Between the Motos: Jeremy McGrath October 24, 2007
Moving a piano and instructing some young neighbor kids on how
to drive a Rhino (“This thing don’t turn too good and be sure to
stop at the signs or they’ll run you over”) wasn’t exactly what I
expected Jeremy McGrath to be doing when I tracked him down
on a Saturday afternoon in late October. But there he was,
relaxed and happy to be home, his abbreviated NASCAR Late
Model stock car racing career now over and his traveling—the
approaching Paris-Bercy Supercross not withstanding—over and
done for the year. Truth be told, there isn’t much left to say about
Jeremy McGrath that hasn’t been said before. Yes, seven AMA
Supercross Championships and seventy-two career supercross
wins were the exclamation marks on his remarkable career, but
more than anything, Jeremy McGrath is remembered for being,
well, Jeremy McGrath.
Now an axiom, Ricky Carmichael is known as The GOAT (Greatest
of All Time), and the number of wins and championships next to
his name is likely to never to be touched. Jeremy McGrath,
however, is “Showtime,” because his actions on the racetrack
were actually superseded by his charming, larger-than-life
personality. Throughout the course of history, every major sport
has been graced with an athlete who almost single handedly took
their sport, put it on their back, and through talent, grace, and
goodwill, carried it to higher ground. Baseball had Babe Ruth in
the roaring 1920s, NASCAR had Richard Petty in the 1970s,
hockey had Wayne Gretzky in the 1980s, basketball had Michael
Jordan in the 1990s, and supercross had Jeremy McGrath, also in
the mid-to-late 1990s.
Since he’s now officially retired from the sport and back in
California after taking a shot at one of NASCAR’s junior divisions,
it seemed obvious to us that the time was right to find Jeremy
McGrath and have him weigh-in on the sport and his place in it.
The interview you are about to read took place over the course of
a few hours, and with each question posed, McGrath seemed to
have his answers ready and waiting. In other words, some time
had passed since he’d lined up behind a starting gate, and he had
more than a few things he was ready to address and elaborate
on. To that end, we bring you Jeremy McGrath. interview on
racerxill.com - ad pic from alpinestarsinc.com