1995 turnworker newsletters

1995 AFM Turnworker Newsletters

American Federation of Motorcyclists Schedule for 1995

1995 AFM Schedule
April 8 & 9 Sears Point 1st Newsletter
May 6 & 7 Thunderhill Park 2nd Newsletter
May 27 & 28 Sears Point 3rd Newsletter
June 17 & 18 Sears Point 4th Newsletter
July 8 & 9 Sears Point 4th Newsletter
August 5 & 6 Sears Point 4th Newsletter
September 9 & 10 Thunderhill Park 5th Newsletter
September 23 & 24 Sears Point 6th Newsletter

1st Newsletter...

Coming Soon to a Racetrack Near You ...

Daytona time is here, so the AFM season can't be far off. There will be a lot of our kind of racing in Northern California this year, so dust off your whites, freshen up the sunscreen. The only thing missing is an FIM GP at Sears Point. The 1995 AFM season looks like the most fun in a long time. There are 9 AFM points races on tap. Seven will be at Sears Point and two at Thunderhill. Cut out the schedule on the back of this sheet and give it a good spot on your refrigerator door. There is only one conflict with any of the big Laguna Seca dates. That's the Indy cars in September. No problem with the FIM World Superbike race April 28-30, the AMA July 21-23, or the historic cars August 18-20. Welcome, New Workers !!!

If you signed up at the motorcycle show or found out about us from a friend, you are welcome to join us on a corner at any or all of our races. We have 12-14 corner crews working as a team to give the riders a clear and safe place to race. Each crew has handler(s), flagger(s), and a person on the headset in communication with race central. Workers may trade off jobs on the turn during the day, if it works out. The medical help if needed is given by the National Motorcycle Patrol, a very talented group, who work with us on course. I'll have manuals at the track on important stuff to know. See the Back Page for more info. Come on out, we think you'll have a good time.

The Well Equipped Worker

Dress appropriately. Be prepared for any type of weather. Especially at this time of year layers are the hot setup. If at all possible wear whites for outer layers. They are really the best. Please, no red or yellow clothing (or hats) on the course. The riders might mistake you for a flag, leading to who knows what... The best thing for the crew is to all look the same so that nobody has to worry about who's who out there. Long pants and sturdy shoes that you can run in are also the right stuff. Good things to have along are sunscreen, sunglasses, gloves, binoculars maybe, more sunscreen, an extra shirt, and a hat. If you have a loud whistle, bring that too. If not, we have some at the track. Veteran turnworkers will tell you that it's good to bring along a snack to keep the energy up. Fruits and juices work well (no alcohol please). More workers means a chance to get a few breaks during the day. We'll run the same basic Sunday schedule that we had last year. That's 6 practices & 3 races in the morning, and 8 or 9 races after lunch. Track Riders Days, If You Like

The Track Riders program coordinator called the other day. He wants to change some things from last year and run with a full crew of experienced AFM workers for their Sears Point events. The dates are usually the Friday before our racedays, starting with the April 8-9 weekend. These are not AFM events, but they are days at the track. If you are interested call Don Spina at (800) 729-1819. It's better to call him during the day this time of year. 14-15, CT, coord.

Mail Call

I'm still recovering names and addresses from my computer goof last fall. 'Thought I was closer than it looks like now. If you can reach any of these folks, please have them call me. If they get the machine, I need addresses and phone numbers: Josh Barnett, Glen Fraga, Steve Maylor, Craig Courtney, Jeff Snow, Alfred Hernandez, Tim Batteson, Thomas Aldridge, Marc Freeman, Ken Marckmann, Tim Eells, Bill Burns .

" The Back Page "

Sears Point International Raceway is located on Highway 121 near the junction of Highway 37, between Vallejo and Novato at the north end of San Francisco Bay. The worker gate is open Saturday and Sunday from 6:00 A.M. until 7:00. Stay to the left as you enter the facility. If you are late, you'll have to pay to get in. Please don't run the gate. The morning meeting is at 7:15 A.M. at Start/Finish. Early arrivals have the best chance of getting the turn you want. If it rains (no !!!) I'll be there along with everybody else until the race day is officially canceled. We give the weather every chance, and those days count for the Die-Hard hats. Both Saturday and Sunday coffee and donuts are on hand in the morning, lunches at lunchtime, and snacks, beverages, and a few bucks for gas at the end of the day (Payday is Sunday). Please be responsible with any post-race activities. We are usually done by 5:45 P.M. Questions? Feel free to call me at ? (be nice to the machine if it answers) or drop me a note at the address below. See you there !!!

2nd Newsletter...

THUNDERHILL THE FIRST, AGAIN

If you were among the few who came up for the rain last year, you know the way. If not, it's not as far for some of us as you might think. From Sacramento it's about the same ride or drive as Sears. To get to Willows, go north on I-5, about 1-1/2 hours. From the Bay area (it's almost 2 hours from Vallejo) take I-80 to Vacaville, 505 north to I-5, then north on I-5. From town go west on Route 162 about 6 miles. The track is on the right just after the road starts to be fun. Watch out for the sheriff. He's a nice guy, but ... Leave early or come up the night before. There's a list of motels in town on the yellow sheet. Camping info too.

THIS IS IMPORTANT !!!

If you are coming to the race and if you want a lunch, CALL ME !!!!! I need to make a call on Wednesday the 3rd at 8:30 P.M. to make an order. We have a different lunch maker than at Sears (like the Cherry tree folks, great people), and we need to give them need a good count. They're the track all weekend with their trailer, not a permanent building like at Sears Point. I don't want anyone to go hungry, especially me (the crew eats before I do). Besides, I'd like a good idea of the crew ahead of time. The hotline number with the very latest info is ?. Anytime is fine (I may regret that). We need a Saturday crew of about 25 experienced workers, and a Sunday crew of about 50, just like Sears Point.

The Sears Point Season Opener

Saturday the story was the rain that started at lunchtime. Sunday the story was Turn 11. It's early in the season and some riders haven't figured out how to miss each other yet. For the day 21 riders went down in 11. There was no second place. No special oil spills. I talked to 5 of the riders, and it was either hard riding or brain fade (somebody else's brain). All are well. Linda Pauli and her crew of Henry Hathaway, Teresa Hunt, and Scott McKee had their dancing shoes on. Saturday we got in the whole morning practice, but had to shorten up new riders school, but got the day in. The Well Equipped Worker

T'hill is a new racetrack in a new place. Be ready for any type of weather. Especially at this time of year layers are the hot setup. If at all possible wear whites for outer layers. Please, no red or yellow clothing (or hats) on the course. It's best for the crew is to all look the same so that nobody has to worry about who's who out there. Long pants and sturdy shoes that you can run in are the right stuff. Good things to have are sunscreen, sunglasses, gloves, binoculars maybe, an extra shirt, more sunscreen, and a hat. If you have a whistle, bring that too. If not, we have some at the track. It's also good to bring along a snack to keep the energy up. Fruits and juices work well (no alcohol please). Thank You, Hank

Thanks to Hank Desjardins from Cycle Gear, who worked with his printer to get the Saturday worker sweatshirts done for us. Thanks also to the AFM. If you missed yours, come talk to me.

Mail Call

If you can reach any of these folks, please have them call me. If they get the machine, I need addresses and phone numbers: Josh Barnett, Steve Maylor, Craig Courtney, Jeff Snow, Alfred Hernandez, Tim Batteson, Thomas Aldridge, Ken Marckmann, Tim Eells, Bill Burns .

" The Back Page North "

Thunderhill Park is located on Highway 162 about 6 miles west of I-5 at Willows. The worker gate will be open Saturday and Sunday from 6:00 A.M. until 7:00. Find the signs and follow them. If you are late, you'll have to pay to get in. Please don't run the gate, it's really bad form. The morning meeting is at 7:15 A.M. at Start/Finish. We have a lot to cover, like where does the track go ??? Early arrivals have the best chance of getting the turn you want. If it rains, so what? I'll be there along with everybody else until the race day is officially canceled. We give the weather every chance, and those days count for the Die-Hard hats. Both Saturday and Sunday coffee and donuts are on hand in the morning, lunches at lunchtime, and snacks, beverages, and a few bucks for gas at the end of the day (Payday is Sunday). Please be responsible with any post-race activities. We are usually done by 5:45 P.M. Questions? Feel free to call me at ? (be nice to the machine if it answers). All calls will be returned as quickly as possible. I'm leaving for the track Friday afternoon, so call before then. Or drop me a note at the address below. See you there !!!

3rd Newsletter...

THIS TIME FOR SURE

The Thunderhill weather smiled on us this time. Two beautiful days for racing. A lot of things to get used to with a new racetrack. No garages, no grandstands or bridges, no turns with numbers bigger than nine, and then the radios. No problem. There was a full entry, complete with wait lists in some classes, and some great racing. Cal won Formula Pacific, but not by much. A lot of great races. You could tell who the quick learners were as the weekend moved along. Some never did get the cyclone figured out though. It's turn 5, a lot like an edge of the earth going up to going down San Francisco city lefthander without the cable car tracks. Duane Deboer with new (this year) workers Barrett Brockhage and Glen weaver worked there Saturday and wanted it Sunday too. They got it !!! Most of the falling riders, 11 of 27, did their thing up there. Several X-rays later, nothing broken but a lot of scuffed leather. Seven of the others tried the weeds at the verrrrry fast turn 1 with mixed results, Jim Short and Dick Kohler presiding. New worker Chris Trowne worked the 8-8A combo with Mickey Housel and Kevin (carnage) Velk. Sound like short crews? We could sure use a few more hands come September. Make your plans soon !!!

COMING EVENTS !!!

Sears and more Sears !!! 'Tis the holiday weekend racing season. Do what I'm doing. (1) Tape that car race and come on out the May 28th. Monday is a great day to do those other weekend things. (2) Bring Dad to the Father's Day race on June 18. If my dad is in town from Phoenix that weekend, he'll be there too (a new wave slave ...). The weather should be the year's best for these two races. Don't miss them. INDY, INDY, INDY

All that fuss about getting one race done in a whole day. It's still fun though. Since most of us can't go, many are taping it. So, the news blackout is once again in place. The Carnage brothers again have creative enforcement authority over news leaks.

REALITY CHECK

I don't like writing this sort of stuff, so bear with me. Highway 37 to and from Sears Point has been a tough place this year. Last week saw the fourth traffic accident with fatal results this year. People are very concerned about what to do. For openers, the CHP is going to be very serious about that 55 thing. Rightly so. There's talk about doubling the fines too for this stretch of road too. We can make it safer by doing the right things. Please leave yourself some extra time in the morning. I'm leaving ten minutes earlier just in case. If it looks like you'll be late, be late. It's a lot better than a stiff ticket for 62. Enough said.

FROM THE FOUR CORNERS

I got a letter from Mike Chouiniere the other day. After the long trip he's now in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania. No race track action yet. Nothing like 10-flag nearby. He said to say Hello and he misses you all. If you'd like to help fill his mailbox I have his address. Just ask.

CHEERS FOR THE POST OFFICE !!! (?)

Have you tried these new self-sticking stamps? They're the ticket !!! Not a lot of variety yet, so they all have cute little angels on them. But you have no idea how nice it is when you need to do 300 at a time. Taste's Great !!!

" The Back Page, The Good Stuff "

Sears Point International Raceway is located on Highway 121 near the junction of Highway 37, between Vallejo and Novato at the north end of San Francisco Bay. The worker gate is open Sunday from 6:15 A.M. to 7:00. Stay to the left as you enter the facility. If you are late, please don't run the gate. You'll have to pay to get in. The morning meeting is at 7:15 A.M. at Start/Finish. As usual, early arrivals have the best chance of getting the turn you want. If it rains (!!!) I'll be there along with everybody else until the race day is officially canceled. We give the weather every chance, and those days count for the Die-Hard hats. Both Saturday and Sunday coffee and donuts are on hand in the morning, lunches at lunchtime, and snacks, beverages, and a few bucks for gas at the end of the day (Payday is Sunday). Please be responsible with any post-race activities, especially with the Hwy. 37 thing. We are usually done by 5:45 P.M. Have any questions? Please feel free to call the Hotline at ? or drop me a note at the address below. See you there !!!

4th Newsletter...

LATE BREAKING NEWS !!!

Sears Point has selected our crew to work the upcoming AMA National !!! This will be a three day event on August 25, 26 & 27. Our contract is for up to 50 corner workers, corner equipment, a crash truck, and race control. AMA will have their own tech, starters, pre-grid folks, race director, etc. Thanks go out to Barbara Smith, Joe Montoya and other board members who put the proposal together over the last month or so, and of course to Sears Point for their selection.

So who gets to work? Experienced people only. There is a great pool of talent to draw from. It's still early, but top of the list has to be the Die-Hards, Saturday workers, and people who came to Thunderhill (this year and last). After that, experience, need, the names that come out of the hat (?), we'll see. The list of people at the front gate will be necessary. I'll have sign-up sheets at the next races. There will be a great package for the workers. I'm chasing the details now. We have been waiting for the chance to show our stuff at this level for quite a while. Let's show everyone a first class weekend.

UPCOMING CLUB RACES

There are two Sears Point races before the National. Dates are July 8/ 9, and August 5/6. Don't miss them. Don't forget the September 9/10 date at Thunderhill. We may do a special workers shirt with everyones name on the back. But for that you'll have to get your name in early, then get yourself to the track. For the Sears races, new workers are welcome for the Sundays. Try one of these races first. We'll have more people to give you the on job training, which is the only way to learn this game. For Saturday practice a crew of 20-25 what we need. It's a little lower key, and only practice, but with the fewer workers, experience is a must.

RACE REPORTS

Memorial Day Weekend: Nothing ever happens in Turn 5 ??? Well nothing is ever that certain. The big story of the weekend was the oil spill that wouldn't go away. The best efforts of talented crews in Turns 4 and 5 couldn't keep the riders out of the weeds. I lost count but the hill was way busier than average. Almost as busy as Turn 11. The Formula Pacific race saw Rob Mesa and Joe Brett Williams pushing but not catching Cal Rayborn before a red flag stopped the show.

Fathers Day Weekend: The big trouble was on Saturday. A rider blew a motor big time in Turn 7A (neither 7 or 8 would claim it) in the fast practice. I took about an hour to get three riders off to the hospital, 9 bikes picked up and a whole lot of oil swept away. Our crew did a job we can be proud of. Many thanks to all involved. Sunday wasn't quite that crazy, but don't try to convince Barb. Turn 11 was the busy spot again (9 unexpected tourists), closely followed by Turns 10 (8-ouch) and 4 (7). Good racing all day long, which is more and more the usual this year. There are fewer runaway winners this year than I remember for a long time. Special Request: If you picked up a wrist pin from the motor that blew Saturday, bring it along to the next race or call Richard Stewart at ?

New workers from the last races were Rebecca Fisher, Troy Wilcox, Shula Fisher, and Mike Nelson. Welcome to the Crew !!!

The Fashion Statement

Dress appropriately. Be prepared for any type of weather. Especially at this time of year layers are the hot setup. If at all possible wear whites for outer layers. They are really the best. Please, no red or yellow clothing (or hats) on the course. The best thing for the crew is to all look the same so that the riders don't have to worry about who's who out there. Long pants and sturdy shoes that you can run in are also the right stuff. Good things to have along are sunscreen, sunglasses, gloves, binoculars maybe, more sunscreen, an extra shirt, munchies, soda or juice (no alcohol please), and a hat.

" Nuts and Bolts - Getting There "

Sears Point International Raceway is located on Highway 121 near Highway 37, between Vallejo and Novato. The worker gate is open Sunday from 6:00 A.M. to 7:00. Stay to the left as you enter the facility. If you are late, please don't run the gate. You'll have to pay to get in. The morning meeting is at 7:15 A.M. at Start/Finish. Early arrivals have the first choice of turns. We give the weather every chance to behave, so don't let that keep you away. Both Saturday and Sunday coffee and donuts are on hand in the morning, lunches at lunchtime, and snacks, beverages, and a few bucks for gas at the end of the day (Payday is Sunday). As usual, please be responsible with any post-race activities. We are usually done by 5:45 P.M. Have any questions? Please feel free to call the Hotline at ? or drop me a note at the address below. See you there !!!

5th Newsletter...

UP THE ROAD TO THUNDERHILL

If you were among the ones who came up for the May race, you know the way. If not, it's not really that far. From Sacramento it's about the same ride (or drive) as Sears. To get to Willows, go north on I-5, about 1-1/2 hours. From the Bay area (it's almost 2 hours from Vallejo) take I-80 to Vacaville, 505 north to I-5, then north on I-5. From town go west on Route 162 about 6 miles. The track is on the right just after the road starts to be fun. Watch out for the sheriff! He's a nice guy, but ... Leave early or come up the night before. There's a list of motels and camping info on the NEW yellow sheet. T'hill is a new racetrack in a new place for a lot of us. Be ready for any type of weather. It could get wet or really warm up. As usual, layers are the hot setup. If at all possible wear whites for outer layers. Please, no red or yellow clothing (or hats) on the course. Long pants and sturdy shoes that you can run in are the right stuff. Make sure you have a belt in case you get to use a radio.

The Sears Point August Race

The strangest thing about this weekend was the two fires minutes apart, in the same race, and Pete wasn't near either of them! The top of turn 6 got hot first, But Mickey Housel and his crew of______ ____________________________________________ had things under control immediately. Two minutes later things happened going into 10. Jim Short's crew of Melanie Durandette and Guy Berrysmith did the same. Top marks to all. New workers Trane DeVore, John Schimmer, Sean O'Keefe, Chris Cunningham, Scott Wilson, Eric Johnson, Deborah Gaffney, Jeremy Bell, and Mark Fisher did fine jobs. Welcome to all. With the rest of the crew putting in a great day we were ready for the National.

August 25 - 27, The AMA

Before the race a lot of things happened. Just about the time we were getting the crew together my dad passed away. Kathy and I had to make a trip to Phoenix, so I talked to Phill. He, Patti, and Tommy Bright made a lot of things happen, like getting the passes around, working with Sears Point and the AMA, setting up the gate, and a dozen other things. Thanks so much.

At the races it was a Duhamel kind of weekend. Two big wins in some very good races. Cal Rayborn Jr was ninth in the Superbike race and teamed for a win in the Super-Teams race. We should try that Le Mans start in some of our races. Our crew came up aces!!! Great job!!! Phill has some things to say, so here's the latest edition of:

Kahuna Knotes

What a great weekend! The weather was perfect and the racing was great! It was nice to get a few breaks during the day. Not like the GO GO GO at our races. The Sears Point folks said they brought in about 5000 haybales for the race. Wow! By the time the weekend was over, Don Alexander and I were on first-name basis with the bales in turn eight. The AMA officials were very pleased with the job we did. I also talked to Mike Yurick, G.M. of Sears Point, after the race. He was also pleased with our work. He promised to show us some of the techniques used at the drags to get long lines of oil up fast. With any luck at all, we will be a shoe-in for next year's National. According to one of the AMA officials we are one of the few turnworking groups working under the sanctioning body, The AFM. Most others are independent groups. I would like to thank everyone for all their help in putting on the AMA National at Sears Point. All of our extra effort really showed! We're the best! Thank you all!

" The Back Page North "

6th Newsletter...

Rewind

The October race day was one of the best for on track action that we had this year. The last day with class titles on the line brings out this kind of racing. Cal Rayborn defended his number 1 plate with another Formula Pacific win. He's the first number 1 to defend for a long time (Rudy Galindo? I'm showing my age). Rob Mesa has the Number 2 plate on his bike already, and another Open GP trophy for the den. Steve Rapp ruled Open Superbike, and owns Number 3 for next year. For those points races every point counted, as the Number 10 plate winner was exactly ONE point ahead of Number 11, 134-133.

We had another good day for our crew, topped off by the worker appreciation raffle. Turn 11 was the busy spot with the transplanted carnage crew of Kevin Velk, Steve Bowen, Ed Bowen, and Mike Hickey dealing with it all. The big mess in Turn 3 was covered by Ron Johnson, Rod Reibel, Dave Ho, Laura Noteman, and Chris Trown. All the riders have recovered nicely.

All through this season there were a lot of riders who didn't have to "recover nicely" because of the work of this crew. Such a big part of what we do is making the racetrack safe immediately when something goes wrong. That involves flags, quick responses, good communication between the turns and others who need to know, and the experience to keep ourselves in charge of a situation. Even the crazy things were handled with in a professional manner that would make other race directors and club officials around the country green with envy if they knew what we had going. With nine club races plus an AMA National this year, I can't remember much that wasn't handled well. Both the AMA officials and our AFM folks were impressed with the job we did for them. So am I. Thanks to everyone.

The 1995 Die-Hards

As every year since 1987 the Die-Hards who have worked every race during the year are recognized and thanked for their efforts. Nine races this year including two trips to Thunderhill made this a tough hat to get, and we haven't gotten them yet. The supplier was late, then real late, then it just never happened. Barb asked me to start over, so we'll have them early in the year. Everybody laughed when I wanted them done by Christmas. All of that aside, your 1995 Die-Hards are Don Alexander, Dennis Baird, Bruce Barnum, Pete Barnum, Sandy Craig, Duane Deboer, Glen Fraga, Henry Hathaway, Mickey Housel, Steve Hulbert, Scott McKee, Carl Merrifield, Wess Safford, Jim Short, Dan Vargas, Kevin Velk, and Glen Weaver. Congratulations, and Thanks.

Kahuna Knotes, from Phill

What a great year we had! Highlighted by working the Sears Point National and doing it so well! Add a great worker BBQ and raffle with so much stuff, it was hard to believe. Lots-o Cash, a helmet, soft luggage, fine wines, hats, tools and more.

I had a nice chat with Bill Riggins after the last race, He told me how he worked the yellow flags as an incident worsened (a downed rider in the middle of the track). I could hear the pride in his voice, how by thinking on his feet, more than just doing the job, he actually helped make the incident safer for everyone. This is one reason I enjoy working the AFM races. I get real satisfaction knowing that together we make our races safer, rider mile by rider mile. We may not get every attaboy or attagirl allowed by law because, hey! we may be the only ones that see every detail of what we do. But at the end of each raceday we should walk off the track with a feeling of accomplishment for a job well done! In my wanderings through the pits at lunch and at the end of the day, racers are constantly telling me what a good job you all do. Just look at the stuff they gave us for the raffle !!!

Thanks again for all of your hard work in the 1995 season. Remember, you're the best! Thanks, Phill.

Banquet News

Coming Soon !!! The 1995 AFM Awards Banquet will be held at the Willow Park Country Club in Castro Valley on Saturday, January 6th at 6:00 PM. Willow Park is on Redwood Road 2-3 miles north of downtown Castro Valley. Tickets are $25.00 in advance only. Nothing at the door. Call the AFM soon at (510) 796-7005 for a seat. The deadline is Tuesday January 2, at a reasonable hour. It's fun to see everyone in real (?) clothes for a change.

Coming Really Soon - 1996

Next year the schedule is a little less intense. We have five races at Sears and two at Thunderhill. The schedule in the box below. Having the Finale' up north should give a new twist to the points races. It should be another great year.

Thanks again to everyone who made 1995 the super season that it was. Stay safe and warm through the winter. Have the best of holidays! I hope to see you all again soon. ??