Promoting The 100th Loudon Classic: “We’ve Definitely Attracted Some Of The Best Talent In The U.S….”

by Michael Gougis

John Grush remembers the heyday of the Loudon Classic, when the race was one of the most popular in the U.S., when the racing was just part of the attraction, when one wandered into the spectator area nicknamed “Animal Hill” at one’s peril, when spectators lined the streets leading to the circuit just to watch the motorcycles, the motorcyclists and the associated antics.

“All the way to the track, it would be lined with people on both sides of the street watching the show. And it was a show!” Grush says.

Now as Executive Director of NorthEast Motorcycle Road Racing (NEMRR), Grush is working hard to bring the Loudon Classic back to the forefront.

“We’re trying hard to get the interest back,” Grush says. “We’ve definitely attracted some of the best talent in the U.S. We’re re-introducing the sport to people who aren’t aware of the history of the sport.”

This year’s running of the Loudon Classic is billed as the 100th annual running of the event. There are other big numbers associated with the race, especially the purse – $250,000, with $55,000 going to the winner, making it the richest road race in the U.S. this year. And there are big names, too – legendary tuner Eraldo Ferracci will serve as Grand Marshal for the event.

Loudon and the New England area play a key role in the lineage of motorcycling and motorcycle racing in the U.S. And for Grush, the 100th running of the race is an opportunity to help promote the sport he first got involved with 40 years ago.

“I started racing in 1983, and my first track was Bryar (Motorsport Park),” Grush says. “I had a Honda Interceptor 750. It (Bryar) was definitely designed as a motorcycle track. It was flowy, and the surface had character – there were bumps and track conditions that you had to learn. We raced in both directions. Twice a year, the races there were called Noduol – Loudon spelled backward.” It was the site of Grush’s best AMA Superbike finish, 11th, not entirely unexpected given that the tight, demanding and unique 1.6-mile circuit tended to give the local racers an edge when the National races rolled around.

Nearly as famous as the racing was the accompanying rally, the camping, and the madness that rustic environs tended to fuel. But those days were to come to an end, to a large extent, when Bryar was closed after the 1989 AMA National. The track surface and the surrounding facilities had deteriorated, and the entire site was redeveloped into the modern New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which features a NASCAR-friendly 1.058-mile oval. Grush got back into the sport in 2011, drove into NHMS and “I thought I’d driven into the wrong place,” he said.

When track management decided that it no longer wanted to play a role in promoting motorcycle road racing at the venue, Grush and Eric Wood at the Penguin Racing School were approached to gauge their interest in continuing one of the longest-running racing traditions in the country.

“I was heavily involved with Penguin, and Eric Wood and I knew each other very well,” said Grush. “We were approached by the track, which wanted to – well, they said, either you take this over or this goes away. So Eric and I looked at each other and said, I guess we’re doing this.

“The first year, Eric and I did this together (as NorthEast Motorcycle Road Racing) and after that, we talked and said there needed to be a clear separation between NEMRR and Penguin Racing School. We still work closely together, and we have an incredible friendship together, but it just made sense to separate the two entities.

“The Classic has lost some of its shine, once the AMA stopped coming. But we’ve tried to modernize it, and it definitely has a club family feel again.”

Club feel it may have on most weekends of NEMRR racing, but the Classic – and its purse – have definitely drawn higher-profile entrants. MotoAmerica Superbike and Supersport competitors Team Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati and Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki are expected to be on hand. The entry list includes four-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes, two-time Daytona 200 winner Brandon Paasch, former AMA Superbike Champion Josh Herrin and a host of local fast racers, including Eric Wood, Scott Greenwood and 10-time Classic winner Shane Narbonne.

Grush is still racing at the age of 63, and is still a fan of the challenging circuit, built to incorporate the NASCAR oval and parts of the old Bryar layout. He races a Yamaha YZF-R6 destroked to 565cc, but even on such a nimble little razor of a bike, racing at the circuit is a challenge, physically and mentally.

“It’s a NASCAR track, but when we go out onto the back part of the circuit, there’s definitely a lot of elevation change. They kept the bowl turn for what it was from the Bryar track,” Grush says. “When I first started riding, I didn’t like it at all. It’s a very demanding track. There’s a lot of character because of the bumps. There are some pretty good transitions. It’s a busy, technical track. For me, the hardest part of coming back to racing there was – concentrating for eight laps was exhausting!”