$tacks at the Track: Montgomery Street Scene
by Tim Hailey
Photos by Matt Polito

You like money races? Street racing, grudge matches - whatever you want to call them, they're much safer on the racetrack. No chances of librarians pulling their Corollas onto the racing line and a lot less chance of getting robbed - literally. And when a certain motorcycle drag racing sanction comes to town - as it did recently in Montgomery, Alabama - money races break out like a rash.

Saturday night's rain actually kept the rash contained, which was unfortunate. "There's a lot of testosterone out here tonight," Joe Marasco said outside of his MSP dyno trailer that often serves as the breeding ground for money races. Indeed, trash talking and negotiations hovered around the trailer like mosquitos around a stagnate pond.

One of the main instigators was 220 pound street racing impresario John St. Pierre, known more over the last several years as an announcer and all-around streetbike racing evangelist than as a racer. But Pierre was the man back in the day. "He's ten years past his prime," Marasco said about Pierre at Montgomery. Then he waxed nostalgic. "The first time I met Pierre I was at Muncie in 1987 and I was working on my bike. I hear someone over my shoulder say 'Hey! Wanna race?' I turn around and there's this guy eating a corndog with mustard and ketchup smeared all over his face. That's how I met Pierre."

"The old man came out of retirement," said Pierre, who showed up at Montgomery with a 63" 'Busa (748 pounds total bike and rider) that he mainly talked about in utilitarian terms. "This is - and I don't care what anybody says - the only true streetbike here. I race it on regular unleaded. I'll even put the cheapest 87 octane shit in here, ride 50 miles and then race you. My bike isn't made to go race against these guys at the track. It's made to ride to Milwaukee and race. I've got a race in Union Grove. I've got to ride 50 miles to get there from Chicago. That's what I built the bike for. They see me ride up on pump gas with no nitrous. There's a big difference, believe me (between Nutec racing fuel and pump gas). $17 a gallon vs. $1.35."

Representing a different generation was Indianapolis jockey Dustin "The Naked Boy" Clark, who's most often seen shirtless when he's not racing. He was riding "Sabrina" at Montgomery, a 2000 62" 'Busa, owned by Eric Canada. Eric totalled the bike in Florida, then lost his job as a sales rep while recuperating. Built in-house using spare parts in spare time, the bike is recognizable by its black painted, formally wrecked frame.

In what was probably the biggest money race of the weekend, Clark beat Quicktime Racing's Eric Sanzoterra (out of St. Louis) in a heads-up race on Saturday on a "Busa, "about 64 inches," reported Clark, who also reported that upwards of $6500 was on the line. "He treed the shit out of me. He cut a .420 and I cut a .520 (you can't collect reaction times on the street). Anything with a six is usually good on a streetbike. He said he hit a spot in the lane and the tire broke loose. It doesn't matter. He lost anyway. Said they were bringing a bike just for me."

"They didn't bring enough," answered Canada.

"We wanted to race them in St. Louis and they wouldn't," said Flat Out Racing's Mark Gardner.

Clark also beat "Cleveland," riding a silver on sliver 2001 'Busa. Cleveland got the break, Clark and his roadies were rumored to get the better part of $1000. Dustin also raced Pierre. "He's been calling me for about a month trying to get me to race him," said Clark. Pierre got the break and lost the one grand race.

"I'm licking my wounds," said Pierre. "Dustin did a great job. I was only supposed to lose one of those five races." Ouch. That's right. Pierre lost five races in Montgomery, mostly small change though, including two supposed $500 races against Marasco rider Keith "Shine" Dennis on a GSXR1000. "It's a got a big motor," Pierre said about the GSXR. "They said they uncorked the nitrous. The first race against Shine I spun the tire. The second pass my clutch went away. Whoever hits second between me and him always wins. I don't have a lock-up in my clutch. They have multi stage lock-ups. I didn't do too bad. Shine didn't do anything special."

Shine was on "Lulu II" and "The Undertaker" at Montgomery, beating St. Louis Red early on the latter bike. "That's the best Red's ever done," said Clark, despite the loss. Shine won again on "The Undertaker," this time against Cleveland. But Pierre won the money back when Shine, on Lulu, redlit against Alphonso "Lil Butch" Thompson, who was riding an oil cooled bike owned by a dude named Ellis.

Pierre had intended to race "Country," a large man who usually has Johnnie "Airtime" Locklear in the seat of his 60" black and gray Busa with "a lil' bit of nitrous." But Locklear was home working on another bike and Country was here to do some racing his own self.

"I'm gonna beat Country" Pierre said early on Sunday, blowing his nose farmer style. "He's got a multi-stage lock-up. He won't wheelie. He'll ride through the clutch, pull the plug midway through second gear and go after me."

Country beat Rooster from St. Louis, who wheelied the whole way on his old school red KZ1000. Country also beat Mark Gardner, Jamaal, from New Jersey and some guy from Little Rock, all on 'Busas. But he never raced Pierre.

Later, after the weekend was over, Pierre said "I was supposed to race Country. He found out how fast my bike was and he backed out of it. He's a drivin' motherf*&ker, though. It was some good racin' out there. I don't think I'll go to Gainesville. None of those guys want to race unless they're sure they're going to win. They won't flip a coin for money."

"He gonna git it if he comes to Gainesville," Country replied. "He gonna git it. I ran my bike back to back time after time. And then his clutches went out when he raced Shine."

Whoever is at G-ville, Dragbike will be there covering it all.

Tim Hailey can be reached at timhailey@earthlink.net