Larry Lawrence | August 1, 2017
George Roeder II posing with his very first motorcycle, a Harley Shortster, at the recent AMCA National Meet in Wauseon, Ohio. (Photo by Larry Lawrence)
Flat track racing on a cushion track – the essence of the sport. Riders flying through the turns with the front wheel of their machines plowing through a thick, sandy loam of dirt or crushed limestone and the rear wheel stepped out sideways kicking up a rooster tail, guiding the arc of the turn by a skilled twist of the throttle. For many flat track enthusiasts, it’s the pinnacle of racing. One rider from a famous racing family in Ohio was universally known for his cushion track skills and that was non-other than George Roeder II, or Geo (pronounced Joe) as most friends called him to differentiate from his famous Hall of Fame father.
We caught up with Geo at the recent Antique Motorcycle Club of America (AMCA) National Meet in Wauseon, Ohio. Geo was there selling parts and promoting his motorcycle shop, and he was also slated to race against another pretty decent cushion track rider in Jay Springsteen in what was being dubbed ““Showdown at Sundown”.
The theme of the Wauseon AMCA Meet was “My First Motorcycle” and Roeder, in keeping with the spirit of the theme, had the very first motorcycle he began riding when he was four, a Harley 65cc Shortster. “My boy helped me and we kind of pieced this back together,” Roeder explained. Of course, it had smaller wheels on it when I first started and as I got bigger dad put bigger wheels on it.”
Roeder said motorcycles were part of his life as far back as he can remember. The middle of five siblings, Geo was already racing minibike races by the time he was five.
“We used to go to places like Sportsman Park and they would have minibike classes,” Roeder remembers. “Of course, there’d be kids on Rupps and all kinds of stuff.”
As an amateur Geo began winning national events as he came up racing talented youth riders like Chris Carr and Doug Chandler. “One year up in New York, Chandler smoked everybody,” Roeder said “He was flying. I got to race against the most talented riders in the country when I was a kid.”
It didn’t take long for Roeder to gain a reputation as a strong cushion rider.
“We grew up racing on fairground tracks just like this (Wauseon) all over Ohio,” he said. “So I got used to riding on that kind of racetrack and I liked it.
“I always wanted to race on cushion tracks. If there were two races going on at the same time I’d drive 100 miles farther to race on a cushion track instead of racing on a car racetrack.”
Surprisingly, Roeder thinks it takes more discipline to race on a grooved track than a cushion.
“On a car track when it would develop a groove, it got pretty technical and you had to have a little a better technique to go fast and make passes and things like that,” he explained. “Where on a cushion it’s less discipline and more about being hard on the throttle. You can be loose and fancy free.”
It became clear that the riding talent had moved down from his dad to him when he began winning big novice and junior races as he progressed through the pro ranks.
Roeder on the cushion at Louisville in 1989. (Mitch Friedman photo)
After turning expert Roeder won a big Gene Romero West Coast race at Pomona. “It wasn’t a Grand National, but all the big-name pros were there,” Roeder said. Then I won Delmar twice, when it was a Formula USA National.”
Ironically the one AMA Grand National Roeder won came on a hard-packed clay track at I-96 Speedway up in Michigan, in 1998.
“I remember going out that night setup to run around the bottom because I thought that was where the race was going to be,” Roeder said. “Well in the main event I’m running around the bottom and guys are passing me on the outside. I thought I could go as good as they could running up high, so I went up there and started passing guys.
“I went to the front and got behind (Scott) Parker. I was thinking to myself that this guy wasn’t going to be easy to pass. I knew I was in for a challenge, and then I started getting oil on my face shield. Then I thought, ‘This might be easier than I think!’ He blew a shock.
“I passed him and he got tangled up with another rider and they threw the red flag. I looked back on the restart and saw that Parker was only two or three spots behind me and I thought, ‘Oh boy.’ But I was able to hold him off in the last couple of laps.”
The national that Roeder should have won was his home national at Lima. On the cushion at Lima Roeder was a master. He mentioned he was runner up three times and was third three time. Oh so close. And he always had the Lima fans rooting for him. “That was my home track and I could never quite pull it off there.”
The oft told story is when son finally beats dad in a game of ball to know he’s on his way. I just had to ask if he ever got a chance to go up against his famous dad, who he was named after, in a head to head race.
“We did a couple of races and it didn’t turn out too well,” Geo grins. “Once at Norwalk, me Jess and dad had a grudge match and then one time in Wellington, Ohio, dad and I were doing a race for the fans and dad ended up going through the fence!”
Geo’s brothers Jess (younger) and Will (older) were both notable racers as well making it a family affair.
Besides his dad, Geo points to Springsteen as one of the riders he looked up to as he was coming up. Geo said it was a real honor to finally get to race Springer when he turned pro.
Oh, and by the way, Roeder was the winner of the Wauseon Showdown. It was wheel-to-wheel most of the race. As they came off the last turn Springer caught his front wheel in a rut, slowing him just enough to allow Roeder to take the victory.
It didn’t matter as much who the winner was, as the fun two old racing rivals and friends had getting another chance to entertain a grandstand full of admiring fans.