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It’s
funny how motocross gets into some people’s lives. In addition to family
members it could be a family friend, or in my case: a boss. Well, Todd
Wilcom’s aunt’s boyfriend was a racer and he got Todd into motocross. He
has become a great rider, willing to race through injury, and always on his
quest for that “Perfect Start.” It is an obsession that has plagued just
about all the riders out there. Other than his dislike for mud, it seems
that nothing can really phase him. He’s the kind of guy who silently takes
a win, is humble about it, and pushes himself to be even better, even if he
gets a 1st place win. Bottom line: He’s the kind of guy you want
to race with, and not against. |
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MarylandMotocross.com: Hello, may I speak to Todd Wilcom Please? |
-Todd Wilcom: This is him. |
|
MM: I’m with
MarylandMotocross.com, you got time for a quick interview? |
TW: Yeah. |
|
MM: Are you
dressed? |
TW: (Puzzled) Am I dressed? Yeah. |
|
Hey Good,
Todd how are you doing today bro? |
TW: I’m doin’ good. |
|
MM: How old
are you and how long have you been racing motocross? |
TW: I’m 18 years old and I’ve been racing
since I was 7. |
|
MM: Wow 11
years good deal. So what’s your number man and is there any significance
behind it? |
|
TW: It’s 121, one year on a 60, I was
number 12, next year I was number 1, I just put them together. |
MM: Sweet, is
there any track or event that you look forward to throughout the year? |
TW: I like Loretta’s. |
|
MM: That one
seems pretty popular with the riders. |
TW: Yeah it’s a good track. |
|
MM: I see.
Tell me about the bad crash you had in Texas and the injury |
TW: Uhh… I was going into kind of like a
big sweeping first corner, that goes into a sharper left-hander, when I was
going in this other kid came up from the inside to the outside and hit my
friend Zack, Zack hit me, and as I was going down someone else came by and
clipped me in the side with their footpeg and I got this really big gash on
my side right underneath my armpit.
(view)
|
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MM: 28
stitches was it? |
TW: Um, somewhere around there, it was a
good many. |
|
That sucks
man; now tell me a joke. |
TW: (Pause) What? |
|
MM: (Question
repeated) |
TW: I don’t have any. |
|
MM: You don’t
have any? Bum Deal! Oh well. Hey Todd did you ever see that movie “You got
served”? |
TW: Nope. |
|
MM: Really,
wouldn’t it be awesome if you beat someone on the track and then afterwards
you rolled up to them and said “You just got served”? |
TW: Yeah, I guess so. |
|
MM: Well, I
just think it would be cool. Nowadays I see kids riding motocross from the
age of 4, 5 & 6, compared to the way it was back in the day, do you ever
feel intimidated by the quick rising talent and the way the fact that by the
time most kids are 12 they are already experienced riders? |
TW: Yeah. Yeah I’m definitely worried
about all the huge talent that is coming up now. |
|
MM: In your
opinion, what order do these go in regards to their importance? Speed,
Skill, and Experience. |
TW: Uhhhh… probably Skill, then Speed, and
then Experience. |
|
MM: So
there’s this guy, I don’t want to identify him, so we’ll just call him Kevin
Duffy. Now this imaginary person has a huge phobia of the cicadas that are
here for the summer, so you got any suggestions on how I can help him
overcome his fear? |
TW: Uh… He should just stay inside. |
|
MM: Nice,
I’ll definitely give that a try. Are there any specific brands that you
prefer when choosing bikes or riding gear? |
TW: I like Yamaha and No Fear. |
|
MM: I see,
What are you thinking about when you line up for the gate drop? |
TW: Most of the time I’m just hoping I
could get a good start and not end up on the ground. |
|
MM: So you
think the Hole Shot is pretty important. |
TW: It’s about 90% of the race. |
|
MM: Ok.
Good. How do you feel about racing girls? I mean do you like carry a frying
pan with you when you’re racing and when you go into a turn with the girl,
you whip out the frying pan and you’re like “Blickup!” |
TW: Nah. Not at all. I wouldn’t do that. I
don’t normally have that problem. |
|
MM: I noticed
you and Jessye Davis are in the same class, you think she’s a good rider? |
TW: Yeah. She’s great. |
|
MM: (<Cough –
Brown Noser!> – Clearing Throat) |
TW: (Laughing) Hey! |
|
MM: Sorry
about that - got a little summer cold. Do you have any hobbies besides
motocross? |
TW: Not really. |
|
MM: How do
you feel about Captain M. being sent to Iraq and assigned his own special
task force? |
TW: Who’s Captain M? |
|
MM: He’s a
famous Pro rider that left motocross to go over to Iraq with the Marines. |
TW: He can’t be that famous if I haven’t
heard of him. |
|
MM: He IS
famous! You need to keep up with your motocross man. Well… Nevermind. Was
the crash in Texas the worst you’ve ever had? |
TW: Definitely not. I didn’t know I was
cut in Texas until afterwards. It just burned a little bit. When I broke
my leg and pelvis at Bud’s. I was off my feet for a little bit. |
|
MM: I was
wondering if I could quote you on the following. It came up at the track
that you have a huge crush on Jessye Davis, do you care to clear that up. |
TW: No comment. |
|
MM: So you’re
pleading the 5th? |
TW: We’re just friends. |
|
MM: Ok. Well,
thank you for taking the time to interview with me and we look forward to
seeing you tear it up on the tracks. |
TW: All right, bye. |