Terry Poovey, Randy Waldrop, Sammy Sweet, Porky Rollins …… names that commanded respect in the world of Texas Flat Trace Motorcycle Racing in the 1970’s – legends that spoke of mechanical supremacy, fearless performance, and incomparable teamwork. Lost in time, these names have been almost forgotten among those who dared to experiment with extreme racing (as we know it today) during an era when a rider/driver had to spend as much time building a machine as riding it. Men who rode and built bikes that NEVER went straight – and had nothing more to challenge the racing Gods than a heavy steel shoe to keep the wayward vehicle from being “too loose” to ride to victory…….
Flat Track Racing in the 70’s was daring – Evel Knievel would be proud of the men who dared slide sideways on two wheels to take home a checkered flag that was often no more than a home-sewn relic. Men who traveled along the Texas/Louisiana borders in search of a victory that few would consider worthy of the time, money & effort it took to make a living on the short oval, they let their love of motorcycles and competition rule over conventional values and made them often misunderstood loners. It was just plain nuts; especially to the wives, girlfriends, and families who followed Short Trackers across the damp plains of Texas in search of elusive trophies won at the family’s rental expense. Texas Flat Trackers were driven – but by God knows what!
Few today are familiar or even remember Texas Short (or Flat) Track Motorcycle Racing in the 70’s – similar to NASCAR – Short Track is a constant series of left-hand turns where athletics meets the road – in other words, the only way to keep a wayward cycle from becoming a wall-bound projectile was to put one’s foot down – firmly – on the track, wearing a steel shoe designed to act as a third member in absentia. When it’s time to turn left, folks, the rider simply planted their foot on a dirty, gravel-impregnated, track and attempt to slide a 120-mph motorcycle sideways using only that left digit as a stabilizer. Yup – purely nuts!
Today, 61-year-old Porky Rollins of Crosby, Texas, remembers the days of glory with a bit of flippancy born of riding rockets that few could control today: “We just followed the money,” Rollins says of days when Nationally Ranked riders had to ply their trade against Texas locals capable (and willing) to kick their sideways asses into eternity. “We were better then most of the National numbers, but we didn’t have the dollars to beat ‘em in National competition.” Said Rollins, who’s local record lent credence to the fact that he could have been a National No.1 had the financial Gods swung his way. In the 70’s, Nationally-ranked riders had to compete on a local circuit with the likes of Randy Waldrop, Sammy Sweet, and Rollins himself , who stood out amongst the rest as a bike builder, rider, crew chief an guru we well as a competitor.
The world may have lost a daredevil along the likes of Evel Kenievel, but if, as a lasting legacy, the world can grasp and remember those who rode sideways on steel shoes in the 70’s – we haven’t lost the “extreme” history of two-wheeled sports at all.
Flat Track Racing in the 70’s was daring – Evel Knievel would be proud of the men who dared slide sideways on two wheels to take home a checkered flag that was often no more than a home-sewn relic. Men who traveled along the Texas/Louisiana borders in search of a victory that few would consider worthy of the time, money & effort it took to make a living on the short oval, they let their love of motorcycles and competition rule over conventional values and made them often misunderstood loners. It was just plain nuts; especially to the wives, girlfriends, and families who followed Short Trackers across the damp plains of Texas in search of elusive trophies won at the family’s rental expense. Texas Flat Trackers were driven – but by God knows what!
Few today are familiar or even remember Texas Short (or Flat) Track Motorcycle Racing in the 70’s – similar to NASCAR – Short Track is a constant series of left-hand turns where athletics meets the road – in other words, the only way to keep a wayward cycle from becoming a wall-bound projectile was to put one’s foot down – firmly – on the track, wearing a steel shoe designed to act as a third member in absentia. When it’s time to turn left, folks, the rider simply planted their foot on a dirty, gravel-impregnated, track and attempt to slide a 120-mph motorcycle sideways using only that left digit as a stabilizer. Yup – purely nuts!
Today, 61-year-old Porky Rollins of Crosby, Texas, remembers the days of glory with a bit of flippancy born of riding rockets that few could control today: “We just followed the money,” Rollins says of days when Nationally Ranked riders had to ply their trade against Texas locals capable (and willing) to kick their sideways asses into eternity. “We were better then most of the National numbers, but we didn’t have the dollars to beat ‘em in National competition.” Said Rollins, who’s local record lent credence to the fact that he could have been a National No.1 had the financial Gods swung his way. In the 70’s, Nationally-ranked riders had to compete on a local circuit with the likes of Randy Waldrop, Sammy Sweet, and Rollins himself , who stood out amongst the rest as a bike builder, rider, crew chief an guru we well as a competitor.
The world may have lost a daredevil along the likes of Evel Kenievel, but if, as a lasting legacy, the world can grasp and remember those who rode sideways on steel shoes in the 70’s – we haven’t lost the “extreme” history of two-wheeled sports at all.
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