Leftclankers
Hank Scott
(Originally posted on Flattrack.com)
Hank Scott spent some time with Mia, one of The Fans in the Stands
Since I retired in 87 I have been busy building up my business, racing with my boys & just doing the things many of us want to do but don't find the time while
we’re so involved with our own racing. Dirt track took a lot of my time & time away from my Family. I missed a lot of things you see with your child growing up with
my first born, & decided I raced long enough & didn't want to miss those moments with my second born. The building of the bikes & engines for so many years took its
toll on me. I grew weary of the grind. While on the race track I forgot about that & it was game on, but when it was over, reality set in again & it was back to the same routine again.
Do I ever miss it? Maybe at first, but as the years wore on, no. That was another life. Things change sometimes and not for the better. I see that happening to dirt track & I wish the guys coming up
could have had the same opportunities I had. It's a shame.
As a Novice I missed much of my season traveling with Gary to help him. I never won as a Novice… came close but didn't have much help during that time. As a Junior I was dominate, # 1 Junior in the nation,
won 28 events, beat the experts a number of times. I had so many great Moments as a Junior, hard to narrow it down to any one particular event. Beating all the experts at Northville Downs in 73 stands out. Won the team USA VS Team Michigan
event that night. That stands out. A Yamaha 750 wasn't supposed to do that on a track like Louisville Downs. As a Rookie I won the Syracuse Mile, Your first national win always stays with you. I think I finished 8th in the points that year, maybe ninth…
that was long ago. I think that was good, because I did miss much a number of Nationals due to a broken back suffered at Kenton Ohio in July.
Favorite track. I loved Du Quoin, & Indy. Really I liked just about all the tracks I raced on. I had more success with some more than others. I really looked forward to Indy. If I hadn't broke there the times I was leading or in the top 3 in contention
I feel I would have had 6 to 7 wins there. I really like it. Fast straights with 2 distinct corners… getting through them fast while keeping your wheels in line was the answer. I Broke my 100 MPH lap record set at Du Quoin in 78 at Indy in 80. I went
102 and some change in the daytime on my Harley that made 80 HP, 35 MM forks.
The miles were good to me because I could build speed on them. I got faster the longer the race went on. Don't get me wrong, I won some of them just flat out from the start. That was rare ,most of the time it
was a dog eat dog affair. For one reason or another I could roll throuh the corner without stepping my wheels out at a fast speed. Called two wheeling. I think that was because of
the Yamaha's I raced. You had to keep them tracking. They did not go forward as a Harley did while sideways. It taught me to go fast keeping the wheels tracking. I'm sure that helped me
develop into a good two wheeler.
I did have racers I looked up too. Nixon was a favorite while I raced semi-pro & sportsmen stuff. When I turned pro you see things different. I think Mert Lawill was one I admired the most. Mert could do it all. He
was truly a racer & innovator in Dirt Track. I raced against the best that Dirt track has offered in my time period. If I were to name them off you would be astonished. The total National wins of them will stagger the mind.
In that time you would line up look down the line & see guys like Keener, Beauchamp, Gary Scott, Roberts, Boody, Springer, Kidd, Lawill, Myself, Farris, Palmagren, Morehead, Dave Sehl, Aldana, Gillispie the list goes on. Some real talent.
I've won on Yamaha's, Triumphs, Norton, Harley's, Honda's, of them all without a doubt was the Triumph as the most versatile & best handing bike I've ever rode. Second would be the Norton of Ron Woods, third my Champion Framed Yamaha 750 out of Pates in TN.
next would be the Harley & last the Honda.
I was fortunate enough to work with some of the best tuners in the sport. Shell Thuet, Carl Patrick, Jerry Branch, Sal Acosta, Dan Thompson, I learned a great deal from all of them. I paid attention to what was going on
I was a hands on racer. Built much of what I raced. I think if the racer had to build his own engines & bikes, I would have been a multi Champion. These guys helped me learn a trade which I use to make a living to this day. When
all the crowds are gone, you've raced your last race, life begins? Being able to make a living outside of racing has to figure in. I was glad, no I was smart I paid attention, Because it gave me a way to make a living.
The changes I see in Dirt track to me are not good. The decline of the sport, which in my opinion is some of the best racing found anywhere has
me deeply saddened. When I came up, racing was abundant. You could race 4 times a week in the summer & in the Winter we had indoor short track on concrete as well as dirt. The grass roots level of scrambles racing & semi-pro is where the next generation of up & comers came from.
That has all but vanished. Now the dominate sport is MX & Road Race.
As a Junior I won some 28 AMA Pro races. I can't tell you how many times I raced in 73 to get those wins, but racing was everywhere. From NY, PA, Ohio, Delaware, Indiana, Tn, Florida, Mo, Ill, Wisc, Michigan, Iowa, Alabama, Ga. My gosh it was everywhere. I'm not even counting the west coast which had racing every Friday Night at Ascot up to Castle Rock. The great Sport of Dirt Track racing is disappearing.
I only wish the guys coming up could experience what I did. Living out of your Van, racing as much as you can, learning from the veterans, taking showers at another racers shop or home when you could or using a, truck stop, the constant care of your bike after every race, traveling the National circuit. What a ride it was. From a youngster eagerly waiting for my Dad to take me to the cycle shop to get the latest issue of Cycle News & read you won that weekend on the AMA Circuit. Was it Mann, Romero, Lawill, Fred Nix, Nixon, Ronnie Rall, Larry Darr or Dave Sehl, Aldana?
It was the greatest sport on two wheels. It continued on like that while fate gave me the chance to make my mark in the sport. I only wish it was there for the great talented racers we have today. I don't see Dirt Track continuing on the way we once knew it.
As for what could I tell a young guy coming up through the ranks trying to make his Mark? I only wish he could have seen it in its glory years. The National AMA Dirt Track circuit is gone. The AMA has little or nothing too do with dirt track anymore. It is sad that such a great sport has declined as it has. This is not due to the fact that it produces poor racing, on the contrary, there is none better on planet earth in my opinion.
The decline I think is in part because Motocross has replaced much of what the youth now concentrate on as well as road race. I won the San Jose mile live on Wide World of sports, you don't see that type of stuff anymore. If I thought Dirt track was the future for my 2 boys, I would have put them on dirt trackers & went Racing. The talent was in their blood and for sure their father knew how to build them & make them Handle. I wish I had the power that Superman has and spin the world backward to a time where Dirt Track racing was the AWE to every form of motor sports racing in the world. I think it could rebound with the right people in charge , a major sponsor & lots of money to promote it. Lets hope that happens.
Hank
