Sound & Fury- The Ballad of Ricky Patterson

 

Since a motor was first paired with a set of wheels and handlebars, riders have felt compelled to race. Down dirt country roads, hard-packed sandy beaches, on board track ovals and race circuits, and especially drag strips, the thrill of top-end speed has always held a firm grip on motorcycling. With the resurgence of American road and flat track racing, renewed attention has returned to motorcycle drag racing, arguably among the oldest forms of motorcycle racing.

For a recent evaluation article I wrote on the Triumph Street Triple R (Dec. 2017 Born to Ride), we borrowed a bike from Freewheeling Powersports. Imagine my surprise when entering general manager Ricky Patterson’s office, to find trophies, photos, and memorabilia adorning the place, testifying to Ricky’s motorcycle drag racing years! I had to dialogue with him about it, fascinated by this soft-spoken, gentle giant of a man with a slow Southern drawl, who spent years roaring down a drag strip in excess of 100mph on motorcycles.

Mainly running local motorcycle bracket racing, Ricky started racing back in 1985 while working at a dealership. As Ricky tells it, “A guy came by the dealership with a drag bike on the back of his truck, and I thought, ‘Man, that is so cool!’. He invited me to a race night nearby, and I was hooked.” At the time, Ricky owned a 1982 Honda CB750, so he took it to Paradise Drag Strip in Calhoun one Sunday, entered in the ET open bracket, and ended up winning. Ricky reflects, “I kept going back, realized I was pretty good at it, and really enjoyed it. I kept progressing, moving up to larger dedicated drag bikes, racing every Saturday and Sunday. I couldn’t get enough of it.”

The main track Ricky ran was the Southeastern Dragway in Dallas, Georgia, an NHRA sanctioned strip. A typical racing season ran from March to October, and competitors in the top 10 points standings were invited to the NHRA Bracket Finals, running against racers from across the Southeast. In 1993, Ricky won the track championship at Southeastern Dragway, moving on to the NHRA Bracket Finals in Atlanta. Ricky took 2^nd place in the “Race of Champions”, a competition of the points winners from all the regional tracks. “That was a huge thrill for me”, Ricky recalls.

And then, Ricky won the coveted “Wally”, an NHRA National event trophy. The Wally is only won at national events, either by winning in Pro Stock or in Bracket Finals. In 2005, National Dragstrip, NHRA’s official publication, sponsored a grass-roots level, bracket racing series of events, awarding the winners a Wally. “I had stopped racing by 2000,” Ricky shares, “and the Dallas strip was closing up. That was going to be Dallas’ last race, and they were putting a Wally up for winning. I didn’t have a bike, but a buddy of mine loaned me one. I arrived too late to get in a couple of practice runs and times.” Ricky advanced up through his bracket, winning runs across the evening. Inclement weather threatened the rest of the weekend, so at 4:45am (yes, you read that right), amidst Pro Stock, Funny Car, and other category finals, Ricky won his final run, taking home the prized Wally trophy, in the last race at the legendary Dallas Southeastern Dragway. “I’ll always treasure that, always be grateful to the friend who made it possible,” Ricky declares. “We went out and celebrated with breakfast at a local Waffle House.” Of course!

With a racing career spanning 20 years, Ricky names the Gainesville, Florida ¼ Mile and Atlanta Dragway as among his favorites. “We ran a lot of AMA Pro Star events, went on that national circuit, all ¼ mile tracks.” Ricky recalls a weekend he broke a crank in the final round at Dallas, losing the race, drove home, pulled the motor and replaced the crank, drove to Calhoun, and won the race on Sunday. “On no sleep, I might add,” Ricky chuckles.

After literally thousands of runs across two decades, Ricky hung up the leathers after the Wally win in 2005. “Motorcycle drag racing was a little different than other forms of motorcycle racing,” Ricky says. “You didn’t have to spend a lot of money to be competitive in bracket racing, and there were strips all over the South.”

Ricky is the co-owner/general manager of Freewheeling Powersports in Douglasville, Georgia, along with his business partner and long-time friend, John Feckoury. These pals go back to 1985, when John hired a young 16 year old Ricky at Honda of Cartersville, only to be reunited decades later when they went in together to buy Freewheeling, itself a Triumph, Honda, and Suzuki dealership. The establishment is one of the oldest Triumph dealers in the nation, and one of the most decorated and respected by Triumph North America. Ricky’s racing legacy only adds to the mystique here.

When in North Georgia, east of Atlanta, stop by Freewheeling Powersports. Browse the bikes, talk with the great staff, and look up Ricky, whose office is back in the Triumph section. His easy-going, laid-back friendliness belies a great love of motorcycles and racing, of sound and fury.