A Q&A with Scott Clark

To the best of his knowledge, he was just the third rider in BMX to turn pro. That he did it at 14 seems amazing to just about everybody but him. But that's how it was for Scott Clark growing up. Going fast came naturally to the Northern California kid who got his first taste of serious speed when he was just days old. Bundled in a bassinet in the back seat of his mother's 1955 Chevy hot rod, safely tucked away from the peering eyes of track officials and along for the ride on a full out competitive drag racing run, a pass which his mother tells him they won. Since then Clark has seemingly raced just about everything but swamp-buggies and boogie boards. He's gone flat sideways through a flat dirt turn on a speedway bike and he's sent the front wheels of his midget skyward while rounding a turn on banked 1/3 mile dirt track at 100 mph.
Heck, he's even raced radio controlled cars ' and amazingly, he's won at them all.

However, looking back over the career of the man who got his first taste of racing 36 years ago, it's clear that Clark's most significant accomplishments were in the sport of BMX.

Clark was kind enough to take time from the two companies that he currently oversees to tell us about his significant past. The interview took place between motos at Santa Clara PAL and, all told, the tape ran for nearly 90 minutes. This is what the last pro to ever earn an NBA #1 plate had to say.

ROOST: Tell us about your beginnings in BMX.

Clark: I was about 11 years old, it was right here in the Bay area. Kids were doing wheelies down the street riding around the neighborhood so I just started jumpin' and riding with them and they told me they actually raced. Back then they had the same as this here, PAL (Police Athletic League) and they had a BMX track at San Jose, so I went out there and raced and wound up winning and thinking, 'hey, this is a pretty good thing'. That was in early 1974.

ROOST: That's long before the NBA, NBL and ABA ' were the races just local sanction events in those days?

Clark: Yeah, pretty much just guys that wanted to throw races built a track and that's how it started. The organization of the sport didn't come until a few years later out of the L.A. area.

ROOST: Were you on teams in those early years?

Clark: Yeah, actually, I was on the Bicycle Hut team, which was cool because that was the cool team around here (San Francisco area) to be on at that time. Then there was Sunshine Bicycles and they actually traveled to the races down in LA. I was winnin' a lot of races then and I started catching the eye of people. Back then the team to be on was Speedo ' that was with Brent Patterson. I wanted to be on that team real bad. They already had somebody in my class on the team but I was pretty much beating the guy all the time so I told the Speedo guys I'd ride for them. Eventually they picked me up, but I only wound up being on their team for a year or so.

ROOST: This is about the time that you are racing 13 & 14 expert?

Clark: Pretty much right around that time ' probably more around 14. That was a long time ago.

ROOST: How long was it after that before you turned pro?

Clark: I turned pro at 14, I was the third pro ever in the sport.


ROOST: As a point of trivia, who were the two before you?

Clark: David Clinton and Byron Friday. The way it happened was, I was down in the offices of the NBA, which was actually Ernie Alexander's living room in an apartment, and I was sittin' on his couch and on his coffee table was a form for pro. I said 'what's pro'' And he said that they (NBA) were going to start a pro organization where guys would race for money. So I asked him, 'how do you become a pro'' Ernie told me I had to get other pro's to sign you in. Byron Friday was there and asked me if I wanted to run pro and I said yeah, so he signed me in. So that's how I became a pro.

ROOST: Does that make you the youngest person ever to turn pro?

Clark: I'm not totally sure. I do know that I was one of the youngest pros for sure. But I did it by signing a piece of paper. This was before we even went on tour and I figured it would be a way to make some money back.

ROOST: Tell me about your early factory rides.

Clark: I went out with R&R on my first tour. We went to Colorado and that's where I won my first pro race' I think I won like $40 for that one. I still to this day have the envelope at home that I got paid in, it's from Pueblo Mall. We toured mainly on the west coast.

ROOST: After R&R was Robinson ' tell us about the days racing for Chuck.

Clark: Right, that was probably the most fun I ever had. We did some crazy stuff. Chuck was a good guy and took good care of his riders to the best of his ability. He didn't have a lot of money like a lot of the other teams so he couldn't advertise as much so his riders weren't as popular. Like Stu when he was on Redline, he got tons of publicity, tons of press obviously, they (Redline) were running ads in the magazines and the magazines were writing about him and putting his picture in a lot.

Chuck did a really good job for what he had. In fact, he probably was able to more for the sport of BMX than he even did for his own company. But it was the most fun, the best guys, we traveled a lot, we probably did a lot of things that I can't really say. (laughs) We were a little like a young rock and roll band at that time. I mean we were doing the crazy stuff. Getting kicked out of hotels, jumpin' into pools, we were doing all that stuff. A bunch of stupid stuff that the kids today shouldn't do, but back then it was okay (laughs)

ROOST: You were on Robinson from sometime in '76 to '81. What happened then?

Clark: Chuck couldn't afford a team anymore and about that same time GT was getting a really heavy market share and a lot of teams were having their bikes made by GT anyway, in fact, Chuck was ' and that's really how GT acquired the Robinson moniker. So I went and got some independent sponsors with Bear and Rondo and for a bit I was on JMC.

Rondo wasn't a bad deal ' we were making some money with them.

ROOST: There was a time when you were racing ABA, NBA, UBR, IBMXF and some NBL popping up around the same time ' what was your schedule like then?

Clark: I had one weekend every two months off then. During the summer we were gone for weeks at a time. We were doing heavy, heavy traveling then. '76 or '77 was the first really full tour I did. We started out in Florida and cut back up across the midwest ' that was a long tour.

ROOST: What were the Murray Days like ' having teammates, Anthony Sewell, Jeff Bottema and Jeff Ruminer?

Clark: They were fun. Bottema, he was an easy going guy, you know, real non-confrontational, just real kicked back, he was that kind of guy. Anthony pretty much stayed to himself. Ruminer, he always liked pickin' on me. I remember one time I was in my hotel room and I was asleep and I had a pretty big scab on my arm from a crash and he came in and ripped it off in my sleep. I wanted to kick his butt, but he was a lot bigger than I was.

ROOST: How long did the Murray thing last and how did the end come about?

Clark: I got word from one of the Murray co-sponsors that they were dropping the team at the end of the year. That was maybe '84' I was sworn to secrecy but it bought me some time to figure out what my situation was going to be coming out of that. Shortly after that I hooked up with Redline. I raced one season with Redline and I did okay. I had a verbal agreement with Kastan to run another year with them. Rumors were out that Hill was going to race for him the next year. That's what wound up happening. I was pretty bent on Linn for a long time after he straight out lied to me about that.

My final year was again on Robinson. But Chuck really didn't have a budget for a pro. I think it was as much a favor as anything.

ROOST: How much were you guys making back then?

Clark: Not a lot. The top guys like Stu were making heavy money through their sponsorships, and contingencies and stuff. They were turning probably between 60 and 80k. I was more like in the 30-50 range.

ROOST: But that was good dough for a young guy.

Clark: Yeah, I was in high school, driving a BMW. I thought I was pretty cool (laughs). Pretty much I spent every dime, but I thought I was cool.

ROOST: After BMX was up ' where did that leave Scott Clark?

Clark: I had been going to college a little bit while I was racing the last couple of years. It was really difficult. Going to classes three days a week and traveling. I sort of neglected my general education because I had such an interest in business. So, even though I don't have a degree, I have a lot of business class credits. That helped a lot with Scott Clark Products (SCP). I was doing that toward the end of the Robinson deal, selling pads, pants and number plates. Funny thing is, most of my products were in Europe, I sponsored teams in England and stuff (laughs). Then, the freestyle thing hit and my stuff really never caught on. We were close.

The freestyle thing kind of lead me out of BMX as well. When teams started cutting back, it was just out and out tough to get a ride. So I thought I would try something else for a while.


ROOST: Do you think that all the pressure of racing on a national level, along with the responsibility of having to keep a schedule that gets you to the races week in and week out has had anything to do with your current success' (Clark currently manages one business for his Step-father and owns and manages a second of his own.)

Clark: I probably attribute most all of my current success to that. BMX transferred into everything that I do ' all the business stuff, the motorcycle racing, the car racing ' everything. First it taught me responsibility. It also taught me to be competitive. I don't get down about my losses. Self analysis and maintenance. It's all stuff that applies to everything ' finances, personal life, business, racing ' those general guidelines apply to everything. Those years I was in BMX I was a sponge. I watched and learned from other riders to get faster, I watched and learned what it takes for a company like GT to go from a one man show out of a race shop to a multi-million dollar corporation. I learned how to promote and develop product from companies like Oakley. The successful companies were giving me a recipe for my own success. I learned all of it from BMX.

ROOST: What are the moments that really stick out in your mind from your career?

Clark: I remember testing a lugged frame Raliegh that Chuck was going to market at Corona. I blasted into the first turn only to find out that the head tube angle was too steep. The bars whipped on me and the next thing I remember, I'm in a motorhome. It knocked the snot out of me something fierce.

I also remember the RC Cola race at Ascot. Winning my class and finishing second behind John George in open class. I mean, I was fourteen! That was pretty cool.

Also I tripled at the U.S. Nationals that Robinson put on down in San Diego. I still have that cup to this day. Riding for the sponsor of the race made it especially sweet.

ROOST: I remember Scott Clark was smooth, had skills and was lightening fast. What do you perceive were your racing strengths?

Clark: I didn't ever give up. A lot of times I didn't get good starts and now that I look back, I was probably too aggressive on the gate. I was the guy pushing it down for everybody else. So I had to make up for it by pedaling real hard coming out of the gate. I was one of the first guys to 'speed' jump ' most guys at that time were pretty much just launching off of stuff and I started to pull up and tuck. I got really good at it and it helped a bunch. I also got good going into and coming off the corners. I tried to work at my technique when other guys were working at their strength. I was a bunch smaller than the guys like Stu and Brent, so I had to figure out how to beat them somehow.

ROOST: Harry Leary is still doing it at 40. Does that ever make you want to take a shot at it again?

Clark: If I rode now, I would ride for fun. I tried Veteran Pro when the ABA started that a few years back. I wound up with a couple of knee surgeries from it. My will was stronger than my knees were. Harry and I actually diced pretty good on one of those vet pro laps and it was fun ' but it's not for me now. I would do it more for fun. I might take a shot at it during the car racing off season.

ROOST: So, how did you get from the BMX scene to racing midget cars?

Clark: From leaving Redline to getting into the Micro Sprint ( a motorcycle engine powered race car ), is kind of complicated. I raced speedway bikes for a while and although I won on those, I realized that they were really dangerous, and I had a business to run ' so that pretty much put the brakes on that. What happened was I was named General Manger of Aqua Plex, which manufacturers TRUVU aquariums. My stepfather was one of the co-owners of the company and he and his partner had me running their Southern California division. My stepfather's partner was really concerned about their investment in Los Angeles and what it would mean to the operation if I got hurt. So, although he didn't demand that I stop racing, he asked me politely if I would not race and I was being paid well enough to where the decision just made sense. That was the main reason I quit racing speedway.

So, I got in the business and started running this factory in Southern California. I also got married about the same time. We ultimately shut that operation down after the race riots and government cuts which closed up a couple of nearby military bases. After we closed up the Southern California division I came back up here (to Northern California) ' went through a divorce. It was shortly after that this time that I got involved with the Micro Midgets.

ROOST: How long were you away from racing during this time?

Clark: About three or four years, it was like hell. Actually, I raced radio-controlled cars and stuff ' I had to race something.

The real start to the open wheel racing was probably when I happened to go to a Silver Crown (Premier division of USAC open wheel competition) race at the Cal Expo in the mid 1990's. I'm up in the grandstands with an old BMX buddy of mine, Jeff Castillo, and I said 'man, I always wanted to do that' and he said 'man, I could get you a ride in a midget' and I said 'no you can't' and he says 'yeah I can' ' 'it's a micro midget' and I said 'well, what's a micro midget'' I thought he was going to have me pushing a hot-wheels car around or something. Because I had never heard of one before. And that's when he told me that he's made some chassis for friends of his ' because he's been involved with sprint cars since he got out of BMX. So I told him I wanted to try it.

About a week later he calls me up and says 'I've got it set-up ' I've got a car arranged for you to try out.' I figured he was kidding ' but I went out and tried it and it was powered by a 250 cc motorcycle motor and I did okay ' maybe turned some decent laps ' after the test my Stepfather asked me if I seriously wanted to race the Micro Midgets.

He went out and bought a micro powered by a 600cc motorcycle engine and we were racing again. It wasn't a top of the line car, but it was something to get going with. We practiced with that car a number of times but it turned out to be pretty much of a basket case ' so we sold it. After the old car was gone, we went out and bought Brad Furr's old 600 ' Furr is racing full blown 410 Outlaw sprint cars now ' it took until September that first season (1996) before I won my first main event. I always seemed competitive, but in open wheel, it takes a while to learn how to drive the cars.

We spent the 1997 season chasing points out at Stockton Speedway, which is a pretty racy joint ' and we won the championship there. In '98 we decided to just do the bigger events and not worry about the points races much. We won a reasonable amount of races and set a couple of track records and at the end we sort of felt that we had accomplished our goals for micro midgets. That's when we decided to move into a full on midget.

ROOST: Tell me more about your step father:

Clark: His name is Bill Montgomery and he's been involved in midget racing all his life. He grew up on the East Coast and he went to all the races out there ' he's also been really close to the racing community here in California since moving out here as well. He's actually a historian on midget racing and in particular Kurtis Kraft (a manufacturer of midget race-cars during the 30's, 40's and 50's). In fact, he's published a book on Kurtis Kraft that will be released just before Christmas time and he also on the Sprint Car Hall of Fame Committee. So he has a long motorsports history and background.

Years ago, while I was still in BMX, he bought a midget and restored it and sold it and then he bought a contemporary car that other drivers would race. I used to love to be around that car ' sit in it ' look at it and dream about racing it. After a while, he sold that one too and started to focus his efforts more on photography of the race cars ' going to all of the races. He was involved with the Bay Cities Racing Association at the time ' that probably ended sometime in the late 80's and he was more or less away from it (auto racing) until we bought the micro midget.


ROOST: Where will you go from here ' any racing goals beyond the midget race-cars' At this point, would you seriously consider being a professional race car driver?

Clark: I would love to be a professional midget race car driver ' but I'm 37. Jeff Gordon is at the forefront of NASCAR today and was racing these cars when he was still a teenager. What that's lead to is that everybody is looking for the next Jeff Gordon ' the incredibly talented kid. There's a lot of young guys that might be headed in that direction ' but they are all young guys. I'm too old get to something like NASCAR at this point ' look at Tony Stewart, he's almost got the same story as Jeff Gordon ' young, wildly talented and both had moved on well before they turned 25. I just think I'm not positioned well for something like that ' timing is everything in the racing game, especially when it comes to opportunities for advancement.

It kind of makes me wish that I had started racing cars earlier because I think I'd be good at it. But since you asked me today ' my goal is to be a good midget driver and potentially do it for a living. Given the opportunity to drive a sprint car, though, I wouldn't turn it down.

ROOST: Scott, thanks for the interview, man ' and good luck chasing those checker flags!