Hugh Randolph said that most of the riders he competes against at Industry Speedway can be a little wild because they all want to win the race. Randolph has a different goal.
“I just want to finish four laps and not fall off or crash,” he said, and that may be the most honest statement any rider will utter this season. Randolph, you see, is 76 years old, and many of those he races against in Division 3 are barely a third his age.
Randolph, who’ll be at Industry Speedway at 7 p.m. Wednesday (May 21) when Division I star Charlie Venegas goes for his third win of the season, really is doing it purely for the love of the sport.
“It’s a lot of fun,” he said. I try to be real careful and not get in the way because I know the other riders are faster than me. It’s just very satisfying to be able to make it (his Jawa motorcycle) go sideways and slide around the track. It’s very thrilling. It’s like the E ticket at Disneyland, like riding the highest roller coaster. It’s a big thrill.”
Randolph, a retired Los Angeles Fire Department captain who lives in Newport Beach and trains on a treadmill and Pilates, got involved in the sport through his sons, Keith and Lee Crecelius, in the late 1960s and traded his desert motorcycle for a speedway bike that Lee raced in the mid-‘70s, along with nephew Dennis Bartlett.
Randolph’s work with the fire department and then with the Edwards Theaters chain owned by his wife Joan’s family kept his activity limited to watching and working in the pits, however, until the family sold the theaters and he was pushed into an unwanted retirement. He filled some of the free time by taking riding lessons from Scott Brant and Steve Lucero, then purchased another Jawa motorcycle, and on Aug. 14, 2004, signed himself and son Lee up for a race at Costa Mesa Speedway.
“My son hadn’t ridden in 28 years,” said Randolph, who was 72 at the time. “He finished first and I finished last (falling on the final lap) and I’ve been riding ever since.”
Randolph’s involvement has gone beyond just riding, too. For two seasons (2006 and 2007) he, son Lee and former rider Kelly Inman promoted the races at The Grand Arena at the Industry Hills Expo Center. But trying to combine full-time speedway work with full-time duties with the family’s “Specialized Powder Coating” business created too much of a workload for everyone. So during the offseason they sold the speedway business to current promoters Jeffrey Immediato and Bruce Penhall, a two-time World Speedway champion, and Randolph went back to being just a rider.
Randolph, who went through a catharsis that included a name change after a personal crisis, said his philosophy now is “everything always works out perfect,” and he’s perfectly happy with his racing.
“I get a lot of support, a lot of helpful hints from some of the riders,” Randolph said. “I know some of the older riders that have retired and I get a lot of ‘attaboy’s.’ I think that’s mostly because I was willing to get out there.”
The Grand Arena gates will open at 5:30 p.m. and racing will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors, students and military, and $5 for children 6-13.
