Tuesday, May 1

El Cajon Zone

Racer X Illustrated

During the 1980s, the San Diego bedroom community of El Cajon, California was churning out the best motocross riders in the world. Replete with riding areas and race tracks, from 1980 through 1989, El Cajon zone natives Broc Glover, Rick Johnson, Ron Lechien accounted for 11 AMA Supercross and National Motocross Championships. Although El Cajon took top billing, surrounding cities such as Lakeside, La Mesa and Santee also banded together to create an assembly line of riders, many of whom won races all over the planet. Following in the footsteps of their heroes, hundreds of kids in the region took to their YZ, RM, KX and CR minicycles in an effort to duplicate the exploits of their heroes. Three of these kids were named Tommy Clowers, Jeff Tilton and Dane Herron. And while they never became championship-winning motocross riders, all three of them have managed, in the past three years, to become major players in freestyle motocross. Clowers is considered to be amongst the best freestyle riders in the world, winning silver and gold medals in last year's X Games. Tilton, meanwhile, competes in virtually every major freestyle contest, consistently mixing it up with the sport's elite. Then there is Herron. While he never quite made it as a competitive rider, he has carved out a unique niche in freestyle, creating and building the best circuits in the nation.

At the opening round of the Vans Triple Crown of Freestyle Motocross series in Las Vegas, we cornered the three riders in a locker room deep inside the innards of the Thomas & Mack Center. The best of friends, the three Californians virtually grew up on motocross bikes together, and as result, have an interesting story to tell. An hour before opening ceremonies in Las Vegas, the three of them sat down to tell EXPN about their collective history in the sport, and subsequently, the ensuing ups-and-downs that came along with it. Full of lucid thoughts and opinions, the conversation became an interesting bench racing session that had many riders dropping by to listen in.

First off, just how did you guys become friends?

Jeff Tilton: We all grew up in the East County area of San Diego, in places like Santee, El Cajon, Lakeside.

Tommy Clowers: It's all one thing: The El Cajon zone.

Dane Herron: We all went to different schools in the area, but all of our friends were the same.

Of the three of you, who started racing first?

Clowers: I did. I started racing BMX when I was six and motocross when I was eight. We met Mike Craig when I was racing bicycles. They took me out riding on a Suzuki JR50. My dad ended up getting me a YZ60 and we went to Barona Oaks. Pretty much from there we started going every weekend.

So all three of you ultimately ended up in motocross?

Tilton: Yeah, it all goes back to that we all grew up racing BMX. Right when I got into BMX, Tommy was getting out of it. But I went and bought wheels from him when I was like five years-old. He was switching to motorcycles then and that was the first time I had ever heard of him or saw him. At that time, Dane and I were racing bicycles. Then we both ended up switching to motocross when we were about ten or eleven years old. Tommy was already at the top of his game at that time. We'd go race at places like Barona Oaks. We'd be below Tommy, but we would see him and shoot to try and be like him.

When you met, back in the 1980s, El Cajon was, arguably, the greatest single motocross town in the world. Were there always kids around to ride and race with?

Tilton: Yes! There was kind of like a whole crew of us and we're still friends today. We all go way back. Me, Tommy, Dane, Mike Craig, Andy Harrington, Dustin Nelson, Corey Bender, Jimmy Johnson (who is now a race winning driver in the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series). Through the years it was kind of up and down. Tommy's career would be up here, and I'd be down here and Dane had quit racing at one point. Me and Andy would always be racing. But then in the last four years, I caught up to speed in Tommy in speed racing and Andy caught up and we all started racing pro and Dane was just a bro hanging out with us.

Racing as professionals never really worked out for any of you. Tommy and Jeff, how did your pro careers begin winding down?

Clowers: I rode for Team Green forever. Then when I turned pro, I rode for NCY (North County Yamaha). I got fourth in the West Coast 125cc class in 1993. Then in 1994 I ended up breaking my ankle on press day at the first supercross. I came back and broke my ankle again and had two screws put in it. So that whole year was shot. Then I got dropped by Yamaha. From there I was privateering it and trying to get back to that level again. It was good but I never got back because new guys were always coming up.

Tilton: In supercross, I was a privateer the whole time and never had any factory support or anything. I was having the time of my life just traveling the country. At that time Tommy was doing the privateer thing, so we started becoming better friends because he had been up at the pro level and I had been down at the amateur level. We'd drive around and do all that stuff. I gave it my all and had a lot of fun.

In the spring of 1998, freestyle motocross, for all intents and purposes, became a sport. Being former racers, how did you guys initially find your way into it?

Clowers: I was still racing. I was back in Daytona and someone called me to do the first Vegas event, that IFMA deal. I flew out for that and made some money. Then I flew back to Daytona and lost money. It comes to a point where you come to a decision that you have to make a living somehow. Racing is fun and everything, but if you can't pay the bills you have to start doing something that does. I mean these purses were starting at $50,000. Everybody was happy and having fun and it was a less pressure thing.

Tilton: It's funny because he and I were just talking about this the other day. The first contests I went to was at Tacoma. We were walking through the airport and saying to one another, 'how funny is this? The promoters flew us up here, they brought our bikes, and they're treating us good. We're flying up here just to go jump." It was funny. Tommy and I were living right by one another and as the contests started happening, like at Lake Havasu, me and him traveled together. That's where it all started happening for us.

It didn't take long for it to all start blowing up. Tommy, through your exodus to the ramps and tricks of freestyle, what kind of things were you hearing amongst the racing community?

Clowers: There was a lot of talk. Some people liked it, but some people hated it. But still, we were having fun and making some money doing it. It was like, "why would I want to drive across the country as a privateer to do an outdoor national?" You know I never had any expectations for it, I just kept going and taking it more serious. Then more and more people started getting involved and learning more tricks and it just took off. At the same time, it was getting a lot of coverage. It just kind of blew up at the time and we were just along for the ride.

Through walking around the arena earlier today it was amazing to see all the corporate support. There are sponsorship banners up from Vans, X Box (a Microsoft company), Ford, Right Guard, G-Shock, Mountain Dew, Rolling Stone and Schlotzky's Deli hung everywhere. Are you guys blown away by all sponsorship freestyle motocross is attracting?

Tilton: Yes we are. What it boils down to is the exposure we are getting. We may not be selling as many motorcycles as say the racer guys do, but we're getting more exposure which I think had led to us getting more corporate sponsors and I think that's where we are really do better then the racer guys - in the corporate world. The exposure we are getting and the TV rating we get are perfect for corporate America.

Clowers: There was no way I'd be sponsored by Ford if I was racing. I mean some teams are getting sponsors, but this is more individual. Everybody here has their own thing. That's what it's all about: getting more exposure. When I compete, I'm the only one out there; the camera is focused on me. That's what these corporations want. That's the big difference. You're not on the gate with 40 other guys.

Dane: Just like Tommy and Jeff are saying. Being more involved in the business side of it, I guess I kind of see it on a different level. I'm at the events earlier then the riders are and I have a real good relationship with the promoters and everyone at ESPN and things like that. As a whole, they think the motocross thing is nuts and they think it's the most fascinating thing they've ever seen. It's all going well. The TV guys are here and are all stoked, the corporate sponsorship is going crazy. It's just going to go up from here. Nobody ever thought it would be like this - just like nobody thought someone could do a seat grab a few years ago. Everyone has been stepping up.

Propelled by this current windfall of prosperity, where do you see freestyle motocross going in the future?

Clowers: I think things like the Vans Triple Crown and the X Games will always be around. However I think it's going to go more towards doing shows and tours and things like that. I mean we just did a show for Target before 50,000 fans at an Indy Car race in Chicago. It was just awesome. That just shows what we can do in a different market. I think tours are the future because everyone is getting so good at this stuff that it's getting hard to judge an event. I mean you can only do a Hart Attack so big.

Tilton: I think the established guys will be able to build off of what they have created. Their image, their marketing and all that stuff, they can use that to move on to move on and do demo's or tours and have fun and make some money. I mean that's what Tommy and are trying to do. We're doing a video and talking about a tour. We're just trying to make a business out of it. We want to take advantage of what we helped build.

Being so involved on so many levels, what is your favorite aspect of the sport?

Clowers: I guess all the new opportunities like commercials and things like that are great. Definitely the travel. We get to go places that we would never get to go if we weren't doing that. But the best is being able to make a living just riding my motorcycle. Through freestyle my career has done a 180.

Tilton: My favorite part of it all is an event like this Triple Crown here in Vegas. It's just like we are at home, but we are here competing. I mean we are best friends and here we are chilling and relaxing at this event and it's awesome. Me and Tommy are at all the contests together and now Dane is building many of the circuits. And if not, he just comes and shoots photos and just hangs out. It's out own traveling group.

Dane: That's the crux of it. There's no one best part. We get to go somewhere every week. I mean the first day we show up together for a contest is the best. Going riding together is the same feeling. We're all here hanging out and socializing and being in different cities. We can all be at a place together and really enjoy it all.

Vans was one of the first companies to embrace freestyle motocross. Being as honest as possible, what do you think of their involvement in the sport?

Tilton: I think it's cool what Vans does. Vans, Ford, Mountain Dew, X Box. Vans has built a really strong group that helps not just moto guys, but every athlete in the action sports industry. They put up the highest purse for any contests and that makes for super good exposure. NBC is here, the magazines are here, it's just think it's a really positive thing that Vans has built with this Triple Crown series. I give props to Vans and all the companies that are associated with this event

Clowers: Yeah, those are the guys that make it happen for us. Without them and all the corporate sponsors coming together with the money to put these events on, we wouldn't be able to do this for a living. I mean my Ford sponsorship came directly from this Triple Crown platform.

Tilton: All these corporations that are part of the Vans Triple Crown come here and see that moto is blowing up. That's great for us. I mean the sponsors come here and are like, 'moto is off the hook, let's get a couple of riders for the whole year." The Triple Crown is a really good marketing platform for all of us.

Vans Triple Crown of Freestyle Motocross X Box Pro results

Friday Night:
1.) Clifford Adoptante 94.0
2.) Dustin Miller 93.3
3.) Mike Jones 92.9
4.) Jake Windham 92.4
5.) Nate Adams 91.9
6.) Tommy Clowers 91.4

Saturday Night:
1.) Nate Adams 94.7
2.) Mike Jones 94.0
3.) Tommy Clowers 93.4
4.) Clifford Adoptante 93.1
5.) Jake Windham 92.4