What's Your Unadilla Moment?

That race was the first time I went there. I was in the corner where he let Reed by. I could tell right away that he let him by and I was wondering if he was going to do what he did. I was telling my buddies he did it on purpose and they thought he was having an issue and that he did not let Reed by.

 I was also there when RC got landed on.   And again at Binghamton when they collided again. I got a good photo f the Binghamton crash. A friend of mine got the images that get shared often of the Dilla crash.

 But the most wild story I have is from the time I brought a couple local Pros out to race. And one of the kids Dads was walking around in the pits naked with a giant spear .  Talking about how there was going to be some civil war or something. Saying some wild stuff. The Guy is a genus , worked for the government and has designed tools for big tool companies. 

 Well the next day his kid goes out. And ends up not making it into the motos. I was out taking photos during practice and went back before the first moto to download my memory cards and grab some drinks before heading back out to get photos of the motos. I was inside my toy hauler and saw Security swarm the kids Dad's van . They came out of it with a big steak knife that I let him borrow to make a sandwich. I remember thinking to myself, This is not going to be good.......................  

  I was waiting inside and Big John ( I think that is his name) the head of security knocked on my door. I was worried. What did the guy do. Did he use my knife???   I thought about hiding. But opened the door. Big John asked were the rider was. I asked what was going on? And that was when I found out what happened. The kids Dad had took that 5 foot long spear. And threw it at the Air Force guys that were on the track for opening ceremonies. It was/is a legit , razor sharp metal spear.  It landed at the feet of one of the air force members. Security talked him and cuffed him. 

  For the next couple hours I kept hearing them page the rider asking him to go to a certain gate number. I ran into him after the first motos and asked him what they wanted. He told me he was going to just avoid them because he did not want to get kicked out. SO his dad sat in a cruiser for most of the motos and then spent some time in a place to help get his mind right.  

They ended up not charging him with ANYTHING. And he even got the spear back!! He brought it with him when he came to get some of his stuff from my shop after his stay in the government funded hotel. We setup a target of half inch plywood and he and I, and a couple buddies took turns throwing it. It stuck right into the plywood. He was pretty accurate with it. But one of my buddies missed the target and it went right through the office door out into the garage!! It was sharp! He told me that some great warrior gave it to one of the Kennedy's  and than he got it  somehow. 

 I have some other stories , but I'll save them for another day. Unadilla is a great place to go. You never know what might happen,      

https://youtu.be/IdeX-5UG398?si=khmpfNtJYgbjtT8O

pourcel getting the overall at dilla in his 250 come back season , forgot the yr but I remember him racing with valli Yamaha tht yr 

One of my Unadilla moments was also the 1987 MXofNAT. Being a former Hi-Torque employee, I was always looking for a chance to scuttle any of my Hi-Torque’s buddies plans. Arriving a day earlier than my HT buddies, I proceeded to the firehouse where you picked up your credentials. I had two friends with me, that I had picked up at Binghamton airport. At the firehouse, we became Scott Wallenberg, Robert Rex and Mark Thomas, my former colleagues at HT. These were the good old days, so no ID required. VIP pit and parking passes 😀😂. Imagine the surprise when I ran into my buddies from HT at the races, on the infield.” Hey! How did you guys get in here?”. One of the best weekends I ever had, and my two young friends from the UK also had one of the best stories to tell on returning to their homeland 👍

2018 AMA National, the year Musquin won the 2nd moto. There was thunder, heavy downpours and lightning in the distance, the motos were delayed at least an hour, stayed for the whole day, (2nd 450 moto was shortened I think) and got wetter and more rain than ever before in my life, and it rained the whole 4 hours home so badly we had to stop several times became a 7 hour ride. Craziest event ever! Been to probably a dozen Unadilla's and there is a great story with every one.

Any time Roczen races Unadilla.

You'll love it Alph! Wear comfortable shoes and walk around the whole track. We always set our chairs up on the far back hill then go for a walk. (Bring a screwdriver or something to dig holes for the rear legs of your chairs so you'll be level on the hill).

My son can't make it this weekend, so I'm going to miss it also. With KR94 coming back, it should be an epic day as long as the weather holds.

Please post a rundown of your 1st Unadilla experience when you recover.

.Now if we are talking Unafukindilla moments the Jammer I can't talk about and a bunch of "got to have it all" that never happened. 😁

It was DOWNPOURING on our way home so bad we to pull over because we couldn't see. I think iit's the only time in my life i couldn't drive because it was raining so hard

Scew u was a lot fucking steeper than it looked in photo's. 

I have two moments; 

2001 watching Travis win his last moto then lawn dart himself into a concussion the second moto. That entire season with Langston was incredible!

Friends and I were standing right on the inside fence line when Stew landed on RC. I’ll never forget hearing that that little man yell at the top of his lungs while lifting Stew’s bike over his head to get going again.

You don’t think it’s steep until you have to walk up that damn thing 😂

I clipped my shoulder on a dumpster at a gncc lol

We stayed in the MXGP pro pits in the van and barely got any sleep with all the craziness blowing up shit for most of the night.

Americas 1st MXoN was an amazing race!!!

We watched a guy on a Maico 490 get stuck halfway up. He spun his tire, smoked his clutch, then stalled it facing uphill. I felt bad for the guy, but it was pretty entertaining watching him figure out how to get back down & start again.

It's absolutely a must-see part of the track.

Living fairly close by been to most every race starting in the late 70's - The fall Trans-Am races were epic - especially getting to see Roger and the rest of the Europeans we read about (back when you could set scaffolding up on the side of the Gravity Cavity). Best races - both times RC got beat(which was rare). The time Reynard beat RC straight up on the 125 - RR was flying, taking the second corner berm at the base of the tower wide open with feet on the pegs. The other when RC was on the 250 and K-Dub on the 450, RC was just wringing out the 250 but K-Dub was just on it. Non racing events - Girl flashing at the bottom of the Gravity Cavity at the 87 MXDN, Girl flashing in the pits after the races, girls painting each others topless bodies with ice cream cones during the races, crazy times the nights before - huge bonfires, loud music and who else knows what went on. Other great moments - The sheer speed of RC (remember Reed saying at the press conference that he just could not go that fast, and a few years later he won). John Dowd almost winning on a privateer Kawasaki before it sucked dirt and blew (they forgot to water the track). Watching Ken Roczen just smoke everyone a few years back - have a picture of him with a huge lead already by the third corner. One of my favorites was Jett taking the title last year at the Unadilla national - he just held that trophy and read the names, you could tell it was special. Sorry for the long post, just so much history there!  

I went in 2010 when I was attending graduate school in Ithaca. I took my 5 year old son. I saw the machine, which is Dungey, just obliterate the field. I saw Stewart race on his San Manuel Yamaha.

Arriving as a ten year old at the first ever race in 1969. The grass was 3’ high. 1979…..BURN THE SHITTERS

Johnny O leading until running out of gas right before finish and Hannah winning. Then Hannah set his helmet down as the crowd swarmed and someone stole his helmet and Hannah yelled, Who the fuck stole my helmet on air. 

Too many memories.. Seeing Decoster crawl up to the top of the screw U in the mud, Pomeroy getting up to the lip only to slide back down losing the lead.  Back in the day the screw u was full of whoops going UP  , it was very difficult to make on a good day. 

Raced the support class in 85 on my cr500. First and only time I could pin it on a track with that bike. 

Lending my new cr250 to one of the riders on the spanish team for the 87 Des Nations, that was a mistake!

It's a shame they have ruined the track with jumps...

I have a ton of memories also & all of them shared with my son. I started taking him at around 5 years old & he's 30 now.

Your "flashing" comment reminded me of the time Brian was about 7 & we were on our way out of town heading home. There was a house about 4 or 5 miles from the track that had a deck built on as the front porch. There were 6 or so HS age ladies that decided to jump up and flash us as we drove past (in my old Mustang GT with the top down).

Without thinking, he just pops off with a super excited "HOLY SHIT!". First time I ever heard him curse, and it was a proud dad moment.

We still laugh about it.

Larry's coming to Dilla this year. Come for the flashbacks, stay for the racing!

Do I really just have to pick one?? There too many to choose from for me:

1) Traveling to Unadilla in the family van as a kid in the 70's every October for a Trans-Am/USA... and the sights and experiences we always knew we'd see both on and off the track! The hot fried dough covered in sugar from the local VFW, the crisp fall air, and the sheer pleasure of a magnificent New York autumn.

2) Standing in the pits Saturday afternoon watching Keith McCarty put stickers on Bob Hannah's OW and having him slap a Red Dot Tire sticker on my hat-- all while watching Marty Tripes peeling out on the grass in the pits in a Trans-Am / or Firebird rental car!

3) Standing along the fence where Hannah and DeCoster collided in 1978 at the Trans-Am... still the best motocross battle I've ever witnessed !

4) Being there for the '87 MXDN and witnessing everything that went down in the mud that day... 

5) Actually racing on this track in 1997... and pretty much laughing in disbelief the entire time on the fact that I was finally racing on it after all those years... Also going with friends to the Rewind / Vintage events...

6) Cherished memories- stopping at a random New York High School Football game one Friday night in the 70's on our way to the track and eating pizza with my Uncle Nick (RIP) and my brother and my Dad.... We couldn't find anywhere to eat and we saw the lights and figured that they would have some food there... We cheered for the local team whoever they were too!

7) 2024-- This weekend-- My brother and I are treating my Dad to the VIP section for his 80th Birthday because he's an awesome Dad and besides thanking him for taking us to Unadilla all those years we just want to continue to add another chapter of going there together!

We can't wait to get back there this weekend!

If you know, you know!  "You had to be there!"  First went in '78 and camped fall of '79 on (usually 2 nights). Learned all about partying and witnessed some tremendous racing and hall-of-famers.  Waking up on Saturday with the valley fogged in , promotor hammering stakes and running banners around 5 foot high grass.  Then the best in the world carving in the iconic circuit and mixing that grass into loam and bumps that are not seen today.  

My moment was seeing DeCoster and Hannah battle to the death at the '78 Trans-Am on our second time there.  Yet to see a battle like that one.  Epic, hooked for life

There are too many more to list!

August 7th 2015. Gorgeous Morning at Unadilla. This is Motocross