Next Exit: From The Racing Paper Editor
Why we're here
By Jason Weigandt
Welcome back and welcome home. Welcome to the first new issue of The Racing Paper, a little project inspired by the original Racing Paper, which debuted over a decade ago and evolved into Racer X Illustrated, today's top motocross magazine.
When I say welcome back and welcome home, I mean that for our own staff as well as our readers. AMA District Five is our home. Our crew lives in the area, and we all attend the local races between weekends of barnstorming around the country for Racer X, covering races, working the booth, checking out new products, and just living the moto dream.
In our travels, we get to meet a lot of great people and attend a lot of great races at some really good tracks. But we always long for the familiarity of our local scene, which we believe is among the best in the nation. You see, D5 races are just plain fun. We have a vibrant racing community, with many excellent racers, families and characters.
Here's another thing we noticed while out on the road: Inspired local publications are running strong all over the country, from Moto Sport in New England to FLMX down in Florida, from Southern Dirt Bike and Holeshot Magazine in Texas up to Cycle USA in the Midwest, and MX West and Final Lap out in California. There are countless motocross magazines and papers out there covering their local stuff, and doing it in a way that helps raise new stars and provide a source of pride for the area.
We know a little bit about that because that's exactly what this District had more than a decade ago when Davey Coombs started The Racing Paper.
Now we hope to bring the pride back with a whole new version of TRP. After all, in every bench-racing session I hear, another great story from D5's past comes back to life. A lot of amazing things have happened in our area, and we know there will be a lot more to come. The Racing Paper will be there to cover both.
We've also got some of our own off-beat ideas to fill these pages. The Racing Paper is our chance to put some of our wilder concepts into print - things that people all over the world who read our flagship publication Racer X may not necessarily understand. We hope that our very best brainstorming sessions at Mario' Fishbowl will produce more on paper than just a receipt. Remember: you've been warned.
We also have a lot of talented people waiting to get a chance to show their worth. For this first issue, a few staffers stepped up big and took a stake in this new venture. Designer Marc Barilla worked ridiculous hours setting the baseline for our new publication. Mike "Fubar" Farber and Jason Berry became accomplished ad execs almost overnight… Actually, it was quicker than "almost." And "Bad" Billy Ursic did a great job as a writer and an associate editor. Billy also deserves some props for his riding skills, as his A class status in D5 gives us all some credibility.
In many ways, The Racing Paper staff is just like the racers in our area: a talented bunch just waiting for their chance to shine. So while I'm drawing parallels between our staff and the racers, let me take this chance to thank all the people that got us here today. First and foremost are all of the senior staffers at Racer X who saw us through this process - DC, Bryan, Julie, Eric Johnson, JeffK, Langers, Brozik, and Jerri all infused us with as much knowledge as they could, as did the Racer Productions and MX Sports crews nearby. And here's a personal thanks from myself to Racer X Managing Editor Bryan Stealey, who gave me a shot at this whole motojournalism thing a few years ago.
Since this whole deal is new for us, we did the best we could with this first issue. We've got coverage of some local races, some stories about local talent who have made it big on the national scene, and plenty of pictures. We're happy with what we've done, but we know things are going to get much, much better with each issue. So stay with us.
Of course, this is your show too, and we wouldn't be anywhere if it weren't for the racers and their support. Our best path to improvement is by talking to you, so look for us at the races and tell us what you think. In the meantime be safe and enjoy the ride. It's good to be home.
- Jason
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