We caught up with Jeremy McGrath to see what The King of Supercross has been up to since "retiring" in 2004.
The King. Jeremy McGrath is still undisputedly the best
Supercross rider to ever live. He single-handedly turned the sport into the mega-million-dollar attraction it is today, winning just about every race he started in the ‘90s and garnering loads of fans along the way with his flamboyant style and approachable personality until a back injury led to his retirement in 2003. These days he’s a dad twice over, going for a possible third, but he’s far from truly retiring. McGrath is still testing for
Honda’s factory race team, competing at X Games, driving Toyota factory off-road trucks and hitting every possible motorcycle trackday he can fit into his schedule. As they say, you can take the dog out of the fight, but you can’t take the fight out of the dog…
We caught up with MC during a factory test day at the Rynoland mega motocross complex, which is owned by friend and former rival, Ryan Hughes. After he was finished testing suspension components on a CRF450R as part of his test rider gig, we convinced him to spin some laps on our
2010 CRF250R, a bike MC had yet to even swing a leg over, to see what he thought of the new fuel-injected red rocket for our cover. It also gave us a chance to get the run down on what’s new in the world of Jeremy these days…
First and foremost, one of McGrath’s so-called “full-time” jobs is testing all the little, tasty tidbits for the factory race team he had so much success with in the heyday of his career - Honda and tire supplier Dunlop. MC amassed an astonishing Supercross record for Big Red (13 125cc wins, 74 250cc wins, two 125cc championships and a staggering seven 250cc championships – and the list goes on…) and has always been known for his precision and vast motorcycle set-up abilities.
As if Supercross didn't fuel the adrenaline enough, McGrath has recently added trophy trucks and road racing to his growing list of sports.
“Well, I’ve been test riding for the Honda factory race team, really, since I stopped racing in ‘03-’04, and still do now,” says The King. “My main job is to go through parts for the racers during the season so they don’t have to waste time that they should be using for training on small suspension and bike issues. I’ll also be out there during pre-season testing with the guys to help them as needed, but I’m definitely not out there as a coach. That’s not a role I want to be at this point. I still very much want to be one of the riders and to be riding and testing as much as I can. And I really enjoy it a lot.
“It’s great working with all the Special Projects guys at Honda and still being part of a team like this. It’s the perfect way to stay in shape. We were just testing a bunch this past week, both stuff for the guys for the rest of the outdoor season as well as next year’s SX season, and it’s been going really well.”
While he may be a test rider these days as his official professional role over in the winged camp, like he said himself, the allure of competition still draws MC back to the starting line regularly; once a racer, always a racer. The day we spoke to him he was packing his bags to head off to the inaugural Powder Mountain MX in Utah – an event Monster organized with MC that showcases the motocross lifestyle on the slopes of Power Mountain Ski Resort. These days his main competition-based focus on two wheels is X Games, where he’s won his share of medals in an array of disciplines.
“I’m a racer and probably always will be, so competing in stuff like the X Games is a lot of fun for me. I’ve done everything from Supermoto to Step-up to Supercross the past few years and it’s just a really fun way to keep competing,” he adds. “It’s also good for all the media coverage and such that comes with it, to keep the sponsors happy and to stay in touch with all the fans.
It didn't take long for MC to get comfortable on the new CRF.
“This year I did SX and Step-up and, I tell you, in Step-up, once you get over about 33 feet it really starts to get tough. That landing is brutal. I’ve got a family now and it gets to a point that dropping 35 feet out of the air damages my body too much.
“I did that on Thursday this year, and you know how usually you’re not sore the next day, it’s a couple days after that really gets you? Well, SX was on Saturday and I was honestly really worked from how brutal Step-up was. It kind of affected me in SX and made things tough. I didn’t do as well as I would have liked, but it was fun being out there. It was great to get out there with all the kids and see how I stacked up. I did a lot of racing with Christian Craig in that event, who is my friend and former racer Mike Craig’s kid, and he is 19 years younger than I am! I was also able to do some commentating with my old teammate and friend Doug Henry for a few events and that was good fun – he’s a great guy and a good friend and it was great to see him.”
So what does the man who made Supercross racing what it is today, think of the state of the sport and the top riders involved these days?
“I think it lacks personality and depth,” McGrath says about the sport that helped him become a racing legend and household name. “The top guys just don’t do it for me, really. I still love Motocross and Supercross, but it’s changed so much. Even as a fan I don’t get to know these guys and what they are really about.
Blasting out a berm. This is what the new Honda 250F does best according to McGrath.
“Back when I raced, yeah we had some fun, but when it was time to race we were serious. And even then we were still real. That’s why always having new and different painted helmets and original gear was so important to me, it was my thing,” he adds in regards to his well known personal flair, reminding us of the days he would show up to Anaheim One with $100 bills painted in his helmet. “Having a personality that the fans can identify with was important to me. These days everything has become so corporate. Kids are taken out of school at such a young age and bred to race, basically.”
Perfect examples of this are the
Ryan Villopotos and Justin Barcias of today, all homeschooled and deprived of the social maturing that going to public schools provides. Look at the results, it obviously worked but where is the personality? Who are these guys? That’s what is missing in the riders of this era. McGrath points out what the industry is now seemingly willing to ignore. These kids are born to race, more or less, starting so young and receiving loads of pressure from sponsors at the age most kids’ biggest concern is whether they are passing math. It’s no wonder they stand on the podium and read a list of sponsor names like robots. Where’s the enthusiasm? Luckily, not all professional racing has become this corporate.
“Take road racing, for example, and look at
Valentino Rossi; he’s real, he has personality. I met him awhile back before he was so huge and again several times more recently and he’s exactly the same, he’s himself and that’s why fans like him so much,” McGrath adds. “It’s why I’m so into
MotoGP – I watch every race.”
Not only does McGrath watch road racing religiously, it’s become his new passion, building a
CBR600RR track-only bike and doing as many open trackdays as possible. He actually first tried his hand at it several years ago, but it wasn’t until recently that MC really got into it.
“The first time I tried road racing was when I was with
Yamaha. I went out to Willow Springs with Anthony Gobert and
Tommy Hayden, who were Yamaha’s AMA road racers at the time,” MC reminisces. “Honestly, I was terrible at first – I didn’t trust the tires and the amount of grip they have. Since then I got into Supermoto and that taught me a lot about the tires and the amount of traction. I did a school at Miller Motorsports Park recently as well, and since have really gotten into it.
Jeremy McGrath can still throw down his trademark Nac-Nac with utter perfection. He did invent it, after all.
“I recently bought a CBR600RR and my mechanic and friend here at Honda, Lars Lindstrom, built me a bike for the track and he and I go as much as possible. I really love it. It’s become my latest obsession, riding as much as I can fit it in. Learning a new sport like that, it’s challenging for me and it’s fun to improve and push my limits in a different way.”
Road racing may have become McGrath’s most recent hobby, but he’s gotten much more serious about professional off-road truck racing. Jeremy drives the No. 2 Johnny Greaves Racing Monster Toyota Tacoma in the TORC Pro-2 Division and, in typical McGrath fashion, has found himself on the podium battling for race wins and even a possible title.
“I’ve been racing the entire TORC Off-Road Series for Johnny Greaves Racing in a factory Toyota this year and it’s been awesome,” MC explains. “My friend and childhood motocross hero, Ricky Johnson, got me into the sport a few years back when it was called CORR. He got me a few one-off drives and I actually finished fourth in my first race.
“After doing the one-off thing for a couple seasons here and there, last year I was able to do the full CORR Series for the first time. Since then the series went upside-down and the top drivers banned together this year to start the TORC Series. I’ve been having a pretty good season this year, with several seconds and thirds. I was sitting third in the championship before my truck broke in the last couple races. Because of this I’m now sitting fourth with a few rounds to go, though I’m only 35 points out of the lead, so hopefully we can get a couple wins and see what happens.
“RJ is actually on top right now in my class, in the Pro 2 Division, which means two-wheel drive. He found an extra gear this year and has been doing really well, but it’s been great battling with him and driving for the Greaves guys. At 37 I’m the young guy in the sport and it’s really growing, so hopefully I can keep driving and help this sport grow much like I did in Supercross.”
He's still called "The King" for a reason...
And while the truck racing, motocross testing, X Games competition and sportbike trackdays keep The King plenty busy, the number one priority in his life these days is his growing family. No doubt brought up well by his own parents, Jeremy touts being a father as the biggest accomplishment of his life and already he and wife Kim have two little girls running around the McGrath compound.
“I’ve always wanted kids and to be a dad and that was a huge accomplishment for my wife Kim and I, and we’re really enjoying it a lot,” said MC with a smile. “I’ve got two daughters right now: Rhowan is four-years-old, Bergen is almost two, and I think we’re going to try for a third - maybe try for that boy.”
Could there a King Jr. on the way? Can you say 2020 SX champion, after all, inquiring minds want to know? When we brought this up, McGrath just shook his head and smiled, joking, “I just want someone to play golf with when I’m old.
“Even though I’ve got quite a few things going on right now, it’s really nice to be able to be home as much as possible without having a “real” job and to be a dad as much as possible. I really enjoy everything about it and I couldn’t be any happier.”
