The Fox 50 - California
Friday, October 8, 2010 | 11:20 AM
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PrintAfter taking a few weeks off to focus on the end of the motocross series and the Motocross of Nations, we're back with a new state for The Fox 50. California is by far the most successful state in AMA Motocross—its riders have claimed fifty-nine AMA National Championships to date. Its climate and large desert stretches provide the perfect environment for a rider to grow up in, and it’s also home to the U.S. offices of the top motocross manufacturers—back in the day, it was easier to get the factory teams’ attention if you were racing locally in the Golden State. As a result, the list of the fastest racers in California history is so long that we had to leave off some very big hitters: Danny "Magoo" Chandler, Donnie Hansen, Micky Dymond, Marty Tripes, Darrell Schultz, Mike Bell, Bob Moore....
You can vote for who you think is the fastest rider from California at the bottom of this page, and we’ll tally them up and post the results online next week. (And if we missed anyone you’d like us to mention, please email us at [email protected].)
In no particular order, here are our nominees for the Fox Fifty all-time list of California’s fastest:
Jeremy McGrath (Eight AMA National Championships, including a record seven 250cc supercross titles in eight years, and one 250cc National MX title. Current record holder in total AMA Supercross victories at 72. Also, he was a two-time 125cc West SX champion and two-time winning member of Team USA at the Motocross des Nations.)
Bob Hannah (Six AMA National Championships, including one 125cc National title, two 250cc National titles, and three 250cc supercross titles. In addition, he has one Trans-AMA Championship and the 1987 Motocross des Nations championship to his name. Former record holder in total AMA Supercross victories at 27.)
Rick Johnson (Seven AMA National Championships, including two 250cc supercross titles, three 250cc National titles, and two 500cc National titles. Also, a four-time winning member of the U.S. Motocross des Nations team. Former record holder in total AMA Supercross victories at 28. Was the 1981 AMA Rookie of the Year.)
Jeff Ward (Seven AMA National Championships, including one 125cc National title, two 250cc National titles, two 500cc National titles, and two 250cc supercross titles. First and only rider to win the 125cc, 250cc, and 500cc National Championships as well as the 250cc supercross championship. Record seven-time member of winning Team USA squad at the Motocross des Nations. Has also won two AMA Supermoto championships and two X Games Supermoto gold medals.)
Broc Glover (Six AMA National Championships, including three consecutive 125cc National titles and three 500cc National titles. Won his last supercross at the L.A. Coliseum in 1988, and won the final moto of his one-year Grand Prix career in 1989 for KTM. Winning member of 1984 Trophee des Nations team.)
Brad Lackey (First American World MX Champion, winning the premier 500cc title in 1982. Also first AMA 500cc National MX champion in 1972.)
Danny LaPorte (1979 500cc National Champion and 1982 250cc World Champion. Member of first winning team for the USA at the Motocross des Nations in 1981.)
Johnny O’Mara (Two-time AMA National Champion, including the 1983 125cc National title and 1984 250cc supercross title. Won the 1980 125cc USGP as a rookie.)
Gary Jones (Four-time consecutive 250cc National MX champ, including 1971’s title given to the top American in the European-dominated Inter-Am Series. Won the three official AMA titles on three different bikes: Yamaha, Honda, and Can-Am. Winner of the 1971 Baja 500.)
Mike Kiedrowski (Four-time AMA National champ, including two 125cc National titles, one 250cc National title, and one 500cc National title. Four-time member of the winning Team USA at the Motocross des Nations.)
Marty Smith (Three-time AMA National champ, including two consecutive 125cc National titles and one 500cc National title. One of few racers to score wins in 125cc, 250cc, 500cc, and Trans-AMA Nationals. Two-time consecutive winner of the 125cc USGP.)
Steve Lamson (Two-time 125cc National champ in 1995 and 1996, former record holder for most 125cc National wins in a career at 21. Only rider to win a Motocross des Nations moto outright on a 125cc machine, in 1996 in Spain. Four-time winner of the Hangtown 125cc National. Fourth on all-time 125cc National win list behind Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart, and Mark Barnett.)
Ron Lechien (1985 125cc National champ, two-time member of Team USA at the Motocross des Nations. Dominant winner of 500cc class at 1988 MXdN. Winner of 26 AMA National events, including wins in all four divisions: 125cc National, 250cc National, 500cc National, and 250cc Supercross.)
Jeremy McGrath is one of California's finest.
photo: Racer X archives
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WOW , How can you even pic one ! Everyone on that list is the graetest LOL. You need to have an " ALL OF THE ABOVE " selection.
I agree about all of them. BUT !! so many never really got to see Hannah as most never saw DeCoster. NO ONE came through the pack at a MX race and and caught and past for the win as many times as Hannah and no doubt MC was so dominant and alot of that came from holeshots and open track. I pick all of the above but choose Hannah for sure.
I picked Hannah in part he now lives in Idaho.
i guess if you looking at overall victories it's MC...but it would be awsome to see this list..in their prime with machines of the same era duke it out...i picked RJ though..
Fastest rider in CA? Good Lord, you can choose about twenty of them!!! Not to be biased, but some of the fastest riders of all time from different eras came from Cali (North and South). This will be tougher than the last biology test I took...
MC only did the outdoors a few years so ya can't pick him IMO, He said he did not like to train so That knocks him down in my book.. Had to Vote for my Fav rider as a kid. WARD!! Any one could win this. I bet MC wins though even though he NEVER was a domanet rider outdoors.
This looks to be another popularity contest for the historically challenged. McGrath by a landslide? Wake up, people! I was wondering what would happen when we got to Cali. Soooo many greats! In choosing one, I narrowed it down to Hannah and RJ. I took Hannah, but I could have gone either way. For all Jeremy did for the sport, NO WAY is he the "fastest California motocross racer of all time.” NO WAY!
I think in my opinion the winner is Ricky Johnson. More wins and more titles. And the class was stacked when he raced. He is one of my favorites though, so that swayed me a little.
You forgot Magoo. NO ONE WAS FASTER IN A STRAIGHT LINE THEN MAGOO. Sure corners were an issue but when it came to flat out pinning it, Magoo was the man!
key word "motocross" hannah all the way
This is about who is the FASTEST, not who has the most championships or wins. Anyone who saw it live, what 'hurricane hannah' was doing back then, will vote for him. He was a fricken madman on a bike. And, he did not get injured like stewart does. His career injury came from a waterskiing accident with marty tripes. .. Dead last to first, in supercross races, I saw it LIVE at the pontiac silverdome. What a MADMAN..
Man, everyone of those guys were Gods in their own way, time period and race ! Hanna Hands down, because is the True Bolt of Lightning !
Hey Sef154 quick question, Not starting anything but want your take on the BT/Short vid. If you did not see it here it is. http://vimeo.com/15349049
Hannah would preload the shift lever with his left foot, and quickly fan the clutch, for greater acceleration. The original power shifter. And, when he crashed, he would always land on all fours, like a cat, and keep on riding. A quote from larry huffman... "and heeeeeereee comes hannahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" and the whole stadium would just go CRAZY. No one excited the crowds like hurricane hannah did. But, back then we didn't have podium speeches, we didn't even have podiums. I didnt even know what his voice sounded like until the 'mx files' and the lucas oil commercials. He sounds like he has mellowed out quite a bit.
What about the kid who would leave school every friday to do the AMA circuit while he was in high school... Marty Smith has my vote
Calculating wins / championships / great rides is going to be hot & heavy here. Magoo's '82 MXdN performance HAS to be calculated into these factors as well as his blazing outright speed. I feel the generation gap is going to miss the contributions of some of the older riders on here. Hannah was dominant in a seriously deep field, Same for RJ. Voting based on FASTEST, I'm w/ Magoo......Maybe Hannah......O'Mara on a 125 was something to see........... Ward lifting the front wheel accelerating upon landing the backside of SX jumps was pretty darn fast........ Jones beating everyone 4 consecutive years when you couldn't get a bike to last two motos.........
Ya know, when they started doing this 50 state collection I was wonder right away about California and its a tuff one. They said to vote on cal. fastest motocrosser's so I picked RJ instead of MC.
@BillC - "MC only did the outdoors a few years so ya can't pick him IMO..." Finally, something we agree on! I just hope everyone remembers this is fastest MXer... not SX/MX
They are including SX and MX titles, so why not include it all.
What a crappy list....never heard of any of them. I would agree it's between Hannah and RJ. Can't go wrong with either pick.
seriously......Magoo! no doubt about it..............Hannah 2nd, RJ 3rd
Without question, it's MC. HE CHANGED THE GAME. FOREVER. Now, on to Montana so Pingree can podium!
I'm going with Hannah. He was the only rider I've ever seen actually pass everyone then let someone pass just to pass him back and do this several times to show how easy it was for him to win at that time. I think he probably flipped the bird as well.
You leave Magoo off?!?! The only rider ever to win all four motos of the old Motocross des Nations and Trophee des Nations format. Definitely faster than Lackey ever was....sorry about that Brad.
RJ has 3outdoor 250 titles, and 2 outdoor 500 titles. If you are counting just outdoors. RJ has 5 over Hannahs 2..on the big bikes.
It's kind of an unfair comparison, between hannah and rj. We have seen rj rip it on tv, all thru the eighties, like we see stewart ripping it nowadays, so we get a feel for how fast they are. But, hannah's time was before mx/sx on tv, and you either read about him in mxa/cycle news, or you were lucky enough to see him in person, as he went flying past. In other words, he didn,t get the exposure that rj (and stewart) enjoyed. Even jammin jimmy weinert had a sign that read, 'who the hell is bob hannah'.. and I have a t-shirt that says "you had to be there"...HRP ruled the day.Delete
If kent howerton was from cali, he would be in this argument too. Did they even do texas yet?
Hannah has beat everyone on this list. Hannah was so dominant you hoped he got a 10 place start just to make the race exciting. The originator of the hilarious butt patchs. He put NO PASSING on his ass. Now that's confidance. Also EAT AT BOB'S. He put KAMIKAZE on the following year after crashing at Unadilla with the 125 World Champion from Japan. Most of Hannah's contracts had big bonuses for wins and Championships. So 2nd place ment nothing to him. All these guys were super fast, but Hannah is the Muhammud Ali, Richard Petty and Jack Nichlaus of this sport. Hands down.
Fox fifty FASTEST riders from each state. Not most talented , hardest working, most championships, whatever. FASTEST. Magoo should be on that list for his DES Nations performance along. OOPs, Graham in denver
That's YOUR definition of "FASTEST," barber027. No argument; Magoo was a star due to his speed and on-the-edge style, but championships reflect all the factors that make a rider great. McGrath was obviously "the king" of SX, but in many years outdoors, he came away with only one MX title. After a 125 championship, Hannah won everything in sight on a 250 for three straight years before his water ski accident. Even after that lengthy layoff, he came back and was a contender for several more years, more often than not the fastest on the track (against the likes of Bailey, Ward, Johnson, Glover, and more), with various injuries preventing further titles. RJ was simply the man in MX and SX during his tenure, especially after Bailey's departure. Those two (Hannah & Johnson) are the pinnacle of CA MXers.
Hey Sef154 quick question, Not starting anything but want your take on the BT/Short vid. If you did not see it here it is. http://vimeo.com/15349049
Are you stalking me, Bill? We've been all through this. Now I'm commenting on the actual subject of this page. Andrew Short seems to be over it ... maybe you should be, too. I am.
Nice Cop out / deflection sef. PS. never heard you say a word about the Vid the actually shows what happen, Just your rants on what you though happen. Drop it if you want, by saying nothing you said a LOT.
Most of us under 40(not from Cali) didn't get a chance to see most of these guys ride, so there will be a serious "lack of knowledge" vote giving it to MC. And BillC- you're being funny bringing that up again, aren't you?
The reason I bring it up again is SEF was very vocal about what happen before he saw what happen. Then this Vid came out and Sef was no where to be found for a week, I asked him about in in one other thread, Though maybe he missed it. So I asked again here and again no answer so I asked again. I think he knows he was wrong to bash BT and other posters on here with not proof so now he just does not want to talk about it. Sad how he acts sometimes.
You'd make a good politician, Bill (i.e. full of crap). Are you talking about that choppy, fuzzy video that shows Townley going straight into Short's front wheel (and mysteriously ends at that moment)? Overly aggressive and completely unnecessary at that point in the moto. Happy? Or sad about "how I act"? Get a friggin' life.
Full of crap like your boy oBama? Funny how you tell me to get a life after you say your over it. I guess YOU are the one who is full of CRAP, Can't even do what you say you have to come back and post again. Some life you must have getting so upset over something you say you are over. All I did was ask a simple question and you start with smart a** reply and get all pissy about it. You act like a spoild 9 year old girl, You need professional help
Was just think I find it funny how you call this vid a "choppy, fuzzy vid" but the original vid witch showed NOTHING was clear enough for you to say what you did. also why does it matter that the vid ends there?? It was over at that point so i don't know what you are fishing for there. If you think it shows BT going straight into Short's front wheel you might want to clean your glasses and watch again.
impossoble to say.
All of these years I thought Hannah was from Carson City Nevada! Mc Grath was the king of SX so I was being technical on the MX thing. The rest are separated by years and equipment. Racer X could break Cali down into decades and class and even list riders in multiple decades they raced. Jones, Smith, RJ. in succession. Hannah was faster I think but I'm still calling him Nevada. Lackey and Laport were GP riders, really hard to compare but they would be the purists of the group with no SX influence that I recall. Ward, Glover, Omara, Kiedrowski, Lamson and Lechien would all make a better125 class list but Wardy broke the mold being incredible on a 500 too. Great bench racing topic, definitely no losers in this list. Based on being personally beaten badly by RJ he gets my vote.
Hannah was born in Lancaster, CA, though I remember when he started out he was said to be from Whittier, CA. Either way, definitely a Cali product.
Hannah did more with less. I believe his Yamaha's were mostly ill handling, I think Ward had a bike disadvantage for many years too. Heck anything before the 90's really was a beast., the power was there but the packages were really different from brand to brand and year to year.
McGrath McGrath McGrath What can I say.
first off when people say the MC wasnt dominant outdoors they have a short memory, in 95 and96 when he cared about the outdoors he dominated, i remeber being sick of seeing it, emig finished second every race and was the to take adavantage of a silly mistake by MC in 96 as for SX he is the best ever period. that said both Hannah and RJ got their careers cut short by freak injuries and left many titles on the table so as for who is the fastest? all three of them.
Not voting McGrath is my personal punishment for him starting SX only contracts. He Hauled the mail and was/is a great ambassador for the SX sport but he was not Hannah or RJ in MX. Again apples and oranges, and I am biased to the older school. Such an extensive list warrants knit picking. so every-ones opinion even the ones I don't read are valid. I like the way this topic brings out the little known bits of info both fact and BS. We aren't writing history just enhancing it while many of the players are still alive to see the appreciation from the fans. Anyone on this or any other Fox 50 list willing to write a comment?
It says alot for the talent out there when you have to leave national champions and SX winners off the list!! It's really hard to compare RJ, MC and the Hurricane -- three very different eras of riding and sophistication. Hannah was the end of 'old school' technique, hang on and pray. RJ's aggressive and fast style looked a lot more familiar to what we use now, combined with focused training/testing, not to mention better bikes. MC was the perfection of that same technique and most of the time just poetry to watch.
this sport is always evolving so much each champion had the privelage of learning from the champion before him and so on, as well as changing bikes and tracks it is almost unfair to the obvious top 5.
Isn't Ward from Scotland?
magoo by far was the fastest mthfr on two wheels!!!!!!!
Magoo WAS the FASTEST...by definition.
People dismiss McGrath because he opted not to do the nationals later in his career, but as some people were saying, this is about "the fastest" not the hardest working.. and the fastest he was.
Ahhhh........ the SoCali years Smith to Hannah to Johnson to Mcgrath JimM CarlsbadCa
A veteran Hannah called Johnson an "alien" after a 15 rounder at either the USGP or MX DesNations at the Dilla. JimM CarlsbadCa
Let's look at who Hannah has beaten in his career, at least 3 times minumum. Either in supercross or motocross or both. Decoster, Smith, Distefano, Glover, Weinert, Ellis, Tripes, Stackable, Howerton, Barnett, Bell, Ward, Magoo, Bailey, O'Mara, Johnson, LaPorte. That is some fast company. I bet if you asked these riders they would choose Bob. I was lucky enough to watch these riders in there prime and these guys hung it out and wanted it bad. These guys were the age of motocross. Stars even today. I'm biased but Bob just brought it every race. If you beat him you really earned it. What an era. For you young mx fans who never got to see Hannah race. Imagine Barcia's riding style with Carmichael's speed and drive. The guy rode on the edge is whole career.
People may have forgotten that Hannah was a training animal, too. Nobody wanted it more. The "alien" comment, JimboMX374, came at the tail end of Bob's career, I believe at a National at Unadilla ... a sort of passing of the torch, so to speak (which was followed by the Hurricane's usual flirtation with the trophy girl....)
Hell of a list!!! I voted RJ and to my surprise, McGrath is winning in a landslide. Youngsters.....