by: Chuck Lemaster
Tuesday, May 5, 2015 | 1:35 PM
Tommy Harris is well known to the GNCC Racing Nation. Even if you don’t know his name, you know his distinctive yellow gear and stand-up riding style. He is our “trail sweeper extraordinaire!” Tommy rides sweep for the Youth ATVs to UTVs to Pro Bikes and everything in between. Just last week, Tommy took some time to go out west and hang with the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC crew. We caught up with him to hear more.
GNCCRacing.com: Hey Tommy! I understand you were goofing off last week?
Tommy Harris: [Laughs] Yeah! I left the Limestone 100 and went straight to Pittsburg to catch a flight to Utah and ride with the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC guys.
Right. That doesn’t sound like a bad week’s work. Was this the trip that was given away at the banquet?
Yeah. Michael Tetlow won it and took his dad with him. He’s a 4 Stroke B Lites racer. Racer Productions invited me to go along. I thought it would be a cool trip, maybe a chance to do some trail riding. I was pretty worn out after the Limestone 100 and all the mud. But when we hit the trail Tuesday, it was on!
Wait! You’re saying that Justin from Rocky Mountain ATV/MC can ride?
Oh yeah, he and his brother are both excellent riders. All I did was try to keep up! Plus, they invited some local guys who knew the trails. There were 8 of us total on the first day. One rider, Jason, was on a KX450 and was a former Utah State Champion. He annihilated us!
You’re kidding?! You’re a strong rider. You were the 1982 AMA National Hare Scramble Champion, weren’t you?
Yeah. That was the year they split it in two championships. One pro, and one amateur. I was the Amateur, and Eddie Lojak was the Pro. He was unbeatable in his day and could still wax most riders today!
Very true. So it sounds like you were in fast company. Where did you ride?
We rode in two different places. On Tuesday we rode The Green River Dry Wash, but it wasn’t completely dry! Matter of fact, Derek who is the Rocky Mountain Brand Manager, went to jump a mudhole, stuck his front wheel, high sided and drowned his bike out. It was a KTM 500 four stroke and we couldn’t get the water out of the oil. He rode it a little ways but it started making noises and he ended up getting a tow.
From you?! It sounds like another day at your office.
[Laughs] No! I helped dig him out, but everyone was there pitching in. Michael Tetlow’s dad was on the trip but had a banged up knee, so on the second day, Rocky Mountain provided some bad-to-the-bone Polaris Razors and Mr. Tetlow and Derek were able to ride those. Michael and I stayed on two wheels and we went to Cane Creek Trail in Moab, which is famous with mountain bikers. That was really cool, too. There was one time our guide got lost and we ended up way high on a one foot ledge, walking our bikes across!
What was the biggest difference riding out there compared to east coast stuff that we are used to with GNCC?
Depth perception! Everything is the same color. Michael Tetlow was eager to try everything they threw at us. He did all the hillclimbs and obstacles, but one time he was following Justin and he was just one foot off Justin’s line going up a cliff. Because everything is the same color, he didn’t recognize that there was an outcrop. He hit it full bore and endoed uphill! Both he and his bike landed atop the cliff, so it was all good, but the sandstone is tricky.
Sounds like an awesome trip!
It definitely was. Rocky Mountain ATV/MC treated us first class! We ate good, slept good and had a ton of fun riding. Good people. I’m really appreciative to Racer Productions for sending me along.
Well Tommy, you do an awful lot of work on the weekends! Most people don’t even know what all you do. What’s a weekend look like for you?
Well, it starts actually on Friday. I’ll ride a couple laps around the track just finalizing things and marking the trail, seeking out trouble spots. Then on Saturday, I’m on the bike from the Youth ATVs until the end of the UTV or Micro race depending on the weekend. It’s usually about a 12-hour day. Sunday is not so bad. I’ll sweep the Youth bikes, the 10am race and then during the 3 hour pro race, I’ll sweep the first lap and the last lap, but generally try to stay off the track in between. Most of those riders are good and have it dialed.
So, on an average weekend how many laps are you riding?
If you include set up on Friday and the trail reclamation on Monday, I guess a couple dozen. But I try to pace myself because I’m old!
You’re still plenty fast! Many racers have commented on your smooth, stand-up riding style.
Not as fast as I once was! I won that championship in 1982 and then in 1984 I was doing the Wiseco 100 Miler Series, what became GNCC. Eddie Lojak was hurt that year and Jim Maltba and I battled all year for the title. It came down to the season finale at Loretta’s. I DNFed and Maltba won by one point!
No kidding? Any thoughts to competing again, going for that pride and glory?
Actually, I would love to have some young buck step up to sweep ride. I’d enjoy competing in the +55 class next year!
I don’t know if we can do without you, but good luck if you manage that! Who would you like to thank?
Rocky Mountain ATV/MC, of course! That trip was awesome. I highly encourage any of our racers to go out there. Racer Productions, Rita and Jeff who took me in about 12 years ago, all the racers. This is the best series and I’m proud to call it home!