2008 Hodaka Days Scrambles

The Scrambles event proved to be one of most unusual and exciting in all of Hodaka Days history in Athena.

After Friday night's wicked downpour replete with thunderous clatter from the heavens and lightning that rivalled a laser show, folks were a bit anxious that the track would be glutanous mud and that racers would be drenched by rainfall. But Athena came through --- dawning nearly cloudless, sunny, and with a nice light breeze blowing. Temperatures went to high 60s and perhaps into very low 70s -- it was a perfect day.

Thal Anderson, Scrambles Coordinator, kept things running like clockwork, with practices and heats so nearly on time as to be definitely unusual. Throw in the way this pillar of the Hodaka community saw fit to dress for his duties as track master, and the only word to apply is UNUSUAL!

Harry Taylor and his cohorts had laid out a great track on Dennis Olson's Diamond Eye Manufacturing property. Safety fencing and bales were all in place. Rick Piper rolled up in the water truck he donated to the cause. The East Umatilla County Ambulance crew was on hand, but were as busy as that tired old Maytag repairman of the ads. Thanks to all the safety checkers out on the track, the gals who did the lap checks, and especially to all those who hung around to clean up the field. Britta Anderson gets special thanks for computerizing racers, numbers, and result tallies.

All through the races, as is always true among Hodaka Days participants, people loaned bikes (Capt. Eddie, for instance, ended up for Scrambles on a 175 of Dave Rozier's, due to problems with Ed's ISDT Reunion Ride bike), borrowed parts, grinned at everyone, helped each other fix bikes with problems ... and then went out with fire in their eyes to do their pals in on the curves! There were two run-throughs on every class, with the second heat being for the trophies.

Racers List to Help Track Who's Who in Photos

	Please see more photos at Scrambles-page 2. Additional photos will be added in the next several days as they come in from others' collections.

THE WINNERS !!

Special kudos here for Larry Sommerfeld who came out of retirement to race and to the two youth riders: Kaylie McKiernan and Luke Olson, who have improved their game so much over last year that some seasoned riders may start to feel threatened! Some of you may be familiar with the ongoing duel between Paul Stannard and Kelly McKiernan, where a glass Hodaka pendant is passed back and forth between them depending on which of them surpasses the other in the day's racing. This year after a too close to call finish in the 100cc Reeds class second round, the pendant was handed from Paul (winner of heat 2) to Kelly (winner of heat 1). Or was it the other way around?

GRAND PRIX


Photo Credit: Judy and Larry Sommerfeld

The Grand Prix was so exciting most people couldn't take time to get photographs! Diane Watkins loaned her bike to Bill Patterson and he was off and running. Ed Chesnut was on the heels of number 462, John Patterson, with both racing hard. Jay Lael was battling Kelly Corwin all the way and narrowly edged him out to take 3rd place, with Kelly picking up 4th.

Nick Chapman and Jeff Harshman roared through the course edging each other on every curve to exchange the lead, until -- in what was nearly a photo finish of grit and tenacity -- Jeff came in for first place by nanoseconds with Nick so close that Nick's bike slid sideways and the two nearly tangled bikes just past the finish line. Jeff's trademark ear-to-ear grin said it all: "This was a great race." Jeff got his "take-home" trophy and then Tom Rapp awarded Jeff the Championship Trophy that Jim Pomeroy's family gave the Hodaka Club last year. Ron Pomeroy won it last year. The Hodaka Club will have each year's winner engraved on the trophy and it will reside in the Local History Room of the new Athena Public Library.