“A picture is worth a thousand words” has to be one of the most beat-down clichés in the book. However, at times, it really does ring true. Last Friday, I was digging through a closet when I came across an old IBM PC computer. The thing was thrashed, but I remembered it and plugged it in to see if it worked. Surprisingly, it did. When it’s screen lit up, a desktop file named “EJ photos” appeared and I opened it. I was kind of shocked as there were photos I had long forgotten about. One shot in particular really jumped out at me. That’s when I went into way-back mode, staring at a wall, losing track of everything around me and intensely conjuring up memories:
1photo: Eric Johnson
It was a bright and sunny morning at Glen Helen Raceway. The date was April 16, 2003. It was Dunlop Day and they were there to show the media their new D756RR Race Replica tire. Before the whole thing got under way, Jeff Surwall, founder of No Fear Motocross, came up to me and asked, “Are you ready?” I was and off we went. Standing by himself and hiding next to a Freightliner FL60 was
Kevin Windham. Due to a serious leg injury suffered at Team Suzuki which forced him into a self-imposed exile, Kevin had not been to a major motocross gathering for 417 days, but here he was, riding a factory Honda CRF450R for the start-up Factory Connection/No Fear/Honda team. Kevin and I spoke at length, and at one point, I asked him if he and
Ricky Carmichael, his new “teammate,” were getting along.
“Well, kind of,” he smirked. “We tested yesterday and we said, maybe, one or two words to one another. I‘ve said ‘Hey’ to everybody here at the track today except for him. I don’t know … I mean, we’re going on noon and we haven’t said anything to each other yet. But that’s good, you know? I hope to get in his head and I hope to be his competition.” Not only did the two superstars keep their words to themselves, but they even seemed to refuse to look at each other.
When I pointed out the Windham/Carmichael rift to legendary Honda mechanic Cliff White, he offered: “There’s going to be feelings about each guy, but sometimes that helps. Sometimes a little tension motivates people. It can work both ways, but it can be good.”
Later that afternoon, after snapping the photo you see here, I asked Ricky Carmichael what he thought about Windham’s comeback. Coming off a perfect season in 2002, RC didn’t seem too hot on it. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” he said in that “get back” tone he can use at times. “I guess he has a comeback going with Factory Connection or something. I don’t really know if comebacks ever work out, but we’ll see.”
Less than a month later — on May 11, 2003 to be exact — Carmichael and Windham went at it at Glen Helen. On the booming works CRF450R, Windham, pure poetry in motion, led much of the opening moto before crashing, and RC ended up with the overall. It was a great day and an amazing “in our time” moment in racing. It’s now the late summer of 2008 and Ricky Carmichael is a stock car driver in the NASCAR Camping World East Series while Windham is currently shopping offers for 2009.
I really enjoy looking back on my career and sharing some of the amazing things I’ve been fortunate enough to witness. I look forward to doing that here on the Racer X Staff blog.
