WT #4

During one of the very first Grass Roots work sessions in the basement that we half jokingly called “the office,” BK and I decided that I would do a monthly installment where I could rant and rave about whatever I wanted and we’d call it Whiskey Throttle. Whiskey Throttle is a term I probably heard for the first time while hanging around the Barnesy Racing trailer back when Yamaha’s were pink and Kawasaki was just thinking about putting a purple tank on their bikes. Monte Barnes was telling me in his very deliberate and all knowing voice how Kris had wadded up during his last ride and he used the term “Whiskey Throttle.” Naturally, not wanting to look like the kid who didn’t know what Whiskey Throttle meant, I just played along and gave a bucktoothed smile. I remember wondering for days what Monte really meant by the term until I finally heard one of the Barnes boys use it for themselves. That was when I started to develop my own personal understanding of the term Whiskey Throttle.

Here it is, after several requests, the explanation of the term Whiskey Throttle, as used in an everyday moto conversation according to the Fisky Racing Dictionary.

Whiskey Throttle- is when a rider comes barreling into a section of terrain and temporarily or fully loses control of their motorcycle. Some examples can include; pinning it through the biggest set of sand whoops you can find and doing the biggest back and forth swaps you can imagine only to save it by, ironically, pinning it. Also, attempting your first bubba scrub and forgetting the second half of the maneuver where you need to bring the bike back to its upright and straight position, causing your to land sideways swap back and forth several times before being launched onto your hind parts at the base of the jump. This usually happens in front a crowd of riders you were hoping to impress or if you’re lucky, in front of some hot coeds who you’ll be able to convince that what you did was a normal and everyday experience for a motocrosser. To put it the most basic way that I can, Whiskey Throttle really relates to the sound made by your bike when you desperately pin the throttle and everyone can here the “RAAP, RAAP, RAAP!” sound made either right before an amazing save or a film worthy get off.

Whiskey Throttle the column name is really the work of part time NDMA motocross announcer Nick Hulberg. Nick and I played hockey together when we were in high school and when I approached him to do the official announcing for the Ruthville motocross race he became an instant hit. Nick’s energy and play by play announcing style was a breath of fresh air at the races and it wasn’t long until he started giving nicknames, literally, to some of his favorite riders. “Righteous Reidman” was one of his favorites and apparently, in the middle of a heated 125 A battle between myself and another rider, he started yelling “Whiskey Fisky” into the mic. People started asking me immediately if I had a wild side that involved Mr. Jack Daniels or Jim Beam but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. At the time I’m pretty positive that most Minot State University freshmen were sailing with the Captain, but don’t quote me on that. Nick just liked saying Whiskey Fisky so I ended up stuck with it whenever he took over the announcing duties at the races. When it came time to figure out what to call my monthly column in Grass Roots it was an easy decision. A big thank you goes to Monte Barnes and Nick Hulberg for unknowingly helping to create what we now know as “Whiskey Throttle, a Grass Roots column by Justin Fisk.” Could you imagine it by another name? How about Lutafisk? It just wouldn’t be the same.