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Tommy Croft during practice.
First lap, first moto; Staten had already opened a sizable lead.
The pack follows.
Burgett was having a very good day...
...and Marty was not. I've a number of images likely not worth posting and he looks discomfited in all of them. I was a huge fan.
Stackable
Burgett
Who was #137? Otherwise, Semics and Smith.
Staten, Stackable.
Semics still leading Smith.
A few second moto images and ceremonies still to come.
137 I don't remember.
Number 7 in the image, Donnie Hansen or Jim Gibson?
The Shop
#7 ,,,hmmm i would think Jim Gibson,because Hansen won his titles and rode for team Honda later?
Also more great pics Jine TC,, thanks for posting,,
and I agree with oldschool, thanks for more great pics!!
I believe Kenny would have done much more winning during his career, had it not been for the heart troubles he began experiencing in '83. I believe he won a moto at the Lake Whitney round just before the St. Pete national.
Another factor was when Honda hired Bob Hannah for '83, Kenny ended up back on the production bike.
Smith was brimming with confidence as the 1978 season got underway, but then came a fateful crash in the Houston Supercross that proved to be a turning point in his career. He fell in the first turn while running at the front of pack and was hit by several following riders. The impact dislocated his hip. He lay on the ground in excruciating pain for the entire race before being taken to the hospital. Once there, Smith was left in an emergency waiting room until the following morning, the pain so intense that he went and out of consciousness. It was the first serious injury Smith experienced and it had a profound effect on him.
He was slowed for most of the 1978 season due to the hip injury. In spite of this, he was still able to finish third in the 500cc outdoor nationals. But everyone could see on Smith’s return that something seemed to be missing.
“I was able to come back after the crash in the Astrodome, but my heart wasn’t in it,” Smith said. “For my entire career, I always felt in control on the track. I lost that to a certain extent and the pain I experienced in the Houston crash was always in the back of my mind. I never wanted to have to go through that again.”
1979 marked the end of an era in AMA Motocross when Smith’s relationship with Honda came to an end. He was ready to retire from the sport at that point, but Suzuki convinced him to return for two more seasons. Even though he was still clearly capable of scoring podium finishes, he was no longer battling for championships. In 1980 and 1981 with Suzuki, he finished third and sixth respectively in the 500cc class.
At the end of 1981 Smith quietly retired from racing.
The emergency waiting room experience, if entirely true is inexcusable. You'd think the risk of internal injuries and bleeding would've made him a priority.
I know some people hated Marty with a passion, Barry Higgins among them, who called him Smarty Myth.
Here's a post-race, crowd-free image at Sunshine- him on Tommy's bike, Dave Arnold on his. I got the impression he was nothing but relieved that the series was finally over:
It really hits this era nicely. I was/am a Hannah fan but never disliked Smith. He is one of the all time greats. The HOF write up paints the picture well.
I've got a confession to make: in a clinical case of immaturity I did not like Hannah for the first couple of years, but I came around to see the light. I think he did more for American motocross than any rider in history; brought it up to a new level and forced everyone else to improve, Europeans included. McGrath and Carmichael also notched it up during their eras, and as SX/MX became part of pop-culture they became household names, with Johnson bridging the time gap between them and Hannah. I realize I'm stating the obvious here for most readers, although there are likely some different takes on the subject.
While I put SX in front of MX in referencing pop-culture, I do so only in order of influence. I'll take blinding, choking dust, momentum-stopping mud, blistering heat or freezing cold over a stadium circus any day (one geezer's opinion).
I'll second that.
I did a search on Matthes before your reply and found his pulpmx site, figured I'd found the right place but didn't see an Arnold reference; I'll look a little harder. Thanks!
Pit Row
mitch fuller. ring a bell? probably not.
doug parker?
Even raced Croom MX when there was only two jumps on the whole track, and we started on the front straight by flag. That pic above is from Golden Gate SX. Ever ride there? Apollo Beach motocross, right next to the beach? Manatee MX? North Florida raceway in Palm Valley?
78 to 82? You left the party a bit too early, dude.
Orlando Winter - Am,1979. Did not go back through the entire thread. Some of these may be posted already. Sorry guys.
Southeast Regional short track championship, 1994. 74z. Only dry barrel bike in the final that night. Cooled off several water pumpers on that old bike.
My old short trackers. Race shot is 1994 AHRMA national, Daytona Municipal stadium. My older brother ahead of me on a Shell YZ400 engined bike.
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