King of the Baggers and Super Hooligan Rider Frankie Garcia

This transcript is AI generated. There may be grammatical errors.

[00:00:15.370] - Dave Sulecki

Welcome to Pit Pass Moto, the show that keeps you up to speed on the latest in motorcycling and brings the biggest names in motorcycle racing right to you. I'm Dave Suleki.

[00:00:23.880] - Dale Spangler

And I'm Dale Spangler. And this week's guest is Super Hooligan and King of the Baggers racer Frankie Garcia. Moto America is the official sponsor of Pit Pass Moto Moto America, home of the AMA Superbike and North America's Premier motorcycle road racing series, is thrilled to announce that it will partner with Daytona International Speedway to host one of the world's most prestigious races, the Daytona 200, during the weekend of March 10 through the 12th, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The 80th running of the Daytona 200 will feature increased competition for more manufacturers and an international contingent of racers coming over to battle with America's best for the over $175,000 in prize money. That's up for grabs.

[00:01:08.210] - Dave Sulecki

In addition to the Daytona 200, the Moto America weekend at Daytona International Speedway will be the opening round of the 2022 Mission Moto America King of the Baggers Championship, marking the first time Baggers will race on the high banks of a Super Speedway with speeds expected to exceed 160 mph and also the first round of the Twins Cup Championship. Joining the baggers in Twins Cup will be the ever popular Roland Sand Super Hooligan National Championship. All three classes will run two races during the Daytona 200 weekend. Tickets are on sale now at Daytona Internationalspeedway.com or by calling 1800 Pit Shop. We've got the opening round of MXGP World Championship round one at Matterly Basin, UK and the action on the track. It was good to see that opening round because it was delayed due to rain a week ago, but they picked up right where they left off last year. Tim Geyser just had a solid weekend going one two and taking home the win. He had a little pressure from Jorge Prada, who started well as he tends to. He pulled two whole shots on the weekend. Jorge finished second on the box but still great action on the track.

[00:02:22.380] - Dave Sulecki

It's really wonderful to see the GP class going again.

[00:02:25.690] - Dale Spangler

Tim Geyser definitely had kind of a veteran, I would say masterful ride. You could tell he didn't seem like there was a lot of big sense of urgency. I think he knew there was a lot more to lose at the first round and if he didn't take the win, his one two certainly didn't reflect just how smooth and precise he wrote. He seemed very patient. I think he knew that without his two main competitors from last season's Championship battle, I think he's got a pretty clear road ahead for his 2022 Championship chase. A few other riders. Jeremy Seaworth looked really good. Jorge Prado won the second Moto and MX Two champion. Maximo did a great ride in his first MX One Championship in fourth place.

[00:03:09.620] - Dave Sulecki

Honestly thought that the Yamaha team in general looks strong over the weekend. I don't think their results really showed what they're capable of, but we'll see in these next few rounds. I thought Jeremy Sewer, who qualified strong, looked really good. And even Glenn Coldenhoff, the third man in that Yamaha team, was looking strong. So I'm going to keep my eye on these Yamaha riders because they've really got a great team for the new year.

[00:03:34.320] - Dale Spangler

What an incredible opening round for MX Two. I don't think anyone would have expected Simon Langeenfelder, young German rider, it's his third year in MX Two, seemed like he came out of nowhere. A new level of confidence sweeps, both motives just looked super impressive.

[00:03:50.390] - Dave Sulecki

Tom VL, who really, I thought was going to be the dominant rider, did okay. We pulled some whole shots and led strong, but finishing second with a two three, he didn't look as strong as I expected him to be. He did battle a little bit with Yago Gear. I think VL just made some mistakes and slide outs and things like that that cost them the overall. It was interesting to watch these young riders. This Simon Wagon Filter, just like you said, came out of nowhere and just dominated the event, which we rarely see from a rookie. A lot of fast, young riders in the class. I'm really excited to watch this MX Two class develop as we go into the new season.

[00:04:41.470] - Dale Spangler

This week's Industry Spotlight focuses on the American Motorcyclist Association's announcement that it will operate and promote a flat track Grand Championship, bringing a modified class structure and new race and entertainment schedules to improve the multi day program for riders and fans alike. The 2022 AMA Flat Track Grand Championship will take place July 7 through the 13th at the Decoyne State Fairgrounds in Decoy, Illinois. This weeklong event will host different age groups across multiple racing classes, all of which will compete in the four dirt track disciplines short track, TT mile and half mile. Multiple AMA national number one place will be awarded at the conclusion of the event. And along with the class Championships, the Nikki Hayden AMA Flattrack Horizon Award, given to the most promising amateur rider on the cusp of a professional career, will be one of the most coveted honors awarded at the event.

[00:06:00.050] - Dave Sulecki

We'd like to welcome the pit pass Moto, Frankie Garcia. He is King of the baggers and super hooligan racer, the big number 14 out on the racetrack. Frankie, welcome to Pit pass moto, man.

[00:06:11.780] - Frankie Garcia

Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be on.

[00:06:13.920] - Dave Sulecki

So Where's Homebase now and where are you based out of and that and talk about your plans coming up. I know in a week you're going south.

[00:06:22.080] - Frankie Garcia

Yeah. I mean, Homebase these days is in Southern California, making the transition over from the Marietta area back to Orange County to be closer to kind of everything. Rolling Sand Designs, the race shop is in Long Beach, my trainer's in Costa Mesa. So I spent a lot of time in Orange County and the drive from Marietta has been getting kind of long. So making the transition back to Orange County one of my favorite places in the world, to just kind of elevate my program and put myself in a better situation to where I'm not having to drive so much and kind of making everything a lot closer for me. Getting ready for Daytona I had surgery on my foot about five weeks ago. My crash at Chuck Walter just training on the FTR and had a crash and did some damage to my foot that I already had some hardware in. And we went up north to the Bay Area and Tuan and Dr. Harwood up there fixed me up and got me in and out of there and spent some time at mom dad's for Christmas and then made my way back to Orange County.

[00:07:33.410] - Frankie Garcia

And I've been staying at my trainer's house for maybe the last four weeks, just putting in all the time possible at the gym and making sure I'm eating right and conditioning myself as best as we can with the little amount of time we had before Daytona. And that's just been the ticket is just conditioning myself and getting myself strong and get my foot going and making sure that things 100% before we get on the banks.

[00:08:00.620] - Dave Sulecki

Awesome. And that's the best program to be on is have your trainer keeping you honest and keeping out of the Donuts and things like that. When I look at the sign up list for the King of the Baggers event specifically, we could talk about Super Hooligans, too, and the things you just said kind of paint this as everybody is taking this phrase series extremely serious. And when I look at the list of names on the sign up list, the pre sign up list, there's some big names on there, and the competition just has increased tenfold every year over the last three years that they've run this series. What's that like for you as a racer? And who's the toughest guy that you've got to line up against?

[00:08:38.760] - Frankie Garcia

It's really gnarly. I'll be honest. The last thing I ever wanted to happen to this was it turned into V twin bagger class, filled with a bunch of Superbike riders from all the popularity. And the V twin market right now is probably the fastest growing segment for manufacturers. At least that's the way I see it. May make sense that it's come to this way. I wish it hadn't. It's kind of like what Super villigans did. It was like fun, and we're all going to work five days a week and drinking beers and riding our bikes and having a good time. And that's how this bagger thing started out. It was just fun and didn't require any training. And you can just go out there and have a good time and still be competitive. Obviously, like Tyler Hara, he was quick out of the gate and there's guys like Hayden Gilliam at the beginning that were fast. And when we did the first race, I don't want to say easy, but it was mellow. Like you didn't have to train or do anything extra and build a good bike and you can be competitive. And that's how we went into it.

[00:09:40.020] - Frankie Garcia

And clearly it's gotten wild. I mean, now there were two factory bikes, myself and Tyler Hart at the very first race. And then we went into the second season, and there were some more guys. And now there's like almost 20 dudes signed up for Daytona. And obviously there's now four factory Indians, two factory Harleys Vance and I updated their package on their motorcycles, and they got Taylor Knapp and James are slowly. It's no joke anymore. There's full blown super bike racers, dudes that have won big races and Championships. I mean, it's pretty gnarly for myself. Like I said, all I've been doing is in the gym, and I've never been a gym guy. I've never been big on training. And luckily, my trainer, Joe Canceller is one of my best friends and one of the best trainers that I've ever known. Being around the sport of motocross and Supercross for so many years, he's one of the best in the world, I believe. And we're not taking this lightly. I've been spending a lot of time in the gym, and this is not something that I wanted to do at 30 years old. Like, racing is supposed to be fun for me at this age, but it's turning it's gotten really serious with this bag of stuff.

[00:10:57.870] - Frankie Garcia

And I'm just kind of taking the opportunity and putting everything that I have into it. And I've gone as far as this is my job now. That's how far this has come. I do not have a nine to five anymore. I'm a motorcycle racer again. And I never thought that at age 30 that would be an option in my life. So it's cool. And I'm definitely very blessed and grateful for the opportunity and for this coming to my life and to be a part of this is one of the first guys to do it. And I'm just trying to take advantage of the situation and go as far as I possibly can with it.

[00:11:36.080] - Dale Spangler

Frankie, you mentioned making sure you have fun when you're racing and you want it to be fun, you're racing. When I first saw you race was at some of the Rollins and Super Hooligan events back when he was putting on the Moto Beach and the Moto Bay. Even that might be dating me a little bit. And you also raise King of the baggers. I mean, these are two very different types of racing, but you seem to be really good at all forms of racing. That said, I assume you're going to be doing double duty riding both classes. The King of the baggers and the super hooligan coming up. And is there a favorite, though, of the two that you really kind of prefer to race, I know the Super Hooligans definitely more of that run what you, Brong, super kind of laid back atmosphere. So like you said, the King of the baggage seems to be getting serious. So tell us a little bit more about that. And do you have a favorite between the two?

[00:12:24.330] - Frankie Garcia

Between the two, it's hard to pick a favorite because I like them both so much in different ways. Obviously, the bagger thing is just to be a part of that and to be right in the center of the era of this bag of racing and one of the first ones to do the very first bag of race. It's really special to me. It's really iconic and something that if you had asked me five years ago, you think you'll have a factory ride on a bag or have it been like, what are you talking about? It's really cool. Like I said, that V One market is something that I've grown really fond of appreciate, and I'm just so happy to be a part of and to be able to raise baggers for factory Indian and rolling Sam's designs. It's really cool. I mean, like I said before, it's not something I saw myself doing at 30 years old. But then on the other side, the super looking side, I've always been the fun guy at the races. I'm the guy that rolls like, hey, dude, make sure you wait till after the race to crack that beer.

[00:13:24.600] - Frankie Garcia

I've always kind of been that guy. So the Hooligan bikes are so much fun. I mean, that FTR 1200 Indian is just a toy. When you get off the baggage, the baggers minimum weight is £625. And then we hop on these Super Bowl again bikes that weigh £400 with just about the same amount of horsepower. It gets wild. They're fun. You can throw those things around like toys. So I like both of them in their different ways. I think I have more fun riding the Hooligan bike, but I feel like more of a badass when I'm on the bagger. But they're both. I mean, I can't get enough of either of them.

[00:14:00.360] - Dale Spangler

No, that makes sense. That's kind of what I was thinking, because riding those 600 bikes has to be pretty wild. But it has to be pretty cool afterwards too. Definitely a rush. I heard you mentioned earlier that you said you had surgery on your foot about five weeks ago from a crash out at Chuck Walla. That reminds me when I heard the name Chuck Walla. I watched that documentary that was put out recently called Pack Your Bags by Moto America. Super cool where you guys went on a little road trip. Tell us a little bit about that and how that idea come about for that short film.

[00:14:28.790] - Frankie Garcia

That whole thing was so cool. I've always wanted to get on motorcycles and only take what I could fit on the bike and go camping. So Moto America called me up and they said, hey, we want to do some kind of travel story on baggers. And I go, you know what? I've always wanted to do something like this. Told them I was like, I just want to go with some buddies and just whatever we could fit on the bikes is all that we're taking. And they said, let's do it. So a lot of planning. I mean, we planned it for about, I don't know, two months before it actually happened. Yeah. We went on a trip. I grabbed a couple of my buddies, Benny and Kyle from Bell Helmets, and then we took Jeff Holt, who's like the God of V twin motorcycle media, and we went on a trip and we had three film guys and we packed up our Indian Challengers and we had tents and sleeping bags and our clothes and whatever. I told everyone, you're only allowed to bring what you think you need that can fit on the bike. You're not allowed to put anything in the camera vehicle.

[00:15:34.230] - Frankie Garcia

And that's how we did it. It was fun. We started off in Southern California Cook's Corner and rode over to Julian and got an Apple pie and grabbed some supplies we needed to go camping. And we sit at my buddy Alex Dunstan's house over just outside of Julian and Warner Springs and then stay the night. It was like 20 hide 20s at night time there. So we were pretty chilly and camped there and then woke up the next morning and went out to Chuck Walla. And I took the boys on their baggers on the racetrack. Luckily, they had a track day. Mickey was put on a track day, and he kind of stopped it just so we can get a couple of laps in and grab some shots of that. And then from there, we rode through Joshua Tree, and I think I have the rest of the crew a little bit afraid that we're going to go camping in, but we had a nice Airbnb for the second night, and it was so fun riding with your buddies on. In my opinion, the best cruiser motorcycle ever made. It was cool, man. A lot of feelings, a lot of emotions and a lot of complaining.

[00:16:50.670] - Frankie Garcia

But I think at the end of the day, everyone really enjoyed that. We came out with a cool video, The Pack Your Bags are Turned. It's really funny. Just us kind of doing what we do best and kind of giving each other a hard time and just enjoying the open road on motorcycles. It was really cool.

[00:17:06.320] - Dave Sulecki

Sounds like that was just a great time. I have to check out that video. So I want to play this up a little bit because you said it came out of your mouth. You said, best cruiser ever made. Now I know in this King of the baggers race series. There is a rivalry between the two brands and how much of that really reaches the riders and on the race track or is it just guys racing and they don't care one way or the other? And I wanted to ask you that. I also wanted to ask you because you are one of the guys at ground zero on this series and you helped develop the bikes. I mean, what was the most unique modification you made to the race bike to make you win racers or go fast?

[00:17:43.540] - Frankie Garcia

I think the Harley versus Indian thing is, again, for me to be in a place to where obviously Harley Davidson and Indian motorcycle, there's a whole history and the rivalry between the two manufacturers. And to be one of the riders a part of that rivalry. When you think about Harley versus Indian, you think of like, you go back to the old school board track days and even before that, and obviously they have the TV series and all that stuff, and then you even go to like, you think of these iconic flat trackers. And even nowadays where Indians stepped in just a few years ago and brought in the FTR 750 and kind of pushed Harley Davidson out of a sport that they dominated for so many years with the XRS. Now it's switched over to the roadside. And to be a part of that and be on one side of the fence on the Indian side, it's really cool. It's really special to me. And just like I said, at 30, having a full time job and not even racing anymore, to put myself back in a position where I'm a part of that history, it means a lot to me.

[00:18:56.700] - Frankie Garcia

It's something that's going to be near and dear to me for the rest of my life, but it's really cool. I mean, Indian kind of came in really hot for the very first one. And then Harley came in in 2021 and they signed Kyle and Travis and created a legitimate factory race program over there. And then it made Indian have to elevate their program. And it's just this, like, constant back and forth. And I think it's so good for the racing. It's so good for the sport. I mean, for us guys that are actually racing, we're all friends and we're all buddies, and it doesn't really. We joke around like, but at the end of the day, we're all boys just racing on the racetrack. And regardless of what we're on, we all want the same thing. And that's to win. It's cool. But yeah, developing that bike, we've seen that thing go from when it started out as at the first test, I went to the first test at Button Willow on a challenger with no body work, and we had like a 19 inch front wheel trying to just get more ground clearance out of the thing and all this weird stuff because this was all new to us.

[00:20:05.310] - Frankie Garcia

We had no data. There was nothing. We knew nothing. Well, all we had was some parts of SNS created and kind of just went our own route with everything and trying all this weird stuff. And we showed up to Laguna with a really good package. I was really surprised on what that motorcycle could do and how fast we were going. I didn't expect to be going that fast at all. Right out of the box like that. We've seen that challenger make some progression. We went from a 108 cubic inch engine. That was the very first thing, the very first bike we rode on at Buttonwillow and Laguna Seika. And it was fly by wire and it was fairly stock as far as chassis and motor and things like that. We had some camps, just little things. And then going into 2021, we saw things like we got 112 cubic inch engine and we went to a throttle cable, different ECU and all this different stuff that SNS developed with Tyler and myself. And that was phase one of the development and going into it and we tried different stuff. We've seen Tyler try different stuff and some air scoops and things like that and try to get more cleaner air into the bike.

[00:21:26.720] - Frankie Garcia

And we've gone back and forth. There's one race where I went back to the 108. Tyler was still on the 112 and just trying different stuff. And we've pretty much figured out what works for us and suspension wise and chassis wise. And the guys at SNS and Tyler's really, they put a lot of work to get that thing dialed. And those guys have just been busting their butts making sure that we have a good bike to ride. And I kind of get everything that Tyler gives the okay to. And I got to really give a lot of credit to those guys and the SNS team and the factory guys from Indian and Claris for sure.

[00:22:06.330] - Dave Sulecki

There's definitely some strong people behind the program, I have no doubt. I've known a lot of those folks myself, and they definitely bring the knowledge and the skill and Moto. America struck a chord with this series, and it's great to see and I can't be more excited for you in the new season, Reiki and we really appreciate you coming on and talking about your program. We like to take these last few moments, if you don't mind, if there's anybody that you want to give a shout out to and say thank you. Now would be the time to do it, man.

[00:22:35.550] - Frankie Garcia

Obviously I couldn't do any of this without Indian and rolling Sands designs. I mean, Cameron and Roland and Aaron over there and the whole team. I mean, literally every person down to the guys in the art Department, the guys in the shop, our truck driver, Andy, every single person has been a part of this for me. And those guys have stuck behind me and have given me everything that I've asked for and have just bent over backwards for me and there's no way I could ever repay those guys for how much they've had my back. Indian and Gary Gray and SNS and Dunlop and everyone that's a part of this Mo tool. Mission foods has come in pretty big this year and obviously they're the title sponsor for the King of the bagger series. Everybody's just been a crucial part of this and everyone that's been behind me is just my trainer, Joe. None of this could be done without everybody. I mean this is a massive effort and there's a lot that goes into it and everybody that's been a piece of it is absolutely crucial. So I'm so blessed to be in a position to have every one of these people around me and the support we get from everybody.

[00:23:44.960] - Frankie Garcia

It's great.

[00:23:45.960] - Dave Sulecki

Awesome. Thanks again for the shout outs and check them out at Daytona the mission King of the baggers series. Frankie, thanks for coming on the show today, man.

[00:23:53.590] - Frankie Garcia

Thanks for having me, guys. I really appreciate it.

[00:24:08.050] - Dale Spangler

Thanks again to our guests for being with us today and thank you for tuning in. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to follow us on your favorite podcast app so you never miss an episode. If you have a moment, please rate and review our show. We'd really appreciate it. Make sure you're also following us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and visit Pitpassmoto.com where you can check out our latest blog and our brand new store where you can get your very own Pitpass Moto Swag this has been a production of evergreen podcasts.

[00:24:38.750] - Dave Sulecki

A special thank you to Tommy Boy Halverson, producer Leah Longbrake and audio engineer Eric Koltnow.

[00:24:44.660] - Dale Spangler

Now I'm Dave Sulecki and I'm Dale Spangler. See you next week on pit pass Moto.