We’re back for more debate over the best looks for each permanent AMA national number. Last week we broke down the #1 through #15, this time we’ll go to the top of the permanent chart, which ends with #27. Any numbers higher than that are owned by riders year by year based on national points, so those numbers will change, outside of riders like Ken Roczen (#94) and Justin Barcia (#51) who selected high numbers for the career digits.
Did you get all that? It doesn’t matter. Here’s the rest of the list.
#16:John Dowd, Zach Osborne
Steve Matthes: The Junk Yard Dog kept this number for like, 14 years, AFTER already a ton before the system came into place. Incredible! He would just keep coming out to Southwick and getting the 25 points needed to hang onto the number as he approached 50 years old. Just a manimal that John Dowd. Zacho grabbed it after his 250 Class Pro Motocross title and almost deserted it for #8 after his 450 Class title but decided against that. It’s a close race, my heart goes with Dowdy, but my brain says Zacho, what does Weege think?
Jason Weigandt: First, I could go on a rant that Zacho could have a single digit and didn’t do it. I think I’ve hit that hard enough. What really sticks out is that Dowd held an AMA national number longer than anyone ever, even longer than my hero Barry Carsten. If you’re the all-time national number record holder, you’re the man when it comes to your number. Congrats, JYD!
#17: Robbie Reynard, Eli Tomac, Cooper Webb, and Joey Savatgy
Matthes: RR took my beloved #17 and rocked it strong for a while. Remember that Tomac guy? Yeah, he ran it for one year, won the 250MX title and went to #3 right away so not many memories for ET with the #17. Cooper Webb? Same thing, he ran it for a year or so and then went to the #2 after he won the 250MX title. Oh #17, we hardly knew ya! Joey has had it for a few years now on Kawasaki, Suzuki, and now KTM so he’s taken that #17 around. Reynard never won with it, but he did look cool and gets my vote just because he ran it for so long.
Weege: The #17 had a nice run in the 250s for a bit with Tomac, Webb, and Savatgy. Almost like the AMA needed to hold it as “the number to be reserved for fast 250 riders only.” This is a tough one, Webb and Eli moved on to single digits so I’ll just call Joey the last man standing as associate it with him.
#18:Brock Sellards, Davi Millsaps, Weston Peick, and Jett Lawrence
Matthes: New home for this number with THE JETT who just happened to earn it for 2021 and decided to keep it for 2022 as his new career number. He could have taken a single digit after his 250 Class title. What’s wrong with these kids these days? Single digits are cool! The #8 is just laying there waiting to be used! Anyways, Peick barely got to run it before getting hurt, Millsaps was #18 for a while and won some big races with it. Sellards grabbed #18 as one of the early 250 Class guys to earn a permanent numbers. (BEFORE the worst rule in the sport was introduced, which now allows 250 East and West REGIONAL Supercross to count for NATIONAL numbers). In Sellards’ day you had to finish top three or four in the 250 Class to get inside the top ten overall for the year. Anyway, this one isn’t close, JETT’s career is still being written so I’ll go with Millsaps who won 450SX’s with the one-eight.
Weege: Yeah, ‘Saps all the way here. What’s cool is Davi was #118 as an amateur and #188 early as a pro (because #118 was taken) and then went to #18. So there’s real heritage in the #18 for him. Easy win here, although since Jett has decided not to take #8, this might need to be revisted in a decade.
#19: Doug Henry and Justin Bogle
Matthes: Surprisingly, Doug hung onto this longer than I remember as he would also do some one-off Southwicks here and there to keep this alive. Justin Bogle grabbed it and like Savatgy, he’s been around different teams and brands with the one-nine. It’s close but I think I’ll give the nod to Bogle because Doug didn’t win his titles with the #19.
Weege: Like his buddy Dowd, I respect Doug coming back over and over to keep the #19 going. Also, this is crazy, but Doug once ran #19 as his earned national number in his DGY Yamaha 125 days. Why is that crazy? Because at the same time, there was a major league baseball pitcher named Doug Henry who was also #19! How is the heck is that possible! I just looked up the baseball Doug Henry and he’s a darned coach in the minors now and still repping the #19! Yup. Doug Henry. Both Doug Henrys. Iconic #19s.
#20: Damon Huffman and Broc Tickle
Matthes: Man, Huffy looked good! He rocked this #20 for a while also as he went from factory Suzuki to Motoworld to Moto XXX and was almost a World SX champion with the #20. And did I mentioned how good he looked out there? Tick’s probably been #20 as long as Huffy was at this point and has done the number proud. Neither guy has won a premier class race with the #20, so this one is a tough call. I’ll show my age here and go with Huffy but I could be talked out of it.
Weege: Yeah, Broc is solid, but when I think of a number you’ve got to have a certain style to it, and Huff Daddy rocked some style. It’s close but I’ll give it to Huffman.
#21: Stephane Roncada and Jason Anderson
Matthes: The Ron-Ron era was fun, he was so hot and cold, so in shape and out of shape, so fast and sometimes so slow…you never knew what you were getting with him. He was factory Kawasaki and Suzuki so you know he was good but also frustrating, right? Anderson won a 450SX TITLE with the #21 and on a Husqvarna at that! He’s the easy choice here.
Weege: Yeah, no doubt, it’s Anderson. Ron-Ron was unbelievable when he was on. Remember that time, for two weeks, that he gave Stew all he could handle at the Vegas SX and then at Hangtown? Incredible. But JA21 is the #21. It’s a pretty easy choice.
#22: Chad Reed
Matthes: I know we said we’ll deal with the numbers that have been held by multiple people but Chad earned #22 after the 2002 season in the 250 class and he, like JETT and others, just decided that would be his permanent number. That’s always been a bit weird to me but funny how well it worked out. It’s now his brand, right? He didn’t score any points last year as he didn’t race but he requested to hang onto it and that means we might see this number back in 2022 which is fitting.
Weege: Yet another marker for how long Chad has been around. No one else has ever had 22 as a permanent number! I don’t think we’ve seen the last of him with it, either.
#23: Kyle Lewis, Aaron Plessinger, and Chase Sexton
Matthes: Interesting story here. I was working for Moto XXX and Nick Wey, and we just missed a permanent number, he missed a few races with injury. Kyle Lewis did have a great season on an early Honda four-stroke and took #23 which I know Wey had his eye on because he had been #23 on 125’s for like three years in a row or something. Funny the stuff you remember, right? Anyways, Lewis did the number proud with some good results but never as good as that 2002 year, that’s for sure. The number was just a stop-over for AP as he won the 250 Class title soon after getting it and then moved to #7. Chase Sexton is the new owner of it and he might also just be here for a bit before going to a single digit. I’ll go with Sexton as the best #23, sweet Jesus he looks awesome on a bike.
Weege: Sexton hasn’t been #23 for long but when he rocked an Alpinestars jersey that somehow looked like Michael Jordan’s Bulls #23 from the NBA, he won this contest, hands down. Sexton is from Illinois, too, so he can rock the Chicago Bulls stuff and look legit.
Want to know something absolutely terrible? Michael Jordan played his last game in a Bulls jersey in 1998. Sexton was born in 1999. Help us!
![Chase Sexton went full Michael Jordan at the 2020 Pro Motocross finale, coming in clutch and earning his first 450 Class overall win.]()
Chase Sexton went full Michael Jordan at the 2020 Pro Motocross finale, coming in clutch and earning his first 450 Class overall win. Align Media ![Fist pump for the #23.]()
Fist pump for the #23. Align Media ![Shout-out to Alpinestars on the 🔥jersey.]()
Shout-out to Alpinestars on the 🔥jersey. Photo: Align Media | Edit: Andrew Fredrickson
#24: Ernesto Fonseca, Brett Metcalfe, and RJ Hampshire
Matthes: The two-four looks good on a bike IMO and Ernie was a stylish rider. Metty was #24 for the longest time and Hampshire has new speed with the #24. It’s a tough call but I’ll go with Metty because he won a 450 Class race with this number and showed lots of speed in the big class.
Weege: I completely and totally blew it this summer when Hampshire won the RedBud National and I didn’t yell “And RJ Hampshire is 24K Golden!” as he crossed the finish line. The kids would understand.
Where was I? Yeah, I’ll go with Ernesto on this one.
Related: Classifying Great Supercross Riders Past Their Stats
#25:Nathan Ramsey and Marvin Musquin
Matthes: Nate Dog was cool. The thing I remember about Nate Dog is meeting him around 1995 or 1996 when he was a greasy Suzuki privateer. Then after he won races, titles, etc. the dude never changed. He was always cool. That’s what I remember about Ramsey as a racer. Oh, today he runs KTM’s Orange Brigade amateur program, I don’t follow amateurs, but I guarantee you Nate Dog is still cool. The problem for Nate is that Marv grabbed #25 and has become the most successful Frenchman to ever race here and when you pass DV and THE JMB, you’ve done something, so I’ll go with Marv.
Weege: Eh, Steve, do you want me to send this back to you for an edit? No one, and I mean NO ONE passes The Great Jean-Michel Bayle. You know this. I know this. Anyone who was watching races in 1991 knows this. JMB is the most influential and important foreign rider in the history of this sport in the U.S. outside of Roger De Coster. Anyway, as far as #25s go, no question Marv is the best, although I love Nate Dog also and I had a 2005 KTM 250SXF that looked just like his. Loved that bike. It doesn’t matter, Marv has been great with this number. What also cool is Marv ran #125 in his early days, so he was always setting himself up for this one.
#26: Michael Byrne and Alex Martin
Matthes: I mean Byrner’s awesome and got on the box with #26 (a long way from when he started racing here in the USA with #990!) but he’s up against TROLL TRAIN here. Troll won nationals with the #26! Troll’s beat the odds with the #26! He’s the best #26 ever!
Weege: Steve, you’re ridiculous. I can’t stand it when someone just gets so fixated on a certain rider that they just automatically pick him. I’ll go with Byrner here. Speaking of Alex Martin, I went down to ClubMX recently and watched him put in some laps. Justin Brayton was also there, and Brayton was looking SO GOOD!
#27: Nick Wey and Malcolm Stewart
Matthes: The year after I worked for Nick, he got on Mach 1 Yamaha and wearing the number he earned with me, #27, he had a great year and picked #27 as his digit. Although I’m sure he wanted Lewis’s #23. Like Dowd, Nick ran his career number for a looonnnnggg time with good results. He ran it so long that it was SUPER weird when Mookie got it because of a rule change that not only did you get national points for 250SX, you ALSO got a permanent number if you won a 250SX title. Yes, this rule is dumb also. Even though Mookie is an innocent victim here, he’s got no chance to be the best #27, it’ll always be Nick Wey.
Weege: I agree it would be nearly impossible to unseat Wey as the best #27, he rocked this number forever and was always ahead of the curve on branding his looks. Mookie is sneaky effective, though, because he wears Seven gear, the brand founded by his brother James, of course the best #7 ever. So, Malcolm was slick to get in on some of that seven action within his career two-digit number. I’ll still go with Wey, though.
