2013 Supercross

[burque magoo]

And a big shocker. Kevin Windham has announced his retirement. He did two of his famous ‘transfers’, one of his famous ‘nose wheelies’ …. and … is retired from professional racing.


Windham, 34, ended his 19-year pro career on Saturday night at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. The veteran wrapped up his career with 19 wins, more than 200 Supercross starts (second on the career list), two Supercross Lites titles, and three runner-up Supercross points finishes.


Windham had wanted to stretch his career through the 2014 Supercross season, but he said after a crash in Houston that ended his 2012 season and a spill and concussion at the Monster Energy Cup last October that the dangers of the sport weighed too heavy on his mind.


“I would love nothing more than to ride forever,” Windham said. “To the fans of Supercross, this might seem to be a hasty decision, but I’ve been talking to a lot of people for a lot of months. I thought I would be able to come into the season and ride myself out of that funk and that mental hurdle I was having to overcome. With every passing lap – be it at the test track, my home track, or the stadium – it became more and more difficult to ride with the clarity I needed to be safe, fast, and successful.


“The common comment from the people I’ve spoken to was that if you aren’t riding with clarity, you are asking your fears to come upon you. It wasn’t the storyline I wanted to write or the final chapter I envisioned, but it became obvious, and we’ll try and figure out what’s next.”


GEICO Honda team manager Mike LaRocco, who is first in Supercross career starts, said he saw the first signs of Windham seriously mulling retirement starting at the first race of the season.
“He was kind of coming to the races stressing about things that guys don’t normally stress about,” LaRocco said. “I knew at that time that when you think that way, it’s the beginning of the end. He was worrying about things he shouldn’t be worrying about, especially considering his experience and talent.


“Having been there (myself), you just can’t get it out of your head. So when you are comfortable with what you’ve done and what you have, it’s hard taking that risk.”


Windham’s last win came in Salt Lake City in 2010, the second of back-to-back victories he had for GEICO Honda that season.


“The whole GEICO Honda program along with sponsors MSR and DVS, their support has been great,” Windham said. “I’m in a good place with a good team. My team and sponsors are behind me with this decision, and I hope the 40,000 people in the stands tonight will be, too.”


The veteran rider, who had become a universal fan favorite over the last few years, said that connection with the sport’s loyal following will be what he misses the most about racing.


“The fans of Supercross have been amazing to me,” Windham said. “Those trophies aren’t made of anything, and they’ll just sit there and collect dust. When you have people who come up and share their favorite moments that you gave them, it’s a huge part of why I stuck around as long as I did. It means something to them, and in turn those memories mean something to me.”


Windham said he plans on spending time with his wife, Dottie, and children, Madelyn, Annabelle, Elizabeth, and Kevin Jr. However, he doesn’t plan to wander too far from the sport that’s been such a large part of his life.


“I’ve been racing motorcycles for 31 years now, and I expect I’ll keep riding on some level,” Windham said. “I’ll ride with my son, who wants to start to ride right now. I want to help all my kids do everything they want to do. I don’t know what I’m going to do next. My Planet Fitness clubs are doing great, and I’ve got a great family.


“When I was 16 years old, I felt like I was losing my weekends because of racing. It didn’t take me long to realize that my weekends were already being spent with my family – my racing family. We’ll find that next chapter, and I don’t think it will be too far away from where I’m at right now.”

[Patj551]

Kevin Wyndham is definitely a class act. He's been amazing for a very long time. SX/MX can really tear a body up. I'm happy for Kevin that he's relatively healthy and wish him all the best. Trey Canard has my respect for his sheer resiliency, desire, & skill. That boy can ride! Dungey's also one of my favs...super consistent, smart rider, but just wish he could get better starts! Bam Bam is running my ole number 51, so I gotta pull for him! Too bad he cased the triple and busted his face. I did something like that at Greeley SX championship. Broke my wrist. Even with surgery it didn't heal. Was fun watching Milsaps & Reed duke it out. So far this year the 450s have been fun with lots of parity & competition, but it's a long season!

[Lappeman]

It's nice that these first 3 races have been full of surprises! Great racing so far! Milsaps in there again, Reed just got him. Sucks that Windham retired, enjoyed watching him race. Looks like Stewart's season is all but over...hopefully the rest can stay healthy, cause if they do it's gonna be a great season!!

I think Villipoto will take the momentum into next race and if he gets a good start will take it again. Canard just needs that last little push and he'll win one yet. I was really surprised that Barcia pulled off with a couple of little cuts...did anyone hear if he had more damage than what was seen on TV?

[Patj551]

Barcia broke his nose & stitches above his eye. Wouldn't be surprised if he was seeing stars...

Smacked my head downhill Mtn biking once. Broke my nose, would've been much worse without the helmet visor collapsing & saving my head being split open on a rock. It was all I could do NOT to black out. The helmet was Troy Lee. Sent them pics of my black & blue eyes, swollen & busted nose. Told 'em the helmet saved my life & would they please send me a new one free? No luck!

[burque magoo]

I can't believe they didn't comp you a new helmet!!

Oh well......(just got back from a great day of Baja training riding out at Southern, time to fire up the DVR & watch some Supercross!)

[Lappeman]

Originally Posted by Patj551

Barcia broke his nose & stitches above his eye. Wouldn't be surprised if he was seeing stars...

Smacked my head downhill Mtn biking once. Broke my nose, would've been much worse without the helmet visor collapsing & saving my head being split open on a rock. It was all I could do NOT to black out. The helmet was Troy Lee. Sent them pics of my black & blue eyes, swollen & busted nose. Told 'em the helmet saved my life & would they please send me a new one free? No luck!

Thanks for verifying that...kinda thought that might be the case. Had a similar crash to yours on a dirtbike but didn't break my nose, just cut up my face from the goggles and visor smashing. The helmet even hairline cracked and I had to buy a new one. Endo'd and face planted...finished the race though.

[PatSmith]

I think the reason Barcia pulled off is because he had to much blood in the eye to see so he pulled off. It is to bad that he di not score more points. It is indeed a sad day to see K-DUB retire. It would have been nice to see him go out at the end of 14 like he wanted it to. CR22 and RD5 need to find some more speed, RV looked good coming thru the pack. We haven't seen that kind of riding since RC or the "real JS7" from many years ago.

[Patj551]

Endo'd and face planted...finished the race though.

Spoken like a racer! Glad you're OK!

Eli's looking pretty bullet proof in the lites! Is it too early to predict he'll sweep? He's easy to root for-- Colorado kid, hard worker, rides clean but tough, & he's humble!

[Wudscrasher]

Originally Posted by burque magoo

Thank you, KW. (great pic, magoo!) Going out on his own terms, and a fun & fantastic career. Class. Act.

[burque magoo]

Originally Posted by PatSmith

I think the reason Barcia pulled off is because he had to much blood in the eye to see so he pulled off. It is to bad that he di not score more points. It is indeed a sad day to see K-DUB retire. It would have been nice to see him go out at the end of 14 like he wanted it to. CR22 and RD5 need to find some more speed, RV looked good coming thru the pack. We haven't seen that kind of riding since RC or the "real JS7" from many years ago.

BamBam got a booboo........

[Merfman]

Ditto on the thanks to KW! Having just "retired" from MX myself after a gnarly crash and being unable to find my comfort zone again, I can totally relate (to the degree that I crashed on an 80 footer as opposed to what KDub did) and congratulate him on a fantastic career!

Thumbs down to Speed, listing the Lites at 11 only to show them at 10. My recording had the last 10 seconds, announcing the winner, then switching to truck racing. Arg. Thumbs up to Eli, Villo and Trey! Great racing!

[Gordy]

FWIW, My Comcast picked up all the racing.
I think it is more the blame of the TV service providers, not Speed for the mis-listing.

I watched the races last night as soon as Brady had a 4th and short for his last chance of the season to make the Super Bowl and took a slide when the only one even close and "chasing" him down weighed 350+.

[Merfman]

Originally Posted by Gordy

FWIW, My Comcast picked up all the racing.
I think it is more the blame of the TV service providers, not Speed for the mis-listing.

That's possible too. Thumbs down to WHOEVER mislabled the lites and caused me to miss it..

[kingofZroad]

I missed the 450's, thinking I could watch them on Fuel instead of stupid CBS... Oops!! Guess I wait till next week to see the 450's.

On a more positive note, YEAH TOMAC!!!

[dmac1]

Originally Posted by burque magoo

And a big shocker. Kevin Windham has announced his retirement. He did two of his famous ‘transfers’, one of his famous ‘nose wheelies’ …. and … is retired from professional racing.


Windham, 34, ended his 19-year pro career on Saturday night at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. The veteran wrapped up his career with 19 wins, more than 200 Supercross starts (second on the career list), two Supercross Lites titles, and three runner-up Supercross points finishes.

.................

GREAT post Burque! Thanks for taking the time to capture some (all?) of the stuff Kdub said for the camera.

Will miss him for sure, glad I got to briefly talk to him when he was vacationing at the Lake in 2011. Lakewood that is. We shared a smile anyway. Thanks for the memories Kevin!!!