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‘Magic Man’ McClendon Hopes to Stretch His Unblemished Streak When Motorcycles Take Stage at Five Flags on Friday

By Chuck Corder

For motorcycle riders Rob McClendon, Shannon Norris and John Cohorn, the trash talking has already started to rev up.

The big night for the Southern Motorcycle Asphalt Racing Series (SMARS) comes Friday at Five Flags Speedway when they share the stage with the Must See Racing Xtreme Sprints, Sportsmen and Bombers.

However, on Tuesday, McClendon was throwing verbal haymakers at his rivals.

Undefeated each time the motorcycles have raced around the famed half-mile oval the last three years, McClendon wanted the competition to know wrestling away a feature win at his favorite track wouldn't be as easy as popping a wheelie.

“Tell John and Shannon to get used to seeing my backside come Friday,� McClendon popped off before following it with a good-natured laugh.

This ribbing is all playful. It’s dripping with undertones of barroom buddies busting each other’s chops after a long day on the job.

“It’s usually my backside (McClendon) sees for first couple laps,� Cohorn fired back. “After that, though, he comes around and makes a maneuver on me, and I can’t get back around.�

But when they climb aboard their respective bikes Friday, expect plenty of fireworks. Gates open at 4 p.m. Friday and admission is $15 for adults; $12 for seniors, students and military; $5 for children ages 6 to 11; and free for kids under 6.

McClendon firmly believes Friday night’s show will be the best crop of riders Five Flags has hosted over the last few years.

“For the last couple of years, there was really just two of us that had a good chance win the race, three maybe if something broke,� said the 31-year-old McClendon, who helps runs the family business at D&D Cycles, a motorcycle dealer and service center on Pensacola’s west side.

“This year, we have as many as five or six guys that could outright win it and plenty more that should be competitive.�

The interest in the tight motorcycle community has swelled so much that two classes will run Friday. The novice class is just what you’d expect: Riders short on experience, but long on passion.

Then the expert/pro class consists of McClendon, Norris, Cohorn and others who compete at national and regional motorcycle roadracing events with organizations, such as WERA and AMA.

Going from a road course to an oval, such as Five Flags, is an apples-to-oranges paradigm shift. To a man, whether they’re novices or pros, each rider doesn’t mince words when it comes to the one thing they want to avoid at an oval track.

“The outside wall is always playing in my mind,� said Norris, 36, who has raced competitively for the last three years. “Ovals are completely different animals. A typical road course can be 2.75 miles and 16 turns and a lot of timing goes into braking.

“At Five Flags, the mindset is the wall. I’m mindful that I have two little daughters and that I have to return to work Monday through Friday.�

That’s why, for all the immense pleasure Norris and the other drivers anticipate racing at a track mere minutes from their homes, they expect plenty of white-knuckle moments, too.

“For me, racing at Five Flags is nothing but 100 percent commitment and effort,� McClendon said. “You have to be on your game. If we fall or hit the wall, it’s out body hitting, not a cage like the other classes that compete out there. You’ve gotta have your stuff together.�

He always had, which is why McClendon has been perfect at America’s Favorite Home Track.

The proprietor of Turn One Performance, a service center located in Milton that builds custom engines and road race setups, Cohorn knows it will be a daunting task.

“I’ll have to have my head down for sure,� he said. “I might have to stick the bike in there when I don’t want to. But the last thing I want to do is hurt anybody or myself.�

Added Norris: “Rob is a very skilled rider. Five Flags is the tightest of all the half-mile tracks we run at. That caters to (McClendon). I’m going to keep pushing, though, and hopefully this’ll be the day to reel him in and sneak past him.�

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