Marty Smith, R.I.P. (1956-2020)

We are deeply saddened by the news that Marty Smith and his wife Nancy passed away last night in a dune buggy accident in the California desert. The accident happened on the southern edge of the Glamis Dunes area near the California-Arizona border. Smith, who hailed from San Diego, was one of the all-time greats of motocross, winning three AMA Pro Motocross Championships in the 1970s. For many, he was the first superstar of American motocross. He rose to fame as a teenage phenom, winning the first two AMA 125cc National Motocross Championships (1974, '75) and then adding the AMA 500cc National Championship in 1977, all while riding for Team Honda. 

He retired from professional motocross in 1983. You can read more about Marty's career in our all-time list of greatest AMA motocrossers, and results are available in the Vault.

We will have more details on this terrible tragedy as they become available.

*Hero image courtesy of Dick Miller Archives