Action Sports: The King Still Rules
Written by playerpress.com, Wednesday December 17 2008
It seems that Jeremy McGrath has been jumping 250cc bikes over piles of dirt forever. The King of Supercross is certainly the most ubiquitous rider in the ranks and the undisputed King of 250cc riders. The crown is in such sure hands that McGrath has decided to give the four wheel rides a try and turn his attention toward stock car racing.
Stock cars already have a King, so Jeremy may have to content himself with just his one crown, but he has worn it for a long period. Others may capture a title, but McGrath is the yardstick to which all Supercross and Motocross riders are measured. Once McGrath felt that he had mastered racing around the dirt course and handling the whoops and chicanes, he decided to take on the X Games. Through that he captured a Gold medal in the Step Up and a Bronze in the Super Moto.
Even retirement couldn’t sideline this guy as he shook off the BARCO lounger and the Leg Up scooter to get back on a 250. That’s correct, after flying high on everything built for Supercross McGrath decided to ride off into the sunset. However, he returned for a last hurrah before going out with a neck injury.
McGrath got his first motorcycle at the age of 5. No, the bike wasn’t 5, he was. At 14 he got his first racing bike and was competing as an amateur by 15. After winning the Loretta Lynn Classic at 16, he turned pro the following year.
Starting out on 125cc, the training wheels for Supercross riders, he captured the Grand National Championship by 18. At 19 he was the Western Supercross Champion.
Throughout the ‘90’s he was the dominant rider on the circuit. Rickey Carmichael and David Vuillemin would eventually catch up with MC, but throughout the Clinton years MC looked down on the pack, executed a Nac Nac and rode home with the Cup.
McGrath started his career with Honda and won four titles before trading in the red for Suzuki yellow. This was a shock to all since Honda had cornered the market and McGrath was their poster boy. However, disagreements between Jeremy and Honda precipitated the move and sent him to a team that was scrambling for respect, much less titles.
His inaugural Suzuki season in 1997 was far from memorable. He suffered countless engine problems with his RM250, yet still managed to gut it out before losing a close point’s race to rival Jeff Emig. Further frustrated with the mechanical aspects of Suzuki, he joined the Chaparral Yamaha team in ’98 and regained his winning form proving that it’s the name of the rider and not the name on the gas tank that truly matters. A broken wrist suffered in summer racing limited his action for the remainder of the decade, but he kept winning the Supercross title and building an untouchable resume.
Throughout the ’90’s McGrath rode hard and by the 21st century it was taking a toll. Rickey Carmichael came on in a big way and he took the measure of McGrath at every occasion. In ’03 McGrath tried to change his fortune by signing on with KTM, but a pre season crash on his 250SX signaled the end of his career. He did a farewell tour for KTM that was appreciated by his legion of fans and took off the leathers. He was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame when the season concluded.
By ’05 McGrath was ready to sit in the saddle again. Realizing it is better to be red than dead he rejoined Honda and made an abbreviated comeback by racing a limited schedule and competing in the X Games. He switched to a 4 stroke and continued to impress. By the time he withdrew from the racing schedule he was ranked 4th. Not bad for a part time worker.
After the ’06 X Games McGrath announced the McGrath Invitational. The course was a difficult track designed by its namesake. Jeremy raced the event, but was injured early on. Having broken bones in his neck McGrath decided it was time to put four on the floor and joined the Dale Earnhardt Jr. team.
It is unlikely that Jeremy will achieve on the stock course what he did in Supercross, but the son of the Intimidator can rest assured that he has one bad dude piloting his car. Jeremy is the King of Supercross and that is a tough crown to earn.
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