Orlando Sports Stadium

JOHN CHOATE
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JOHN CHOATE 12/23/2008 9:21pm
12/23/2008 9:21pm
floridaflash wrote:
Harold Buckingham who rode for Barneys I used to see every week at the races, his kids raced with my son, I talked to Joey Gratton...
Harold Buckingham who rode for Barneys I used to see every week at the races, his kids raced with my son, I talked to Joey Gratton a few years ago at one of the boat races, one of my good friends works for Mercury. I also see Kenny and Jon McCabe as well. Heck what about Dan Farley, the Dillons,Tony Adair, heck I could go on forever.
Man, I'd love to see Joey again. I have a picture in my scrapbook of me sitting on his YZ 400 at the Clewiston round of the Fla. Winter-Am. I really looked up to him when I was little.
FlashptA10
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Silver Springs, FL, USA
FlashptA10 12/24/2008 7:27am
12/24/2008 7:27am
Hey you guys, If you are stil in Fla check out FLVMX.com. I have been riding with them for the past few years and its a blast riding the vintage series.
Kevin Politte
EbarDP48
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Groveland, FL, USA
EbarDP48 12/24/2008 8:45am
12/24/2008 8:45am
floridaflash wrote:
Harold Buckingham who rode for Barneys I used to see every week at the races, his kids raced with my son, I talked to Joey Gratton...
Harold Buckingham who rode for Barneys I used to see every week at the races, his kids raced with my son, I talked to Joey Gratton a few years ago at one of the boat races, one of my good friends works for Mercury. I also see Kenny and Jon McCabe as well. Heck what about Dan Farley, the Dillons,Tony Adair, heck I could go on forever.
JOHN CHOATE wrote:
Man, I'd love to see Joey again. I have a picture in my scrapbook of me sitting on his YZ 400 at the Clewiston round of...
Man, I'd love to see Joey again. I have a picture in my scrapbook of me sitting on his YZ 400 at the Clewiston round of the Fla. Winter-Am. I really looked up to him when I was little.
I used to work (electrician) for the man that ran the Clewiston track. It was great to be able to get paid to prep the track on a loader during the weeks the races took place.
Bert
FlashptA10
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FlashptA10 12/24/2008 8:54am
12/24/2008 8:54am Edited Date/Time 4/16/2016 9:38pm
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North South race at hyatt cycle park

Kevin Politte

The Shop

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FlashptA10
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FlashptA10 12/24/2008 8:57am
12/24/2008 8:57am Edited Date/Time 4/16/2016 9:38pm
Palm beach Stadium SX 125 Expert class.
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Kevin Politte 671
flarider
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flarider 12/24/2008 2:59pm
12/24/2008 2:59pm
182 is Curt Shambley
82 is my brother, Ken Kimmey
and 671 is that gate jumping cheater, Kevin Politte

Kevin....Ken wanted to know what ever happened to Gary Ethridge
FlashptA10
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FlashptA10 12/25/2008 11:35am
12/25/2008 11:35am
Winners dont cheat they just ride out front. You should know that. i won that night and my front wheel was missing the axle nut. only a carter pin was in the axle with a washer holding it together I was ready to bale off if the wheel came off LOL. Gary worked with me at the Hollywood fire Dept. I just retired and he is retirig soon moving north to Green Cove Springs just south of Jacksonville on the St. John's River.

I live in Silver Springs Fla near Ocala and hard Rock MX. Going to ride the AHRMA National at Gaterback MX in March.

Kevin
rsw511
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rsw511 4/27/2009 10:38am
4/27/2009 10:38am
I raced many times at the Sport Stadium 1970-72. That was when Russ Cota was the promoter. My racing buddies and I (hippies all) went to lots of concerts there and then camped out for the races the next day. Man, it was a rough place and that grey sand was deep. On a 100cc bike, you really had to keep your speed up to get through the sandpit in front of the stands or you could get stuck trying to escape at the other end - very embarrassing. I remember seeing Dorsey Fields drop into that pit - I guess it was after they put the culvert jump in front of it - in perfect Hannah style, hands on the bars, feet trailing behind in the air, never backing off at all - years before Hannah. You could really blast through that first turn which banked almost like a modern supercross turn. There were also some good fast sections on the backside of the track, not to mention the big manmade hill along the canal. Watching Adolph Weil come down the side of that thing at the '71 Inter-AMA - wow. Many parts of the original track were bordered with barbed wire!

The fastest local guys then were Dorsey Fields, a butcher from Leesburg; Bobby and Pat Ellis from Deland, Lynn Bowden and John McKnight from Ocala, Johnny Borders from Georgia, John Joyner and Dan Farley. Lots of fast guys - it's hard to remember it all from so long ago. Those were great days to be a motocross racer in Florida.

The Inter-AMA in '71 was incredible. Sylvain Geboers on the Suzuki beat everyone mercilessly. The guy just checked out. It was a great lesson in sand riding.

A question: do any of you guys who raced at Palm Beach baseball stadium remember a skinny black kid named Beanie Comerford? He was really fast and fit, raced every expert class and had many epic races with Doug Longwell. He was so good I was sure he'd go pro - then I moved away from S Fla and never heard of him again.
croom mx
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croom mx 4/27/2009 12:42pm
4/27/2009 12:42pm Edited Date/Time 4/27/2009 12:44pm
I remember him but I dont what happened or why he stopped riding? Doug Longwell was really fast also but he quit riding to. That baseball field was really a joke for racing but I remember just about every rider in Florida showed up to race.
Tommy
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Mims, FL, USA
Tommy 5/20/2009 11:20am
5/20/2009 11:20am Edited Date/Time 4/17/2016 12:00am
Westerman's Sister (Teri) wrote:
Hey does anyone have pic's or some really special memories from the 70's at the Olando Sports Stadium? My parents owned the concessions there, my brother...
Hey does anyone have pic's or some really special memories from the 70's at the Olando Sports Stadium? My parents owned the concessions there, my brother (Robert Westerman) and many friends (Alan Ashlock, David and John Rienholt to name a few) raced there for several years.
I raced there a few times in 1976 in the open class. I think I remember night races there but my memory is fading. I raced with Conrad Eigenmann who at the time raced in the 250 class. The picture in my profile is a combined 250 and open class race when there were only 3 open class racers showed up. Conrad now owns Spaceport Cycles in Titusville.
project racer 5/20/2009 12:20pm
5/20/2009 12:20pm
Orlando was a neat place. I remember the '79 Winter-Am on saturday amateur day. No A,B,C classes. Only Mini ,100,125,250, and Open. There was like 167 125 riders, 139 250 riders. By the time practice, qualifiers, and consolations were over, it was pretty damn rough. Got 11th in my qualifier, 8th in my consi. Did not make the 2 moto program that day.
Here is a shot from a regular District 8 race there , also in '79.


Ken Fineis 7/2/2009 9:02am
7/2/2009 9:02am Edited Date/Time 7/2/2009 9:04am
I remember racing many weekends during the early 80's. John Choate Robert Carpenter, and I had some great battles in the 250 B class. That track was one of the roughest tracks to ride along with Cocoa and Chicken Farm. My uncle Gary Paul(3 years younger than me) raced there many times too. I will have to look at home for some photos. Ken
FlashptA10
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FlashptA10 7/2/2009 10:11am
7/2/2009 10:11am Edited Date/Time 4/17/2016 12:42am
Maybe Kenny will see this
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zippy895
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zippy895 7/3/2009 6:29pm
7/3/2009 6:29pm
Tbteam wrote:
I still see Doug Dillon around town once in a while. Still kickin around Daytona Beach.
would you happen to know were he is working ?
zippy895
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zippy895 7/3/2009 6:33pm
7/3/2009 6:33pm
Ken Fineis wrote:
I remember racing many weekends during the early 80's. John Choate Robert Carpenter, and I had some great battles in the 250 B class. That track...
I remember racing many weekends during the early 80's. John Choate Robert Carpenter, and I had some great battles in the 250 B class. That track was one of the roughest tracks to ride along with Cocoa and Chicken Farm. My uncle Gary Paul(3 years younger than me) raced there many times too. I will have to look at home for some photos. Ken
your uncle,gary paul was a fast sob
Tbteam
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Tbteam 7/5/2009 9:10am
7/5/2009 9:10am
Tbteam wrote:
I still see Doug Dillon around town once in a while. Still kickin around Daytona Beach.
zippy895 wrote:
would you happen to know were he is working ?
I can't remember, but if you look him up in the phonebook or call information I'll bet you would find him.
Ken Fineis 7/6/2009 9:40am
7/6/2009 9:40am
Zippy, Gary is still racing here and there. He is on a Kaw 450 now.
JOHN CHOATE
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JOHN CHOATE 7/7/2009 7:01pm
7/7/2009 7:01pm
Ken Fineis wrote:
Zippy, Gary is still racing here and there. He is on a Kaw 450 now.
Wow, another blast from the past. How are you doing Ken???

Pit Row

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Ken Fineis 7/8/2009 11:52am
7/8/2009 11:52am
I am doing great. I have 2 boys that race...go figure. I now have a Yamaha Suzuki dealership. How about you? Ken
monte hoge
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monte hoge 7/8/2009 8:28pm
7/8/2009 8:28pm
Raced there many times, some good, some bad.
project racer 7/8/2009 10:15pm
7/8/2009 10:15pm
monte hoge wrote:
Raced there many times, some good, some bad.
I do not know you personally, but remember you from the 78-81 era on the Maico's. Sunshine Cycle days.
bowers 1/2
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bowers 1/2 10/27/2009 8:08pm
10/27/2009 8:08pm Edited Date/Time 4/17/2016 2:58am
Hey guys, i ran Orlando NMA in '74. Won short track(night racing) & motcross 100 cc minicycle and 2nd in the 80 cc short track night race. benn a year or two since and don't remember too many filks but i rode a hodoka # 1/2. Be wild if anyone could remember me from way back. Those were undoubtably the greatest days of my life riding as a kid with Jeff Ward, Rhett Radford and many, many other GREAT riders i can't remember!!!
David_Motay 12/24/2010 6:30pm
12/24/2010 6:30pm Edited Date/Time 12/24/2010 8:33pm
Who was the local fl. hotshoe back in 1977 NMA am, class....this very short kid with sweet style on a suzki in the open class,him and bailey were diceing it out the whole series...
He used to show up with his family in a full blown m.x. box truck...
I think his last name was olson ??? anyone remember this guy
BVS40FL
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BVS40FL 12/25/2010 6:02am
12/25/2010 6:02am
Are you thinking of John Olten ?
David_Motay 12/25/2010 7:24am
12/25/2010 7:24am
That was the guy,good style,smooth and fast...
Tbteam
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Tbteam 12/25/2010 7:31am
12/25/2010 7:31am
I Emailed your question to David. His response:

"John Olten..?  We went back n forth in '77 or '78. He had a blonde fro and was pretty quiet and nice"
mx400bee
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Kannapolis, NC, USA
mx400bee 12/25/2010 7:44am
12/25/2010 7:44am
Merry Christmas to you and your family Mark.
oldschoolmxr203 12/29/2010 12:01pm
12/29/2010 12:01pm
1975 or 76 on a CR125 Elsinore..

This Picture was taken in 1977 or 78 both it and the other picture were taken at Orlando Sports Stadium
GRTracer19
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Sorrento, FL, USA
GRTracer19 3/23/2012 7:52am
3/23/2012 7:52am
I think I must have made a million laps around the old sports stadium track from 69 till the late 70's (crashed too many times on the tunnel jump too!)
I'm John Gore (#19)
Also raced a bunch with Dorsey Fields and rode for his brothers Bultaco shop(leesburg) in 73 and 74.
There were some fast boys at the sports stadium in those days!!
Other tracks included Bithlo, Dade City, etc etc.
Any of you also do any TT or short track ?
I used to race TT @ dade city and maybe a short track along with a Sunday MX somewhere just about every weekend and on the same bike,,
Laced up some short track wheels( 250 Bultaco Pursang) for Dade City and Ocala and ran either the short track setup or the knobbies depending on track conditions.....LOVED TT at Dade city and also later at Zuber in Ocala...
GRTracer19
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GRTracer19 3/23/2012 10:43am
3/23/2012 10:43am Edited Date/Time 3/26/2012 5:41am
to; teri Westerman
Aren't you married to Bill Kempke? (or is it one of your sisters)? I worked with Bill long ago...

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