by Davey Coombs
450 Words: Millville
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PrintHalfway through the second moto on a hot day at Spring Creek—and on a very rough track—Christian Craig found himself with a unique challenge. Just ahead of the Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda rider was the second-oldest competitor in the race, 40-year-old Mike Brown on a KTM; just behind him was John Dowd, the oldest man on the track at 46 years, 11 months, and 21 days. Craig, who will turn 21 on July 19, is one of the younger guys in the 450 Class, but he probably never thought he would find himself as the meat in a nearly 87-year-old motocross sandwich!
Mike Brown and John Dowd are legends and still very, very fast. Both are racing the Nationals right now not only because they still love it—and they still can rail—but because they want their kids to see them out there while they still have the chops to race Lucas Oil Pro Motocross. In fact, Dowd is raising a promising young racer in his own right, and he and his son Ryan were just using the amateur days at RedBud and Spring Creek for Dowd the Younger to get a feel for what might soon be ahead for him if he pursues his legendary father's line of work.
No matter, Dowd was going fast, and poor Christian Craig must not have known he was coming, because as soon as #16 finally caught the kid on the tenth lap, Christian—who has been on the sidelines for much of the season is still trying to get back in shape—seemed to find another gear and pick it back up. Even though he’d seemed to pull the parachute already, he took off and re-passed John Dowd. No way he was going to let TWO forty-somethings beat him in a national!
Yeah, they still got it.
DC photo
Unfortunately for Christian, there were still five laps to go at Spring Creek. When he pulled the cord the second time, an anchor came out instead. His lap times went from 2:19 to 2:21, then 2:23, then 2:26....
As for Dowd, he didn't seem to notice, and he kept on plugging away, just like his buddy Brown. These guys have been racing together for more than twenty years, which means for longer than Christian Craig has been on this planet. They finished twelfth (Brown) and thirteenth (Dowd), and it made every fan there of a certain age (including this reporter) very stoked to see that these guys still have it.
After the race, Dowd and Brown sat on a cooler and bench-raced behind the podium, laughing and enjoying another remarkable moment in their collective journeys through the motocross world. Christian Craig has nothing to be embarrassed about—he was smart to ride within his means and not add another injury. And the other twenty-seven guys behind Brownie and JD have nothing to be embarrassed about either. Mike and John are two-of-a-kind: Once fast, always fast.
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One point I counted back to the teens and couldn't believe Dowd was that far up! Hope he comes out at 50.....how late did Guy Cooper do some nationals??
Those two are gems of the sport, they exude class, sportsmanship and are examples of the old adage "Age is just a number"! Each year at Millville something special seems to happen, this year it was the privilege of watching these two race!! Well done gentlemen, you inspire all of us, young and old...
Helmets off and a BIG THUMBS UP to John Dowd and Mike Brown!!!!!!!!!
Cooper returned to do the nationals at 40 and rode a KTM 520, on which I think he may have grabbed a holeshot or to...
Great angle for this weeks column DC! Both guys are deserving of the press. The downside is that they, at 40+, were the story of this class. Shame the premier class is such a snoozefest otherwise.
In the 2nd moto after a lap was in, Brown was 10th and Dowd was about 20th. By the 20 minute mark, Dowd almost on his tail. Awesome run for both.
Ironic that John Dowd inherited Mike Craig's Yamaha factory ride in '94, then went out and beat Larocco at Millville, then comes back 18 years later and beats Mike Craig's kid. Small world. Way to go, Dawg.
Dowdy needs 15 points to keep his number, which means an average 13.5 place per moto at Southwick, unless ... if he's taking the kid around to the National tracks, perhaps he'll show at the 'dilla as well!
Not to sound like a broken record, but I still say JD has more than earned the right to keep that #16 already. The 25 point rule is random and dumb as it applies to a legend like John Dowd.
And not to take credit away from Brownie, but isn't he still a sponsored KTM rider? Just makes what Dowd is doing all the more impressive.
TheChosen1 I said the same thing a few years ago wile watching JD pass the entire Honda team of milsaps, short and IT9 late in the moto..... If I am the boss I am sitting them down!!! if an erly 20's Factory guy is not is shape enough to beat a 40+ part time racer somthing is VERY wrong!! They had the speed but got tired!!
To the young riders, this should be a wake up call. It cost a lot of money to race the nationals, travel expenses, bike repairs, mom and dad's life savings. LOL Why wouldn't you train to be in the best shape possible to get the best results possible if your mom and dad are paying you ticket to ride? Young guys give back something and give yourself a chance to compete at your high level. Not taking anything away from Dowd and Brown, but you should feel something is wrong if you can't beat THE DADS! PRIDE YOUNG MEN PRIDE! or you should be racing amatuer day there just six laps not the nationals.
Chad Reed is a dad not to many dudes can beat him. So whats being a dad have to do with anything?
Great article, great racing. Hope they get their points, it inspires us oldsters to get out and keep riding.
This weeks 450 words can get cut down to just two iconic names Mike Brown and John Dowd. Im not sure how many more they will do but I sure would like to see them get there 25 a piece....hey matthes........you should do a "going for the w" with these guys... They scored more points then your man JT$ in 1 weekend then he has in 7 rounds.......just saying.........
allthough Thomas did finally get inside the top 20 in that second moto. I think he has 4 points now.
Brown is still a Factory KTM rider, just normally for the WORCs an other offroad/enduro stuff. Not SX/MX. Just curious though, where was Browns bike pitted?
starplaya4life@ I think your post would have more credibility if you used Grandpa instead of Dads. Who knows Brown or Dowd might be. There are plenty of Dad pro's in there 20's
AMA should go look at there requirement for keeping National numbers for prior champs. It should be off of how many events the guys qualify for and not how many points earned. Lets say the requirement would be to qualify for 25-33%(3 or 4 races) events and start both motos. You would weed out some of the back markers as the old pro's would hang on longer just to race, draw more fans, because people want to see these guys race.
Here is a thought, these young riders didn't get beat by 2 old guys with speed, they got beat by 2 old guys with wisdom! Always great to see Dowd and Brown out there!
DC - great read! Always look forward to seeing your articles.
In response to an earlier post, would love to see Guy Cooper get into the mix with Dowd and Brown as well. Based on some of his recent results, he still has blazing speed. He used to amaze the crowd at High Point on his RM125. He ran wide open through the series of huge, peaky doubles labled as "pit row". He hit them so hard and fast that he often over-jumped into the face of the next double... and hit so hard the ground would shake. Never let off. He was amazing.
@
RacerMX264
It was know also as Bradshaw Boulevard !
i wish this would inspire more old pros to come out and race a national, mcgrath, larocco, ferry,etc...they could all meet at one national a summer and see who could get bragging rights!
@BillC, not sure what to say. I am finding myself......ughh......agreeing with many of your recent comments. Could this be a "kinder and gentler" BillC or am I losing my mind to a dark place? I guess time will tell.
By the way, totally agree with your comment here. No excuse for a 20 year old not beating a 40+ part-time racer and father of teenagers...none at all.
JonR290 it just means you right a lot lately!! LOL
.I am really not a bad guy just don't always word things right on here maybe? I try to get my point across and don't fully explain it sometime and some people see it one way and get mad at me thinking I am slamming someone wile others see what i mean and that i did not mean any harm.
@Sef154
Two 13ths at Southwick ? .................doable for JD He has gone 6 - 3 -19 - 8
2011 8 9 8
201019 11 39
2009 3 10 2
2008 6 9 5
since 2008
I saw somewhere that he is doing Unadilla.
JimM
Pala374
Sorry guys i hit enter before I was done, Here is JD Southwick results since 2008
OA M1 M2
2011 8 9 8
2010 19 11 39
2009 3 10 2
2008 6 9 5
JimM
Pala374
Not much better , Im calling Uncle
JimM
I dont know whats more confusing... going 19-11 for 39th OA or going 10-2 for 2nd overall... Now I remember that like it was last week he actually did do that. Matt Goerke snagged the overall. but 19-11 for 39th?
@ kid381
Go to:
http://www.vault.racerxonline.com
> Venues > Moto-X338 > 2010 > 450
JimM
Pala374
@BillC, that is a fair explanation. Cudos to you for doing something few of us can do and that is recognize our own faults from time to time. I agree, sometimes thoughts are not adequately reduced to writing and there is occasionally a loss in translation from brain to keyboard.
I do not like harsh words or criticism directed toward anyone in the sport by anyone on here. People work too hard and put too much time into the sport to be cut apart, even when they behave badly. I think if there is bad behavior it is to be worked out between the teams and riders. It is a professional sport. Not everyone gets a trophy and holds hands at the end of the moto.
@BillC-If I am the boss I am sitting them down!!! if an erly 20's Factory guy is not is shape enough to beat a 40+ part time racer somthing is VERY wrong!! They had the speed but got tired!!" Good point Bill, I will have to agree with you on that one!
A big difference between these two and other past riders is they still want to be out there! They compete yearly and deserve to keep their numbers. And it's not a couple of "grandpas," it's a couple of amazing athletes. Bownie
Oops. Hit submit by accident. Brownie races WORCS, Endurocross, and always hits some Nationals. JD goes to the races with his kid and stays in decent race shape - and hasn't missed Southwick in decades!. And ... he's just amazing, especially when it comes to sand!
BTW, I just read over at Cycle News that Brown is going to the ISDE again. How come Racer X didn't tell us that? Also, Sarah Whitmore is going on the women's team.
Mike and John make me wish I was still riding and racing like I used to, but I seem to forget that I am not 20 years old when I throw a leg over a motocross bike these days. I still love to ride but seem to have let my training slip over the years.
For these 2 gentlemen that are my age to go out there and run with the talent that is out there today, shows they are willing to work to be able to go out there and just run one race a year. I hope I don't blind anyone when I tip my hat to these guys, and the sun glares off my now balding head!!
Not that I was any good but, my brain thinks I still can, my body proves, no you can't. Hell , I pulled a back muscle wiping the other day.......50 in 2 weeks.
@joemotocross589- the beauty of old age. that was some funny stuff there, makes for some good bench racing! lol
@ Everyone !!!!!!!!!!!!!
107 Signs You're Old School
1. You remember when they invented whoops.
2. You remember when the water-truck was a wooden cask hauled behind two musk oxen. Yes, oxen, dammit.
3. You've been thwacked by the surgical neoprene strand of a rubber-band start.
4. You well know the difference between a Combat Wombat, a Pursang and a Cappra.
5. You begged your dad to "forward-mount" your Elsinore's rear shocks.
6. Then you begged more for him to "lay 'em down".
7. You're familiar with Skunk Works and their whole get-up.
8. You badly desired a DG radial head for your RM-125.
9. You knew 'em as Pentons - before they were Katoomers.
10. You recall Team Tamm and L.O.P.
11. You idolized Marty Smith.
12. You knew Micky Dymond rode a Husky pretty damn well.
13. You were stunned when you heard Gerrit Wolsink became a dentist.
14. You never missed ABC's Wide World Of Sports in case they featured the USGP at Carlsbad.
15. You remember when hot-dogs were the only "health-food" available at the track
16. You dreamt of manhandling a Maico 501
17. You remember Jones goggles and Carrera's, too.
18. Ake Jonnson and Jack Van Velthoven are household names to you.
19. You've pulled serious dirt out of your nose two days after a National.
20. You've camped at both Mount Morris and Unadilla and lived to tell of it.
21. You wished you'd never bought those Scott plastic boots. But you did.
22. You've owned a duckbill visor or two.
23. You've worn football pads in a motocross race.
24. You've worn race-gloves with pieces of tires attached to the fingers.
25. You remember when box-vans were "factory".
26. You're making stupid-money selling your old motocross stuff as "vintage" on Ebay.
27. You used to think Heikki Mikkola was the baddest dude on the planet. In fact, part of you thinks he still is.
28. You've pulled the lights and blinkers off an enduro bike to race motocross.
29. You recall seeing Jim Gianatsis' name over every dirt-bike photo in the '70's.
30. Mr. Know-It-All both entertained you and pissed you off.
31. And you know who Lovely Louella is and where Chicken Licks Raceway isn't.
32. You once asked your dad if you could get a Bel-Ray tattoo.
33. Your mom ironed on a Champion spark-plug patch to your jean-jacket.
34. You've written letters to companies begging for stickers.
35. You were there when tear-offs were invented.
36. You fondly recall the Wrangler Dash For Cash in Supercross races.
37. You owned at least one "Do It In The Dirt" shirt.
38. You tear up while recalling the sound of the start of a 500 National.
39. You blasted your Zeppelin on 8-tracks on the way to the races.
40. In later years, you rode home listening to the Eagles on these revolutionary cassettes.
41. You witnessed a Supercross in Pittsburgh.
42. You saved up forever for that DG water-cooled head and front-plate radiator deal from DG.
43. You're familiar with the "Flying W", WFO and the GYDBT, amongst other terms.
44. You've purchased both Bassani and Hooker pipes for your Yamaha DT-250.
45. You installed a white fender-extender on your '76 YZ-125. Just because.
46. You used to think it nutty to pay a buck-twenny-five for race-gas.
47. You recall MXA magazine having a ROY (Rider Of The Year) that was awarded a truck.
48. You're familiar with front-falling gates, too.
49. And flag starts. Uh huh.
50. Some tracks even had traffic-light starts ! Whaaaaa ?
51. You recall the van craze and its link to mx.
52. Rex Staten always kind of scared you a bit.
53. You still think of Mike LaRocco as " that fast kid from Indiana."
54. You've ridden a bike or two up and into a pick-up truck bed.
55. You've also wadded it up performing this stunt.
56. You've raced the Open-Class. On a real Open-bike.
57. You remember the Harley-Davidson MX team.
58. You could never afford those FOX-Shox. But you desired them, badly.
59. You remember Bob Hannah's Open-Bike fan-club at Unadilla.
60. You remember an AMA National in St. Pete, Florida.
61. You thought the Husky chrome tanks were extremely sexy.
62. You were pretty sure the Hodaka transmissions were made of plastic.
63. You always knew that, by the'90's, Supercross would be live on TV on Saturday nights.
64. You used to bring your girlfriend and her dog to the races. That didn't last.
65. You recall Cycle News East & West versions. "We don't care how the hell they do it in California" - that was the East version's battlecry. Odd times, indeed.
66. You knew Can-Am's had rotary valves and no head gaskets.
67. You knew Ricky's boss had worked in the sport pretty seriously prior to getting into big-rig management.
68. You not only owned a 175, you actually raced the 175 class!
69. You still have your JOFA mouthpiece.
70. You called your pants "leathers" - even if they weren't.
71. You always wore a kidney-belt. You just did.
72. You've seen a Maico 490 Sand Spider shred the knobs off.
73. You knew who "Super Hunky" was.
74. You're familiar with terms like "Full-Floater", "Unitrak", "Monoshock" and groovy.
75. You remember the DATSUN USGP Of Motocross
76. Debruzer was some kind of handlebar pad endorsed by "De-MAN", right?
77. Tommy Benolkin's name rings a bell with you.
78. You actually attended the Kansas City Supercross.
79. You were there when Darrell Schultz won Daytona on his Chris Haines prepped CR250.
80. You knew Steve Wise was a motorcycling Mr. Do-It-All.
81. You loved watching Jimmy Ellis at the Atlanta Supercross By Wrangler on his Honda.
82. You liked those Dunlop K190's, you really did.
83. For many years it was only Metzelers for you though.
84. You did give Trelleborg's a brief try.
85. And Hi-Point's Red-Dot tires. (Hannah endorsed !)
86. You were at that 1982 Loretta Lynn's by Kawasaki. 25 classes total.
87. You've actually left a motocross race in a Ford Pinto towing a 3 rail Holsclaw trailer, by golly.
88. You've heard of both Bauers: Willi and Steve.
89. You had subscriptions to Modern Cycle & Popular Cycling.
90. You've heard the term "Maico-Breako" a time or two.
91. You would have given your left buttock for a pair of those "hi-zoot" Simons Upside-Down forks!
92. You've seen white KTM's with red-frames.
93. You actually owned a bike-cover for your machine at one point. No, really, you did.
94. You always wanted to put a 44mm Mikuni carburetor on something. Anything.
95. You knew Josh Hansen's dad raced a bit.
96. You bought a roost-boost bottle for your bike. Supposedly it straightened out the powerband or something.
97. You worked that Impact-driver like nobody's business. No Phillips-stripping for you, my brother.
98. The name Torsten Hallman was familiar to you, just like you knew well the Gunnar-Gasser throttle. Hell, everybody did.
99. You've broke more than one chain in a day. And you always carried extra master-links. You had to.
100. You knew, that if you only had five-bucks to get home on, you could get four burgers from Mickey-D's and five gallons of gas for your Econoline van. True.
101. Back then, a rhythm-section was a drummer and a bass player.
102. You wore your socks out and over your boots and your shoulder-pads under your shirt.
103. You thought Tortelli and Pastrana were things you found at an Italian deli.
104. Your buddy wore an "I'm with stupid" shirt.
105. You had, sporadically, one sleazy girlfriend that would wear that "Slave" T-shirt. That chick was fun.
106. You were introduced to Danny Laporte yet were too tongue-tied and mesmerized to speak.
107. You hazily recall there being a small bridge that the riders had to negotiate in the '70's at Una-&*(^%$# - Dilla
JonR290 thanks. And next time you think I said something bad just ask me what the hell i was trying to say and i will do my best to explan it. better than fighting right?? LOL
9lives-Mr-Mx :
Well Done ! Let me add a few
108. Lace up boots resoled to eliminate the heel.
109. Hallman leathers with knee cups
110. Orange hands
111. Drilling and tapping your forks to add air nozzles
112. Bell Star helmets
113. When helmets were one color
114. 3 classes of novices
115. 45 minute motos with 4' travel bikes
116. Your buddies stripped down Honda 305 with snuff or nots
117. CZ parts kits
118. The day the double was born
119. Allen kits
120. When bikes had points
121. Exhaust burns on your legs
122. YZ's that required a expert license to buy
123. First American
JimM
Pala374
9lives and Jimbo, That is some good stuff.Looks like I am officially old school.
The one about Dilla and High point, oh yeah, did that, it was some wild sh!t in the 80's
@ JimboMX374
Yes I knew you would throw that last on in there. I had to throw you off a little!
On this forum its poker, or I would say more like Russian Roulette!! You should only show your hand when you are either required to or in the situations where it might otherwise benefit you. A lot of players on this site have the bad habit of showing their hand when they really didn’t need to, giving out free information as a result. There are only a select few situations where it is a requirement to expose your hand to the other players at the table, and this is almost always at showdown. Happy Trails to you till we meet in Carlsbad!!!!!!!! Mr- Mx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HREAWKK4H4
9lives-Mr-Mx
Well put my man............
JimM
124. You still have your Bell Moto 3
125. You had tearoffs for the flip-up lens on your visor
126. You had Full Bore MX boots
127. You remember the national at Mexico, NY
128. You drilled holes in your fork sliders to install your TrickIt fork kit.
129. You still have your issue of Foofaraw - and remember laughing so hard you cried.
130. You tried attaching your Scott face guard to your Carerra goggles
131. Champion spark plugs were the hot set-up.
132. You attended a TransAm race when it was snowing.
133. You remember the national at Pine Top, Rhode Island.
134. You raced the amateur nationals before Loretta Lynn's
@ 9 lives... cat food ....
Since I actually took the time to read your list, it probably means that I need to do more work of myself as a person .... However, it must be admitted that your #38 is very good indeed ....
@ CR500AF My dad at one time was big wig at Husq then with Honda for years an so on!!
I know Moto MASTERS and Pine Top.............1976 all honda guys were at my house my dad had to fly to Cal then Japan later in week we had a house in California also..
We went to Delta and some went to Unadilla race was same day......... Pine top Warren Reid was my friend and my dad was John Rosenthiel buddies back then it was his step dad.
I got to see when they brought out the new rc125 type 2 bike at delta to beat Hannah didnt go as planned because of lappers even back then,imagine that ..
Cristian Craig has the same attitude/lack of effort his dad had... they are incredibly talented riders but dont take racing seriously, ride fast for a bit, get tired and gives up..... what a shame for a "professional racer" and you can even see it in his interview demeanor...... lazy! To get soundly beat by +40 year old retired racers and one on less than top quality equipment is just plain crazy to be collecting a paycheck for
@ Osteo
# 73 My dad was friends with the one and only "Super Hunky " people laugh He was an Ohio joker in the begining and smart military, and he always had the best philosophy about what the readers wanted for the publication , man that guy is a real stud in the day and real cool.............When he knew my Grandma called me Lil Mx he used to refer to me as that how cool..........My dad back then had the old handle bar mustache just like him, I can picture that tube of wax in the medicine cabniet like it was yesterday............... I really had a lot of favorits but cant list them all >>>>>>>>>>> I think I have over 700 now I will add it to my Manifesto or something............ I really would like to start a small museum attached to my new house project when I build but not sure were I will end up maybe Charlotte not sure yet.
Also, Mike Brown has got be considerd one of the best moto riders in the Wrold right now along with Taddy Blasuziak
Not sure if the question to the Cooper question got answered in all the words above, but I'm pretty sure he was "only" 40 when he was getting holeshots with his KTM 860, or whatever displacement they allowed that year. He did well at some off-road events after that, also.
I talked to him briefly at a ISDE qualifier in OK. He's a real nice guy, just loves to ride.
@ 9 lives
As someone who was fortunate enough to have raced amateur MX back in the days of two strokes, I must say that the sound of a starting line filled with two strokes ... all maxed out as far as rev limiter would allow ... will never be forgotten ....
#135 being able to tell which class was on the track just from the sound. You still can, kind of, but it used to be a lot easier.
#136 Racing your bike in the class it belonged in.In WI district 16, you can run a 250 4 stroke in open class & a 250 2 stroke in any class.
In defense of Christian Craig, the guy's been hurt more than not over the last couple of years. I'm sure he's not up to top fitness, but he's out there trying to compete. Let's face it. Call them "gramps," or whatever. Dowd and Brown are the kind of riders that rarely come along!
And 40+ eligible Tony Lorusso showed up at NESC MX338 race this weekend and showed all the youngsters in the pro classes how to do it.
Hopefully Tony races the Southwick national again this year.
# 137 Tonewall lurking for 40 years in the pines looking for big foot
# 138 caseyponds still looking for that one pickup to give ride to race
@9lives-Mr-Mx - love the list which is why I had to add a few. There were so many of your 107 that hit home.
Also love the stories - keep 'em coming. Hanging with Team Honda - that would have been a blast.