Loretta Lynn's Countdown: Michigan Mafia on the Podium

We have finally reached the top three states on our Scott Sports Countdown to the 43rd annual Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch. We’ve been counting through the states with the most championships to date in the first 42 years of the biggest amateur motocross event in the world, from the bottom to the top. And reaching the overall podium as the third-highest total is Michigan, tallying 88 AMA championships at Loretta Lynn’s.

First, some history. When the AMA first combined its Youth and Amateur championship events and moved them from a nomadic schedule all over the country to Loretta Lynn’s, the Michigan Mafia of Motocross was at peak existence. With true Michigan moto institutes like Team Dynamic, Gene Ritchie’s RedBud, the Bigelow brothers, the Hinkles, the Bowens, and more, Michigan’s place at the top of amateur motocross—at least as far as the AMA’s reach stretched—was self-evident. Only the CMC Racing-based California had a claim to being stronger. Even in the last year before LLMX, with the AMA Amateur National Finals held at RedBud, Michigan dominated, with South Haven’s Mark Hinkle topping Lansing’s Mark Hicks for the 500 title, Adrian’s Jeff Spreeman topping Indiana neighbor Larry Whitmer for the 250 crown, Pontiac’s Keith Bowen just losing out to Indiana’s Connie Feist for the 125 title, and Michigan regular (but Illinois by home) Mike Roth topping the 100cc class that saw a Michigan girl, Niles’ Lisa Akin, finishing in the top five in the final moto!

Yes, RedBud was their home track, but when the national moved to Tennessee, on a brand-new track where no one had an advantage, the Michiganders just kept on winning. Akin would win her first of five Women’s titles, Bowen would win the 250 A class and his first of seven AMA titles, Clio’s “Fast” Eddie Warren would win 125 A Stock and Mod (his first two of four titles at LLMX), Oxford’s Marc McLaren would win the 100 class, Mt. Morris’ David Tambling would win the 100cc Schoolboy, and on and on it would go for the Wolverine State.

In the years that have followed so many other winners at Loretta Lynn’s have come out of Michigan that it’s hard to list them all, so let’s just focus on the multi-time champions in the years to come: Dewitt’s Nick Wey (eight titles, though his son Vincent now lists California as home), Cedar Springs’ John Grewe (also eight), St. Clair’s Nico Izzi (six), Fenton’s Brian Swink (five), Cheboygan’s Sarah Whitmore (four, and that’s her wearing #1 and tangling with #67 Ashley Fiolek back in the day), Keith Bowen’s young brother Greg, Highland’s Chris Considine and Metamora’s Joey Crown (three each), Romeo’s Eric McLear, Flint’s Josh Woods, Brighton’s Mitchell Harrison, Lapeer’s David Moegle, and  Saginaw’s Jeff Curry (two each).