Rider

Not only the AMA’s first 125cc motocross champion (1974), Smith was one of its greatest motocross riders ever. In just eight seasons, Smith won three AMA National Motocross championships, two in the 125cc class (1974, 1975) and one in the 500cc class (1977) and finished second two other times (125cc in 1976 and 1977). Amazingly, Smith was just 17 years old when he won that 1974 title, the youngest ever AMA motocross champion to that point. In 1976, he also contested the 125cc World Motocross Championship, winning one race and finishing fourth in points despite a partial schedule. In all, Smith won 18 career nationals and was one of the few riders to score victories in 125cc, 250cc and 500cc, including the 125cc U.S. Grand Prix of Motocross in 1975 and ’76. A bad crash in 1978 affected his riding and led to his retirement in 1981, but he later teamed up with Larry Roeseler and Ted Hunnicutt Jr. to win the 1991 Baja 1000. Smith was inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame in 2000.