30 Day Countdown to A1: #8 Jeff Stanton
Friday, December 28, 2012 | 1:30 PM
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PrintToday's decision was not an easy one in the Monster Energy Top 30 SX Riders Countdown. But we're giving the #8 spot to Jeff Stanton, perhaps the greatest "blue collar" champion in supercross history. If any rider in the top ten seemed destined to not be on this list, Stanton would be it, as he was born without the natural talent or showmanship flash of most of these all-time greats. Plus, he was raised in the hinterlands of a Michigan farm, not Southern California, where nearly all of his contemporary rivals hailed from (or today's hot spot, Florida). To further illustrate Stanton's unexpected rise, consider that he rose to prominence with strong outdoor motocross finishes on the air-cooled Yamaha YZ490. Supercross success never seemed to be in the cards.
Then it all changed in late 1988. Team Honda picked up Stanton as their backup big bike rider to superstar Ricky Johnson. RJ would handle the race wins and titles, Stanton was just expected to be a solid workhorse. And work he did--every single day with RJ during the off-season. Perhaps never have two teammates elevated themselves so much, as Stanton transformed from a top-ten rider in 1988 to a potential race winner when the '89 season dawned (and, apparently, switching to the potent CR250 didn't hurt). And Johnson was stronger than ever, too, winning the first five races of the '89 AMA Supercross Series.
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Stanton won three supercross titles during his career.
Racer X Archive photo
But Stanton was building confidence and knew he would need to beat his mentor to get his first win. At round six in Atlanta, Johnson crashed trying to pass Stanton for the lead, and Stanton grabbed that first win. A week later, Johnson broke his wrist in practice at the AMA National opener at Gainesville. Stanton, without hesitation, picked up the baton and carried it to the '89 SX and 250 Motocross Championships. Fluke? Hardly. Against a loaded field in 1990, he pieced together a methodical season, punctuated it with clutch riding, and successfully defended his indoor title.
While the innovative Jean-Michel Bayle got the best of Stanton physically and mentally in 1991, Stanton bounced back again in 1992, taking the title in shocking fashion by winning the final round, as series points leader Damon Bradshaw faltered. That championship--won with just three victories all season--best explained Stanton's style. Bayle and Bradshaw had more talent and speed, but Stanton maximized his result every week, and overcame them with mistake free riding, effort and determination.
But all that work took a toll. By 1993, he didn't seem as motivated, and couldn't step up and match his new young teammate Jeremy McGrath. He tried a revamp for 1994, changing his training and eating patterns and showing up lean and mean, but it didn't work. At age 26, just two years after being on top of the U.S. Motocross and Supercross world, Stanton retired.
As for his spot on this list, it was quite tough picking between Stanton at #8 and Jeff Ward at #9. Especially since they engaged in a ton of great races from 1989--1992, and were very, very closely matched most of the time. Ward had much more longevity and a few more career wins, but Stanton has three supercross championships to Ward's two. That was enough to push the Michigan farm boy over the top.
Stanton called it a career at the young age of 26.
Racer X Archive photo
The 30 Best Supercross Racers of All Time Tracker:
#9 Jeff Ward
#10 Jean Michel Bayle
#11 Damon Bradshaw
#12 Mark Barnett
#13 Kevin Windham
#14 David Bailey
#15 Ryan Dungey
#16 Mike Bell
#17 Jeff Emig
#18 Johnny O’Mara
#19 Doug Henry
#20 Jimmy Ellis
#21 Mike LaRocco
#22 Ezra Lusk
#23 Broc Glover
#24 Ron Lechien
#25 Jimmy Weinert
#26 David Vuillemin
#27 Donnie Hansen
#28 Larry Ward
#29 Mike Kiedrowski
#30 Marty Tripes
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asdflkjasdflkjasdlf;kasdf!!!!!!!!!! Darn it.. Ok, I'm going into hiding now.
Jeff still remains #1 in my heart..
(for all of the wanna-be pros like us on these comment sections, Jeff has to be one of the biggest inspiriations that if you work hard enough, anything is possible.)
Just my opinion, he has 3 supercross titles and should be ahead of EVERY guy with 2 titles and less... Titles are what every top guy goes for.....No rider with only 2 titles are less should be ahead of him, or Hannah.. Ward, Ricky Johnson(one of my all-time favorites) Stewart and Reed should all be behind Stanton and Hannah, because they have less titles than those two.. Just my opinion though..
Jeff was tough! I have to give him that! What he didnt have in talent, he made up with true will power and hard work! Most other pros would not do that! Rick Johnson mentored him that year and they both trained together and you could see Jeff was learning tricks from Johnson. Especially how to skim the whoops! So he deserves to be in the top ten on this list. He is a multi supercross champion. He deserves that! But there are others that will top this list due to their speed and talent! Obviously Mcgrath is going to top this list. I'm waiting for that! Johnson should be second! Johnson could whip anyone on any given day in his prime. I truley believe he fell at the 89' Atlanta Supercross to let Stanton by to humble him but thats my opinion. Johnson was the best I have ever seen that ever rode a bike! Carmichael third! But we will see!
What a great rider...I watched him growing up racing in Michigan and other tracks. Bill Brown of Braco Trailers first sponsored Jeff growing up when He was racing YZ 100's against Lisa Akin-Wagner and all the Michigan Mafia clan. He was a no nosense no BS
rider,...He took pride in taking care of his training program no fancy frills no bling no
glitter. Leave it all on the track. Great Job Jeff and proud to have you as a friend. This guy could still probably get top five at a Pro National with his training program.
@Rick - no need to run and hide. Jeff was a great rider that would have had more wins and potential championships if not for a bad back.
Separating and ranking the top 10-12 riders is really hard, because of injuries and "what if" for those retired and the "what remains" for those like RV, Reed, and Stewart that are still active. The "art" of the selection process is how to balance the objective wins and championships with the subjective of relative level of competition, natural talent, and "intelligent" aggression the intelligence of when to be to make passes when others might not. And then speculating about how much more the active riders will accomplish during there remaining races.
It would be fun to be a part of the discussion with the RacerX staff when they are having these conversations.
I don't mean this in a hatin' kind of way, but Reed better be next. I can't see him being rated in front of anyone else who is left. I know he has more wins than some of them, but was never really had a dominant period, like the rest have had.
My revised order: MC, RC, Hannah, Johnson, RV, JS, CR
The biggest difference between Ward and Stanton I believe was Ricky. In Wards prime he had Johnson to contend with. And if RJ hadn't of broken his wrist Stanton would have this weird head twitch while saying dam Johnson. None the less great #8 and 9 picks. Easily could be swapped or not.....
@MX Bob--I see your point.. In your revised order, I feel Stanton should be in there.. And I know what you say about a dominate period for Reed., but neither has Stewie.. He is fast, always has been, but he never domninated anyone one period in supercross either. He and Reed both have almost identical numbers, wins and titles.. And neither uncrowned the title holder for thier titles..RC retired first.. But RC did say Chad was probably his toughest supercross competetor once Mcgrath retired.. He said "Chad kicked my butt the last part of 2003, and I was mad I didnt get to get my redemption in 2004 because of my injured knee"... Reed did something to RC Stewie never could, took 6 wins in a row from him in supercross..
I'm seldom content with his placements on speculative "all-time" lists and tend to agree with bd200's post. This being a SX-themed article, I won't go on about how I feel the "trifecta" 500cc title to his resume would've been a crowning achievment and further distinguished him from his alumni. One matter of note however is his back injury that (assumingly) curtailed his career more than lack of motivation as Weege's "less than motivated" statement would imply. Another item worthy of mention is the high-pressure enviroment that was team Honda in those years. That's how I see it from my yard anyhow.
I think it's funny to say that Stanton was "without the natural talent" -- what he lacked was the flash and the smooth style of a Bailey, Bayle or McGrath. But obviously the guy has talent and went very fast, it just wasn't that pretty. Not dinging just this thread, I have seen similar comments elsewhere, it just sits a little weird with me.
I give credit where credit is due JS7 (Jeff Stanton 7) was a hard worker and earned his titles....Mr. Personality, not so much.....
MX Bob the only reason Reed would be any further up is because in all his supercross finishes have been in the top three except for last year and the year he broke his hand with JS7. I guess consistently each year moves up in the order.
Not only is this list a disaster, but the slow, drawn out presentation, is guaranteeing to piss off just about every single moto fan in some way or another.
And, it won't be forgotten just because the gate dropped at A1.
Stanton belongs well within the top five.
Chowderhead..... Need anything else be said?
BOLLOCKS! TO! THIS!
This is an absolute slap in the face to say that Stanton is behind Stewart, Reed, and RV. An arguement could be made for RJ, but Jeff still wins out due to his third title and relentless consistency. Only two other men have more titles than Jeff. Only one has as the same amount.
Yeah, okay. 3 supercross championships in 4 years and the dude lacked natural talent? He beat Bradshaw, Bayle, Ward, and a host of others with his lack of talent. Jeff is being penalized for his uber-consistency and for not being a flashy attention whore. Too bad he can't go back in time and wear huge diamond earrings, dye his hair platinum blonde every year at Vegas, star in a reality show, or get arrested a few times.Because you know, that earns more "GOAT" points than championships.
Like I said before... BOLLOCKS!
rdub934: First, the GOAT earned every win and every accolade by being the GOAT. The media had no choice but to gibe him props. Let's be honest. Had Ricky rode in 2004, he would have had another championship(making his total 6 by 2007) and he'd have won several more raced(Putting his total close to 60 by 2007). I think at that point he would have ridden one more year to at least tie MC with 7 championships and he would've been close in wins. Remember, Ricky is the one who dethroned the "king". As it is, MC had a ton of more starts and a couple of extra seasons on RC.
I agree with everything else you said. Dungey has the same kind of comments made about him today because he doesn't override, do whips and all the other stuff very often. He just wins championships.
MX Bob I like your revised order but i would put Johnson over Hannah and Stanton in where you have Stewart. IMO.
So I guess racer x is saying championships are irrelevant. Well, how are they going to separate Stewart from Reed then?
A team that wins the SUPERBOWL with a 15-1 record cannot claim superiority over a team that won a SUPERBOWL with a 9-6 record. The Super Bowl is what counts! The wins are irrelevant because of the schedule they had. My point, is that because Stanton doesn't have 45 wins how can you lessen his achievements? He won the title more times than these guys!! it doesnt matter how or why.. thats why its history. Maybe he faced tougher comp? Maybe shorter schedules? Maybe he got hurt? The point being, 3 times is the charm. What a bummer..
@Chowderhead - agree that Stanton should be ahead of RV, Stewart, and Reed from the perspective that he has three titles, two of them consecutive. The other three only have 2 titles and only RV has two consecutive titles.
I have a harder time putting Stanton ahead of RJ given the results of them racing heads up, It doesn't mean that Jeff wasn't a very talented SX racer, but I think RJ was better and his wrist injury kept him from a 3rd title in 89 that instead became Stanton's first title.
3 consecutive titles is a big thing and is damned hard to do which is why only 3 people have done it, MC (twice), RC, and Bob Hannah. Jeff does have three titles, but not consecutive, so IMO he does not belong in the top 3
So with current win totals and championships, I would rank Jeff no higher than 5th, all things considered.
I love Stanton, I really do. he's the Troy Aikman of SX. throw for 250 yards and maybe 2 tds but ahead of JMB, C'MON!! this is moto buffoon-ary, get real.......
Great list so far. Stanton was at the top of the sport when I started riding and I was a huge fan back then. It will be interesting to see how things pan out as this list continues on. My only hope is that Reed beat Bubba but it's hard to say, consistency and longevity vs popularity will be the differentiator on their careers and what really is most important?
@RCRDDW, I was not referring to "The GOAT" as in RC, I just used GOAT as an acronym in referring to this list. Also, I do not like speculating. I think that whoever wins, would have won regardless of who is injured or whatever. RC dethroned MC because that is what happens. MC was 30ish, RC was 20ish. Not taking anything away from RC, but MC in 01 was alot different than in 96.
Hard work and determination are awsome things. This guy took it so serious. I talked to him twice. Once at Southwick when JMB won all three and I thanked him at Southwick when he was going to retire from being a team Honda consultant. Very cool guy.
Also RCRDDW, I don't agree that RC would have won the title in 04 or that he could have beaten Bubba for the crown in 07. You are speaking theoretically, and that is pointless. If Grandma had balls, she'd be Grandpa
Bollokks to everyone with a gripe! Reed and Stewart had to race the Goat, had Stanton raced the Goat he would have had his butt handed to him too. Heck McGrath showed Stanton his rear fender straight away. Id put Reed on par with Mcgrath in terms of style and speed on the track he just didnt have Ricky and Bubba to deal with. Reed with no Bubba and Ricky = 7 x champ. Think about it. Yeah ive had enough holiday beers to skew even the most level headed opinion, but fark it, bring it on!
Reed like mc? Whatever reed should have been number ten
He never dominated anything
He has missed the last 3 series because he has to ride past his talent level just to keep up with rv
Stewie beats him almost every time
Except for when he crashes out! Don't insult MC has no style compared to him or RC.
For the reality that is Championships and who finished 2nd that year . . . CR22 beat out KW14 by 13 points in '08 and KW14 (again) by 9 points in '04 for his two SX titles. He's a bad dude no question (KW too), but JS7 beat out CR22 by 4 points and 1 win in '09 and CR22 (again) by 51 points and 12 wins (13 vs 1) in '07. It wouldn't make sense if RacerX didn't give JS7 more credit for his 2 championships since Reed was one the track every weekend when JS got his. All the fast dudes on the list are bad bad men . . . Bring on A1!
Sorry I mean reed has no style compared to mc or RC or js7 or RV.....
@ej183--Mcgrath had to knock off Jeff Stanton--and then while he was in his late 20's, he beat RC twice before RC knocked Mcgrath off for the supercross title.. Mcgrath was already 29 by then, maybe 30, not sure.. Not sure if Reed could have done that, who knows.. Reed is faster than he gets credit for.. Like RC said, Reed was his toughest competitor in supercross.. But two titles puts him behind Stanton in my opinion..
HE double flag posts Jeff Stanton is ahead of JMB. The reason JMB rode with the "I DON"T CARE" attidude is that he didn't care to have his butt handed to him by Stanton and Bradshaw. That is why he was great, after loosing in 91 he came back with so much dertimination the next yeat it frightend the Frenchman. And thats the way way it was in 1992
REED AHEAD OF STEWART PLLEEEEAAAAASSSSSEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nothing else matters anymore to this list as I agree with everyone who has made the argument that championships should count before race wins or style, or popularity or talent etc etc etc. But in the Reed vs. Bubbles debate Reed simply must be placed ahead of Stewart. All those years he was the only resistance to RC and came close to beating him for the championship so many times, and doing what he has done coming from abroad first to the gps then to the states.
@ rickamatuzio yOU SUCK worst e than stanton !
Never really been a Jeff Stanton fan, but I have to give my respect to a guy that won 3 SX titles. Racer X did not give Stanton enough credit. Technically he should be fourth on the list per titles alone.
Never really been a Jeff Stanton fan, but I have to give my respect to a guy that won 3 SX titles. Racer X did not give Stanton enough credit. Technically he should be fourth on the list per titles alone.