Hello, race fans! Welcome to the Number Cruncher, brought to you by
Shift MX. Coming at you this week is a number that we believe you will
find very interesting: #14. Now, what is the first name that pops into
your head when you think of that? Kevin Windham, right? Now try to
think of another. Not so easy, huh?
We dug deep into the archives this week and discovered that some great
names have raced and won with the #14—it is actually one of the most
diverse motocross numbers. By diverse, I mean a couple of things: On
one hand, some of these cats were diverse in their riding abilities,
while most of these guys wore #14 on several different brands. Oddly
enough, while the number is packed with talent, it has been ridden to
very few titles—none in AMA motocross or supercross that we can think
of!
 | | Jimmy Weinert | | photo: Dick Miller Archives |
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Let’s
start with a rare picture of Jimmy Weinert wearing the #14 while racing
his Yamaha at the 1976 Carlsbad 500cc USGP. “The Jammer” is more famous
for his Kawasaki days and his kooky tendencies of trying to psyche the
competition out. For instance, in one race at the sandy Oakland
Coliseum, Weinert raced with a neck brace made of a Nerf ball and duct
tape and put a paddle tire on his KX250! Nothing too weird about this
picture here, but take note of those Scott goggles with the sawed-off
face mask. Those things are definitely pre-Bevo!
 | | photo: Dick Miller Archives |
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Here’s
one from the year before, albeit an outdoor national. Team Suzuki’s
Billy Grossi took the 500cc National Championship down to the final
race—along with three other cats in Weinert, Maico-mounted Steve
Stackable, and the Flying Dutchman, Pierre Karsmakers. Grossi didn’t
win the title, but he and brother Bob remain the only brothers ever to
each win an AMA Motocross National.
 | | Marty Tripes | | photo: Dick Miller Archives |
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Wow, this is the earliest #14 we could find: Marty Tripes on his way to
the 1972 Superbowl of Motocross win. As we reported a few weeks back on
Eric Johnson’s Great Races, Tripes was barely 16 when he won the first
U.S. supercross.
 | Marty Tripes in '73
| | photo: Dick Miller Archives | |
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And then one year later, Tripes did it again, still wearing #14 but now
on a Honda! This photo came from an outdoor race that ’73 season—Scott
Wallenberg is guessing it's Saddelback—but we do know that this was
Tripes’ first go-round with Honda. He would return to the brand in 1978
and ’79, then switch to Yamaha.… This after also racing CZ, Bultaco,
Husqvarna, Can-Am …Tripes got around!
 | | Jim Pomeroy | | photo: Dick Miller Archives | |
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Jim Pomeroy is wearing #14 in this photo, also from 1973, but it’s not
in America: ’73 was the year that “Bimbo” decamped from America for the
250cc Grand Prix circuit, and in one of the all-time upsets in
motocross history, he won the first round of the series—and became the
first American to ever beat the Europeans at their own game—in Sabadel,
Spain, on the outskirts of Barcelona (and DC was just there this
weekend). On the GP circuit back then, riders changed numbers every
week, so you might find pics of Pomeroy with lots of other digits
numbers. That’s just the way it was back then.
 | | Steve Wise | | photo: Dick Miller Archives | |
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Steve Wise is one of the most diverse riders in the history of the
sport. Not only was he a supercross and outdoor national winner, but he
also excelled at the old Superbikers race on ABC (what is now called
Supermoto) and dirt track and road racing, as well. After his
professional career, Steve traveled the country doing motocross
schools.
 | | David Thorpe | | photo: Dick Miller Archives | |
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“King” David Thorpe was one of the greatest open-bike riders of all
time. While he may be most famous (to American fans) for getting beaten
by 125cc-mounted Johnny O’Mara at the 1986 Motocross des Nations, most
Yanks forget that he waxed everyone (including David Bailey and Jeff
Ward on a 500 and 250, respectively) at the previous year’s MXdN. This
photo, by the way, comes from Namur, Belgium, while Thorpey was still
on Kawis. He did most of his damage aboard a Honda HRC works bikes.
 | | Broc Glover | | photo: Dick Miller Archives | |
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Broc Glover spent most of his days racing with a single digit, but in
his early 125cc days he wore #14 at the ’78 Mid-Ohio 125cc USGP, which
he won on his works Yamaha. Broc was called the “Golden Boy” for good
reason: His six AMA motocross titles are second to only one man, and
that guy’s still out there racing.
 | | Darrel Shultz | | photo: Dick Miller Archives | |
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Check out Team Suzuki’s Darrel Shultz on his way to the 1979 Daytona
Supercross win. Shultz was one tough mother, and he seemed well on his
way to the ’81 title with three wins in the first five races, but his
knee injuries became too much to even race, so he parked it for a
while. He came back the next year, won Daytona again (on a Honda this
time), and wrapped up the 1982 500cc National MX title. After that, his
knees were shot.
 | | Brad Lackey | | photo: Dick Miller Archives | |
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If you’ve ever wondered where the “Bad” in “Bad” Brad Lackey came from,
you need only glance at this picture. Check out that Champion
Sparkplugs jacket! Brad’s another guy who rode for lots of teams—CZ,
Kawasaki, Husqvarna, Honda, Suzuki—and wore lots of GP numbers. He was
also the first American to win a world motocross championship.
John “Junkyard Dog” Dowd was 31 years young when he took the #14 to
victory in the 250 National at
Southwick in 1997. MX 338, as it is
called, is a track that John began riding in the 500cc Novice class. I
could still hear the echoes from that amazing day when I saw him race
there two weeks ago, where he made the top 10 again at the tender age
of 40.
 | | Larry Brooks | | photo: Dick Miller Archives | |
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Who would have ever thought that the madman who wielded the controls of
some of the fastest (and wildest) 125 laps turned in during the mid- to
late 1980s would end up being such an organized, witty, and influential
team manager? Larry Brooks, shown here wearing the #14 in 1988
alongside the late Donny Schmit, was renowned for his big speed and
even bigger crashes. Surely you folks remember that footage of him
wearing the #14 on a Kawasaki where he endos at the Dallas SX? While
Larry left an impressive mark in motocross with his racing, he left an
even bigger one with the managerial skills he displayed during his
tenure at Team Red Bull KTM. He’s getting ready to do likewise with
Chad Reed’s new racing team.
By the way, Brooks isn’t the only team manager to wear #14. Mike
Fisher, now the Kawasaki boss, ran the number back in the early 1990s
when he was a top-five supercrosser himself—on a white KTM!
 | | photo: Courtesy of Xavier Auduoard | |
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We aren’t sure who this poor guy is, but wow – this has to be one of
the biggest crashes #14 has ever endured! Compliments of Xavier
Auduoard and his
Grand History of Supercross book.
Kevin Windham has raced a pro event on each of the big four Japanese
brands. At one point, he was a member of one of the most incredible
teams factory Honda ever put together. The powerhouse team, which began
in 1999, consisted of Sebastien Tortelli, Ezra Lusk, Michael Pichon,
and Windham. Basically, these were the best guys money could buy, and
Honda desperately wanted win back the titles they had not claimed since
they lost Jeremy McGrath to his own Chaparral Yamaha team. Amazingly,
no titles were produced, as Jeremy and
Ricky Carmichael won the premier
divisions in 2000. By 2001, Sebastien was the only one of those guys
left at Team Honda, as had Windham moved on to Suzuki
This is when it all started going wrong for
Kevin Windham. In a strange
case not seen since the days of “What’s Eating Jeff Emig?” or even
Damon Bradshaw’s walkaway in 1993, the “Ragin’ Cajun” just couldn’t get
it done on his Suzuki. Time and again, Kevin might even pull a holeshot
and open up a lead, but then just to fade deep into the pack. It all
came to a head at the Atlanta SX when K-Dub was riding with confidence
maybe for the first time all season. He was jumping a mammoth quadruple
jump that only RC was also attempting, but near the end of practice he
clipped the fourth jump and crashed hard enough to break his femur. It
would be two full seasons until we would see the return of Windham.
But since his return, he’s the old
Kevin Windham again—fast, smiling,
and full of grace on a motorcycle. He hasn’t won a championship, but
then again, not a lot of guys have in this era. It’s just great to see
#14 still out there.
Okay, that’s it for #14. Surely we missed some folks, but like I said, it’s a very diverse number.
