Earlier this week Steve Matthes paid respects to Dean Wilson and Alex Martin, who just logged the last races of their career in the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship. He also called a few legends of the past to get the stories of their own final races. We ran half of them in part one, here’s the final installment. Read Redux: Last Nationals Part One.
Tim Ferry
2009 | Steel City | 12-7 | 450MX
Ferry: “I knew it was my last race, I was fine with it. My heel had been broken earlier in the year and tracks where I had to stand up a lot, like Southwick, I just couldn’t do it. Steel City was easier for me. I was ready to move on, I had been racing a long time and it was time.”
Ricky Carmichael
2007 | Millville | 1-1 | 450MX
RC was on a limited schedule in 2007, his last in the sport, and he had won all the nationals he had entered this year but stuck to his guns. He said he wasn’t going to do all 12 rounds, so despite leading the points and despite going 1-1 at his last race, that was it for Carmichael. He did the 2007 Motocross of Nations after this race and hung up the boots.
Jeremy McGrath
2004 | Steel City | 15-DNF | 450MX
McGrath’s last national before this one was four years earlier at Glen Helen on a Yamaha and since then he had switched to KTM, rode two European SX’s, and retired for about two years. After not racing in 2003 or most of 2004, he then planned to come back on a Honda in 2005 on a limited SX-only schedule, much to the delight of fans. He wanted to keep his famous #2 for that ’05 season, so he came back for the final national of 2004 to earn some points. MC actually ran pretty well that day, but his pipe got crushed in the first moto according to Lars Lindstrom, his mechanic that day, and then in the second moto it fell off which Lars may or may not blame himself (there were other circumstances). Anyways, that was it for King of SX, he scored the points he needed to keep his number two, and he never rode another national.
Larry Ward
2003 | Steel City | 11-10 | 250MX
Big Bird has started racing pro in 1988 on a Yamaha in the 125 class, switched to Honda for 1989 and won his first 125 national. Then in 1990 he switched to factory Suzuki and raced both 250 and 125 nationals. Same thing in ’91 and ’92. Once off the factory train, Ward jumped down to the 125/250MX class on the Yamaha four-stroke for two years then back up to the 250/450MX class for the Moto XXX guys.
Mike Kiedrowski
1997 | Millville | 6-6 | 250MX
Kiedrowski: “I wasn’t planning on it to be my last race, but I broke my thumb the week after this race and that was it.”
Jeff Stanton
1994 | Steel City | 5-7 | 250MX
Stanton: “I announced it early that I was done, I wasn’t in the title fight. I was over it; I was ready to be done. I was burned out. I just wanted to get through this, my family was there. It wasn’t super emotional for me [during the race]. When I left Steel City, I bawled like a baby. Then you start wondering if you made the right decision or whatever. I had checked out, I just really wanted to get the race over with. I was doing 50 races a year at that point, there was no time off. But man, the emotions were high for me.”
Jeff Ward
1992 | Budds Creek | 4-2 | 500MX
Ward: “I didn’t get emotional; I knew I was done at the start of the year. My knees sucked, my shoulder I needed surgery on it during this year. Knowing I wasn’t going to be competitive in 250’s, I was trying to get another 500 title. I had my family there, my son Brandon was there, he was six months old there. Having my first kid, my family there was probably the emotional part. I won the week before; I was still competitive and going for the win there. In the pits afterwards, I was with the team and hanging out. It was cool, I still raced some supercrosses in Europe at the end of the year. I can still remember this race though; it was kind of a relief really. I knew I made the right decision.”
Rick Johnson
1990 | Unadilla | 2-1 |500MX
Johnson went out a winner at the end of 1990 at a track where he always scored big wins. Johnson’s wrist wasn’t very good at this point after an injury in ’89 but he pulled off the overall win at the final round on the big bike. He started the 1991 season for Honda but retired shortly into SX when his wrist got troublesome, but he did go out a winner in motocross!
Johnny O’Mara
1990 | Unadilla | 4-4 | 500MX
O’Mara had a solid final year in the sport on a Kawasaki and by this point, Johnny’s knees were shot, and he had transitioned into mountain bike racing.
