On this very day—December 27—back in 1996, Jeremy McGrath, then the reigning four-time AMA Supercross Champion, announced via fax (remember those?) that he was leaving Team Honda and starting his own Suzuki team—tentatively titled, Nac-Nac Enterprises—with help from Phil Alderton of Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki of Troy, 1-800-COLLECT, and American Suzuki.  This sent shockwaves through the industry, as both McGrath and Honda were at the top of their game. Jeremy had won 14 out of 15 SX rounds in ’96 while on his way to a fourth consecutive AMA Supercross Championship. And Honda had won all but two AMA Supercross titles between 1982 and ’96. As we explained in a previous online feature, “On this Day in Motocross,” the move had been rumored for some time as McGrath was said to be unhappy with not only the '97 race bike but also the constraints the Honda corporate contract put on him as he was building his own brand. The news was such a shock to the industry that Cycle News, the weekly bible of the American motorcycle industry, put a headline about it above the masthead.

"I just want to enjoy myself and the sport like I always have," said McGrath inside the newspaper. "I want to maintain my focus and desire and work with people who will allow me to be my same old self. That's what got me to the top in the first place and that's what's going to keep me there."

The move upset the entire balance of supercross. The heavily favored McGrath suddenly seemed beatable, and several riders would take advantage of his last-minute change of brands. It would take McGrath half the ’97 series to get his first win, as Greg Albertyn, Doug Henry (who started the season on a YZ250), Jeff Emig, and Damon Huffman would share the first seven main event wins. McGrath would get better on the bike as the season wore on, and he was still in title contention at the end, though Kawasaki’s Emig would ultimately win the ’97 title by 15 points over his bitter rival McGrath. To this day there’s still some animosity there between the King and Fro, as you will see in the upcoming film by Paul Taublieb called Pay Dirt (and voiced by Josh Brolin). Things would however smooth out eventually for Jeremy and Honda, but only after three more SX titles on a Chaparral Yamaha and then a brief misadventure with KTM. He would help develop the team’s bikes as Ricky Carmichael was preparing to leave in 2004. McGrath’s last race would come in 2006 in San Diego aboard a Honda CRF450—his one and only supercross aboard a four-stroke—and he would finish a solid fourth behind only James Stewart, Ricky Carmichael, and Chad Reed.

Anyway, no big surprises like that this year, but there was some unfortunate news…

Godspeed, Don Stephenson (DC)

We are very sad to report the passing of Don Stephenson, the father of 1990 AMA 125 Supercross East Region Champion, Denny Stephenson, and a longtime factory mechanic, after a long illness. Mr. Stephenson had a front row seat to some great times in the sport, wrenching for his son as he raced for the Suzuki factory team, the Great Western Bank Kawasaki team, and several Arenacross teams. Don and Denny often traveled to races together in those box van days, and every trip must have been an amazing adventure for this father-son team. Don Stephenson was widely respected by his peers in the paddock; anyone who knew him knew him to be incredibly kind. Wrote his friend and fellow mechanic Marshall Plumb on Facebook, “Today the MX Industry lost a good man. The dad of Denny Stephenson, Don, passed away. Don and myself and many other great MX factory mechanics spent a lot of hours on the road chasing our dreams. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Denny and family and all our friends on such a sad day. RIP Don and you will always have a place in all my memories. Denny, keep your head high as your dad was a great one and touched a lot of people.”

On a personal note, Don Stephenson really was the embodiment of that old saying, “The nicest guy you’ll ever meet at the motocross track.” He was friendly, funny, approachable, helpful, and just a good man, as Marshall said above. Godspeed, Don.

R.I.P. Dave Feeney (Matthes)

More sad news today when word got out that Dave Feeney passed away peacefully after an illness, his wife Carole by his bedside. Dave was a great guy, an Australian who came here, I believe, in 1995 to work for Phil Lawrence and then went to a few different teams, including Yamaha of Troy, Pro Circuit Kawasaki, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna, and more. Most notably, Dave worked for Zach Osborne on his title runs. He was a great guy. I hung out with him more than a few times at some watering holes when I wrenched, and later as a media guy, Dave always had time for a joke and some banter. Shitty way to end 2024 for sure. R.I.P. to Dave Feeney—great dude!

More Sad News: RIP Steve Skibel Jr. (DC)

They say bad news happens in threes, and this time they are right. The sport also lost Steve Skibel Jr., once a top-notch SoCal minicycle rider who was also a BMX prodigy. Skibel grew up racing in the seventies, and he was good enough to not only be a part of DG Racing’s amateur motocross team, but the DG Racing BMX team when it formed up as well. He was teamed with the likes of Paul Denis on minicycles. Skibel was a Saddleback regular, and he popped up often in Cycle News results of the big races there, including the annual World Mini Grand Prix. Steve also became the youngest BMXer to ever be on the cover of Bicycle Motocross Action. Skibel ended up working in the telecommunications industry, but he never left moto entirely, as he remained an enthusiast and a rider until his Type 1 diabetes started to take its toll on his body. He passed away at the age of 57 two days before Christmas. Rest in peace, Steve.

We will have more on Don Stephenson, Dave Feeney, and Steve Skibel Jr., as well as some of the other moto friends and strangers we lost in the past year in our annual New Year’s Eve requiem “The Lives They Lived” next Tuesday. Please check it out.

Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas)

This is a weird week for off-season training. So much of November and December is about relentless hard work, it can be difficult to switch gears into more important things like family and fellowship with those who matter most. I often found myself doing Christmas or New Year's things, but my mind was focused on Anaheim 1. It's like a never-ending background thought loop. There is so much anticipation and expectation going into every new season, it's challenging to turn the volume down on that as we get closer and closer. Every quiet moment seems to be filled by questions about what will happen when Steven Scott, AKA “Lurch,” starts screaming on January 11. Love it or hate it, those thoughts are almost impossible to avoid for those lining up in 2025. It's also what drives them. For me, the only way to manage those thoughts was to leave no stone unturned. Can't shut your mind up? Do something about it. I would ride my spin bicycle if bored or put on race video to study. Anything to reassure myself that I was doing all I could. All of that extra effort gave me the ability to exhale when sitting on the starting line in Southern California in early January. Win, lose, or draw, knowing you have done everything possible to succeed is all you can really ask for. The rest is racing and why people show up to watch. So, to the boys ramping up during this holiday season, enjoy your bicycle rides and Anaheim daydreaming. I know more than most that it's on your minds almost without fail. 

SMX Season Preview (Mitch Kendra)

Don’t forget to tune in for the 2025 SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) preview this weekend. You can watch the one-hour special on Sunday, December 29 at 5 p.m. Eastern on NBC, Peacock, and the SMX Video Pass (only outside of the United States of America). Featuring the top athletes such as Jett Lawrence, Eli Tomac, Cooper Webb, Ken Roczen, Chase Sexton, Ken Roczen, Aaron Plessinger, Hunter Lawrence, Haiden Deegan, and more, the show will give a behind the scenes look as the riders prepare for the all-new racing season. Check out the trailer below.

And Josh Gagnon's (@alwaysbelieve331) countdown to A1 continues...

Namur Track Walk (DC)

A tip of the visor goes out to our friend Rob Andrews, who posted the fifth and final chapter of his amazing YouTube series “Namur Track Walk” on his The Inside Line Book channel. Andrews, a 500cc Grand Prix racer from back in the eighties, made a pilgrimage to Namur, Belgium, and it’s Citadelle fortress that hovers above the city. That’s where the most famous motocross track in history rested between 1947 and 2007, when it held its last race. With Belgium being the capitol of Grand Prix motocross for much of the sports formative years, the Citadelle was considered “The Cathedral of Motocross.” Andrews even called it that in a chapter of his excellent coffee table book The Inside Line, his memoir on life on the Grand Prix circuit. We used that same headline in Racer X Illustrated when we ran that chapter of his book, which you can read or listen to right here:

Andrews is an excellent storyteller, and his walk around what’s left of the Namur track is now the definitive guide of that track’s amazing history. All five chapters are excellent, but this last one ends with a really cool montage of old races and legends gone by, fittingly set to Gordon Lightfoot’s “If You Could Read My Mind.” Here’s Episode 5 of 5: The castle wall turn to the finish line.

FCA Motocross in 2025 SX (Larry Hughes)

Once again Feld Motor Sports is partnering with Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA Motocross) at select rounds of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship for the FCA Supercross Experience. This year kicks off with a visit to California for the first time starting at San Diego on January 18; then Glendale, Arizona, February 1; Tampa Florida, February 8; Detroit, Michigan, February 15; Arlington, Texas, February 21; Indianapolis, Indianapolis, March 8; Birmingham, Alamaba, March 22; Seattle, Washington, March 29; and Denver, Colorado, May 3. 

One hundred people will be allowed into the stadium before the stadium is open to the public with FCA Motocross at each round. The group will be seated next to the track to watch the Team Track Walk, listen to the Riders Meeting and attend the Chapel Service. After Chapel Service the group will be escorted to a private area where we will have a Meet & Greet with a Special Guest. In the past Specials Guests have included Trey Canard, Andrew Short, Ty Masterpool, and Ryan Dungey, just to name a few.

This is a FREE event. You just have to have a supercross ticket and sign up on the FCA Website. Registration will be open until 100 people are signed up per event. To sign up, click on the link below.

FCA Motocross Supercross Experience

Take Our Readers' Choice Survey!

A lot of passionate, creative people work to make Racer X the best it can be, but our biggest source of inspiration is, quite simply, you! All of us at Racer X would really appreciate it if you can take a few minutes to complete our Readers' Choice survey. The better we know our readers and audience, the better we can make everything we do. For completing the survey, you'll receive a free 3-month digital subscription to Racer X Illustrated and a $20 gift card to MotoSport.com! You'll also be entered to win a Denago Powersports MX4 bike, five pairs of Sidi Crossair boots, an OGIO Dozer gearbag, a Risk Racing starting gate, a MotoSport shop stand, a 6D ATR-1 helmet, and a FXR 2025 Clutch Pro Moto gear kit! Winners will be announced January 3.

Take the Racer X Reader's Choice Survey Now 

Hey, Watch It!

Adam Cianciarulo accepts Carson Brown's moto racing challenge--anyone, anywhere, anytime—on a 2005 Kawasaki KX125 at PAX MX Track in Florida.

15-year-old Carson Wood is the latest recruit to Monster Energy/Yamaha Star Racing. Here's his first vlog as a member of the bLU cRU:

Ping got Shane Trittler and Damon Huffman together to talk about one of the strangest incidents in the history of supercross for his Wiskey Throttle Show:

And here’s another episode from Baker’s Factory Bootcamp, with a cameo from none other than James Stewart:

Head-Scratching Headline/s of the Week  

"Droppings or smooth sausages, what's a healthy poo?"—BBC News

“Racer Billy Johnson Rebounds from LifeFlight Passenger to Winner’s Circle in Just Six Weeks”—PR from sports car racer Billy Johnson

“World's oldest living crocodile celebrates 124th birthday”—Y Net News

Random Notes

Here’s a proud dad moment: My son Vance is an aspiring graphic designer and student at West Virginia University, as well as an intern here with MX Sports/Racer Productions. For a Christmas present for me he took an old photo from the 1985 Daytona Supercross, my personal highwater mark in my brief career a pro rider, and made a cool poster out of it for my office. I was both surprised and blown away by how cool it looks. Thank you, Vance!