My favorite Wyoming Wednesday event is the Dime Horseshoe Saloon Burnout Contest in Sundance and yes that's where "The Kid" got his name. Actually the Street Drags in Beulah, WY was my favorite. The last year they held the street drags a guy on a bagger was racing all day. He gave a lot away because of the weight, but he had a big motor in it and he managed to win quite a few. Win or lose he would turn around and do a giant wheel stand with sparks flying off the fish tails. It did start to get a little out of hand though when the races were close. The idea was to be the first one to the bridge, but some guys would just stay in it and go out of town for the the top end. It had all the elements required, speed and danger because "if it isn't dangerous you ain't doin it right."
I saw my first Sundance burnout contest in 1996. First prize was a beautiful leather jacket. Only four or five bikes entered, but afterwards guys were doing burnouts all over the streets. The first guy to go in 1996 had been sitting waiting for water for his burnout and he was adamant that it be water and not beer, guess he was a purist. He finally got his water and fired his bike up and and started his burnout when all of a sudden the front brake let go or it just hooked up and took off with people jumping out of the way literally. As the crowd parted he noticed the flimsy wooden barricade blocking the end of the street less than a hundred feet away. He laid the bike down to avoid going through the barricade and the highway going through town. The bike went one way and he went another. When he and the bike stopped the crowd helped him to his feet and picked up his bike and he jumped back on and went back to the starting line and said with blood running down his arm, let me try it again, I can do a better one this time. They did....he did.
Last time in Sundance for me was 2001 and it was a great one. They had an abundance of bikes and at that point people were still using their street bikes for the contest and didn't go all the way until the tire popped. Two memorable contestants that year. The first one was a Hamster with his "chopper" and he couldn't get the tire to spin and he kept killing the motor. The crowd was starting to heckle him and finally he got the tire to spin but then immediately dumped the bike and the crowed went wild and started dumping their beers on him, it was disgusting and a terrible waste of hops.
The second rider was from Florida and had a way cool Heritage two tone cream and mint green that was slammed (lowered) to the point of impracticality. He had side by side fish tails and did not use the kick stand... he could just lean it over on the exhaust. This guy was good and had done a few burnouts before because he immediately started smokin the tire and then got off the bike and stood beside it and went through the gears smokin that tire through every gear. He didn't win the contest but he won a place in my heart.
We had stopped earlier in the day at the Dime Horseshoe to find out the starting time and wouldn't you know it the young woman said her mother lived in Minnesota and so we were talking and she apologized that the Saloon had raised their prices for the day to $3 per drink/beer. A bottle of water in the San Francisco Airport cost $4.
One thing I noticed was that the burnout contest was no longer on the street but on an especially made stand. It did take away the danger element or so it seemed. The first contestant installed flame throwers on his bike just in case anyone thought this was going to be easy to win. He fired up and got her smokin and stayed in it until the tire popped and it took an especially long time, maybe he had a fairly new one on and it actually got boring it took so long to pop. Timing is everything.
Everyone who entered today stayed in it till the tire popped so that meant you must do something to top that and everyone had their own little show. It was performance art in the truest sense. A pattern started to develop and it went like this: get the tire smokin, set the throttle lock and jump up on your seat and surf until the tire pops.
Then another contestant when his name was called started his bike and started spinning the tire and drove it like that through the crowd and up the ramp and into the wheel lock leaving a skinny black patch all the way. Yeah, they lock the front tire in a clamp so it won't take off and go through the crowd. He popped his tire and it killed the motor so he fired it up and got the shredded tire spinning and it started ripping his fender apart (fiberglass) and eventually shredded the tail light too sending pieces out into the crowd. They must have different liability laws in WY because if this would have been most any other state there would have been more than a passel of lawyers at the scene.
The tires can last so long before they pop that the motors get pretty hot so they have a garden hose and spray the cylinders to cool them down. The guy who won last year blew his motor and it cost him $4000 to rebuild it and he was back with his new motor and determined to win again. He is from Gilbert, MN area and should have won but he got robbed because they wouldn't let his bikini clad girlfriend stay on the bike with him.
It went to another level when one of the male contestants lifted his t-shirt and flashed the crowd and that inspired one of the later entrants to have his "ol lady" flash the crowd from the back of his bike during the burnout and he did eventually win. I was astounded at the willingness of people to destroy stuff to win $750 first prize...just down a couple of blocks a guy is set up to put new tires on for you and that is usually about $200-$250, but to blow up a $4000 motor is crazee.
Another contestant from MN did his burnout on the bike he rode out so he didn't pop his tire and then after he rolled down the ramp he looked at the tire and said what the heck might as well pop it and so he went back up the ramp and popped his tire.
The next event after the burnout contest was a wet t-shirt contest so we got the heck out of there because there is no danger in that unless you take pictures and your wife or girlfriend sees them. Besides that was when the evil squirrels started trailing us just waiting for their chance to steal our nuts.
I saw my first Sundance burnout contest in 1996. First prize was a beautiful leather jacket. Only four or five bikes entered, but afterwards guys were doing burnouts all over the streets. The first guy to go in 1996 had been sitting waiting for water for his burnout and he was adamant that it be water and not beer, guess he was a purist. He finally got his water and fired his bike up and and started his burnout when all of a sudden the front brake let go or it just hooked up and took off with people jumping out of the way literally. As the crowd parted he noticed the flimsy wooden barricade blocking the end of the street less than a hundred feet away. He laid the bike down to avoid going through the barricade and the highway going through town. The bike went one way and he went another. When he and the bike stopped the crowd helped him to his feet and picked up his bike and he jumped back on and went back to the starting line and said with blood running down his arm, let me try it again, I can do a better one this time. They did....he did.
Last time in Sundance for me was 2001 and it was a great one. They had an abundance of bikes and at that point people were still using their street bikes for the contest and didn't go all the way until the tire popped. Two memorable contestants that year. The first one was a Hamster with his "chopper" and he couldn't get the tire to spin and he kept killing the motor. The crowd was starting to heckle him and finally he got the tire to spin but then immediately dumped the bike and the crowed went wild and started dumping their beers on him, it was disgusting and a terrible waste of hops.
The second rider was from Florida and had a way cool Heritage two tone cream and mint green that was slammed (lowered) to the point of impracticality. He had side by side fish tails and did not use the kick stand... he could just lean it over on the exhaust. This guy was good and had done a few burnouts before because he immediately started smokin the tire and then got off the bike and stood beside it and went through the gears smokin that tire through every gear. He didn't win the contest but he won a place in my heart.
We had stopped earlier in the day at the Dime Horseshoe to find out the starting time and wouldn't you know it the young woman said her mother lived in Minnesota and so we were talking and she apologized that the Saloon had raised their prices for the day to $3 per drink/beer. A bottle of water in the San Francisco Airport cost $4.
One thing I noticed was that the burnout contest was no longer on the street but on an especially made stand. It did take away the danger element or so it seemed. The first contestant installed flame throwers on his bike just in case anyone thought this was going to be easy to win. He fired up and got her smokin and stayed in it until the tire popped and it took an especially long time, maybe he had a fairly new one on and it actually got boring it took so long to pop. Timing is everything.
Everyone who entered today stayed in it till the tire popped so that meant you must do something to top that and everyone had their own little show. It was performance art in the truest sense. A pattern started to develop and it went like this: get the tire smokin, set the throttle lock and jump up on your seat and surf until the tire pops.
Then another contestant when his name was called started his bike and started spinning the tire and drove it like that through the crowd and up the ramp and into the wheel lock leaving a skinny black patch all the way. Yeah, they lock the front tire in a clamp so it won't take off and go through the crowd. He popped his tire and it killed the motor so he fired it up and got the shredded tire spinning and it started ripping his fender apart (fiberglass) and eventually shredded the tail light too sending pieces out into the crowd. They must have different liability laws in WY because if this would have been most any other state there would have been more than a passel of lawyers at the scene.
The tires can last so long before they pop that the motors get pretty hot so they have a garden hose and spray the cylinders to cool them down. The guy who won last year blew his motor and it cost him $4000 to rebuild it and he was back with his new motor and determined to win again. He is from Gilbert, MN area and should have won but he got robbed because they wouldn't let his bikini clad girlfriend stay on the bike with him.
It went to another level when one of the male contestants lifted his t-shirt and flashed the crowd and that inspired one of the later entrants to have his "ol lady" flash the crowd from the back of his bike during the burnout and he did eventually win. I was astounded at the willingness of people to destroy stuff to win $750 first prize...just down a couple of blocks a guy is set up to put new tires on for you and that is usually about $200-$250, but to blow up a $4000 motor is crazee.
Another contestant from MN did his burnout on the bike he rode out so he didn't pop his tire and then after he rolled down the ramp he looked at the tire and said what the heck might as well pop it and so he went back up the ramp and popped his tire.
The next event after the burnout contest was a wet t-shirt contest so we got the heck out of there because there is no danger in that unless you take pictures and your wife or girlfriend sees them. Besides that was when the evil squirrels started trailing us just waiting for their chance to steal our nuts.
1 comment:
Love the shots of the burn-outs and the flats. Oh yeah, and the silver star grabbing event, You know which picture I mean.
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