The Fox Fifty - Alabama
Thursday, September 16, 2010 | 4:00 PM
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PrintAlabama is currently number one—in college football, that is. When it comes to motocross, it could be a little difficult to name some top Yellowhammer State stars. Quite a few talented racers call Alabama home, though, and you can vote on the five fastest in the poll below. (Special thanks to Allen McWilliams, Eric Hunter, and Andre Pene for the help.)
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Joey Bruer (Placed eighth overall in 1974 AMA 500cc Supercross Series aboard a Kawasaki. He is still the only Alabamian to finish in the top ten in a major AMA series.)
Johnny Borders (Placed second overall at the 1973 AMA 250cc National held in Sligo, Kentucky. He says he was in contention for the overall win when he went over the bars late in the second moto.)
Rodney "Hot Rod" Herring (In his first and only appearance in an outdoor national, the Yamaha of Ozark-sponsored rider took his Al White-prepared YZ125 to seventh overall at the 1980 St. Pete 125cc National. In 100-degree heat, he went 6-10. The effort gave him the national #84 for 1981.)
Clark Stiles ("The Alabama Slammer," earned national numbers from 2000 through 2006 with the lowest being #31. He placed ninth at Steel City in 2001 in the premier class.)
Ricky Palmer (Yamaha rider who competed on the outdoor national circuit from 1980-’96. He qualified for dozens of events and is arguably Alabama’s most experienced outdoor rider.)
Andre Pene (Longtime Suzuki rider scored national points three years in a row from 1995-’97. Two of those points came at the Troy, Ohio, 250cc National in 1997 in the second moto. He also took an eighth in 125cc supercross in Charlotte, North Carolina.)
Heath Harrison (Kawasaki rider who has exploded onto the national scene in 2010, scoring 31 points in the 450 Class.)
Darryl Heisler (Alabama’s top money rider in the ‘80s and ‘90s, he also qualified for several nationals during his career.)
Audie Ward (Yamaha rider and the state’s fastest minicycle racer in the early 1970s. He went on to dominate the 125cc class locally, but a severe wrist injury in 1980 at the Florida Winter Series cut his career short.)
Furman Gray (Broke into the scene in the early ‘90s and qualified for several outdoor nationals.)
David Kelley (Factory Yamaha rider in the ’70s.)
Danny Heisler (Fast local pro in the ’80s.)
Jon Masters (Fast local pro.)
Chad Ward (Top privateer throughout the ’00s.)
Clark Stiles bangs a holeshot.
photo: Racer X Archive
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If you have to give the riders resume and stats after their names thats not a good sign! LOL!
LOL @ mxb2... If you don't give out the resume of the riders, all the young people that visit the site don't know any of the riders before 1990. That why is a lot of the these polls are tainted. There a lot of MX heroes from back in the day that did way more than the MX heroes of today and never get the votes... Because they know nothing about the history of Motocross.
DJKC.. all you do is complain when they put these up saying "the younge people dont know anything" and "this is a bunch of crap"... if you hate it so much stop pulling it up...
Where's Ronnie Ramskill at ??? SX & MX in the late 80's and early 90's from Mobile, Ala.
Hondawings17... Just stating the cold hard facts.
How do you vote for Johnny Borders? I wanted to but, you left his name off of the poll.
Time for the RX staff to go back to the drawing board. The past 4-5 of these polls have been half assed. Riders missing or some included that should't be. Research requires more than looking at a few old programs!
Johnny, tried to vote for you...I always loved racing you...come up north and race at Red Bud!
Ronnie Ramskill. He still shows up at local money races and state series here in south MS. He hauls!
Wallace Fincher should be on this list. Look him up, he won a title at Loretta's, raced a few nationals, top rider throughout the 80's, and early 90's and still rides some Vet Classes. Ask Earl May, he knows Wallace pretty well.
I voted then they added Jonny Border(still havent added Ramskill) therefore my computer will not let me vote for him. Wont this make the vote biased? Wheres Ramskill?
where is buddy welch
You have left off many riders that should surely make this list. David (Dinomite)Crain Bubby Welch Joe Rogers Just to name a few
Didn't mean to add Joe Rogers to the list as posted above, he was from TN or GA, don't remember which, but raced a lot in Alabama in the 80s. Still, a good guy and fast in the day.
I would say Ricky Palmer is the fastest of the bunch. look at the AMA history .. He raced a while back surprised more fans haven't recognized him more. He is a great mechanic as well. He is the only one who turns a wrench on my bikes other than me.
Hello???? Buddy Welch!!!!! WFO87 fan for life !!!
Just seen this from 2010. Furman Gray was my Uncle, my Mom's younger brother. It said he raced in the 90's. Furman raced up until "79". Many have told
Me he was the best ever from Alabama. He raced factory with Maico. I was 5 when he walked away in 79. After a crash in Fl. Furman won a race in 75 I think, that sent him to Anaheim for the then called "Anaheim stadium cross". He led several laps in the 500cc 1st moto before the front hub broke over the big table top, he flipped over the bars breaking his collar bone. He had a big career ahead had he stayed in it. Furman passed away last 4th of July 2011. He died from Samanila poisoning. I still keep up with MX and SX. I will always have some memories of the track with him. Just wish he would have raced til the late 80's where many better memories would have been made. You'll be missed Uncle Furman. But we'll see you again in Heaven. Josh my boy still ready for his camp trip.