“Into the Unknown”
Interview
With Nick Wey
By
Eddie Graveline
www.motopress.net
 Nick
Wey, without a doubt, is one of the good guys in motocross. Cut from the same
cloth as guys like Timmy Ferry and Brock Sellards, he’s mellow and clean cut,
but not overly shy. Nick has been in the spotlight since he started winning
titles at Loretta Lynn’s as a kid. He entered the pro ranks aboard a Pro
Circuit Kawasaki and later moved over to Yamaha of Troy,
where he resided through the 2001 season. Nick has always been
consistent, but to this point, championships have eluded him. Each year it seems
that a Fonseca or Roncada or Pastrana will pop up and have a banner season while
Nick soldiers on to consistent top five finishes in the races and the
championships. Apparently, the consistency wasn’t enough because going into
the U.S. Open, Nick still didn’t have a ride for 2002. He thought he had a
deal to team up with Jeremy McGrath, but it fell through at the last minute. We
sat down at the U.S. Open to talk about how things were going. He has since
signed with Moto XXX for next year, but it wasn’t a done deal at the time of
this interview. This gives a little bit of insight into how he was feeling when
things were still up in the air.
Let’s get right down to it, Nick. You
thought you had a deal with McGrath Racing to ride for 2002. At the last minute,
the deal fell through and now you’re at the U.S. Open and still don’t have a
ride for next year. What’s up?
“The sponsor that was sponsoring
McGrath’s team wanted to do the outdoor season and that sponsor ended up
falling out of the deal. So Jeremy didn’t really have a need for an outdoor
rider. That’s kind of how that thing went. I don’t blame those guys. It’s
their decision. It’s their team. I would have been really excited to have a
chance on their team, obviously, because Jeremy is such a good rider. But I’ve
got a few things in the works right now. I’m hoping to stay on Yamahas. They
said they would back me a little bit. We’ll have something signed here in the
next week or so.”
Did you pass on any other offers when
you thought the deal with McGrath was sealed?
“I was talking to a few people when
that thing went down. I didn’t really miss out on anything, though.”
Given the position that you’re in, is
the U.S. Open a good opportunity to prove something to teams who may be
considering you as well as teams that passed on you? Do you have something to
prove?
“Not really. I just wanted to come
here to race to prepare for next season. I’ve been riding the 250 a little bit
since Steel City. Hopefully I’ll just put in a good ride here for myself.
I’ve been feeling kind of down lately. Hopefully doing well here and getting
signed will give me some momentum heading toward Anaheim.”
You were a major prospect as an amateur
and you’ve shown some great potential in your professional career to this
point. I know that you haven’t accomplished your goals as far as championships
go. How do you feel about your years on the 125s?
“Well, the whole time that I rode
125s, I had excellent bikes, both with Yamaha of Troy and with Mitch (Payton of
Pro Circuit) over at Kawasaki. I can’t say that I could have done anything
different to do any better because I gave it everything that I had. It’s kind
of unfortunate that I didn’t have at least one more year to go try and win a
championship in Supercross because I think I could have done that. But that’s
the way the cards fell. I’m just going to go out and do the best I can on the
250 and hopefully, with a couple years of experience, I’ll be able to win a
championship on that.”
You’ve ridden some West Coast
Supercrosses on the 250 before and done really well. You’ve finished in the
top ten more than once. Based on that experience and the type of equipment that
you think you’ll be riding next year, how do you expect to do?
“Well, I feel real comfortable on it
(the 250). I’ve always ridden a 250 pretty well, so hopefully, riding a 250
exclusively will help me and I’ll be able to come up front.”
Does either size bike tend to suit your
style better, or are you just as comfortable on both?
“I like either bike. I’ve done
well on the West Coast rounds, like you said. I think I can do way better if I
ride the 250 exclusively. With a little more practice, you know, who knows?”
 I
read somewhere a while back about a tragedy that happened at a race you were at.
What was that all about?
“After Steel City, there’s a race
in Portland, Michigan, which is right by my house. It’s a charity race that I
help put on. I show up every year and race and that helps bring spectators out,
which generates money for the charity. It was a bad deal. I guess a guy and his
family were in their trailer spending the night and they got carbon monoxide
poisoning. It’s too bad. I hate to see anything like that happen, so I donated
the money that I won at the race to the family.”
You’re twenty-one now and nowhere near
the end of your career, but you seem to be at a crossroads. Where do you see
your career going from here?
“You know, going to 250s here, I
would have to say that it will take me a year to adjust. Hopefully I can run as
well as top five at times this year, which would be great for me, and next year
step it up and be a front runner. I’m not expecting too much. I just want to
go in there with modest goals and overachieve, hopefully.”
Your situation reminds me of what Tim
Ferry went through a few years ago when he lost his factory ride and had to claw
his way back to the top as a privateer. Do you see any parallels yourself?
“Yeah, I’m kind of in the same
situation as Timmy was there. I don’t know what his whole story was exactly. I
think he had a few more injuries than I’ve had. I’ve been lucky as far as
that, thank goodness. I’m just going to make the best of it. I’m going to
get on a good team and I’m excited about next year. I want to stay on Yamahas.
They have a good bike. I’m excited to get working on the season and go out
there and do my best at Anaheim.”
Do you think you’ll join an existing
team or end up with your own little one-man effort?
“No, I’m talking to a couple of
teams out there who are satellite teams and setting things up.”
What’s your personal goal for the 2002
Supercross series?
“I’d like to be right around fifth
or so. That would be a pretty decent ride for me. I’d say that if I would have
ridden the whole season (250cc) this year, with so many people being injured, I
would have been in a similar position. Hopefully, like I said, with a lot more
practice I can be around fifth or so.”
Is there anyone you would like to thank
for their support up to this point?
“I’d just like to thank my family.
They’ve always been behind me since day one. Yamaha of Troy, obviously. Mitch
Payton and those guys who helped me for so many years over at Pro Circuit.”
I hope to see you land a nice ride for
’02.
“Thanks.”
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