Hello, race fans! Welcome to the Number Cruncher, brought to you by
Shift MX. This week we have another number that we think will surprise
you. Real quick, try to think of as many racers that wore #24 as you
can!
Not so easy, huh? This one took us a while to nail down,
but after a major swan dive into the archives, we uncovered some really
cool pictures of racers getting it done with the big two-four. We have
found that when we crunch a number down that a common characteristic
typically emerges. On this one, it seems that the guys that raced with
the #24 had a penchant for grabbing big holeshots. The 30-second card
just went sideways ... here comes #24!
| Jim Pomeroy
| photo: Racer X Archives |
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First
up we have a picture of Jim Pomeroy. He wore #24 in the 1975 Trans-AMA
Series, which took place after he spent his third season on the 250cc
World Championship tour in Europe. He started out hot, winning the
opener on September 28 at Gainesville, Georgia (that’s right, not
Florida). But then he finished the tour, which was won by Roger
DeCoster, in eight place. And by the looks of this pic, he wanted to
make sure people saw his number on that high-tech crash helmet, and he
didn’t want that short-bill visor going anywhere!
| Rex Staten
| photo: Racer X Archives |
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Man,
check out the handlebars on this guy’s hog! I'm not sure what looks
scarier here, the baked adobe track surface in the background, the fuel
that is seeping from the leaky gas cap, or the horse-jockey-style
“protective” boots. And how about those cylinder head fins? Those look
like something out of The Road Warrior. Awesome. Of course this is
“Rocket” Rex Staten, and that baked adobe is none other than Carlsbad,
home of the lost-to-history Hang-Ten United States Grand Prix of
Motocross. The year: 1975.
| photo: Racer X Archives |
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This
is another #24 that we don’t know a lot about. DC says it’s likely a
Swede, either Torlief Hansen or Christer Hammergren. Either way, from
the looks of those broad shoulders, he doesn’t look like a cat you
would want to meet in the parking lot after the race!
And
here we have Rick Ryan in 1984. Ryan has always been a member of the
“holeshot express.” Whether it was rounding the first turn at a 125
National or being the first to the green flag at Coors Supercross, the
Northern Californian was one of the most prolific starters in the
sport’s history. Ryan will always be remembered as a true privateer who
won a 250cc supercross, shocking the world at the 1987 Daytona mudfest.
| Fred Andrews | photo from the book Supercross '92 |
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It
seems like every week we do the Number Cruncher, Fred Andrews shows up.
I was going to leave him out this time, but I had such a good laugh
when I looked at this shot that I just had to run it. Just check out
that white RM250 and day-glo Answer Racing ensemble! Lets say it
together: “Rad and Bad!”
| Mike Craig | photo: Racer X Archives |
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And
sure enough, here’s Michael Ray Craig again! Craig made the show in
Number Crunchers 39, 43, and 17, and now here he is with the two-four.
Craig, shown here at Gatorback in 1993, is now coaching his own little
racer around: His son
Christian Craig made it to Loretta Lynn’s!
| Robbie Reynard | photo: Chris Hultner |
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Robbie
Reynard and Team Primal Impulse Honda had high hopes for 1997. Sadly,
the two entities apparently shared the same curse as both had a lot of
potential for success, but too many bumps in the road kept them from
reaching their goals. As one of the early 125cc satellite teams, Primal
Impulse was a good idea and had some really great chances to win a
title. It was not to be, as Robbie continued to break the heart of the
sport by hitting the deck time and time again. Years later, and in
perhaps their strongest year, Primal Impulse had a chance to win the
125 West title, but then David Pingree got dropped in a couple of first
turns and someone else took the #1 plate. It’s funny, but I still have
a Primal Impulse banner hanging on the wall in my bedroom at my
parents' house.
| Phil Lawrence | photo: Racer X Archives |
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Here
we have “Factory” Phil Lawrence riding a “privateer” KX250 at the 1997
Perris Invitational Supercross. Phil was one year removed from the
Great Western Bank team of 1996 when this shot was taken. He pulled the
biggest holeshot of his career at the ‘96 St. Louis Supercross. The
race went down history as the one that broke “The Streak”: Jeremy’s
McGrath’s 13-race win streak came to an end at said event when Jeff
Emig took the checkers and his first real main event victory.
| Steve Lamson | photo: Simon Cudby |
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This
is an interesting shot of Steve Lamson at the 1999 Summercross at the
L.A. Coliseum. Lamson is wearing
Fox Racing’s version of Jeremy McGrath
Signature Line, “MC Limited.” Which is kind of ironic, when you
consider that Lamson played the unlucky role of the man who torpedoed
the defective McGrath, his Honda teammate who had just jumped to
Suzuki, at the ’97 season-opening L.A. Supercross. And to think that
two years later he would be at the same track wearing McGrath’s
signature gear as his Chaparral Yamaha teammate? It’s a crazy world.
You
know what else is funny? I personally hand-cut the “Lamson 24” on that
chest protector when I worked for Todd Hicks. Lamson was also known to
bang a lot of holeshots. Most of them came on his wicked fast CR125R he
raced to two 125 national championships.
Number
24 currently rides along with emerging superstar
Josh Grant. Grant
burst onto the scene at the 2004
Hangtown National. The young
California-born speedster grabbed a monster holeshot and amazingly
pulled away from the pack in the opening laps of the
Hangtown Classic.
Grant was breaking away from the pack when he did what he has slowly
become famous for: He crashed! Each week Josh puts in some of the
fastest laps of the 250F class and he has led at most of the events,
only to crash out of the lead. He did achieve a personal milestone by
winning his first three supercross races in the 2006 East Championship.
He has also won a moto outdoors, but that first sweet overall victory
has thus far eluded him. Its coming—he just needs to keep it on two
wheels and he’ll get it. And what is he doing in this picture? Leading
the race after pulling the holeshot at
Unadilla last weekend.
| Kyle Lewis |
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And
while he may wear the #23 permanently now, a few years ago when Moto
XXX leader Kyle Lewis landed on the cover of Racer X, he was running
the two-four. Kyle’s career is winding down now, but he’s had a long
run at it and must be considered one of the most respected men in the
entire 450 class.
| Ernesto Fonseca | photo: Simon Cudby | |
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Last but definitely not least: Ernesto Fonseca wore the number 24 for several years before changing
over to his current AMA permanent number, 10. Make sure you check out the Shift
Number Cruncher next week, because it's going to be dedicated to The
Fonz himself.
That’s it for this week. I do have a treat for you old-school
enthusiasts: If you can correctly name the three guys I have here at
the bottom, e-mail me at andy@mxsports.com with your answers and
mailing address and I will send you some stickers.