimer crew had not gained final approval from the building commission to proceed with the track's facelift. And if the track is not paved by 1989, will there be another motorcycle race there? Probably. Furthermore, members of the Bay Area racing community are currently looking for another racetrack to replace the Fairgrounds.
Perhaps H-D rider Scott Parker's eulogy to San Jose summed up the situation best. “Oh. we'll miss it,” he said, “but they’ll find another track out here to take its place.”
Could be, but there was always something special about the San Jose Mile. Maybe it was the excitement generated by the nearby magazines, or the pleasant, sunny weather that alway prevailed during the event. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the damned fine racing that made San Jose The Mile. Dain Gingerelli
