2021 Wauseon Vintage Flat Track Races
There is nothing quite like the atmosphere of grass roots flat track events like the Wauseon Nationals half mile horse track at Ohio's Fulton County fairgrounds. This year's Wauseon Nationals presented by Roeder racing was a bit bitter sweet as the shutdowns of 2020 kept the event from happening a full year and then after much hard work to bring it back for 2021 the day of the event, in which racing was to begin, was unfortunately met with many obstacles surrounding the extremely unpredictable weather. No matter what the circumstances, if the track is just not safe enough or dry enough to race, you simply just can't allow people to put themselves at risk. So George and his team made some tough calls and moved the entire race program to the next day on Saturday. Well the rain kept up strong all Friday night and into the morning hours and the track stayed an ever sketchy and flooded state until the mid afternoon when the sun came out behind the clouds gave us a little drying assistance and the sweet roaring sound of practice laps finally began. A bit burnt out from the weather but yet still unthwarted the racers took the track with a sense of purpose.
As the afternoon pushed on they ran all the different classes in several heats most of which were a fantastic mix of entertaining vintage bikes from 70s and 80s singles, to hopped up British and Japanese parallel twins, American v-twin 45 flathead, then all the way back to early 1900's antique board track racers. The crowd was enthusiastic for a few thrills and spills throughout the day but the anticipation really grew for the mains and feature events first of which was the showdown at sundown between Jake Johnson and George Roeder himself on matching Dick Ford XR750 Harley Davidsons rebuilt by Travis Smith. The showdown at sundown is easily a fan favorite every year. Watching the legendary George Roeder take on his rivals from the past and up to more recent AFT pro's like Jake Johnson. It's not every day you get to see two legends battle it out on the track, and for many it's something that can't be missed every year.
The second main event was the Old Bike Barn "Dash for Cash" which was reserved exclusively for 70's and 80's single cylinder motorcycles. The event shaped up to have a great line up with an impressive mix of Hondas, Yamaha's and one Kawasaki. The racers lined up and ripped through the first lap with a sense of heightened competitive spirit not yet seen throughout the day.
Sometimes in the heat of intense track crowding while trying to maintain positions the worst imaginable thing happens and a rider loses control of his bike going down in a turn. This happened to Anthony Pearson on his Honda XR and as he slide out his bike went down in the direct path of Shawn Martin going full throttle on his Yamaha XT500. Shawn's bike made direct impact with Anthony's bike, having no time to react and nowhere else to go in that split second situation. Shawn's front rim and forks were completely destroyed sending him lunging forward and immediately snapping a bone in his leg. The caution flags went up and emergency crews rushed to the track to get Shawn to a nearby hospital fast. The racing took a break until the dust had settled and everyone got ready to line back up and restart the race on lap 2.
The remaining racers lined up and once again began the fierce competition and right out the gate Troy Erichson's frame snapped sending him into 4th place. The up and coming Johnny Bova II and Nick Myers battled it out for the winning position with Brain Mcroberts not far behind in 3rd. In the last lap Myers got the jump on Bova and took the lead to be our main winner in the Old Bike Barn Dash for cash. We recently heard from Shawn via facebook that his surgery went well and he's healing up, we wish nothing but a speedy recovery to shawn and hope to see him on the track again next year!
After the two feature events it was time for the mains in which the different classes finally got to put it all on the line. Whether you're a first time racer or a seasoned veteran, there is truly a class for every vintage enthusiast here. The mains kicked on and were full of non stop action, It's hard to beat the sound of vintage machines blasting a half mile cushion track pushing the limits of not only the rider but the bike itself!
One of the last really fun races of the evening was a battle between Michael Lange and Brittney Olsen on vintage board track Harley Davidsons. Both racers were in great spirits and seasoned veterans of the board track style racing so the crowd was in for a really good show. However Brittney brought out her fierce competitive side that day and took a win for the class.
As the afternoon pushed on they ran all the different classes in several heats most of which were a fantastic mix of entertaining vintage bikes from 70s and 80s singles, to hopped up British and Japanese parallel twins, American v-twin 45 flathead, then all the way back to early 1900's antique board track racers. The crowd was enthusiastic for a few thrills and spills throughout the day but the anticipation really grew for the mains and feature events first of which was the showdown at sundown between Jake Johnson and George Roeder himself on matching Dick Ford XR750 Harley Davidsons rebuilt by Travis Smith. The showdown at sundown is easily a fan favorite every year. Watching the legendary George Roeder take on his rivals from the past and up to more recent AFT pro's like Jake Johnson. It's not every day you get to see two legends battle it out on the track, and for many it's something that can't be missed every year.
The second main event was the Old Bike Barn "Dash for Cash" which was reserved exclusively for 70's and 80's single cylinder motorcycles. The event shaped up to have a great line up with an impressive mix of Hondas, Yamaha's and one Kawasaki. The racers lined up and ripped through the first lap with a sense of heightened competitive spirit not yet seen throughout the day.
Sometimes in the heat of intense track crowding while trying to maintain positions the worst imaginable thing happens and a rider loses control of his bike going down in a turn. This happened to Anthony Pearson on his Honda XR and as he slide out his bike went down in the direct path of Shawn Martin going full throttle on his Yamaha XT500. Shawn's bike made direct impact with Anthony's bike, having no time to react and nowhere else to go in that split second situation. Shawn's front rim and forks were completely destroyed sending him lunging forward and immediately snapping a bone in his leg. The caution flags went up and emergency crews rushed to the track to get Shawn to a nearby hospital fast. The racing took a break until the dust had settled and everyone got ready to line back up and restart the race on lap 2.
The remaining racers lined up and once again began the fierce competition and right out the gate Troy Erichson's frame snapped sending him into 4th place. The up and coming Johnny Bova II and Nick Myers battled it out for the winning position with Brain Mcroberts not far behind in 3rd. In the last lap Myers got the jump on Bova and took the lead to be our main winner in the Old Bike Barn Dash for cash. We recently heard from Shawn via facebook that his surgery went well and he's healing up, we wish nothing but a speedy recovery to shawn and hope to see him on the track again next year!
After the two feature events it was time for the mains in which the different classes finally got to put it all on the line. Whether you're a first time racer or a seasoned veteran, there is truly a class for every vintage enthusiast here. The mains kicked on and were full of non stop action, It's hard to beat the sound of vintage machines blasting a half mile cushion track pushing the limits of not only the rider but the bike itself!
One of the last really fun races of the evening was a battle between Michael Lange and Brittney Olsen on vintage board track Harley Davidsons. Both racers were in great spirits and seasoned veterans of the board track style racing so the crowd was in for a really good show. However Brittney brought out her fierce competitive side that day and took a win for the class.
We want to thank George Roeder and the whole Roeder family and race team for all their hard work bringing this event back year after year to the amazing Fulton county fairgrounds track. We can't thank the Roeder family enough for having us be apart of this event and carry on the tradition of vintage motorcycle racing. We can't wait to see what high flying action next year brings!
Photos by Mike Vandegriff
Video by Zane Cook
Words by Mike Vandegriff and Zane Cook
Words by Mike Vandegriff and Zane Cook