Kent Howerton (born July 11, 1954) is an American former professional

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 competiti ...

racer. He competed in the

AMA Motocross Championship The AMA Motocross Championship (commercially known as Lucas Oil Pro Motocross) is an American motorcycle racing series. The motocross race series was founded and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1972. The series is th ...

s from 1973 to 1988. Howerton is notable for being a three-time motocross national champion.Kent Howerton at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame
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Motocross career

Born in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

, Howerton was raised in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, where he began racing motocross. In

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

he began competing in the AMA motocross national championship series, and by 1974 he had won his first national race in the 250cc class. For the 1975 season, he was offered a job to ride for the Husqvarna

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. ...

racing team and finished the season is second place behind

Tony DiStefano Anthony Joseph DiStefano Jr. (born February 6, 1957) is an American former professional motocross racer. He competed in the AMA Motocross Championships from 1973 to 1981. A three-time AMA 250cc motocross national champion, DiStefano was inducted ...

. Howerton would win the 500cc AMA Motocross National Championship in 1976 for Husqvarna. Howerton along with teammates

, Steve Stackable and Gary Semics, represented the United States at the 1977

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 ...

and Trophy des Nations events where they scored impressive second-place finishes in France and Holland, at a time when American motocross racers were still seen as less experienced than their European rivals. Suzuki signed Howerton for the 1978 season and he went on to win the 1980 and 1981 250cc AMA Motocross National Championship. He is remembered for his battles with Bob Hannah in the early 1980s. At the time of his retirement in 1984, he was second on the all-time AMA 250cc motocross win list. In SuperCross he placed 2nd in the 1980 AMA SuperCross series with 5 wins. In 2000, he 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 motorcycle ...

References

1954 births Living people Sportspeople from Wichita, Kansas Sportspeople from San Antonio American motocross riders AMA Motocross Championship National Champions {{US-motorcycle-sport-bio-stub