Doug Sehl is one of those guys who seemed to excel in every disclipline of motorcycle racing he attempted. Dirt track,road racing, ice racing, motocross...  whether he was riding or tuning, he did it well.

  Doug was born with racing blood. His father, Wilf, was a former motorcycle racer. Two older brothers, Jim and Dave, were also impressing the motorcycle sports world with their abilities. 
  Inducted into the Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame (Class of 2008), Doug's legacy extends far beyond the Northern Territories. Flat track fans still tell tales of how he used to dominate the infamous half-mile pea gravel fairground tracks in Ohio. Doug mentions that he loved the bigger tracks best, citing a few of his favorites: Indy, Syracuse, Louisville, Cumberland, and Columbus.

  

  I asked Doug who some of his toughest competitors were.
  "In the US?" He laughed, "Any of the top twenty, during that time period... you could line up sixteen guys, and any of those sixteen were going to give you a battle. It was an outstanding field of Experts."

  Of course, when Doug's name is mentioned, it's usually as one of the "Sehl Brothers." The oldest brother, Jimmy, had found his calling to be in tuning. Brother Dave was a few years ahead of Doug, in the classes, but I had to wonder how it was to race as brothers.

  "Davey taught me a lot." Doug said. "You learn from everybody, but he taught me a lot. "

  There was a pause of reflection, and Doug repeated, "You learn from everybody... from riding different tracks, different set ups. Everybody wanted to win, but... you helped each other out. Nobody was selfish. There weren't any Prima Donnas. Sure, people got mad, sometimes, but it was short-curbed."

 

  He explained that the racers usually traveled together. 

  "There were a lot more races, then," he said, "And we were all going to the same place. Sometimes we'd just follow each other, and sometimes we'd share a ride and take turns driving. We shared motel rooms, sometimes, to save on costs... camped out, together... whatever. We were competitors, but we were also kind of like a family. We spent so much time together, it was like we WERE a family, in a way."

  

  I had heard some stories about these "On the Road" caravans, before. I wondered if Doug had any that he would like to share. The one he told was probably the greatest "Off-the-Track" flat track tale I have ever heard.

 

  "We were leaving a race in Texas," Doug said, "Springer, Corky... all of us. We were heading to another race, in San Jose. There were a bunch of photographers there, and they weren't able to get a room... there was a big Shriner's Convention in town... so they had nowhere to stay, for the night. They were walking around, asking us riders if we could give them a lift to California with us.

  " This one photographer, a young kid... real nice guy... he asked to ride with me. I said, 'Sure,' and we took off. We had all decided we were going to fuel up in Flagstaff, so this kid offered to drive the first part of the trip, and let me get some sleep.

  "Now, in Flagstaff, there were only two gas stations. The first one... a Texaco station... was already full of racers, gassing up, so he drove us on down the road to the other station. He pulls up to the pump and starts putting in the fuel. I went inside to grab some Cokes and ice. When I came out, I climbed in the driver's seat. The kid hops in the other seat, and I start to pull out.

  "That's when I heard this big 'CLUNK.'  I got out to look. It turns out, this kid had never driven, pulling a trailer, before. The trailer had hit the pump. Now,the pump was tilted... lifted up, oh, about an inch or two... and there was a small fire, at the bottom of it.

  "I walked in, and I told the kid who was working that he might want to turn off the pumps and bring out a fire extinguisher. He grabbed up two extinguishers... didn't turn off the pumps, though... and came out to see what had happened.

  "By then, the flames had started getting bigger. They were starting to touch the bottom of the trailer. The kid from the gas station takes one look... screams... and takes off running. Still holding the fire extinguishers. I watched as he ran. He got smaller and smaller, and I realized... he wasn't coming back.

  "I also realized, then, that he hadn't shut off the pumps...and that the flames were getting bigger. That's about the time I remembered that I had a whole lot of racing fuel in that trailer.

  "I did the only thing I could do. I hopped back into the driver's seat, put her in gear, and pulled forward. It pulled the pump right out of the foundation. The pump blew up... it shot right up through the air, and it blew out the windows of the gas station. KABOOM!

  "Now, this was when oil came in boxes, remember? Well, this gas station had a whole display of those boxes, and they caught fire. Before I knew it the whole gas station was in flames. My rig is parked, halfway in the street, the gas station is burning to the ground, the other riders have started showing up to see what was taking me so long... I'm saying, 'Yeah, I'll be ready in a minute... I just blew up a gas station.'

  "That's when the cop showed up... yeah, one cop. And, a few minutes later, here comes the owner of the gas station. The first thing he asked was where the kid was, who was working. I said, 'He took off running, with the extinguishers, when this all started!'

  "Right about then, I see the kid, walking back... he's still got the extinguishers, in his hands. He walks up to the owner and, before he can say a word, the owner hauls off and punches the kid. The extinguishers go flying up in the air... the kid is out cold.  The fire's blazing, full-force, burning the place to the ground... and I see the owner of the Texaco station... the only other gas station in town, mind you... driving by really slow, in his truck... with the biggest grin you can imagine, on his face."

 

  Wow. How do you follow up with a question, after a story like THAT?

   Eventually, Doug's brother (Davey) secured a factory ride on an XR. Doug, who was in the Junior Class, took to the track on a Triumph tuned by their oldest brother, Jimmy.
   "We were at Atlanta," Doug said, "And the track was TERRIBLE. Davey took the XR out, then came in and asked me to switch him bikes... he wanted to ride the Triumph. I said, 'Ok.' Then, I went out on the XR... and went through a fence. Davey kept the Triumph, and I loaded up what was left of the XR.
  "I went to the factory, unloaded the pieces of the XR, and carried them in. Right away, I get called to the office. I knew I was in trouble. I walked in, and there was OB. He asked me what my opinion was, about the bike.
  "I told him, 'This thing wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding. It's the worst handling piece of crap I've ever ridden.' "

  After that, OB called Babe DeMay, and started having him set up Davey's bike. When Doug bought his own XR, OB took him under his wing.

  "I got to try out factory bikes... got parts, from the factory... the mechanics... I wasn't a factory rider, but I got to try out things they couldn't put into the factory bikes. It was great."

  Of course, Doug's impressive abilities at the track went beyond racing. He was also known for his skill as a mechanic and tuner. After an ankle injury took him off the roster, in 1978, he turned his attention to tuning.  Some very recognizable names sat on the saddles of Doug's machines.

  One of the noteable riders who straddled Doug's Harley, in the last three events of 1978, was Steve Morehead. With a win and two second-place finishes, Steve secured a seventh-place finish in the year-end points standings.
  "I was actually sitting in Steve's kitchen, when O'Brien called to offer him the factory ride," Doug said. "The factory couldn't hire me, because I was Canadian. His mechanic was an excellent mechanic, but... at the time... he had no flat track knowledge, at all. I don't blame Steve, at all, for going with the factory team. He would have been crazy, not to. But, I also think it might have cost him the #1 plate for '79."

  Terry Poovey, who won the Columbus half-mile on Doug's XR in 1979, is quoted as saying that he "learned more from Doug that year than I have from anybody else at any time in my career. He was the smartest guy that I have ever been around... he was way ahead of everybody else at the time." (Source: http://templedelarenommee.ca/sehl_doug.htm )
  Doug, in turn, describes Terry as an excellent rider... and a really good guy.
  So, where does a guy with Doug's talents find himself, once retiring from the racing circuit?

  He is still turning wrenches, out of his own shop... Country Cycle and Marina, in Stillwell, OK, where he and his wife (Sandy) reside.

  "We have a great life, in a quiet town... Stillwell only has a population of about 2500 people. We have a 3-4 acre stocked pond... flat trackers are always welcome!"

  If any of Doug's old racing buddies would like to get in touch with him, he'd love to hear from you! His number is:(918) 696-6243.

  

 

  Thank you, Doug... it was a pleasure speaking with you!

 

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