GASOLINE COWBOY
By
Rex Smalley and the Temple Tempest -- man and mount. An orphan who cuts his teeth on cowboy movies, Rex takes well to his adoptive home, and his start in motorcycle racing is a joint venture with new father Joe, a crack mechanic, and new brother Jody, a fellow racer who gives Rex some friendly if occasionally edgy competition but drops out when it becomes clear that it's Rex who's headed for Number One spot on the AMA circuit. A cool loner, Rex uses the Lindberghian ""we"" in describing his and the Temple's performance on the track and muses on how many Gary's there are at the top (who was Number One cowboy at the time they were named?); that and his decision to spend that ultimate last page victory night with his adoptive family represent the off-track interest in a smooth if synthetic racing story.