By David Bailey
A quick look through the Racer X Vault reveals three supercross’ held at the old Foxboro Stadium (yes, Foxboro Stadium in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts. We have no idea.) The winners were David Bailey at the 1983 and 1984 rounds, and Jean-Michel Bayle in 1990. These two riders are woven together in history quite a bit, not just through the odd similarity of their last names, but also through their smooth, calculated riding styles. That’s not an accident, either, as when the Frenchman Bayle came to the U.S., he always listed Bailey as the rider he liked to emulate the most. And since they both raced for Team Honda, Bayle even got to work with Bailey’s old mechanic, Cliff White.
Certainly Bailey, the 1983 AMA Supercross Champion, is a legend. Since he won the first two Foxborough Supercrosses, we asked him to share some memories with us of those races. Enjoy a history lesson courtesy of the Little Professor! Take it away, David.
My first trip to Foxborough is a memorable one. Wrangler was the main sponsor and they picked that event to do a photo shoot with some of us top guys standing next to the track as riders were going by on cue. It was really hot and the track was dry and dusty. I stood there while they photographed my butt in those jeans, but I had no idea rain was on the way on race day! More on that later. That night, the Wrangler folks took us out to Faneuil Hall and dinner and the SX title was the farthest thing from my mind. I was just happy they were involved and were going to award the overall top rider $30,000. I thought I still had a shot at their blue and yellow number plate thing and that money. As for the supercross series, Mark Barnett had a decent points lead.
Race "day" was cold and rainy and the track was mostly ruts. During the semi (that year we all rode a 12-lap semi as well as a heat to transfer into the main) Barnett had a problem in one of those deep ruts and lost the chain or it locked up. He didn't finish, and the way it worked in those days, that meant he didn’t make the main. And he was the points leader! I got great starts and ran up front in my semi and it began to sink in that if I rode well in the main I could take over the points lead.
In the main I got another good start and led until Jeff Ward reeled me in and got by. As I trailed him, my wife Gina, who I didn't know back then, was sitting in the stands rooting for Jeff! She was with Tina McAndrews, the wife of Mike McAndrews, Wardy's mechanic. So that’s pretty funny that my future wife was probably rooting against me. Anyway, with third a pretty good ways back I decided to push hard and see if I could catch Jeff, and then he made a mistake and handed the race to me. I was really happy to win, but in the back of my mind I was doing math. Somebody came over to me and said I had a 10-point lead! I was still in shock and although I didn't like how it happened, I was so excited. The hard part was knowing it would be a while before the final round in Pasadena. That was a long time to think about what I had just gained and what I had to lose. Luckily it all worked out and I came away with the supercross title.
In 1984 I went into Foxborough feeling good, but not in contention to win the title. I had met Gina, so from that perspective I was having a great year! That year she was rooting for me, and I won again. That was it for Foxboro, we didn’t have a race there in 1985, but they did go back in 1990. What’s interesting is that my mechanic for those wins was Cliff White, and he was also working for JMB when he won the 1990 race.
One other story. I'm not sure which year, but Jason Fowler (a local fast kid) won the 50cc race in Foxborough. It was a great day for both of us, but we didn't know each other back then. I raced the Boston marathon in the early ‘90s and finished seventh. He had just been injured and we met at the hotel afterwards and talked about racing chairs. Well, he really got into racing chairs! Fast forward to 2009, we were both in great shape and we squared off in the Hawaii Ironman. We had an epic dual out there in the ocean and in the lava fields. I led most of the way but I couldn't shake him! With about 12 miles to go in the marathon, he surged ahead and won the race. What a journey and what a small world.
