Welcome back to our forty-day countdown to Anaheim Supercross, which will be held January 3, 2015 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. We’ve been racing through the years of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, recalling the early days of “stadium motocross.” Now we’re on to 1976, the first year the series was dubbed AMA Supercross. America’s Bicentennial Year was also the year that the notorious promoter Mike Goodwin joined forces with the existing promoters, PACE Motorsports and Daytona—a move that would see AMA Supercross soon begin a rapid expansion.
First, there was a rethinking of the class structure. After holding classes for both 250cc and 500cc motorcycles, it was determined prior to the 1976 season that riders and teams would put their focus into one class, the 250cc. There was also the addition of a new race, this time the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan, the first true supercross race held in the northern half of the country (unless you count the Philadelphia Trans-AMA race that was held at the old JFK Stadium in 1973). That race came about as a partnership between longtime Midwest race promoter Paul Schlegel (Delta Motorsports) and Allen Becker’s Houston-based PACE, which was also organizing the Dallas and Houston races.
The opening round of this slightly expanded series returned to Daytona International Speedway following the conclusion of Bill West’s Florida Winter-AMA Series in March. It was during that tour that a fairly unknown Yamaha rider named Bob Hannah exploded onto the scene, winning the 500cc title in his first time on his new OW26 factory Yamaha. Many assumed Hannah, by now nicknamed “Hurricane” by Cycle News’ race reporter Jim Gianatsis, would roll right through the 1976 AMA Supercross tour, but Hannah struggled instead, his wild style not quite conducive for the tighter stadium races (though that would soon change).
Instead, it was Suzuki’s Tony DiStefano, the reigning AMA 250 Motocross Champion, who started the season out with a win at Daytona, besting “Jammin” Jimmy Weinert and defending AMA Supercross Champion Jimmy Ellis, still on a Can-Am yet not wearing the #1 plate—it would not be handed out specifically for supercross until the following season. Hannah would finish tenth in his Daytona SX debut, right behind Brad Lackey, a Husqvarna rider who was only visiting the series until the 500cc Grand Prix season started up in Europe.
The interesting thing about Daytona ’76 is that when you look at the results, not one of the top eight riders hailed from California.
That was another thing that was about to change!
The next round took place one week later at the Houston Astrodome, with Weinert taking the win aboard his Kawasaki, topping DiStefano and Kent Howerton, a Texan riding a Husqvarna. This time Hannah finished fifth.
Next they went up the road to Dallas for the race in Texas Stadium. Ellis finally found his rhythm and put the Can-Am back in the winner’s circle, this time ahead of the veteran Pierre Karsmakers, the veteran from Holland who was by this point riding for Team Honda. Howerton again finished on the podium, then came Gaylon Mosier aboard a Maico, and finally Hannah, fifth again.
One solid month of AMA Supercross racing concluded the last weekend in March at the Pontiac Silverdome—the new round—and the winner was Marty Smith, the California teenager that many felt was the biggest and most marketable superstar in America. His win was Honda’s first indoors since Marty Tripes won the 1973 Superbowl of Motocross on a CR250M Elsinore. Karsmakers was second, giving Honda a 1-2 sweep, while Howerton was once again third. Weinert was fourth, and then came the shocker: “Rocket” Rex Staten finished fifth overall aboard a Harley-Davidson dirt bike. That would turn out to be the high-water mark in AMA Supercross for the Milwaukee-built motorcycle.
After Pontiac, attention turned to the start of the outdoor nationals, which is where Hannah really took off, winning the Hangtown 125 National and throwing Marty Smith and the rest of the world into complete shock. Hannah would go on to win the 125 Motocross title, but there was still one more supercross to be run: Mike Goodwin’s Superbowl of Motocross at the Los Angeles Coliseum, which had by this point became the biggest race of all.
On July 24, 1976, Jimmy Ellis finally won again aboard his Can-Am, but he had fallen too far behind Kawasaki’s Weinert to catch him in the points. Weinert, a steady eighth at the Coliseum, ended up winning the AMA Supercross Championship by 10 points over Karsmakers, then came Ellis, Howerton and DiStefano.
However, there was still another race to be run, albeit not one that was part of the series. Following the ’76 Trans-AMA Series, which ran from September through early December, Mike Goodwin held the first Anaheim “Supercross,” though it wasn’t a part of the actual series. As a result, Hannah, who was as big a draw as Marty Smith, decided to pass on the race. No matter, Goodwin went all out, building what came to called the King Kong Jump—billed as the world’s biggest jump—out of scaffolding and dirt on the infield of Anaheim. It was all a bit over the top, but that’s how Goodwin rolled.
In the end Marty Smith won again, with Karsmakers second in his last race for Honda, and Howerton once again third. The race was mostly forgotten, but it was obvious that Goodwin wanted more than just one race, and he would soon have them. We’ll get more into that tomorrow when we turn to 1977!
1976 AMA Supercross Standings
- Jim Weinert Kawasaki 327
- Pierre Karsmakers Honda 317
- Jimmy Ellis Can-Am 293
- Kent Howerton Husqvarna 274
- Tony DiStefano Suzuki 250
- Steve Stackable Suzuki 237
- Gaylon Mosier Maico 215
- Marty Smith Honda 214
- Terry Clark Husqvarna 181
- Tommy Croft Honda 160
