Kenny Carter - The Book

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Kenny Carter – The Book

Whatever anyone says about Kenny Carter it is bound to be contentious because of the character he was. We all have our opinions of Kenny – those who saw him race – and of the tragedy that eventually unfolded – to its final conclusion.
What I intend to write here is how I saw Kenny – being myself a Halifax supporter - before he came and after he had gone.

As I mentioned elsewhere I bought the book at Workington and will write my opinion of Kenny before I read the book then comment on what I have read to add to this post to see how my perception of Kenny may or may not have changed. But first I will describe how Halifax was before Kenny came to ride in the team.

In the advertisement for the book it says that you either loved Kenny or hated him but I didn’t love him or hate him. I never met him personally so loving him or hating him, as a person, didn’t enter into it. He was our number one – and I – at least – expected him to conduct himself in a professional manner on and off the track.
I will say that I didn’t like a lot of the antics he got up to because I prefer people to win things by fair means. Because by doing so you know yourself you are a ‘true champion’.

We made ‘allowances’ for Kenny’s ‘mistakes’ because we presumed it was because he was young and because of his temperament.

But as time went by I became detached from a concept of like or dislike of him – because I realised there wasn’t ‘something right’ – about what was going on with Kenny. When I get this feeling about something – I ponder the ins and outs of it all -till the solution comes to me as to what going on within that particular issue.

We all know that Eric Boocock had retired from Halifax because of his injury sustained at Newport. Some would say that Halifax was never the same after Eric departed. But when someone is part of the furniture when you start watching speedway at Halifax it is natural to miss the lynch pin that holds the team together when they are suddenly gone. But you have to move on……..

You could say that the Shay stadium is at the bottom of a big hole. Surrounded by steep slopes on three sides. The back straight was open and sloped down into the valley where the blocks of flats stood in the background.

In other words the Shay was in a bowl, more or less enclosed in such a manner that everything that went off there contained itself in sometimes what could become a cauldron of fire. Looking at it in another way it was a ‘cosy – communal - setting’ for those who required themselves to be an integral part of the action that went on there off and on the track.

When the riders warmed up their bikes pre-meeting the fumes from the methanol drifted upwards into the stand, where we parked ourselves every Saturday night.
The blue smoke would hang in the rafters and fans would drink in their ‘fix’ in readiness for the evenings racing. The atmosphere created at Halifax was such that as a result the supporters and the riders were at one with each other in a mutual communion that I found unique to the speedway experience at the Shay.

Once Eric Boocock left Halifax the general consensus was that the team was stocked with riders who were
1 Other teams rejects
2 Old riders who had nowhere else to go
3. Young riders who were really no hopers
Young riders were those who looked as though they might make it – but just when we really didn’t know. Which of course was a ‘cute way of saying’ – they were never likely to be riders out of the top drawer.

This wasn’t true of course as we had Chris Pusey – who was a thrilling rider to watch – whose heart was over the hill at Hyde Road - but turned it on only when he was in the mood to do so.

Rick France – we groaned when we heard he was on his way to the Shay – but he must have had something to prove – to the Coventry promotion – because he was a great servant for Halifax.

Rick France who would often follow the opposition – who were in a 5 –1 position – only for Rick to ride between them coming out of the last bend – to cross the line in first place. It became his party piece – and this made me realise that a has-been might not be a has-been after all.

Then there was dear old Charlie Monk – who seemed to take an hour to get from the start to the first bend – but the dour taciturn Charlie endeared himself to Halifax fans.

There was Ian Cartwright too – who - if he was riding today would be Lee Richardson – in my opinion – a rider who promised to rise to the highest level – but always seemed to find something dogging his progress.

There were all the others too Henny Kroeze – Mike Lohmann – John Titman – riders who were known but never reached the highest level.
Then all of a sudden there was this young kid called Kenny Carter arriving on the scene.

The general opinion was that at last ‘we’d got the boy’ – the new sensation that was going to set British Speedway on fire. No one doubted that he had the ability and the attitude to do it. But the best thing about it – according to the general consensus was -
Kenny was a Halifax rider. He was ours – and my friends called him ‘Our Kenny’.

It didn’t take long for Speedway to realise that the boy certainly had attitude. He knew how to cause friction amongst the opposition – amongst his team-mates – amongst supporters on the terraces. This included both the opposition supporters and the home supporters. But Kenny was ‘cutting the mustard’ – and when someone is doing what they should do – and more – you can forgive a lot.

Kenny certainly wasn’t taking any prisoners – and the ‘cosy setting’ of the Halifax bowl – soon turned into that cauldron of fire – with Kenny the sorcerers apprentice.
Almost immediately Kenny was rattling up high scores – and the Shay was on fire with the joy of it all.

But there was always a flip side to the good things about Kenny. Sometimes he could be as good as gold and other times you wondered what was going on his head. As speedway supporters we all make ‘allowances’ for the ‘hot headed riders’ who often grace our sport.

We make these allowances because we accept that eventually they will settle down into a groove where they show what they are really made of. But the thing with Kenny – and it was always this thing – the line that all speedway riders know – ‘there is a point that they must not cross’ - but for Kenny Carter that line didn’t exist.

As such – therein lay the dilemma Halifax supporters found themselves in – and when Kenny was riding for his country – every other British speedway supporter found themselves in. Did we as supporters condone what Kenny did on the track? Did we approve of what he did on the track or not?

Because as a supporter – and his fellow riders too had to decide – how could you half approve of what he did – and half disapprove of what he did? If you supported Kenny – and what he did on the track - you supported him – and if you didn’t support what he did on the track – then you had a problem on your hands. Especially if you were a Halifax supporter watching him ride week in and week out.

And this, of course, - is where the concept of ‘you either love or hate’ Kenny Carter came into play. You paid your money and you made your choice. I made my choice because I came to the conclusion that – ‘there is something seriously wrong with that lad.’

Me being me, of course, - I wasn’t backwards in coming forwards with my – measured opinion and criticisms of Kenny – an opinion that developed consistently over the years.

“You don’t seem to have a good opinion of Kenny,’ stated the very nice and dear old Albert, who with his son and other friends stood on the terraces with us at Halifax for many years.
‘What exactly is that you find so distasteful about him?’

“Well,’ said I, “I don’t think you would really like to know what I think Albert. I don’t think you would like to hear what I have to say.”
“Tell me,’ insisted Albert.
“Well if you really want to know, I will tell you but you won’t like it” said I.
“I think he’s a fcuking nutcase.”

Of course Albert was really taken aback by this response to his question. He respected me as someone with common sense – and a proven track record – when it came to my opinions of what went on with speedway.

Without going into a long dialogue of conversations – between myself and Albert – and other people we knew – both at Halifax and down the road – the agreement amongst most of them was – that I had a ‘downer’ on Kenny – that for some reason known only to myself – I had developed an intense dislike of Kenny – that bore no justification in reality at all. In other words ‘I hated him.’

But I didn’t hate him – there was something wrong with him – and this something was becoming more and more self-evident as time went by. The more successful Kenny became – the more prominent – this something wrong with him – became plain to see.
But - as they say – there are non more blind than those who do not want to see.

Needless to say – I began to get up peoples noses – trying to explain - why I thought as I did - about Kenny. But – again as people know – the more you try to explain things to those who – ‘don’t want to know’ – the more you get on their nerves.

But for me a ‘black cloud’ – had descended on the Shay – a negative feeling that would not lift – and wasn’t going to go away. I told my friends that – I wished that Kenny Carter had never come to Halifax.

I told them – I hoped that some promoter – with money – would come along and buy his contract – and take him away from us. I never wished injury on him or anything like that. It wasn’t about that – I just wanted him to go – so equilibrium would be restored at the Shay – and it would be – as it was – ‘in the old days’ – before Kenny descended on us.

I wanted some other supporters – to carry the burden of Kenny – that we as Halifax supporters – could look upon him – from afar – that all my fellow Halifax supporters – would then view him – from afar – in a detached manner – then they might see – The Inevitable

This situation – me stating these views on Kenny - developed till one night - at the Shay - long standing friendships were in danger of disintegration. Finally I told my friends – I would keep my opinions to myself – something I have continued to do – for 21 years till this book came out.

I was true to my word – saying no more about what Kenny got up to – peace and friendships were restored – presumably because – I had finally ‘realised the error of my opinions’ – and accepted that Kenny wasn’t – ‘as bad a person as I had consistently inferred he was.’

I could – of course – go into detail – giving examples of what went off in a given race – when Kenny was in attendance – to emphasise my points – but there is always one incident – embedded in my mind – at the Shay - that indicated to me – proof positive – that Kenny was – unhinged

I don’t know what team we were riding against that day – I don’t know the names of the riders in the heat – what I do know was – an opposition rider was in the lead
The opponent was a white line rider – well in front of any other rider - hugging the line all the way round the track – minding his own business – getting on with his job

Kenny – on his part – came flying down the back straight – in hot pursuit – as anyone would expect. The opposition rider – still hugging the white line – was making ready to make his turn - into the third bend

Though Kenny was twenty feet or so behind this rider – everyone in attendance at the Shay that night – knew exactly what Kenny was going to do.
Though it is a hackneyed phraseology - this one I am about to use – it is very appropriate here.

Kenny knew – the supporters knew what he was going to do – the supporters knew – that Kenny knew – the supporters knew - what he was going to do
You knew the supporters - were – as a body – willing Kenny not to do what Kenny was going to do
You knew that Kenny knew – that the supporters were willing Kenny not do to what he was going to do
BUT
You knew Kenny was going to do – what everyone knew – Kenny didn’t have a hope in hell of doing - and that was – drive under the opposition rider – to force him off his line – and thereby – get in front and win the race.

This move – of course – is a quite legitimate move – if the rider is not tight to the line
But this rider was welded to the line – with no prospect of him moving off this line
But that didn’t deter Kenny – he was going for it – come what may
The entire audience that night drew breath – awaiting the inevitable

Kenny drove under the rider – connected – failed to dislodge this rider – with Kenny ending up in a heap on the track – the race stopped – medics rushing to his aid

The silence that followed this incident – you could have heard a pin drop in the Shay
Everyone looked about them – finding something to do they’d suddenly decided was very important

You knew – people were thinking – ‘we didn’t see what we just saw’
Every one knew – everyone else was thinking the same thing
You could see them looking for away out of this dilemma – you knew they were thinking
‘I know – we’ll just forget it – pretend it didn’t happen – no one will ever know’

It was like one of those secrets - akin to the movie
‘I know what you did last summer’
It was our secret – we wouldn’t tell anyone – as long as we lived – cross our hearts and hope to die – and if you tell anyone – may the curse be upon you – that anyone should know – ‘The Truth’ – about – ‘Our Kenny’

People have opinions about the Penhall – Carter contretemps – something that didn’t interest me one little bit.
We didn’t see Penhall that often – the fact Kenny had – ‘a downer on Americans’ – really didn’t become part of my speedway experience
Other than the constant references – in the press - to his supposed vendetta with the ‘Yanks’ – that was always a pain in the backside
A pain – in the sense – my thoughts were – ‘who cares – let’s get on with the racing’

When I was at Wembley in 1981 – I wanted one person to win the meeting – a possibility – as he was another up and comer – but probably unlikely to be the champion on the night

That rider was Prince Tommy Knudsen – a certainty to be world champion one day
Knudsen was involved in that thrilling race with Penhall
Friends of mine were convinced Knudsen crossed the line first
But I knew Penhall was ahead – and the referee confirmed that opinion

Bruce Penhall won the title – I wrote on my program – ‘well deserved’ – so I never have had a problem with Penhall being world champion in 1981 – and he certainly crossed the line before Tommy Knudsen – though I wished it had gone the other way of course

Kenny continued as Halifax’s number one throughout the first half of the 80’s. Peoples’ attitudes hardened towards Kenny –one way or the other – you either ‘loved him or hated him’ – as the insist on saying.

People would seek to debate him – ‘with his loyal supporters’ – but were surprised by the response I gave - ‘You know – I don’t really want to talk about him’ – and people knew – I really didn’t want to talk about him at all – doing so got up peoples’ noses.
So they left it alone.

Anyone who reads my posts might know – I used to be a truck driver.
As such I was in bed every night at 10 pm – as I was – Wednesday May 21st 1986
Most people know – ITN’s – ‘News at Ten’ - was the number one news program at that time – the news came on as I went upstairs to bed

I was in bed only a few minutes – my wife suddenly – who has no interest at all in speedway - dashed into the bedroom
‘Guess what,’ she said!!!!!
‘What,’ said I? – not thinking for a moment – she was going to tell me something that was broadcast on the news.

‘Kenny Carter has shot his wife and then killed himself,’ she said.
My wife stared at me – waiting for my reaction.
I simply said,
‘I am shocked – but it doesn’t surprise me one little bit.’

After a brief conversation with the wife about Kenny Carter – I was left alone with my thoughts – and this is what I said to myself – before I turned over and went to sleep.

‘Well lad – you have finally gone and done it.’

One of the strangest experiences of my speedway life is – I don’t recall ever having gone to Bradford Odsal to watch speedway.
I can’t visualise it – recall the track – or anything about the place
In conversation with just a couple of people – concerning Kenny – I made reference to how I had gone to the Shay on the Saturday night after his death

But they told me he was at Bradford when he died – surely not I thought
I have the local newspaper – I would check it to confirm it was at Halifax
But when I took out the paper it was the – ‘Bradford Argus’

I still can’t recall going to Bradford – but that’s perhaps because Odsal never replaced the Shay – in my heart - so I just - ‘blanked it from my mind’ – in the sense that whenever I saw the ‘Dukes’ ride at home – it was always at Halifax
Circumstances – outside of speedway - also determined that my friends and I would finish going to speedway in 1987 – therefore at most – I had only gone to Odsal for two seasons

But we did go to Bradford in the season of 1986 – and I was there on the Saturday night – the weekend after Kenny’s demise.

At Odsal – we stood in the same area – appropriate to the one - we had stood in at Halifax
When we arrived in the stadium – Albert, his son – and the other people we knew -were already there.

Even as I walked towards them – I could see the ashen grey pained look on Albert’s face
He looked at me – as we approached – for he had something to say to me
On reflection – it was obvious he wanted to have it said and out of the way

‘It looks as though you were right after all,’ said Albert with a sigh of resignation.

‘Yes I know Albert – but I will admit – I didn’t expect anything like this – But I always knew something was going to happen – before he had finished.’

‘I know,’ said Albert – and we left it at that

There was nothing to ‘rub in’ – there was no ‘victory in this’ – no validation of my opinion- for it was never about that.

Kenny Carter had deep rooted problems – that surfaced for all to see – in the end
It is my misfortune – I often think – that I – if you will – see these things before other people do.

Did I ‘hate’ Kenny Carter – I don’t think so – I certainly disliked his antics on the track – and that is what I meant when Albert had said to me ‘you were right after all’
And I responded – ‘I didn’t expect anything like this’

And I didn’t expect anything like that

What I did expect – and - ‘I did know it was inevitable’ – was that he would either – kill himself – or kill someone else on the track
There was never any doubt in my mind that would happen in the end
As they say these days – ‘Kenny Carter was an accident waiting to happen’
I on my part was simply – waiting on the day that accident did happen – as it did – in a way – Wednesday May 21st 1986

Thus I developed a – ‘I have no interest in him’ – attitude – because I didn’t intend to spend my speedway time – waiting for Kenny Carter to kill himself – or God forbid – someone else – and to my mind – it would have been both

And that’s it – the secret’s out – Kenny Carter someone we don’t talk about – in polite company – because to do so is a contentious subject that ruffles peoples feathers
Because it brings all these memories flooding back
But it doesn’t – because we have never forgotten

Kenny – ‘We all know what you did in the spring of 1986’

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Note to forum members prior to posting this part of the thread

I have read this interesting and well written book and have written below my reflections on what I have read

There is a warning to those who have not read the book - that reading what I have written might detract from their reading of the book

If that is the case read the book before reading the following - though much of what is written here - has been explored in other written works - over the years - prior to the publication of this book
The 1982 World Final

Prior to this chapter concerning - The 1982 World Final – the book concerns itself with Kenny’s childhood – the decision that he be a speedway rider – the formative years as a Newcastle and Halifax rider – and competitor in his first world final – when he finished fourth overall
Could he have won the world title at Wembley in 1981?
There will be those who think he could have – if not for an engine failure
But it was accepted – he had a good a chance as anyone – of winning the 1982 world championship in America

The first thing I should say before I go into this chapter of the book – the chapter in the life of Kenny Carter that many see as the pivotal point in his life and his career.

I have never had an emotional involvement in this World Final and its outcome. The reason for this is that as soon as it was know the Final would be in Los Angeles – for me – there was only ever going to be one winner and that was – Bruce Penhall

As we always did in those days – everyone speculated throughout the season - as to who it was - who would most likely end up being world champion. There was always the ‘favourites’ in a world final - who you knew were going to finish in the first three – barring accidents - mechanical failure – silly mistakes - and just plain old wicked bad luck on the night.

But with this final – in my mind – it was a ‘no contest’ – the whole thing – in my mind – had been set up for Bruce Penhall to win it
After all – he was the – ‘Golden Boy’ of speedway – the man with the charisma – guaranteed to draw in the paying public – wherever he rode

Like they do with football – those involved in promoting speedway realised – there was no better time than this – with Bruce a fine winner of the 1981 world championship – than to make the big effort

The big effort meant – wrapping up in one great promotional package – the heady atmosphere of the old Wembley World Finals – the electric emotional involvement of the supporters from every speedway club in Great Britain – along with those who came from abroad – to speedway’s spiritual home – to witness – a feast of speedway – served up by the cream of the speedway riding elite – and transport it wholesale - to the people of the United States of America - to turn the American public onto speedway – in a big way

The plan being that to do so would make speedway a truly global franchise – the big break through the sport needed to propel it into the big league of major sports

With Barry Briggs and Ivan Mauger in the promotional driving seat all the ingredients were in place. There was the ‘ideal’ world champion – the ideal ‘bitter rival’ – determined to knock – the Golden Boy – off of his perch – in other words – two speedway artists – guaranteed to provide the fireworks – the American public always demand from their sporting heroes – along with a supporting cast of – fourteen other great speedway riders – who could – and hopefully wouldn’t upset – the speedway applecart to much – and prevent the – ideal world champion – being crowned for a second time.

But there was holes in all this right from the off
The moment I heard the final was to be in America – I marked this down as another wasted year in the history of the world championship.

The first wasted year – to my mind – was season 1981 – when England had a young world champion – set fair to win the title a number of times – but who went awol – leaving us – world champion – less – and there for – leaving speedway a rudderless ship – heading in the direction of nowhere.

The second wasted year – to my mind – was season 1982 – with Penhall – as the book says – already losing his popularity – for one reason or another – amongst the Cradley supporters and management – in particular – and with British speedway supporters – in general – because it was let slip he was going to quit speedway at the end of the 1982 season – to be a – film star

I will admit the line – ‘he was more interested in Hollywood - than – Dudley Wood’ – did make me laugh out loud.

Thus before the season was underway – I already knew that a third wasted year – was already on the cards – before a speedway wheel had turned.

And I was already asking myself the question – and others too
‘Why if he is going to retire – does he bother competing in the world championship?

(It was – a rhetorical question – because I knew full well – as we all did – he intended defending his world championship – in Los Angeles
It was just bad PR – on someone’s part – that it was indicated he was retiring at the end of the season – for if no one had have known – we would have all proceeded on the assumption – that the future of the world championship – might be in safe hands after all – if Penhall did actually win the title in America)

And not only that – if he is going to retire at the end of the season
Why bother with the world final in America – seeing as the rider – everyone wants to win – to promote the sport in the USA – won’t be there – for the follow through in 1983?

So for me – even before the season got going – the world championship was meaningless!!!!!

Because it was plain to see – by those who wanted to see – the 1982 world championship wasn’t going to be about – the best man on the night – competing fairly – in an individual open meeting – to earn the right to call himself – world champion

It was all about promoting a sport in a country where 99.9 % of the public had no interest in speedway whatsoever – or any real speedway teams to get involved with.
The fact there was a small crowd of 30,000 people – to witness the proceedings there - bears this fact out.

(And though it has no part in these proceedings – there is the fact that – the concept of twenty worldwide Grand Prix meetings – is going somewhat – down the same road?
And it surprises me that Nicki Pedersen stated in the Speedway Star – that the GP’s should be reduced to eight meetings – and not extended to twenty meetings
Comments that no one seems to have any opinion on at all – that I have heard)

So once again – I had – a detached attitude towards this world final – once again – it was – in my mind – something else that had the feel of – inevitability - about it. So in effect what I was saying to myself – and anyone else who cared to listen – ‘what is there to get excited about?’

But I was excited because – we are actually going to go to the world final in L.A.
Our proposed adoption of a child from Poland had been blocked – because of the declaration of Martial Law in that country
But in the end – we were allowed to proceed with the adoption – and didn’t go to the world final – we went to Poland instead

My wife said to me at the time – I hope you’re not disappointed in not going to L.A?’
I told her I wasn’t disappointed because – I said that in twenty years time I would have a flesh and blood son – I could see anytime I wished – where on the other hand – I would only have memories of a world final – that I wasn’t really interested in anyway.

But we have to get down to the nitty gritty of that race – did he fall or was he pushed?
I have never seen the race – but what I do know is that the general consensus in speedway was that Tore Kittilsen – who had - ‘previous’ - wasn’t regarded with any great affection amongst speedway riders – and therefore by their speedway supporters.

And as the book suggests – Kittilsen pointed the exclusion finger at Kenny Carter – because he was – ‘aware of the bigger picture’ – ‘what the whole L.A world final thing was all about’ – and he wasn’t going to let that exclusion finger of his – ruin – the best laid plans of mice and men – not in front of the American media and public – who were just waiting for – the inevitable – so they could get on with partying.

And it is obvious that Ivan Mauger – definitely had a conflict of interests – in that meeting. On the one hand – as asked by Barry Briggs – was Mauger an individual riders personal manager – or was he a promoter of the meeting – with all that entailed regarding – the right man – being world champion???

The fact that Ivan couldn’t decide – is reflected in the statement – that the normally ice cool Mauger – basically lost his rag - at the controversial exclusion of Kenny Carter.
But that moment came and went – and Kenny’s hopes of being world champion – and I won’t linger on this controversy – because I didn’t see it – and because Penhall was world champion – and not Kenny Carter

But Ivan Mauger – I believe – had finally come to the conclusion that – the right man – was in fact – not Bruce Penhall – but Kenny Carter

Now did Ivan realise this – in the time he spent with Kenny – after the crash he had at Ipswich – when Kenny was at his most vulnerable –when Mauger flew out to L.A with Kenny – a few days early – and spent – as they say these days – ‘quality time’ – with Kenny – and thus the – speedway penny dropped – that it was in fact – Kenny Carter – who was the answer – to a speedway ‘Maiden’s’ prayer – not Bruce Penhall?

That – to my mind – after reading this chapter – seems to me to be the reason why – Bruce Penhall views his world title win – as a somewhat – ‘Hollow Victory’ – because – most likely - on that night – or pretty soon after – he got the – ‘speedway message’ – that those who had lined him up – to fill their – ‘speedway promotional dreams’ – had dropped a massive – B*llock – and as such – Bruce Penhall – most likely saw himself rapidly developing into a – ‘speedway pariah’
Probably the underlying reason – he retired from speedway completely that day

But not in Barry Brigg’s eyes – because Barry – forever the realist – stood four square behind the plan – to achieve the world wide recognition of speedway – as a major sport – in other words – Barry never took his eyes off the ball – like everyone else did
Therefore the referee made – the right decision – in excluding Kenny Carter

BUT -

Did Ivan Mauger realise – he had backed the wrong horses – Big Time?
Did Ivan Mauger realise – that if the world final had taken place – in one of the traditional venues – in the established speedway world – that the whole thing would have been – a different kettle of fish altogether?

For a start there wouldn’t have been the concept that a world final had been set up for a number of reason running through my mind – to guarantee – as far as was possible – the ideal winner of the meeting

For another start – would Bruce Penhall have been as motivated to win a world final in say the Slaski Stadium in Poland – or at Ulevi in Sweden – as he obviously was – in the Coliseum?

Kenny on the other hand – was motivated to win the world championship anywhere
Not only that – Kenny also saw – the ‘Big Picture’ – problem was – he had gone to a different – movie – to everyone else – until Ivan Mauger – actually saw – the picture Kenny Carter was looking at – and – therefore – was it then that – Ivan saw – the ‘speedway light’ – and as a result – lost his rag?

But all of this is speculation – and none of it mattered – because if any or all of this is near the true mark – or not – what was fact was – that Kenny Carter – sat distraught in the pits – fully aware that all his dreams were shattered – in that moment of exclusion.

And thus he was excluded one again as he had been excluded from most things in life
Excluded from a normal upbringing most children are privileged to receive in life
Excluded from the normal love of an active mother who he adored because of a car accident
Excluded from the normal relationship with a brother because of the same accident
Excluded from the normal love of a father who appears to be more unfathomable a person than anyone else written about in this book
And finally
Excluded from delivering the world championship that he had promised his mother he would win for her

If he had have won
Would he have saved speedway from imploding as it began to do in the 1980’s?
Would he have been the ‘great world champion’ that many thought he was capable of being?
Would he have grown up and matured as a human being? … and
Would he then have realised that there could be sunshine in his life?… that
Would then have finally driven out those demons that haunted him
Would he then – not have done – the terrible deed he did?… and
Would he then have lived – happily ever after - with his wife and children?
Would he have basked in the ‘golden glow of all he achieved’?

Therefore the referee made the wrong decision in excluding Kenny Carter
In the eyes of John Berry - Peter Oakes – and Eric Boothroyd

It is also suggested in this part of the book that Kenny had a disinterested attitude towards speedway – a theory I went along with then – and even more so now
Because – perhaps – this ‘indifference towards speedway’ – was – in effect – part and parcel of his whole undoing – because – your heart has to be in speedway – to win it
For she is a cruel mistress – to those who don’t love her – as Kenny found out

Underlying all this is the tyre controversy – where Kenny’s father insisted that Kenny use Dunlop tyres instead of the American Carlisle tyre.
An interference with procedure – Ivan Mauger – was not prepared to tolerate – despite a signed agreement that Ivan was in charge of everything concerning preparation and racing matters

‘But once Kenny’s father entered the scene during the practice, I had no further say – Kenny only took notice of him.’

Now is there a suggestion in here somewhere that Kenny’s father – for reasons known only to himself – might have insisted on the Dunlop tyres – because he was aware that doing so would put his son at a disadvantage
And therefore – this was the intention – perhaps – of wilfully depriving his son of being world champion – because of an overbearing control of his son?
An order therefore that – seemingly – his son meekly obeyed.

Whatever the real problem – Mauger realised - then decides in fact – that he will have no further direct influence on Kenny’s career.

After reading about the debate - concerning the tyres - between Mauger and Mal Carter – it is natural for the reader of this book to expect – an exploration of the father’s influence on the son – but Mr Carter seems to fade into the background totally from this point on – with just brief mentions throughout the rest of the book.

Suggesting perhaps – that Kenny Carter was perhaps – as much of a mystery to the father - as he was to everyone else!

Before these two chapters – this book unfolds in the manner of most speedway books – detailing the riders career- lined with anecdotes – from all those involved with the rider – for good or bad – throughout their careers
After these two chapters – the following chapters – proceed in the same manner – till the final chapters

It is not my intention to interpret what I read in the book piecemeal – to do so would be to rewrite the book – in my own image – but to proceed as I began – stating how all these things – presented themselves for digestion – to a regular Halifax supporter on the terraces – with all the ‘prejudices of personal opinion involved’ – at the time

Kenny finally made it as a world champion – a world’s best pairs champion – in 1983 with Peter Collins – but this was not satisfaction enough – nor does it seem to have been – the springboard to greater things – the winning of the world title
When speedway supporters might be forgiven for believing – that now Kenny had actually tasted – ‘the fruits of victory’ – and had finally learned and understood – what it took to be a world champion - all the rest would fall into place

But for some reason known only to those who run Speedway – the FIM down – once again – to this supporter on the terraces – it was once again – decided’ – that there was another – ‘Golden Boy’ – who deserved the opportunity to be Speedway World Champion – Egon Muller

If allocating the world final to the Americans in L.A. – could cause this speedway supporter on the terraces – to wonder what the speedway authorities were playing at
The decision to – allocate the Speedway World Final to Norden – in Germany – seemingly for a – ‘benefit World Championship medal’ – to be delivered to someone who didn’t even ride speedway regularly – multiplied the bewilderment – as to what the speedway authorities were playing at – a hundred fold

The book describes the Norden track as – ‘the worst venue ever chosen to stage the individual World Final’ – and I know that is true – because we went to the World Team Cup Final there – in 1975 – a final we won

There is no need to debate this World Championship Final – and the merit of Muller in being crowned World Champion – because to this speedway supporter – this was yet another – non event – that deprived British Speedway – of a World Champion – to set the benchmark – for all the other riders to aspire to and beat – during the 1984 season.

In conversation – over the years – with people I have met in speedway – I have always said – that in my personal opinion – and I underline that comment – in my own personal opinion -
British Speedway – in particular - and in effect world speedway – in general – for one
contentious reason – or another – did not have a world champion – to perform regularly – on the track – as all previous world champions had done - in the traditional accepted sense we all expected – from September 1980 to September 1984 – when Eric Gundersen won the title.

On reading of Gundersen’s victory – I said to my speedway friends
‘Finally – after all this time - we have ourselves – a real world champion’!!!!!
And with Gundersen’s victory – perhaps it was possible that he could – claw back all – I personally thought – had been lost – in those ‘locust years’

The author’s description of Heat 3 – and the comment
‘They might as well have given Muller the trophy – there and then
For the other 15, it was a hopeless cause.’
Sums up my opinion of all that was involved in the 1983 World Championship perfectly

Kenny – going by this comment in the book – ‘he arrived in Germany – prepared for what he called a – ‘muck and nettles’ job – suggests to the reader – that he felt – before he arrived in Germany – that he wasn’t coming back with the world title – this year either

But should 1984 have been different – if once again it wasn’t for serious injury?
It was all over the press – concerning race fixing in the news – at the British Semi – Final at Oxford – but for us – my friends and I – it was something that was there – that only attracted blanket media coverage – when there was a potential scandal to be uncovered – and not having read Malcolm Simmon’s book – I am not aware of all the ‘revelations’ – it is said there is revealed in that book – or if Kenny was involved in it all or not

But no one can deny Kenny’s bravery – in winning his first British Final at Coventry in appalling conditions in 1984 – with a broken leg – alienating most of his fellow riders– with justification perhaps – because of the injuries he suffered – and the desire to get that meeting out of the way – perhaps teaching his fellow riders – a lesson in focussing on what matters – in the process

But the battle was getting harder as Kenny proceeded through the qualifying rounds – and in the end he failed to make it to the world final – that went to Eric Gundersen

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1985 – suggested this would be the year when Kenny finally did it – on his home track – in front of his home fans – in his home country – but it wasn’t to be
Though he started the season outstanding – with a repeat victory in the British Final at Coventry – it all ended in disaster – in the Inter Continental Final – at Vetlanda – in heat 6 – one a rain soaked track – when once again Kenny broke his leg – and out of the world championship for another year.

The common consensus is – Kenny Carter was – a very unfortunate rider – when it came to sustaining injuries on a regular basis – so much so that it would be seen – in normal circumstances – as a blight upon his career
We would be talking today – in normal circumstances – of how badly ‘fate had served this rider – who would have been a – ‘star attraction’ – in any – ‘Best rider never to have won a World title poll.

There is no doubt – however – that all those who read this book – will be looking for the ‘key’ – to everything concerning Kenny Carter’s speedway riding career – and in one way or another – on internet threads – or in private conversation – we will all decide that – what we have deduced – is the real ‘key’ to all things – Kenny Carter.

As I pointed out – after the tyre incident at the 1982 World Final – much to my surprise – it be fair to say – not much more was said about his father.
And in line with that – I have nothing to say about his father.

What struck me was – the fact Kenny never achieved – what we all expected him to achieve – that’s everyone across the board – from those who knew him – to those who watched his career – from the terraces – because of injuries and other reasons detailed in the book

Almost – at every turn – Kenny’s ambitions were thwarted – WHY?

After reading this book – my conclusion is – that Kenny Carter just didn’t think Kenny Carter was good enough
That Kenny Carter thought – Kenny Carter was a – ‘loser’ – that everything that Kenny Carter touched – would turn to dust – because Kenny Carter knew Kenny Carter wasn’t good enough

That’s why he lost everything – including – in the end – his mind – because as it is often the diagnosis of psychiatrists
When tragedy strikes the life of a young person – for reasons known only to themselves – some young people blame themselves – for everything unfolding before them.
That there is a reason – for all these things that go wrong – and to rationalise all that has gone wrong – they find fault in themselves.

But Kenny Carter had – a natural talent – when it came to riding motorbikes
So at the same time – in his mind – he had everything – and he had nothing.
The two stools – that he stood on – that slowly drifted apart as time went by – till it split him in two – schizophrenic

Thus every – good thing he did – was undercut – because he knew he couldn’t win – because he was a loser – hence the reason he ‘injured himself’ – using tactics frowned up by his fellow riders – because he had no respect for them – or a burning ‘will to win’ attitude – that took no prisoners – that brought ‘harm’ on himself

There were those who knew him better than others – no one exists in a vacuum – we all have – by necessity – human contact with others – and interact with them – no matter how insular a person they are.

But did – Kenny keep everything locked up within – because he knew something about himself no one else did – and he wasn’t going to let anyone know – what Kenny Carter really thought about Kenny Carter – that – in today’s parlance – that – Kenny Carter wasn’t – ‘worthy’

Thus all was front – a persona adopted to shield himself from – those who might inadvertently stumble across - the solution – to the Kenny Carter problem
Thus – giving people – many other things – to think about Kenny Carter – he deflected them from thinking – what he didn’t want them to think about Kenny Carter.

Kenny had a career to think about – and presented himself as a man on a personal crusade – to deliver to speedway – what he thought speedway required – a genuine five star world champion – who would perform his duties as a world champion should

I believe that – in his own mind - Kenny was honest and truthful in his quest to achieve this goal
Seeing himself as shining knight – seeking the Holy Grail – delivered in perfection – without flaws of any kind – to what would become an adoring public – once they saw what Kenny Carter was trying to achieve – with total respect from his fellow riders -
Once they knew – why Kenny had conducted himself has he had – on and off the track

A ‘Pied Piper’ – the reason he wanted to be – and seen to be – and acknowledged as -
England’s Number One – and – Team Captain – boldly leading everyone to the ‘Promised Land of Speedway Glory’ – taking everyone involved – by the hand – as he walked that golden road – overcoming all opponents – who were – ‘demonised’
But at the same time – walking into a darkness engulfing him – all the while these – ‘visons of glory’ – he had turning to dust – slipping through his fingers – till finally everything was gone – including his wife and children

The rest of the book is personal to family and those who knew him on and off the track
There are comments at the end of the book by speedway riders you will read yourselves – and you will agree or disagree with them as you see fit

But in the end all Kenny wanted was his mum – and he couldn’t have her

Everything I have written – concerning things up to and including 1986 – before and after I have read the book – is all personal opinion – but the truth of what I thought then – and always have thought – and finally written it all down – for those who care to read – just another opinion – about speedway in those days - on speedway in general – and Kenny Carter in particular
But it is all my opinion – and those who know me – who went to speedway with me – would confirm that these were and are my opinions

But opinion is opinion – and we can all speculate on what causes things to be – and come to conclusions – that may be right or wrong
But as I learned long ago

‘All is vanity – and you may as well try and catch the wind’

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I've received this well documented read as a Crimbo pressie.
Only read up to Chapter 3 so far but it's absloutely fascinating.
How the poor lad kept all that bottled up is beyond contemplation.Even when his mother was gone there was still very little emotion instead channelling into what he loved most, racing & winning.Even at this early stage of reading you understand how things became too much later in life.

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I read this book during the summer and couldn't put it down. I didn't follow speedway in the 80's much and did not know of Kenny Carter. I feel very emotional when reading mrclemens posts. The book means so much to me and my overriding thoughts of the whole sad story is of the early tragedy and the effect it played on Kenny's mind and future.
A brilliant read and a book that will never leave my house.

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It's a very interesting book that will be read over and over again about a person speedway will never forget for all the reasons we remember him for.

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I know you have a downer on Kenny for what happened at the end , but he will still be remembered for being a fantastic racer regardless by those who saw him race, emphasis on the word Race as opposed to gate.

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Ther are many reasons why Kenny was as focused & single -minded as he was towards his racing.There are also many things that those outside the Carter clique could never have known.Up to chapter 11 now, his feud with Penhall is getting really hot.
Chapter 12 & that incident with Penhall at The Coliseum has occured & been deliberated on by many, i must admit that my veiw on this was that Kittlesen bottled it, maybe just maybe Penhall was in front & had the right of way.
Of all the veiws in there i think that race-wise PC sums it up most fairly, though there is a greivance in him that it cost brother Les a big chance.It's John Berry's veiw that makes you think hardest & is also very poignant.
Despite all of this though the veiw you take most notice of is that of Ivan.Ivan had & still has alot of admiration for Kenny & saw alot of himself in him.However on that night he knew his association with him was over long before the meeting began. This was because of his overbearing father ,Mal,if Mal hadn't interfered Kenny would have won that night, i'm sure of that as well, & the hatred for all things American cost him it no matter how much it was protested otherwise, I believe Kenny only says that because he didn't wish to go against his father,but Ivan is right, on a Carlisle tyre Penhall wouldn't have got anywhere near him.Mal Carter is the one person who was ultimately to blame for Kenny's demise that night.
The incident with Preben Eriksen at the Star of Anglia comes as no surprise, always was a dirty bastard.
Read up to & including Chapter 19 now.
1984 was indeed a very troubled year for Kenny Carter. However he did achieve a British Final victory. this didn't come without it's problems & of course Kenny being Kenny, controversy.It all started in a meeting at Cradley where Craig Pendlebury was unable to avoid the stricken Carter. Kenny suffered a broken leg as a result which needed to be "potted".
Kenny however was determined he would take his place in the Briish Semi Final at Cowley. He did so despite having to be lifted on & off his machine & scored a creditable 10 points to qualify for Coventry. This was not without controversy either as Malc Simmons claims there was a bit of fixing going on, Kenny himself was exonerated but Simmo & the late Simon Wigg we're not.
Kenny was still in a lot of pain & discomfort with the leg & didn't appear on track again until the British Final itself. This meeting was the one day that brought my own personal most lasting memory of Kenny Carter. Conditions we're treacherous.After heat 3 all the riders we're wanting the meeting postponed, all that was except KENNY CARTER, things got very heated in the changing rooms & apparently PC, according to Kenny even threatened to punch him, there was however alot of peer pressure supporting Kenny, & being a smart guy, Kenny used that, the conditions & his injury to his own advantage & got his way.Courage & determination & a bit of bloody-mindedness won Kenny Carter his 1st British title.However that leg injury continued to take it's toll on him & come the ICF at Vojens Kenny just couldn't take the strain & pain anymore .Vojens was a hurdle to far for the courageous Carter. His 1984 World title challenge had succumbed at the last stage.PC & Kenny's relationship after that British Final deteriorated, & PC was quoted as saying that he wasn't happy Kenny couldn't keep their argument"in house",in the thick of all this was poor British Team manager Carl Glover, how could he keep Kenny as skipper after he'd just upset all the rest of the squad? Glover was "between the devil & the deep blue sea". It was then agreed that Chris Morton would take over as captain. From then on Kenny's racing days seemed to encounter one problem after another. He did retain his British title, & did receive praise ffrom John Berry for the performance in the Pairs with Kelvin Tatum. However these we're the few bright spots in the remainder of his racing days. His feud with PC became worse not better, his injuries took their toll. HIsdream of becoming World Champion on home soil at Odsal was shattered on a wet Vetlanda circuit. Outside of racing he had financial problems as well with his promotions business not taking off as well as he expected, through all this he was cutting corners with regard to his racing, parting company with his long & trusted mechanics, changing fron 1 engine to another & back again. Kenny was a troubled man, those that knew him could see it but he never opened up to anyone. On May 21st 1986, the whole world knew about the problems.No-one can condone what Kenny did that day, we can only try to understand what must have been going through his tormented mind.What Kenny did was a cowardly act, but of all the things you could acccuse him of,a coward he wasn't.So what was it that led to that terrible days shootings?wWas it simply that he couldn't bear to see the love of his life with someone else? Was that just hearsay?Was it ll those things that had happened in his life as a boy finally coming to a head?Was it that everything he dreamed of was slipping away from him?We will never really know, but it's questions that have been asked for 21 years & wiil continue to be asked.
In my own synopsis of Carter, i have to say he was never my favourite rider, i like many saw him as a cocky, arrogant little swine, but on June 20 1984 he won my respect & admiration for the way he went about winning the British Title in the face of abject adversity.From then on whenever Kenny put on the red, white & blue he received my applause.This just goes to show that it'strue what it says on the front cover. LOVE HIM OR HATE HIM,YOU CAN'T FORGET HIM.Read this book, it's brilliant.

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I have read the book over and over again. As a supporter of the Dukes since I was 6 up to the closure at Odsal, Kenny Carter will always be the best rider I ever saw.

The crash with Hans Nielsen that left Kenny with a bashed face hasn't really been opened up. I was there and had a bird's eye view of it. As Kenny said in his book "he shut off." I can categorically say this is true. Kenny was about to pass him when Nielsen shut off knowing what would happen. The only person to blame is Nielsen. I don't think the word CHEAT is too strong a word to use.

The other crash I saw was at Ipswich with Preben Erikssen. This rider was known for his dirty antics on the track. He was just too slow and would steamrole anyone who was faster than him. Kenny was passing him when he deliberately moved into him and brought him down. Again CHEAT is the word I would use.

I didn't witness the crash with Craig Pendlebury which resulted in Kenny's first broken leg. But having seen video footage over and over again I still can't believe that Pendlebury ran into him. He looked dozey on the pictures and he was exactly that on this occasion.

I have also looked at the crash with Penhall in 1982 in LA and heard his comments on YouTube. He quite openly admits that he "wouldn't let Kenny past." He is the biggest CHEAT of them all.