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AMA: Mcgrath Raises the Bar - Again

5 May 1998

WESTERVILLE, Ohio -- Chapparal Yamaha rider Jeremy McGrath took a record fifth Thor/Parts Unlimited AMA Supercross Championship this year, and he set several other records along the way. One of the few records left standing may also belong to McGrath by the fall of 1998.

With the 1998 title in hand, McGrath now has two more Supercross championships than any other rider in history. The 26-year old from Menifee, Calif., took four consecutive titles from 1993 to 1996, and then finished the 1997 season as runner-up to Jeff Emig before resuming his championship-winning ways.

This year, McGrath became the only Supercross rider to win championships on two different makes of motorcycles. He won the 1993-'96 titles on a Honda, and he captured this year's championship aboard a Yamaha.

McGrath's current total of 52 national Supercross wins towers over the record of his next closest competitor, Rick Johnson, who amassed 28 career wins en route to two championships. McGrath also eclipsed the combined national Supercross/motocross win record of 63 when he won this year's Indianapolis Supercross. His combined series wins now stand at 68. The combined record of 63 was a tie shared by past champions Rick Johnson and Bob Hannah.

The 1995 National Motocross title also belongs to McGrath -- one of his six combined titles -- which ties him with the record of six national titles with Broc Glover. But even that record may be destined to fall this year.

The 12 rounds of the 1998 AMA Mazda Truck Motocross Nationals lie between McGrath and the sixth title. The Mazda Truck Motocross Nationals season kicks-off this weekend, May 9-10, at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, Calif.