On January 24 in 1993 Shav Glick of the New York Times newspaper penned a story of a new sensation in the sport of supercross, a kid called Jeremy McGrath. Now, having been fortunate enough to be a somewhat young media guy in the 1990s, following the career of Supermac was a lot of fun, be it with his domination of the AMA supercross, or his victories in Paris, Barcelona, Geneve, the Fastcross in Italy, or his only two appearances at the MXdN in 1993 and 1996, when he won both with Team USA.

Not to mention is visited to places like Sheffield, England to race Stefan Everts, or his other international events. Jeremy McGrath is the King of supercross and no matter if his results will be surpassed by lets say, Jett Lawrence, his legacy will always have him as the most popular racer the sport has seen. Below is the article by Shav Glick and also a story about the rise of the rider known as “The King”.

Jeremy McGrath, a 21-year-old Honda rider from Murrieta, stunned his elders Saturday night by upsetting Honda teammate Jeff Stanton, the national champion, in the Coors Light Challenge, main event of the Camel Supercross series, in Anaheim Stadium.

It was the first major victory for McGrath, who last year won the Western 125cc championship before moving up to replace former world champion Jean-Michel Bayle on the Honda team.

Stanton, bidding to become the first four-time stadium champion, got off the line first, but McGrath slipped past him on the third lap.

A crowd of 55,817 was on hand for a race that was more technical than swift. Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group officials set up a course full of tight turns, complicated jumps and few places to pass.

Damon Bradshaw, the defending Anaheim champion, got a poor start, and when the riders went by the finish line the first time he was eighth. He finished fifth. Mike Kiedrowski was third and Mike LaRocco fourth.

Damon Huffman, a 16-year-old Saugus High student making only his second stadium ride as a professional, won the 125cc main event. Huffman, who finished fifth in his debut last week in the Houston Astrodome, was so far ahead that his Suzuki was lapping riders in the 15-circuit race.

Phil Lawrence of Cherry Valley finished second on another Suzuki, with Jimmy Gaddis of Las Vegas, the Astrodome winner, third on a Kawasaki.

Bradshaw gave Yamaha followers a few moments of concern when he trailed badly in his qualifying heat, finishing eighth when only the first four went to the finals. However, he came back to win his semifinal heat with ease after briefly trailing Danny Stephenson.

“I got a bad start (in the heat),” Bradshaw said, “and a couple of guys hit me and I kept dropping farther back. This is a tough track to pass on, and I figured I could make it in the semi.”

Guy Cooper, who will be 30 next month, won the heat in a thrilling finish with Suzuki teammate Brian Swink. Cooper, who took the lead from Michael Craig on the fourth lap, first fought off Stanton and then Swink for the heat victory. Cooper and Swink went over the final jump side by side, with Cooper only inches ahead.

“I could hear him (Swink) behind me at every corner,” Cooper said. “I’d be on the inside and he’d ride the rail. I just gassed it. We have finishes like that all the time when we practice together.

“Starts are real important on this track. It’s really hard to pass.”

Kiedrowski, the national 500cc champion, was a runaway winner of the first heat. The Kawasaki rider finished several turns ahead of McGrath, Shaun Kalos, LaRocco and Jeff Emig, who battled through eight laps in a seesaw duel for second place.

“That was different, being out in front like that,” Kiedrowski said. “Usually, I’m in the pack, but I’m happy, I got to ride my own race. The track is really tough and tight, a lot like our Kawasaki practice track. I like it. It’s technical.”

A group of international riders from Japan, France and England, invited by American Motorcyclist Assn., made their American debuts, but none qualified for the final round of 20 riders. Shiro Ohtakaza came closest, finishing fifth in the last-chance qualifier, from which only two riders made the final.

Domination of the Sport

For most of the nineties McGrath ruled supercross, winning seven 250cc AMA Championships and a staggering 72 AMA main wins. He dominated SX so much that he was nicknamed “The King”… and no one could touch him.

During what became known as the “McGrath Era”, he helped popularize and grow supercross as a sport to unprecidented heights, drawing in huge crowds of fans chomping at the bit to witness him in action. In the process he became one of the most popular US riders ever – not only because of his exceptional talent but also because of his friendly personality, respect for the fans and the tricks that he performed while jumping.

Back then freestyle motocross didn’t exist, but McGrath couldn’t help himself and would often bust out Nac Nacs crossing the finish line. He claims that he did his first Nac Nac during a race because he was bored. This became his trademark trick and was quite possibly one of the first in FMX.

An interesting thing you should know about Jeremy McGrath is that he didn’t pick up racing dirt bikes until age 15! As a youngster he rode competitively in the Southern Californian BMX circuit – and he did very well at it becoming one of the top riders in the nation by his mid teens. This is where he believes he set the foundations for his later success in supercross, saying that his BMX riding was instrumental.

By the time he reached 15 his attention had turned to motocross and with the help of his parents he bought his first MX bike and began racing at amateur level. Within 3 short years he had turned pro and set his sights on supercross, finishing eighth in the AMA 125 West Region SX Series in 1989. Riding for Team Kawasaki the following year he finished the season 2nd, and then finally claimed 1st place in the ’91 and ’92 West Supercross Championships.

Jan 23, 1993, saw McGrath enter the big scene of the pro mains class as a junior under defending AMA champion Jeff Stanton, riding for the Honda Factory Team. He was expected to spend the season adjusting to the bigger 250cc (two-stroke) bikes and elite, experienced competition. What happened that historic night in Anaheim Stadium rattled everyone’s minds and kick-started the winning streak that no one could challenge for years to come.

McGrath made a sensational pass on Stanton to take his first AMA Supercross win, claiming that it was one of the most memorable and greatest moments of his career. He won 10 races that season and became the first ever rider to win a SX Championship in his rookie year.

He retained his #1 spot for ’94, ’95 and ’96, only coming 2nd in ’97 when he switched to Team Suzuki after contract issues with Honda. He also won the 250cc Outdoor Motocross Championship in ’95 proving his talent outside of the supercross circuit. Riding for Yamaha in ’98, 99 and 2000 he continued his onslaught and won each of those years until Ricky Carmichael knocked him off his throne in 2001. He then struggled in 2002 managing 3rd, and retired in 2003 after a preseason crash related injury.

On the topic of crashes, in 2006 Jeremy set up an off-season race involving big prize money called the Jeremy McGrath Invitational – this was supposed to be his last competitive race on a dirt bike. During a timed qualifying practice he endo’d coming over a jump and fractured his neck pretty badly. He had to sit out the rest of the event (in hospital) and was lucky he recovered from it.

During his lifespan on a dirt bike, “The King” has also starred in many free riding MX videos and D.V.D’s, launching himself over huge canyons and natural kickers. He was one of the first guys involved in the freeriding movement. He has graced the covers of countless magazines, been interviewed on T.V shows and has had some hugely popular video games released in his name. So you can imagine he’s probably doing alright in the coin department.

Since those days he has been enjoying raisinga family and has turned his hands to off road truck racing, supermoto and NASCAR. He also carries out testing for Honda Motorcycles totry and improve their range of dirt bikes for you and me.

Jeremy McGrath was, is and always will be a true legend of the sport. And just to ensure no one forgets, in July 2007 he was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum. If you visit you will find a bronze statue of the man himself performing a Nac Nac over the finish line. Nice.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

2000 – 1st, AMA Supercross Champion

1999 – 1st, AMA Supercross Champion

1998 – 1st, AMA Supercross Champion

1997 – 2nd, AMA Supercross Champion

1996 – 1st, AMA Supercross Champion & 1st Motocross des Nations Team

1995 – 1st, AMA Supercross Champion & 1st AMA Outdoor Nationals

1994 – 1st, AMA Supercross Champion

1993 – 1st, AMA Supercross Champion & 1st Motocross des Nations Team

1991 – 1st, 125cc Western Supercross title

PERSONAL STUFF

D.O.B: November 19, 1971

Place of Birth: San Francisco, California

National SX Number: #2

Nicknames: The King, Showtime, MC

Other Interests: Supermoto, truck racing, NASCAR, golf and jet skiing