Between The Motos: Blake Wharton
Thursday, March 31, 2011 | 12:15 PM
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Lots going on in Blake Wharton’s world right now. He’s fighting through shoulder injuries while trying to land on the podium, and he’s also headed to his hometown SX in Dallas this weekend, with a bunch of elementary school kids right behind him. We checked in with the man they call Purple Rain for this week’s Between the Motos.
Racer X Online: Okay Blake I’m just warning you that this is being recorded, and anything you say can and will be used against you.
Blake Wharton: No, anything I say can and will be used for me, and to help whatever cause I choose to support.
Well that’s a great transition, because I hear you’ve got a whole bunch of kids coming to the race this weekend.
Yes, its' called Tracking 21. It will be done.
Explain what this is.
It started with me going to a school to talk to the kids in a fourth-grade class. The teacher wanted to find a way to keep the kids interested in different subjects, so they focused on some of the things I did. The teacher came up with an idea where the class tracks me. Every weekend when I travel to a race, they calculate how many miles I have go, the history of each city I’m in, they use math and history and things like that. Like, over the weekend, they put a report together on the city of Toronto. The teacher has a cool way of letting the kids do fun things. We were all in fourth grade at one time and I’m sure we all wished we could have paid more attention at times.
Wharton returns to homestate of Texas for the second time in 2011.
Photo: Andrew Fredrickson
I bet they’re even teaching you some things.
Yeah well they did. I learned some things I didn't know about Jacksonville and Toronto thanks to them. Next year I’ll have to switch it up and do a fifth grade, and I’ll just keep it going all the way through high school.
You’ll have to be racing for quite some time.
Yeah by the time I’m done, I’ll be ready for college. Then I’ll be outsmarting the competition!
So the whole class is coming to the race this weekend?
Oh yeah, a whole slew of them.
It’s cool to have a home race and have the kids coming out to watch, but I hear you’re also hurt, so that’s not good.
Yes, I’m definitely wounded. I have a torn labrum in my shoulder, and I will have to have surgery after St. Louis probably. Right now I’m trying to tough it out.
Why after St. Louis?
Well, I want to get some races in. This is a big surgery, and once it’s done, I probably will be out for the rest of the year. I likely won’t even be back for outdoors.
At all?
No, not at all. It’s pretty bad. I’ve had a torn labrum for awhile, and we didn’t know it was as bad as it was. I dinged it up at Daytona and then again in Jacksonville. It’s something I need to do, but at the same time, I want to race a few more and see how it goes.
Wharton is likley to miss the entire outdoor season with a shoulder injury.
Photo: Andrew Fredrickson
Can Wharton make it back to back podiums in Dallas?
Photo: Andrew Fredrickson
Wharton will likley hang up the boots after St. Louis to undergo shoulder surgery.
Photo: Andrew Fredrickson
Racer X Online: Okay Blake I’m just warning you that this is being recorded, and anything you say can and will be used against you.
Blake Wharton: No, anything I say can and will be used for me, and to help whatever cause I choose to support.
Well that’s a great transition, because I hear you’ve got a whole bunch of kids coming to the race this weekend.
Yes, its' called Tracking 21. It will be done.
Explain what this is.
It started with me going to a school to talk to the kids in a fourth-grade class. The teacher wanted to find a way to keep the kids interested in different subjects, so they focused on some of the things I did. The teacher came up with an idea where the class tracks me. Every weekend when I travel to a race, they calculate how many miles I have go, the history of each city I’m in, they use math and history and things like that. Like, over the weekend, they put a report together on the city of Toronto. The teacher has a cool way of letting the kids do fun things. We were all in fourth grade at one time and I’m sure we all wished we could have paid more attention at times.
Wharton returns to homestate of Texas for the second time in 2011.
Photo: Andrew Fredrickson
I bet they’re even teaching you some things.
Yeah well they did. I learned some things I didn't know about Jacksonville and Toronto thanks to them. Next year I’ll have to switch it up and do a fifth grade, and I’ll just keep it going all the way through high school.
You’ll have to be racing for quite some time.
Yeah by the time I’m done, I’ll be ready for college. Then I’ll be outsmarting the competition!
So the whole class is coming to the race this weekend?
Oh yeah, a whole slew of them.
It’s cool to have a home race and have the kids coming out to watch, but I hear you’re also hurt, so that’s not good.
Yes, I’m definitely wounded. I have a torn labrum in my shoulder, and I will have to have surgery after St. Louis probably. Right now I’m trying to tough it out.
Why after St. Louis?
Well, I want to get some races in. This is a big surgery, and once it’s done, I probably will be out for the rest of the year. I likely won’t even be back for outdoors.
At all?
No, not at all. It’s pretty bad. I’ve had a torn labrum for awhile, and we didn’t know it was as bad as it was. I dinged it up at Daytona and then again in Jacksonville. It’s something I need to do, but at the same time, I want to race a few more and see how it goes.
Wharton is likley to miss the entire outdoor season with a shoulder injury.
Photo: Andrew Fredrickson
You got on the podium in Toronto, but you’re saying even if you keep getting results, eventually you will have to shut it down?
I’ve been putting it off for awhile now, and it’s getting worse. It’s tough because any fall I have could really set me back—a small crash can knock my shoulder out of the socket. I know I can do okay with the shoulder like this, but I also know I can do even better if it’s fixed.
I owe you an apology. On Monday I posted that you were on the verge of pointing out of the Lites class, but apparently the limit was raised to 120 points instead of 100 in an eight race series now, and 135 in a nine-race series.
Yeah it’s 120 so I’m fine.
Does this mean you’re already focused on 2012, since you’re getting the surgery soon?
Yes and no. Yeah, you could say that, but really, there’s never a good time to get surgery. I’ve never had surgery before, but I know how long it can take. I actually am going to get work done on both shoulders, so six weeks after I get one done, I’ll have to do the other.
So you have two bad shoulders?
My right one is worse, that’s the one I’ve been dealing with lately, but the left one has been bad for awhile.
And you can’t get them done at the same time?
No I guess they prefer not to do that.
I guess if they did you wouldn’t even be able to move.
Yeah. If they did that, I’d be like “Someone get me a snack. Someone play me my guitar.”
Can Wharton make it back to back podiums in Dallas?
Photo: Andrew Fredrickson
The guitar is second on the list only to eating?
Oh yea. Man, if I can’t play the guitar with my hands I’d be playing it with my teeth or something. I’m not giving that up. I have plenty of limbs, I can find a way.
Let’s talk about the season a little bit. You’ve ridden well at times, but I’m sure you didn’t want to go all the way to Toronto before you got your first podium of the year. So are you bummed at all?
No I’ve been pretty happy with the way I’ve ridden. I should have had more podiums, for sure. Round one I should have had a podium but I didn’t, and round two in Atlanta, I should have won the thing. I don’t want to look back and get mad about it. I’ve had some bad circumstances here and there, a crash, or a bike breaking and making me go to the LCQ, but I think people have seen that my riding is better than the results. And considering how bad the shoulder is, if I can finish out on the podium again I’d be pretty happy.
So if you don’t get a win you’re not super bummed?
No, I know what I’m capable of and I know it’s going to happen again, either this year or next year.
Talk about that hard pass you put on Sipes over the weekend. Was that revenge for Houston?
No, if you were to watch it, you’d see what I did to him was nothing compared to what he did to me. I went to the inside and I came in hot, but I turned. I completely turned. I think we barely made contact. It’s hard to say, when you get taken high in a turn it often feels worse than it is. I’ve had times where I came in and said, “Oh I got pushed off the track!” and then I watched it and realized it wasn’t that bad. Revenge? No. But at the same time, there’s a certain level of aggression you have to have or you’re going to get left behind.
Wharton will likley hang up the boots after St. Louis to undergo shoulder surgery.
Photo: Andrew Fredrickson
So it wasn’t anything to do with Sipes. You were just trying to get the lead.
Yeah, and I don’t normally pass like that. I’m not a guy that’s going to go bang bars if I don’t have to, but it’s just that the competition is so tough nowadays that you have to get aggressive sometimes. I prefer to make the pass without doing that if I can. There’s a fine line between aggression and being ridiculous, and that was just aggression. I think he could have saved it, I don’t think he had to fall.
Okay. So is this weekend the home race or is Houston?
No no, Houston is four hours. Dallas is like 30 minutes.
But weren’t you born in Houston?
I was but we weren’t living there. My parents were on vacation.
Are you serious? They went on vacation when you were due?
Yeah. You know, they were like, “Let’s make sure he’s happy when he comes out. Let’s go on vacation.” No. I was racing out to the world—I came early. I got the holeshot. Holeshot!
(Laughs). Nice. Okay Blake we’ll see you this weekend.
Excellent. Thanks man.
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Bummer for Blake means a spare GEICO bike in the paddock!!! Who's gonna get the call up???
Good interview and good luck Blake, ya Im from Plano but retired racing in 94 when you were just a pup,lol. My body gave out and I still need to have my shoulder fixed as of now I am trying to get a hip replacement. Get things patced up now because it will pay off later. I was just racing the over 30 experts back then I kinda followed your progrss cause I live in Plano. Used to practice with Denis Hawthorne and some of them if you heard of any of the fast guys form the 80's around here when you were a kid.
Good luck and keep pushing ya gotta be agressive and give no quarter. Been there done that.
Kiss your Geico Honda ride good bye!
Jimmy Decotis outdoors also!??? Just the break he was looking for I bet! I hope he gets the opportunity, such a fun kid to watch ride
Hmm...spare geico honda bike...probably will be replaced with someone already on a honda, Nico by chance? Results dont show it, but he has speed.
Get healthy Blake. Another vote for Jimmy Decotis as a fill in rider for the great outdoors.
I am pulling for Jimmy Decotis also.
Decotis for sure.... Blake is awesome hope you get better soon and the surgery goes well...and get the HOLESHOT IN Dallas. HOLESHOT!
Sucks for Blake, but at least someone will get to show their potential on a Geico bike... Hopefully they pick someone like Jimmy D or Izzi
hey blake...i'll take fries with that! ..well we will see who gets the bike..justin bogle?? Decotis wont get the ride..they need some serious backup for barcia and tomac in case one gets hurt.and he is riding for chuck e cheese i thought?yeah him and Larry bedwetter are teammates.Larry is really fast but his attitude is a little piss poor i heard.
With DeCotis already haven ridden for GEICO, it seems a sure thing but, what about Darryn Durham? Kid has showed some speed indoors and hopefully fit for MX duty plus, he was a horizon award winner not long ago....
Also, I don't agree with those stating Blake doesn't deserve his GEICO ride. He will be a headliner in the 250E next year. He has shown flashes of class leading speed several times on the eastern swing of the tour. Also, his outdoor speed / endurance is top 5 easily.
Tough break for Blake I thought he'd finish top three this season.
I'm from the vintage NESC I hope Jimmy D get's to fill outdoors. There's great youtube video of him ringing out a 125 2 stroke on a track in Maine.
Give Durham that ride!!
What a change of story, last time he spoke he told Sipes it was "REVENGE" for what Sipes did to him. Now he changes his story. Well, I think he was told by someone to not say what he said earlier, to me it was still a dirty move he put on Sipes.
yeah and the move Sipes put on him was really clean.....
Darryn Durham needs that bike. Once he rides a few races on that bike, they'll be signing Darryn for 2012. Good job at deflecting all questions blake. You said several times that the move on sipes was Payback, now you claim you ran him high and he shouldn't have even crashed. I used to be a fan blake, now you just plain bother me. Give Durham the Geico bike and lets watch him make podiums every week. Durham has heart and determination. Blake was an amatuer superstar, now he's just bothersome. I've had both my shoulders done twice~!!! Guess what blake!!! Its going to take more than the rest of the series to get those to 85%. Especially since they wont do both shoulders at once. He'll have one done, than the other about 3-4 months later. Thats how they did me. GO DURHAM!!!
Don't mean to sound negative towards Wharton, but i call it as i see it and i think Wharton is the dirtiest rider on the circuit including 450s. He, more than anyone else, will retaliate the most after getting passed and cut the inside on the next bowl turn or two. Just don't like the guy that much and i knew he was going to pull a cheap shot move on sipes after he passed him and sure enough he did. It would be different if wharton was faster than sipes but if someone who is obviously faster than you passes you then all you have left is to block pass and he does this time and time again. He also pisses me off because he does this when the leader is getting away and you want the faster guy (who just passed wharton) to start plugging away at the leader but wharton always makes it hard for the guy ahead of him to start plugging away because he's always taking cheap shots slowing the guy down...glad to see that he will be out for awhile...hopefully he doesn't come back for awhile
I don't think all the nonsense about "dirty rider" this or that really applies. I'm of the opinion you do everything in your bag of tricks to get to, or stay, up front. Block pass, brake check, etc., it's on! I don't think a "pick-up pass" is kosher but, I'm not a pro fighting for every spot, either. Personally, I've had these things done to me much more than I've done to others but, all's fair when the gate drops and no holds are barred. Then again, I'm not from the "everyone's a winner" generation.
yeah I say give it to durham. If he crashes out, give it to whoever is left.
Blake ,you remind me of myself.(Hard luck)Thanks for giving me your goggles in Toronto !! keep banging out the metal \m/
next year justin bogle is gonna replace wharton verybody knows that.
DeCotis is a punk, a complete tool!! Durham deserves that ride WAY more!!
Izzy would be the next choice after Durham.
Blake's a funny dude
Get healthy Blake! Maybe steal one hurt this year and then come back strong next year!
Blake,
I have had both shoulders reconstructed, my left one twice. I would advise you to get a couple opinions on the shoulder if you haven't already. Also take the rehab slow but do exactly what the Dr says, my buddy had his baseball career(SF Giants pitcher) ended because he didn't take the rehab serious. Good luck and hopefully when you come back you will be wearing Answer or MSR like in your early days.
Purple Rain. I love that album. Go Prince.
COOKS======= The buddy your talking about from the SF giants is one of my friends Noah Lowry. I've had 2 rotator cuff jobs too. You obviously havn't spoken to your supposed "buddy" in a while because his problems werent w/ his shoulder. He had surgery from the best surgeons the pitching staff had to offer. When he was re'habilitated he was still having the same issues. WHY do dumb@sses namedrop like they know people. Noah went to an outside specialist and they found the real problem w/ his supposed shoulder. Believe me when i tell you this Noah had his top rib removed from his ribcage. Now his problem is gone away. Too bad he lost a couple valueble years of playing but with the lawsuit he's got.... He's set for life. Just letting you know about your friend, moron.
Carlsbad,
I see your point but if someone is faster than you and you are obviously holding up the guy behind you and the guy behind you finally passes you then you should let it go (unless its the last couple laps of the race) Blake took out Sipes at the beginning of the race and he knew dang good and well that he was faster and would have passed him eventually. Still, he decided to take him out...that, my friend, is a dirty ass rider. I understand your "no holds barred" attituted as i used to be a competitive racer myself, but common sense has to come into play sometimes too. Like i said in the above post, if Sipes was holding up wharton (meaning wharton was faster) and making it impossible for him to pass, then i would understand an aggressive pass. However, wharton was the slower one, it was the beginning of the race and he knew he would get passed so after he did he took him out...LOSER! Wharton needs to find a way to get faster so he doesn't have to be a dirty rider or else stop being a little baby and ruining other peoples races
Blake,
Check out Platelet Rich Plasma therapy. The basically draw some blood, spin it down to the critical nutrients and inject it directly to the injury site. Depended on the injury it can work in place of surgery, or in addition to. My sports chiropractor said that they have seen recovery time reduced from 6 weeks to 1 week in some cases. Even if it reduces one of your surgeries to 3 weeks, it's worth checking out.
Here is a general article I found about it. You team trainer will probably be able to help more.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/sports/17blood.html