10:57 PM
On the front door of the Doug Chandler Performance bicycle and motorcycle shop in Salinas is a sign that reads: "We will be closed Friday and Saturday to support our son racing at Laguna Seca. We apologize for any inconvenient.
For this Salinas family, the need for speed didn't fall far from the tree.
It wasn't that long ago that Doug Chandler, a 2006 American Motorcyclist Association Motorcycle Hall of Fame inductee, was speeding around tracks around the world.
Now the Salinas native is lending his expertise and support to his 21-year-old son Jett as he begins what he hopes is a long racing career.
Jett Chandler is entered in the AMA SuperSport Series race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca as part of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. The Grand Prix begins Friday.
Doug Chandler said he's been enjoying the view from this new perspective.
"I always say, 'Once a racer, always a racer,' " Doug said. "But, it's definitely a different look. Rather then me being the one going out there doing the racing, now I'm kind of taking care of the bike and trying to get it to work better for him — it's fun. 'You can only race for so long, and I'd still be racing if I could, but the age thing seems to have kind of taken its toll. So this would be the next best thing. Having him wanting to do it and follow in my footsteps, it's pretty cool."
Jett is competing for the first time in the AMA Pro SuperSport West Series. At 21, he may be beginning his career a little late in the game, but he does have his dad to get him up to speed.
"You know you'll be able to get your answers," Jett said. "I never question him. He knows what he's talking about."
Doug, who was known as a very versatile motorcycle racer, is one of only four riders in the history of AMA to ever win the AMA Grand Slam.
The Grand Slam consists of mile, half-mile, short track, TT and road races. He won AMA SuperBike titles in 1990, 96 and 97. He also raced in the 500cc Grand Prix World Championships — now MotoGP — from 1991-94.
Advance knowledge
Doug said the biggest advantage he provides for his son is getting him advance knowledge of the tracks he'll be racing at.
"What I kind of like is that I feel like it kind of helps speed up the process of learning any of the given tracks that we're going to," he said. "I think that's the key factor that helps him learn the track quicker."
In Jett's first race this season at Daytona International Speedway, Doug's insight came in handy.
"There was a section called the 'Bus Stop' and he was telling me beforehand I wanted to get my turning down because a lot of people will shoot by," Jett said. "But you can go slower into it and set it up and then you'll be going faster overall because they're braking late."
Now that he's a spectator, Doug said he loves being back in his environment.
"I like it because it gets me back to the tracks where I kind of grew up," he said. "We're just trying to have some fun and doing what we can. This is a start and we'll see how it goes."
His also sees some of himself in his son's racing.
"The biggest characteristic that reminds me of myself is that he's not real aggressive on the brakes," Doug said. "He tends to go through the corners quick but very fluid."
Jett got his start in motorcycle racing at 15, beginning with club races. He advanced to a beginner series and then jumped around to tracks for individual races.
He said his first year in SuperSport has been eye-opening.
"It's been a nice introduction into the whole race series," he said. "I've never done anything at this level yet. My first race was in Daytona, so flying there was pretty unique and it was a new track and a new experience. It was all brand new to me, but I enjoyed it."
Jett is 13th in AMA Pro SuperSport West standings, and his best finish was eighth at the West Coast Moto Jam at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma.
He'll be riding his Honda CBR600RR this weekend at Laguna Seca.
He is one of 41 drivers in the field. The race is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
Jett does have the luxury of having run a couple of "Track Days" at Laguna Seca.
"At Laguna, it's a little bit of everything," he said. "The first turn you have the high rise and then it drops. And then Turn 2 is a double apex, you shoot wide and shoot back in, and then there are a couple of banked turns and then the corkscrew and pretty much after that it's downhill. It's both mentally and physically challenging."
Jett said he's hoping to put together his best performance right here in his backyard.
"I just want to do the best I can," he said. "I've haven't had an actual chance to do what I feel is my best. If my bike is good then I think it'll be good weekend."
Posted in: Laguna Seca
4:17 AM 
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