The second day began with an early rise and a quick bite at Denny’s in Valencia right across from the Magic Mountain Amusement Park. It’s always nice to visit advertisers because you get to see them in person rather than talking to them through email. Valencia is also nice because there are seven companies in a five-mile radius and O’neal is about 25 minutes down the road.
First, I went to Factory Effex to talk to Bryar Holcomb, one of Wallenberg’s old riding buddies. As I was setting in Bryar’s office he started telling me all the old school stories about him racing back in the day. I love listening to those stories. Bryar use to be a really fast pro back in the day and then he started Factory Effex. As we were talking he suddenly realized he had a meeting in about 15 minutes and he had to get some things together for the meeting so I went downstairs and talked to Mike Tomlinson, the Inside Sales Manager. Mike and I talked for a bit and then he took me to the design department to show me some new designs they have this year. All I have to say is that they have some bitchin’ graphics out right now.
When you walk outside of Factory Effex you walk about ten feet and you’re at Mechanix Wear. For the past five years I have never meet Bari Waalk. Every time I stop by to visit him he is always at a NASCAR or NHRA event. Plus, I never make any appointments, I just show up! This time I finally got to meet Bari. He took me for a quick tour through the offices and then showed me the Mechanix Wear catalog. I thought they only made a couple of pairs of gloves, but was I wrong! There must have been 100 pairs in that catalog. The cool thing is that they are into both motocross and NHRA, but their big market is of course NASCAR.
First, I went to Factory Effex to talk to Bryar Holcomb, one of Wallenberg’s old riding buddies. As I was setting in Bryar’s office he started telling me all the old school stories about him racing back in the day. I love listening to those stories. Bryar use to be a really fast pro back in the day and then he started Factory Effex. As we were talking he suddenly realized he had a meeting in about 15 minutes and he had to get some things together for the meeting so I went downstairs and talked to Mike Tomlinson, the Inside Sales Manager. Mike and I talked for a bit and then he took me to the design department to show me some new designs they have this year. All I have to say is that they have some bitchin’ graphics out right now.
When you walk outside of Factory Effex you walk about ten feet and you’re at Mechanix Wear. For the past five years I have never meet Bari Waalk. Every time I stop by to visit him he is always at a NASCAR or NHRA event. Plus, I never make any appointments, I just show up! This time I finally got to meet Bari. He took me for a quick tour through the offices and then showed me the Mechanix Wear catalog. I thought they only made a couple of pairs of gloves, but was I wrong! There must have been 100 pairs in that catalog. The cool thing is that they are into both motocross and NHRA, but their big market is of course NASCAR. 
After you leave Mechanix Wear you walk behind the building and you’re at Renthal. Dave Kaiser and Brad Cameron run the show there. Renthal has been the leader in handlebars for a lot of years now. The coolest thing about Renthal is the main lobby. They have these killer black and white photos of RC, MC, and Windham. They also have all the Racer X posters mounted on foam board and they border the ceiling around the main lobby. Here’s a little shout-out to Mr. Norfolk!After I went to Renthal, I jumped in the car and drove a whole two blocks and stopped at Gaerne
to see Bob Rathkamp. Bob sponsors the Factory Connection team and he used to be LaRocco’s boot sponsor. As we were talking I noticed a frame with a bunch of pit passes inside of it. He had everything from San Diego 1990, Pasadena, and the L.A. Coliseum, to name a few. He also had a really cute secretary. Love you Jules!Next stop was N-Style to see Rob Healey. Rob has a very cool office. He has Mike Kiedrowski’s 125 Shootout trophy that he won in 1989, as well as the 1989 Honda CR125 and 1992 Kawasaki KX250 championship bikes in his showroom. The showroom also has collectibles from a lot of the riders like helmets, jerseys, and of course the bikes.
After N-style I went to AXO to see my old buddy Chris Stangl. After I sold my nightclub, I wanted to get back in the industry and DC didn't have anything for me at the time. I was referred to Chris when he was working at Helmet House. Chris gave me a chance but things did work out at Racer. Nope, not Racer X, Racer Productions. I worked with DC's brother Timmy for a year at the tracks. It was probably the hardest work I have ever did in my life. Painted fences, pounded stakes in the ground, ran a weed eater for 12 hours a day, hung up and covered haybales, and worst of all, picked garbage up by hand. Do you know how long it takes to pick up garbage after a national? 4 guys, 12 hours a day, for 7 days. Thanks DC for getting me out of there. Sorry, I'm rambling here. A few years back Chris started working at AXO again and they moved into a new building about a year ago. They have there old designer back Kenny from the early days when 
Bradshaw and Stanton use to ride for them. They are making strides and the gear looks sweet again!Next, I was off to see Frank Kashare at O’Neal. It’s about 25 minutes away from Valencia. As I’m driving down the road I get a phone call from Jim Holley. “Hey Fubar, what are you doing? Are you coming to my house? Do you want me to ride down to O’Neal with you?” I’m a big fan of Holley; he’s a riot, and a good guy to be around. I stop by Jim’s to pick him up before I went to O’Neal. Holley’s house is amazing because he has one room with all his trophies, purse checks that he won from Miller, posters of him being the featured rider in Japan, and the best thing of all, his 1985 World Supercross Championship trophy. Wow! After getting the Holley tour we
headed down to O’Neal. They just moved into their new building so things were still being put in the proper places. But the phones were ringing off the walls so business must be good. I also ran into Chris who is the rider representative for O’Neal. He has a really cool job. Basically, he goes to all the races, prints the jerseys, takes care of his riders, and has the best seat in the house when his rider gets on the podium.Well, that’s it for today. I have to make the 1 ½ hour drive to Corona and hopefully I don’t get stuck in traffic.
