1985 Indy Mile



When I saw this at the Barber Museum it brought back some good memories.and a few sad ones. In 1985, Brian Taylor and I rode to Indy to see the Indy mile. It would be the last ride before Brian left for the Navy.We arrived early, about 8 am, and we were the only ones sitting in the grandstands, when a security guard told us to get out of the stands and back to the pits. We didn't argue, we went to the pit area. Since I was riding a Honda we went to the team Honda tent, where they were setting up for Ricky Graham and Bubba Shobert, we started talking to the mechanics and asking some questions. They told us to grab a couple of chairs and we ended up spending the whole day there.

A few years later I was in the Air Force stationed in Monterey CA. During the USGP races they would ask for volunteers from the Air Force to help at the track. Brian was in the Navy stationed at Long Beach so he came up for the race and a couple of my friends from Indiana came out also.  We had a great day, we were allowed full access to the pits and just about everywhere else. We were hoping for a good finish for Bubba that day and had checked out his bike before the race. The race went pretty good, I don't remember where he finished but I do remember the crash on the cool down lap.
A few more years passed and I stayed in Monterey after leaving the Air Force, I was working on a project in Salinas and ate lunch at a little grocery store/deli on River Road . They had a picture of Ricky Graham on the wall and a guy working there told me Ricky stopped in from time to time and that he had gotten his career back on track. A few weeks later I stopped in and he told me about the fire.