Eddie Mulder Named Grand Marshal of the Santa Rosa Mile
Eddie Mulder, the grand marshal of this weekend’s Ramspur Winery Santa Rosa Mile and the promoter of the West Coast Dirt Track Series, has lived a life of thrills and victories, excitement and speed.
His first motorcycle was a Triumph Cub, which he learned to ride at the tender age of 7. That Cub sparked Eddie’s passion for motorcycles and racing. He grew up around motorcycles at his father’s British motorcycle shop in Lancaster, California, not far from where he lives now.
At 16, Mulder made a name for himself as an up-and-coming champion, beating Bud Ekins in a desert race. Not long after that, his father sold his business and went to work for a Triumph dealer. Eddie competed in desert races and hare scrambles and at the AMA National Circuit, winning five Grand National TT races. He was the only rider to win at Ascot, Peoria and the Santa Fe TT all in the same year, riding a factory Triumph sponsored by Johnson Motorsports. Eddie also took the high point at Ascot eight times in a row.
Following his racing career, in the early ’70s, Eddie went to Hollywood, so to speak. He became a stunt man and earned a reputation for being one of the best stunt men in the industry. He worked alongside Evel Knievel in 1974’s Earthquake and became Knievel’s stunt double in other movies, as well as performing in On Any Sunday, Magnum Force, Viva Knievel and many more.
Following his retirement and his induction into the AMA Hall of Fame in 1999, he went on to win Pikes Peak nine times, from 2000 to his last race in 2009.
It wasn’t long before Eddie was missing the excitement of racing, and his wife, Jodi, suggested they start a racing series. That series became the West Coast Vintage Dirt Track Series, which they still promote today in October each year at Willow Springs International Raceway. They also have revived the Cachuma Lake British Motorcycle Rally each spring.
Eddie is a Triumph man through and through. These days, he spends his time building Triumphs in his shop, replicas of the bike he called “Triumphant Triple Crown,” the Bonneville that he rode at the end of his TT racing career. Nothing makes Eddie happier than the smiles he sees when one of the guys, nearly as old as himself, comes off the track on a “Triple Crown” replica, smiling from ear to ear.
[Eddie Mulder’s West Coast Dirt Track Series’ next event will take place on October 1 and 2 at Willow Springs International Raceway. You have three days left to save money by preregistering because applications must be mailed in by September 25. For applications, please go to www.westcoastdirttrackseries.com … Editor]