That sounds awesome!
Yeah, those were the days! You could go about anywhere. Today, it seems so much land is getting shut down, but as a kid it was fun to go explore and ride.

So tell us about your first race.
My dad and uncle started racing enduros, but I never could because I was too young. Back then, enduros required headlight, taillight and operators license. I wasn’t 16 yet so I couldn’t get a license. Well finally, somewhere around ’79 I think, the promoter of the local enduro in Cochran, GA decided to do a mini enduro on Saturday. By then, I had a DT125. Problem was, it came with electric start, headlight and taillight. I didn’t want all that junk on my bike, so I stripped it down. Unfortunately, all the wiring was housed in the headlight and I made a mess! It took my dad two days to sort through all those wires and get the bike running. And then, just before that mini enduro, something shorted and melted the whole wiring harness and I didn’t have a bike to ride! So my uncle loaned me his KTM 250. On the way to the track, my dad was talking about the course and said, “You can burn the first check.” I thought he meant, “It’s okay to go too fast and ‘burn’ the first check!” What he meant was, “You need to be careful so you DON’T burn the first check!” But since I thought he meant “go for it,” I went for it! I came blasting into the first check, sliding the rear wheel. I remember hearing the checkpoint worker calling out, “He’s hot!” I stalled it, and my little 13-year-old legs couldn’t get it kick started. The worker had to start the bike for me. I burned that check by two minutes! And because of that, I did not place well at all that day! My two cousins raced that one with me. They are both girls, so I had to ride home knowing I got beat by the girls in the family!   

Must not have affected you too terribly bad in the long run. You now wrench for one of the fastest girls on the planet! 
Oh yeah! Kacy’s great! I like working with her. She can tell what’s going on with the bike and give feedback. That really helps get things dialed in. I used to wrench for Maria Forsberg. I had agreed to be her mechanic, but never met her until River Ranch that year. We had the chance to test suspension during practice day at the track. She had stock valving and lighter springs. After her first couple laps, she came in and said, “It’s good!” I said, “Maria! Come on. I’m watching you. It’s not good. Tell me what you need!” Then she admitted it was too stiff. I turned a few clicks and sent her back out. We got it good enough and later got her suspension done. She was also a pleasure to work with.

You wrenched for Grant Baylor for a while, too?
I did. I started working with him when he rode 250-A. His big brother, Steward was racing and their dad was taking care of both bikes. Antti (KTM Team Manager) came to me and asked if perhaps I could help out. So then I was working for both Grant and Maria. I had help from Woody Bramlett, though. He would take Maria’s bike home with him, prep it and then we would both go over it at the track. I would see the start of Maria’s race, then go to the truck and finish getting Grant’s bike ready. He was young! He was racing with older kids and I think he was intimidated at first. I told him to use his size to his advantage and don’t let anyone push him around on the start. He would be slow to get going. Usually a mediocre start and then he’d pick up the pace toward the end. I told him he’s causing me to grow gray hairs. Go fast from the beginning and lead the way; it’s a lot easier! And he came into his own. He started getting better starts and leaning into people when they pushed him. After a couple guys found themselves on the ground, no one came into him anymore!

You were with him through his XC2 days, right?
Yes. He clinched the 250-A title and then it was time to move to XC2. Antti came to me and asked if I would wrench only on his bike since he was moving to a pro class. Woody was doing a good job with Maria, so I came to Grant’s bike full time. At the beginning of the year, I thought maybe he could get a win or two and possibly be in top 3 by the end of the year. Boy, he blew away my expectations! He won several races and clinched the championship his rookie year, and then did it again last year. He’s really come a long way!

Before you were mechanic for top riders like Kacy, Maria and Grant, you were a pro racer. What were some of your own career highlights?  
Well, I finished inside the top 5 overall points for the season in National Enduros. I got a 2nd overall at the Houston Enduro the year it rained so hard that only 6 guys finished without houring out. I chased Mike Lafferty at the Cherokee Enduro and finished 2nd overall there. I guess one of my favorite accomplishments was before the GNCC Series, back when it was the 100 Miler. I raced the Blackwater 100 and got 1st in 250A and 3rd overall! That was a fun race. I’d always heard stories of Blackwater, but was focused on enduros. Rod Bush was president of KTM at the time and called me and said, “You need to race this! I’ll take care of the bike and everything, just get there.” So Hollywood and I struck out to Davis, WV. He was the pit guy and I was the racer. I remember hauling through a fast, dry section and Larry Roeseler came by me like I was tied to a fence post! I thought, “Man! There’s no way!” But when I got in the woods, there was a downhill section and an oak tree had fallen. There was Larry, all tangled up in the oak branches! I stopped and asked if he was ok and he told me to go on. So I did, and won my class that day, beating Randy Hawkins. He wasn’t pro then, but I’ve got lots of Randy Hawkins stories to tell! 

We will put that challenge out there for our readers: Stop by the KTM truck and ask Allen for Randy Hawkins stories! (And then stop by Yamaha and ask Randy for Allen Gravitt stories!) So have you done any racing recently?
I did the Little Brown Jug Enduro last year. I’m thinking about going back over there next weekend and do it again. Depends on the weather. Last year, it was blazing hot on Labor Day weekend in Cross Anchor, SC. The KTM guys all had a bet going for how many sections I would complete. I pulled in to the truck and asked Antti how many sections he had bet on. He said, “I bet you would do the whole thing!” I groaned and said, “Now I gotta do ‘em all!” I got off the bike, drank some pickle juice and when back at it! Finished them all and won the +50 class.