Seattle Now & Then: Seattle International Raceway, Kent, 1979

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Published in The Seattle Times online on Jan. 2, 2025
and in Pacific NW Magazine of the printed Times on Jan. 5, 2025

For 50 years, racing motorcyclists have thrived on ‘need for speed’

By Clay Eals

I’d like to think I can write about anything, but some topics give me the willies. Such as motorcycles.

In 1972, a friend and I, both 21 and riding a Triumph 650, improbably survived an accident unscathed while cruising at 70 mph on Interstate 5 in Oregon. A novice biker, I’d foolishly forgotten a posted “abrupt edge” construction sign, so while crossing to the left lane while passing a truck, I dumped our bike. Astounded and aghast after we spun to a halt, I vowed never to ride a motorcycle again.

And I haven’t.

So last fall when a colleague suggested I showcase the 50th anniversary of the all-volunteer Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association (WMRRA), I gulped. Could I go there? Maybe I could explore the group’s longevity by uncovering the zeal of its members.

When asked, they eagerly cite a “need for speed,” embodied by events where some exceed (no typo) 140 mph.

“You feel like you’re flying. It’s the most fun you can have outside your house, legally or illegally,” says club historian Bruce Scholten. “Unless you jump in now and then, you feel like your life is meaningless.”

Scholten, of Edmonds, entered sanctioned races in the mid-1970s at Seattle International Raceway, now Pacific Raceways, in Kent. There, on its 2.25-mile course, members seek high average lap-speeds in 10-minute races and hours-long “endurance” runs. They also vie regionally.

Such contests invigorate Shoreline’s Chris Loomis, an oft-president dubbed Mr. WMRRA (spoken as WOMM-ruh) for his half-century’s involvement. He calls the club’s 400 members “family.”

The sentiment also feeds ex-president Colt Bristow, of Auburn. “We all know how dangerous street riding can be between cars, trucks, speed limits and road conditions,” he says. “But this is the only environment of people who are vested in your family and well-being and want to see you have fun and be competitive and provide a prepared, groomed, custom experience at its absolute potential.”

Some, Bristow admits, make “exceeding thresholds” the goal. “Unfortunately, they tend to get hurt more,” he says, but at least WMRRA provides nearby medical response.

Speed, says Dale Zlock of Spanaway, a veteran racer with his brother Dan, fuels success. He says he nearly died at an out-of-town race in 1987. “I broke multiple bones and ruptured some internal parts. I’m lucky to even be here, so yes, that does go through your mind,” he says. “But you put it aside. It goes into another compartment. You go out and do what you got to do.”

Well, the gears may not lock into place for me, but these racers’ passion is palpable.

WEB EXTRAS

Big thanks to Bruce Scholten and Martha Young-Scholten for their invaluable help with this installment!

To see Clay Eals‘ 360-degree video of the “Now” prospect and compare it with the “Then” photos, and to hear this column read aloud by Clay, check out our Seattle Now & Then 360 version of the column.

Below, you also will find video of longtime WMRRA members talking of their passion for the association and for motorcycle racing in general, 6 additional photos and 10 historical clips from The Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer online archive (available via Seattle Public Library), Newspapers.com and Washington Digital Newspapers, that were helpful in the preparation of this column.