Last week after a shocking race at the second round of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Hangtown, Kevin Windham sat down with SMX Insider hosts Jason Weigandt and Jason Thomas to give his perspective on the first two rounds. From Haiden Deegan verses Levi Kitchen to Jett Lawrence verses Chase Sexton, Windham offers his point of view on friendships, championship mindset, and of course takes a few shots at his own career in the process. Who doesn't love KDub?
Kevin Windham is also nominated for the AMA Hall of Fame for the Class of 2024. Voting ends Thursday, June 13 at 11:59 Eastern. If you are a lifetime AMA member, be sure to get your vote in here before the deadline.
Jason Weigandt: So, we got a lot of ground to cover. But first we have to talk about the recent news, you're nominated now for the AMA Hall of Fame. So, congrats on that. This is starting to come around more and more for motocross/supercross guys. Is this something you've been thinking about for a while or did this surprise you to even hear about this? Was it on your radar?
Kevin Windham: Well, it did surprise me a little bit but, thank you for every everyone who was involved in the nomination process. Still got to keep our fingers crossed that the votes go the way that I hope they do. And to be selected and inducted into the Hall of Fame would be an honor that would be the cake topper for sure. You know, my career was special in a lot of ways. It's special in the fact also that I got a lot of seconds which doesn't typically get you into the Hall of Fame! [Laughs]. But the length of my career, winning against the competitors that I raced against throughout my entire career, the transfers, the fan interactions and stuff, I feel like, and I hope that I made a big enough impact on the sport to take this thing to the finish line. But just the nomination in itself is something I'm so proud of and honored. And like I said, I'm really keeping my fingers crossed and this would be a great honor and we'll just see how it turns out here in a couple of months.
Jason Thomas: So, Kevin, when you get nominated for something like this, you start thinking about your career big picture from beginning to end and all the amazing things that you did along the way. And I can't help but think about the buzzsaw of record setters that you ran into across the course of your career. Start with McGrath. You run into RC, Chad Reed, and Stewart who are all at the top of almost every record that we have on every bike, right? And then there are so many times where you would have been a multi time champion in the 450 class, you would have had all these records, right? But it was the timing in so many cases that kept that from happening. Is that something you ever think about? Because I remember watching you at times. I'm like, I don't know that you can do it any better than he's doing it right now. And then I look back and like, man, there were so many times where I thought you'd be champion and it went a different direction. Do you think about that? Like the most difficult historical time to be pro and carry this career through there?
I do, Jason, think about that, and being that I'm 46 now, soon to be 47 you have an opportunity to kind of start getting real with yourself. You know, the list that you named as well as there was also [Ryan] Dungey and there was also Villopoto, but what if it was today? And man, when I'm real, I can easily take the easy road and say, “You know what, I raced against the toughest guys in the world.” And I think, you know, arguably that's true. You look at the stats that you guys always put up when I'm watching the races, the names that I raced against are always on that list. However, I'm confident enough to say that I was one of the best to ever ride a motorcycle on my own days. I felt like I could beat anybody. However, my bad days were really terrible, you know, Ricky, for instance, his bad day would be a third or a fourth. We just recently saw a really bad day for Jett [Lawrence] there at Hangtown and that's their bad days. Well, why was it a bad day? He had a really bad get off. I would have a bad day because I was two clickers off on my suspension. [Laughs] So, I can easily say, “Yeah, I just raced the toughest guys in the world. So that's why I was always runner up.” But having that champion mindset, unfortunately, is a little bit different and I didn't have that every weekend and while I could be the best, I also had the ability to throw it away quite often and that's what you get. So, the best will always win the championship and there's still some really incredible talent who's on trajectory right now to do the things that the greats in my day accomplished. So, the sport's in good hands and it will always be tough to be the champion.
Thomas: I'm sure there are things you would have done differently. That's true for everyone. But you're training these kids that are up and coming. Are there things that you learned from back then? Because with my own racing now I'm like, “Man, it was right in front of me. Like this was a really obvious change I should have made.” But at the time I just didn't get, it, didn't see it. Now, you have the opportunity to help so many people to avoid those pitfalls.
I feel like I do have that ability and I enjoy working with them. I'm lucky to have a facility here at the house. So, I'm able to support my own kids as they're actually getting a lot older now, so not too many kids in the house anymore. But having them in my backyard and training them in a way where I'm not scared to talk about my faults, and I think that's where a lot of these guys can get their strength. I had some amazing successes, I've had some tremendous failures. I coach them on both sides of that and it's a tough game and it's not always the best rider who wins. Watching the mental game that's being played, you know, with Levi [Kitchen] and [Haiden] Deegan right now and Deegan asking him questions at a post-race press conference and trying to dab it up and convincing him that he's friends and then taking low blows about his fitness and things like that. It is a mentally tough game. Every era has a rider that kind of pushes those buttons. I think our sport needs that person. I think the competitors need to understand how to adapt and react to those kinds of things. But for me specifically, yeah I'm not scared to touch on my failures and I think that's how I can help these up and comers be stronger.
Weigandt: I think you crossed paths a little bit with Kitchen when he was younger? You were kind of working with the training facility that he was riding or something like that. So, what's your background with him?
Yeah, I know Levi as a person and watched him grow and worked with him a little bit. I’m certainly not here to take any credit for the man that he is right now and the rider that he's becoming in front of our very eyes. I mean, he's having a great year. And now it looks like the outdoors, I hear he's talking a little bit about West Coast soil. We'll see how it plays out when he comes more east. But great guy on a great program. And I think it's a pivotal point of the season, right? He needs to gain some traction. I know he didn't have the best showing at Hangtown and there's some mind games being played. So, I hope that he doesn't buy into the fact that his competition said he can't make it to the finish line because that weighs heavily on a person.
Listen to Kevin Windham's interview at the 23:15 minute mark:
Weigandt: So, you don't believe that's an accident. Deegan saying things like this?
Oh, heck no. Please please tell me you're not thinking that's an accident! It is 100 percent the game being played. And people say, “Hey, we're friends” but you know, we're always friends whenever I'm the winner of the extra million dollars and at your cost, right? That's an easy friendship to have. So, I would be cautious of how many friends you have in the industry. The amount of calls you get post career kind of go down pretty tremendously. So, I'd be cautious of where you find your friendships.
Thomas: Let's talk about the top there with Jett Lawrence and now Chase Sexton fighting back. Just first of all, what's your take on Jett? Just as a rider or even as a personality, we'll get into Hangtown in a minute. But what have you seen from him the last couple of years?
For Jett, well, I would go with excellence. That's about all I've seen from him is excellence! Just the way that he does it a little bit different and it pays off really, in a big way for him. So, outside of Hangtown, obviously, which we know how poorly that went and one lapse in judgment in a decision it cost him a really big day and we'll see how he recovers from this injury. But I mean, golly, what does he not do? So, it's really good to see him doing what he does and as far as Sexton goes, I was watching the first round watching him get up to the back of Jett and not get it done, it just kind of felt like more of the same story. So I was happy to see, moving to Hangtown, his ability to kind of seal the deal and, I can't even start to touch the subject of a second moto! I mean, that's just something I don't think that I've ever seen before. I've seen a leader lap the entire field. I was one of the ones that got lapped, but that's a little bit different story than coming from dead last. So, really glad to see him do what he did. Not because I like Sexton or don't like Jett or vice versa. It's just more of like, “Hey, as a fan of the sport, let's see some competition here and someone else doing it.”
Weigandt: I feel like you're one of the few that can kind of have a perspective that Sexton has probably had for the last year. Right? He's riding really well, he just can't crack this one piece and we mentioned the names that you had to try to do it to. And then on your day you would break through. So, it's hard for you to say what he's thinking. But what is it like for you on those days where you do break through?
So, for me it's like you're doing the work and you believe that you can make it and you believe that you can win and you get to the first turn and you're not in that perfect spot or you go into turn two and you tip over or you got seventh place start and Ricky is out front, for me specifically talking about RC. It's almost like the whole weekend is done because that perfect thing didn't line up and now I can't do it. And Ricky was in a position where things didn't have to, I mean, he was just better so things didn't have to be perfectly aligned for him to get up there and win. And I think you're seeing that with Jett where things don't have to be perfect and for some of the other guys, maybe it has to be perfect. Maybe it has to be that start, maybe it has to be the right laps to throw down the heater laps, the “Man, I came in the lappers at the perfect spot and could get through them” and whatnot. So, for me, it was just like perfection had to be applied and when it didn't happen within the first certain amount of minutes of the first moto, you're like, “Okay, well, another second for this weekend or another third or hey, I got a podium at least”. So, I think that was the biggest thing is just needing everything to be perfect. And Sexton this weekend [at Hangtown] went down. Sexton didn't have that perfect weekend, but he made it perfect from just hard work and focus and belief. Now, the question that comes into my mind is, was that solely from Jett's position? Was that the one thing that sent him into a whole different realm? I mean, it's something that we've never seen happen. Could that ride have been done had Jett been out front and he said, “Okay, well, I'm just coming to second.” Would he still have had the same ride? Time will tell.
Thomas: Kevin, do you have any plans to come out to any races?
Man, I have plans to come out to every race! [Laughs] It just never happens! My life is so busy right now but it's really good. I got a daughter married now. I got one in college, just finished her freshman year and my son he's flirting with D1 baseball. So that's going well and my baby is 14 now and she's doing AAU basketball and traveling around with that and everything. So, we're just insanely busy, still doing [owning] health clubs, still doing training facility, all the other stuff that we do, and I was supposed to come to the combine at RedBud, but unfortunately, I just found out I'm gonna have to miss that as well. But I will say, I'm kind of in some talks preliminary to try to get involved in some team aspects of the sport. And, I don't know, I figure maybe two more years down the road I’ll be around a good bit. I'm hoping...
Weigandt: That's cool. Well, if you look at the SMX schedule, those three races, I know it's a little far out, but that would be great if we can have you at one of those.
Yeah, you guys got a lot of championships in the booth. You may need some second places around! [Laughs] I can come out and talk to you guys.
