After nearly 40 years of road racing Ed Key finally decided to hang up his leathers and Saturday night was his retirement party in Madison, Wisconsin. To say it was a blast to get back with all the racers who raced alongside Ed over the years would be a monumental understatement. This is a photo of just the former racers at the party. Ed is in the red shirt in the middle of the group. Congrats to Barb Key for completely surprising Ed and putting on this wonderful retirement/reunion.
Ed Key’s retirement party in Madison, Wisconsin on April 13, 2013. After nearly 40 years of racing and numerous regional and national club racing titles, Key finally called it quits. One of the best loved riders in the Midwest, this photo, showing just the former racers at the party, showed just how respected Ed is in the Midwest road racing community. (Larry Lawrence photo)
Rider Files 
That is Gary Gibson next to him?
Charlie in front of him?
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I had to work, who was all there?
Any idea how many races he has won and competed in?
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Hey Ed,
Congratulations!
Why are you retiring? You’ve got plenty more good years of draging your knees in you, eh! Nothing better than the “old” guy showing the snot nosed kids the fast way around.
I’ve played rec hockey with guys in their 70’s & 80’s, and they’re still going strong…maybe a bit slower but very crafty!
Wish I’d known about the party, I would have come up with Larry to wish you all well.
It’s been many years, but I still have very fond memories of all the fine people I met during my racing years and you and Barb will always hold a special spot in my memories.
Good job Barb!
Hey Larry, I found another crate of old photos & negatives in the attic, and you thought your years of scanning was done!!!
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Larry, are you going to identify everyone in your Ed Key party photo?
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Way to go Ed, Dragged ur knee,s 4 a life time and walked away, sweet memories my man!
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Wish I could have been there. It is good to see so many old faces. I guess I think I started racing a year after Ed and it looks like I will be doing at least one more after him. My final race last year was on his SV. Pitting at turn 4 at Blackhawk will be a little lonlier.
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It seems Barb didn’t have the means of contacting everyone who would have liked to be there, otherwise that venue would have been overflowing. As it was, it was still an impressive turnout, and great to see so many great old competitors. The look of complete confusion on Ed’s face was priceless (talk about a top end seizure!), and it seemed it took him about 10 full seconds to understand that all those people were there for HIM.
Ok, so I have a confession to make. I really liked and respected Ed back in the day, but as the years went by, I began to hate him. When people asked me why I stopped racing, my explanation usually involved the realities of growing older, having to be responsible, and losing the ability to be competitive. And then there’s Ed. It seems Ed always knew only one speed, and it was fast. The growth in his tropy collection only served to make my excuses seem even more ridiculous. I’m grateful that he’s retired, as now I can go back to liking him again, and I can go back to using my old excuses.
BTW, you should have posted the other picture with Ed in front of the group, as that was his usual position anyways. Truth is, everyone protested him being in front, as we felt he had jumped the start.
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CONGRATS EDDIE, Like everyone a lot of memories racing with you in the 80’s. Well done….
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Congratulations, Ed!
Yes, the look on Ed’s face was priceless. It was great to see such a large turn out of Ed’s competitors from over the years. There were some big names in road racing there who showed up to celebrate and reminisce over the incredible career Ed has had.
Thank you Ed, for all that you have done for the sport of road racing over the years.
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For the first time in my life I now completely understand the word dumbfounded. It took a few seconds after walking into the party to get was going on. Apparently most in attendance didn’t think Barb could pull this off without my finding out. The stunned and bewildered look on my face proved otherwise.
The complicated and long planned ruse that was perpetrated to get me out of the house for a sufficient period of time to “borrow” one of my race bikes, pit setup and deliver me at the appropriate time was well played, well played indeed. Especially Barb with the last minute sudden headache. Geese like I haven’t seen that before and yet it worked, again. The only thing missing from my pit set up at the party was my toolbox and van. If “they” had brought race gas we could have done hot laps.
A sincere and heartfelt thank you to all who participated. Barb, Kevin, Jamie, Guy, Kim, Don, KK, Howard, Joyce, Rodger, Alexa, Rhiannon, Brandon, Gary and Mary. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
My apologies to those of you who I didn’t get a chance to talk with. There were too many people for the time allowed. Thank you all for coming. I cannot tell you all just how much this meant to Barb and me.
I really wish I could have continued but sadly injuries I sustained to my right hand and wrist in 1989 have finally caught up with me. Three different orthopedic surgeons told back then I was done so I can’t really complain.
How many races have I participated in? No way to know for sure but its 42 years’ worth. How many races have I won? Again no way for me to know for sure as I have given away a couple of years’ worth of trophies and I’ve heard the WERA records from the 70’s are lacking. I can document 501 wins on just my SV’s and that represents around a quarter of my career. I would guess it’s easily something over 1000 and some day I will attempt to document it. I can also document 100 Regional Championships, 25 National Championships and 5 pro FUSA/ASRA thunderbike wins.
If there is one regret it’s that I never won an AMA pro race. I was in position three times in my one full 250 GP season but I never pulled it off. Two mechanicals and one rider error, by me on the last lap while leading will have to be my AMA legacy. At least I boxed it once.
I have been blessed with a lot of memorable days in my life. My wedding, the birth of my son, my first pro win and going seven out of seven at the Daytona CCS finals, but this day ranks right up there.
Larry it was great to see you again. Thank you so much for coming, for the picture book, for all your great work over the years and especially for this site.
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I don’t think I can express my appreciation for everyone involved. I wish we had been able to contact more people. Howard and Joyce Spitson, thank you for your contribution as well. There were so many people who helped put this on! I had the time of my life!
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Going seven out of seven at the Daytona CCS finals?
What year and bikes was that?
I’ve been wanting to make Blackhawk the past summers to watch you, not real high on my list anymore.
Congrats
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Marshall,
It was 2005 on my LWSS and LWSB SV’s. We had been trying to accomplish the sweep at Daytona for years but something had always gone wrong. That year was different. Both bikes were at the peak of their development and they were not too fresh and not too worn out either. After years of learning my Daytona riding techniques were also at their peak. As a team we knew exactly what to do, exactly what gearing to use, exactly how to tune the bikes and for the FUSA hp to weight controlled class exactly how far to push the envelope.
I was also riding at my absolute best. We have GSXR 1000 brakes on the SB and we ran out of rotors as I warping them on a regular basis. As I recall we went through 4 sets that weekend.
We won LWSS, LWSB, LWGP, GTL, TB, LWF40 and the Pro FUSA TB race.
I never rode that well again as the next year at Daytona I went from leading GTL to waking up in intensive care with a severe concussion, internal brain bleeding and some permanent rewiring.
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Well all I can say is that Ed, Don and I have had a lifetime full of memories generated in the last part of Ed’s road racing career, I know that that we experienced something to remember and remember it, I will.
I was truly amazing to work with Ed for as many years as I have. I have done things that as a child I only dreamed about. He has shared a lifetime of knowledge with me and I like to think that we actually learned some new things together. I love to watch race craft in action on the track. Ed and I referred to this as playing chess. Ed was the absolute king of playing chess on the racetrack. Strangely he was always open to suggestions I had after observing his or others activities on the track, he seemed eager to learn a new trick anytime he could. He was the only veteran I know that was still learning. I can’t tell you how many times I watched him make a subtle move that turned that table around to his advantage. He did it all with unquestionable, nearly super human precision. After some time I began know what he had planned as it was unfolding on the track and in some strange way I felt a part of his game.
We had a great time together building his bikes into what they are today. I learned many new skills that I didn’t know I had, machining, laminating carbon fiber bits, setting up suspension, reading the wear patterns on tires. Ed gave all of those skills some real meaning. He taught me all he knew about bike set up and the riding philosophy he used make that setup work. All of the changes we made to those bikes he could exploit to the fullest extent making all of the effort worthwhile.
I have raced with Ed for a short period of time and only really raced head to head with him once in the rain as that was the only time he slowed down enough to get near him. Needless to say he beat me with one of the craftiest moves I have ever seen. I can’t believe that I was actually happy to get second place. He just plain out foxed me. Hands down the coolest move I have ever seen or experienced on a motorcycle.
Anyhow, thanks Ed for the experience and the memories
Your Pit Bitch, Tuner and Friend
Guy
PS those smelly ass bastard shorts are still for sale, they would be great for a comeback!!!! I will cut you a deal on them!!!
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