When Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage was growing up, a friend of his older brother had a paper route, and he would deliver the newspaper from his motorcycle.
“I thought it was the greatest thing,” Gossage says. “I’d run out there each morning to see him go by my house. I remember thinking to myself, ‘I’ve got to get one of those things.’”
Gossage started saving money at age 13, and soon, he had mowed enough lawns to buy his own bike.
“It was a little Honda SL70, 70cc—and it was sweet,” he recalls. “I felt like I could do anything. All of a sudden, the world was so much bigger. I wasn’t allowed to ride very far, but it just opened my universe. And I’ve been riding ever since.”
So much so, that he has ridden through all 48 mainland states. Seldom does someone mention a small town he hasn’t been through, he says.
“I love riding my motorcycle and visiting sites all over America. Mount Rushmore. The Grand Canyon. New York City. The Florida Keys. The Pacific Coast Highway. The Appalachians. This country has so much to offer.”
In 1994, alongside former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty, Gossage and others spontaneously rode from Charlotte to New England on the saddles of Harley-Davidsons. Desiring to take it to another level, Petty and Gossage created the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America. Since the first event in 1995, 8,650 riders have traveled 12.4 million miles, raising $19 million for charities that support chronically ill children, including Victory Junction, a children’s camp founded in honor of Petty’s late son Adam.
“Victory Junction is the most amazing, beautiful, and unbelievable racing-themed camp experience for these children,” Gossage says.
The speedway executive is grateful that his career has aligned with his passions. “I get to combine my loves for motorcycles and auto racing into a job that I love,” he says. “I’m a long way from being that little boy standing in the driveway, but the passion for motorcycles remains.”
“Growing up, a friend of my older brother’s had a paper route, and he would deliver the newspaper from his motorcycle. I thought it was the greatest thing. I’d run out there each morning to see him go by my house.
“I remember thinking to myself, ‘I’ve got to get one of those things.’ I started saving money at 13, and by the end of the summer, I had mowed enough lawns to buy my own bike. It was a little Honda SL70, 70cc. And it was sweet. I felt like I could do anything. All of a sudden, the world was so much bigger. I wasn’t allowed to ride very far, but it just opened my universe. And I’ve been riding ever since. … I have ridden through all 48 mainland states.
Seldom does someone mention a small town I haven’t been through or road I haven’t been on across this country.
“I love riding my motorcycle and visiting sites all over America. Mount Rushmore. The Grand Canyon. New York City. The Florida Keys. The Pacific Coast Highway. The Appalachians. This country has so much to offer. … I’m a long way from being that little boy standing in the driveway. But the passion for motorcycles remains.”
