From approximately 1998 through 2006, Clifford Jack spent so much time at Kingsville MX that there was a period when he practically lived at the track on practice days.
His first race at Kingsville did not go exactly as planned. Clifford went down in the whoops and finished ninth. Although his racing career was relatively short, the track remained an important part of his life for years.
At the time, Clifford delivered packages and finished work around noon every other day during the week. On those half days, he would arrive at work with his motorcycle and riding gear already loaded in his truck. As soon as his shift ended, he headed directly to Kingsville.
“I would stuff eight dollars, if I remember right—this was a long time ago—into an envelope and slide it through a mail slot in the door,” Clifford recalled. “Then I would sign a waiver on a clipboard and go pound laps until the sun started going down.”
Because he rode during the week, Clifford sometimes had the entire track to himself.
“Those were the days,” he said.
When asked to name his favorite motorcycles, Clifford could not choose between them: “I love all my children.”
His favorite track feature was the whoops, although another feature left him with a much more painful memory. Clifford once overshot a long tabletop, landed on the flat, and crashed hard. He apparently had his tongue out when he landed and came close to biting it off.
Two other riders practicing that day stopped to help him load his motorcycle and gear. Their response is something Clifford still remembers.
“The camaraderie among the riders out there was amazing,” he said.
Clifford never camped at Kingsville, but his countless weekday practice sessions gave him a different experience—quiet afternoons, open track, and lap after lap until the daylight disappeared.
He also remembers RJ as someone who was always busy whenever he was at the track, constantly working to keep things operating for the riders who came through the gate.
Clifford’s Kingsville story captures a simpler era of motocross: a bike waiting in the truck, eight dollars slipped through a mail slot, a signed waiver on a clipboard, and an entire afternoon to ride.
