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1972
1972

As Lucas Oil Pro Motocross celebrates its 50-year history in 2022, we take a look back at the first season of the AMA National Motocross Championship

WORDS: DAVEY COOMBS
PHOTOS: Dick Miller Archives & Gary Van Voorhis

It all started on a Saturday—which is kind of ironic, because the film that helped inspire its very existence was called On Any Sunday. The first AMA Pro Motocross National took place on April 15, 1972 on the infield of Road Atlanta Raceway, on a track designed and built by Gary Bailey, who was also a competitor. It was confusing for many because it was the first round of an incredibly ambitious tour of 23 different races that would stretch from mid-April to early December and move all across the country. It would also piggyback on two preexisting championship series, the Inter-Ams and the Trans-AMAs. There were no factory teams at that first race, no television coverage, and few spectators. In other words, it was nothing like what we see now, 50 years later, in what this modest series ultimately became: the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.

read out
read out

We are deeply rooted in Moto—We’ve been here all our lives. Back in 1998 when we turned an underground newspaper into a shiny color magazine, it immediately changed the game with its unprecedented depth of coverage, sense of humor, and access to the sport’s biggest names. Today, our readers know they can go to Racer X Online for all the news, race results, and event coverage they need, and then enjoy even more detail and perspective in the pages of Racer X Illustrated. The mag offers a chance to learn something new on every page and stay connected with the people and personalities that shape our sport—the competitors out on the racetrack, as well as the ones behind the scenes—through our exclusive deep-dive stories and columns.

Our trademark has always been insider knowledge from the experts who are at the races and around the sport. We have long prided ourselves on our unparalleled race reporting and detailed storytelling. We go deep with the riders and teams to provide comprehensive coverage you won’t find anywhere else—all with first-class photography and design. It’s a full education in motocross past, present, and future.

Davey Coombs
Editor-in-chief & Founder
Racer X Illustrated

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