Tom Houseworth with Ben S...
Tom Houseworth with Ben Spies
While sitting in Ben Spies' Yamaha World Superbike pit garage at Miller Motorsports Park chatting with his crew chief Tom "House" Houseworth, I was again reminded of how so many of the people I knew during my club racing days have gone on to become major figures in roadracing today. Houseworth and I are friends that go back a long way, back to the early '90s club racing scene in California, much of it at the dusty and windy desert confines of a very fast 2.5-mile, nine-turn racing circuit known as Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, California. Even at that time, Houseworth was a talented engine builder who was sought out by many racers across the country for his tuning prowess. But it's been quite satisfying and uplifting to see his career path take him from club racing engine guru to AMA Superbike crew chief (for both the factory Yamaha and Yoshimura Suzuki squads), and now to World Superbike Championship crew chief—responsible for guiding the efforts of a three-time AMA Superbike champion who has already become a world racing superstar.
There are plenty of others I knew during those hardscrabble club racing days that have also gone on to make a name for themselves in the sport. The friendly fraternity of racing locals at Willow Springs in those days was every bit as competitive as any place in the U.S., back then or now. The track was (and still is) known for good prize payouts in the major classes—in addition to the manufacturer contingency programs—and that only ratcheted up the competition to an even higher level.
Willow Springs' main track (the facility now has several other circuits on the grounds) has received its share of disdain from some riders for initially appearing somewhat simple in comparison to other courses that have more variety than Willow's nine very fast turns spread out over 2.5 miles of tarmac. Many strutted into Willow Springs thinking that having the most powerful engine on the grid was going to get them into the winner's circle, only to find themselves chasing lesser machinery at the finish line.
It was that unique environment that surely helped shape the innovative but meticulous thinking necessary to be successful at Willow. Doing things by the seat of your pants didn't pay dividends there; you had to think things through and cover every detail.
Chuck Graves is another Willow Springs alum who has gone on to forge a name for himself in motorcycle racing. While winning numerous track championships and a Formula USA national title in the early '90s, Graves started his own business that began as a motorcycle repair shop maintaining police motorcycle fleets. That grew into a budding aftermarket business that started with fairing brackets, then blossoming into a full-blown catalog of speed parts. But the biggest portion of his business now is running Yamaha's AMA Pro Racing Daytona Sportbike, Supersport, and Supermoto factory satellite teams, fielding some of the nation's top riders and winning races and championships under the Graves Yamaha banner.
Another Willow Springs graduate is Richard Stanboli. His Attack Performance team was a fixture at the track, showing up with heavily modified and super-fast Yamaha racebikes, ridden by many of California's quickest racers. A close look at any of the bikes would reveal some serious custom design and fabrication, a hallmark from Stanboli's engineering background. He parlayed racing successes at Willow into running the Attack Suzuki satellite support team in AMA Superbike racing that culminated in a couple of AMA Formula Xtreme and Superstock titles (when both were 1000cc categories). In '04, Stanboli switched Attack Performance to Kawasaki, and after running successful Formula Xtreme, Supersport, and Superstock factory-supported satellite efforts, is now in charge of the Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki racing team that handles the factory's sole roadracing campaign in the AMA Pro Daytona Sportbike series.
There are many others from those days gone by at Willow Springs who have continued on to carve their own notoriety in the motorcycle industry that I don't have room to mention here (or that I may have forgotten due to my deteriorating memory...), and I hope they'll forgive the unintended omission. Like seeing a high school friend on the news with a successful career or accomplishment, it's nice to see so many of those I competed with back then making a name for themselves now. The local boys have done good.