Jeremy McGrath (born November 19, 1971) is one of the most popular American
Motocross
Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom.
History
Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...
/
Supercross
The AMA Supercross Championship (commercially known as Monster Energy AMA Supercross) is an American motorcycle racing series. Founded by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1974, the AMA Supercross Championship races are held from ...
champions in the history of the sport, racking up seven Supercross championships. He was most active in the 1990s earning the title the "King of Supercross".
McGrath did not start riding motocross until the age of 14 because he spent his younger years riding
BMX. This experience helped him revolutionize the way supercross was ridden, employing a technique he learned in BMX allowing him to stay a foot or two lower over jumps by coming in with more speed then soaking up the landing into his body similar to the way you ride BMX. One of his BMX "tricks" during jumps on the supercross track, the most famous of which he called the "Nac Nac", helped spawn the sport of
freestyle motocross
Freestyle motocross (also known as FMX) is a variation on the sport of motocross in which motorcycle riders attempt to impress judges with jumps and stunts.
The two main types of freestyle events are:
*Big air (also known as "best trick"), in whi ...
. McGrath won the AMA Pro Athlete of the Year Award in 1996.
[
Still competitive in Motorcycle racing, McGrath has tried his hand in many types of motorcycle competition. Lately, he has expanded into ]off-road
Off-roading is the activity of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain. Types of off-roading range in intensity, from leisure drives with unmodified vehicl ...
trucks in the Pro 2WD division of the LOORS Series and occasionally tries his hand at stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
. McGrath has the privilege of being the first rookie ever to win the AMA 250cc Supercross Championship, in 1993.
MX career
McGrath began racing motocross at the age of 15 after a successful career in BMX. He placed 8th in the 125cc West Region Supercross season of 1989. In 1990 he won his first supercross race and placed 2nd in that season. McGrath won the 125 West Supercross title in 1991 and 1992.
McGrath won a record of seventy-two 250cc Main Events and captured seven 250cc supercross championships between 1993 and 2000, a time now known as the "McGrath Era".. He also won the 1995 250 Outdoor Motocross Championship and had the 1996 title in sight before a late-season injury handed the title to Jeff Emig
Cam Jeffrey Emig (born December 1, 1970) is an American former professional motocross racer. He competed in the AMA Motocross Championships from 1988 to 1999. He was one of the top American motocross racers of the 1990s. During his motorcycle ra ...
. He described the loss as follows: "''I get mad at myself a little bit because I should've won the '96 title too, but I was thinking I was invincible and tried a jump at Millville that I never should have attempted and got injured.''" McGrath also participated in two victories by the U.S. team at the Motocross des Nations
The Motocross des Nations (in French) is an annual team motocross race, where riders representing their country meet at what is billed as the "Olympics of Motocross". The event has been staged since 1947, where the team of Bill Nicholson, Fred Rist ...
–1993 in Austria and 1996 in Spain.[ His 1998, 1999, 2000 seasons with The Chaparral Motorsports race team was the 1st non-factory team, in the history of the sport, to win a Supercross Championship
He started the 2001 season in typically strong form; winning 2 of the first 3 main events. However, he lost the next event to Team Kawasaki's Ricky Carmichael. Carmichael would then win every race from there on out; dethroning McGrath as Supercross champion and equalling his 1996 win record of 13 consecutive main event victories. McGrath returned in 2002 to take a shot at regaining his crown, but chronic arm pump (]Compartment Syndrome
Compartment syndrome is a condition in which increased pressure within one of the body's anatomical compartments results in insufficient blood supply to tissue within that space. There are two main types: acute and chronic. Compartments of the ...
) and perhaps age caught up with him, and he could only muster a 3rd place in the final standings behind Carmichael and Yamaha's David Vuillemin
David Vuillemin (born 18 October 1977) is a French former professional motocross and supercross racer. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1995 to 1999 and won the 1999 supercross world championship. He competed in the AMA Mo ...
.
For 2003, he signed with Team KTM
KTM AG (Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, formerly KTM Sportmotorcycle AG) is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and sports car manufacturer owned by Pierer Mobility AG and the Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto. It was formed in 1992 but traces ...
, but a pre-season crash on the much-maligned KTM 250SX made him rethink his future in racing and he decided to retire on the eve of the 2003 Supercross season. He did a farewell tour with KTM to show his appreciation and sign autographs for fans.
He holds the second best record for most combined AMA Supercross and motocross victories with 89 career wins; only Ricky Carmichael has won more.[
In 2005, McGrath came out of retirement to race a limited schedule on the Supercross circuit. He rejoined forces with his former Team Honda squad and has recently proven to be at a competitive level and speed that has not been seen from McGrath since the 2001 season. At the age of 34, he placed regularly in the top 5 positions. In the same year, Jeremy also raced Supermoto in the ]X-Games
The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island ...
and placed 2nd to take home the silver medal. McGrath switched motorcycles from his trademark Honda CR250R 2-stroke to a Honda CRF450R 4-stroke at Round 3 of the 2006 Supercross season. In keeping with his partial schedule, McGrath withdrew from the series after Round Six, after earning multiple top 5 finishes, and running as high as fourth in the point standings. Jeremy competed in the 2006 Summer X Games; earning a 2nd in Step-Up and 7th in Supermoto. He announced plans for the McGrath Invitational; an off-season supercross race with an innovative track and huge purse. McGrath announced that the 2006 Invitational would be the final professional Supercross race of his career. McGrath was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame
The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is an offshoot of the American Motorcyclist Association, recognizing individuals who have contributed to motorcycle sport, motorcycle construction, or motorcycling in general. It also displays motorcycles ...
in 2003.
Career highlights
* 250cc AMA Supercross Championships: 7 (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000)
* 125cc AMA Western Region SX Championships: 2 (1991 and 1992)
* 250cc AMA National Motocross Championships: 1 (1995)
* FIM World SX Championships: 2
* Member of Winning US Motocross des Nations Team: 2 (1993 and 1996)
Overall AMA Career Wins: 89
* 250cc AMA Supercross wins: 72
* 125cc Western Region SX wins: 13
* 250cc AMA National Motocross wins: 15
* 125cc AMA National Motocross wins: 2
In April 2007, McGrath announced he had signed a driver development contract
A driver development program (or driver development team) is a system or structure designed for young kart and race car drivers to learn and perfect their racing skills. These programmes are devised by racing teams, external companies and funded ...
with the NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
team JR Motorsports owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving t ...
''And1'' brand with Monster Energy
Monster Energy is an energy drink that was created by Hansen Natural Company (now Monster Beverage Corporation) in April 2002. As of March 2019, Monster Energy had a 35% share of the energy drink market, the second highest share after Red Bull ...
Drink sponsoring.
McGrath has occasionally raced in off-road races in the late 2000s. He has finished in the Top 10 in several PRO-2 races. In 2017, he won the championship in the Pro 2 division of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series
The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, also known as LOORRS, was a short course off-road racing series in the United States and also in Mexico beginning in 2015. The series featured events in Arizona, California, Nevada, Missouri and hosted a weeken ...
.
Books
*He wrote an autobiography with Chris Palmer called "Wide Open: A Life In Supercross". It talks about his life going through the ranks as a rookie to his current day life.
*Former Dirt Rider editor-in-chief Ken Faught, a long-time friend of the McGrath family, wrote "Images of a Champion". The book documents his on-and-off track activities including car racing, hillclimbing and supermoto.
Pole Position Raceway
In September 2005, McGrath teamed up with long-time friends Ken Faught and Jason Williams to create a state-of-the-art indoor go-kart
A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performance Kart rac ...
track called Pole Position Raceway. The track uses environmentally friendly electric karts that produce 20-horsepower.
Awards
McGrath was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, Sp ...
in 2010.[Jeremy McGrath]
at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, Sp ...
Notes
[He raced the Supercross season in the 250 class and dropped back to the 125 class for the outdoor Motocross season.]
References
External links
Jeremy McGrath
- AMA Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame
Official Jeremy McGrath Website Community
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Jeremy
1971 births
Living people
AMA Motocross Championship National Champions
American motocross riders
Freestyle motocross riders
People from Encinitas, California
Racing drivers from San Francisco
X Games athletes