Honorary SU Member Gary Davis to be Inducted to AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame will welcome six new inductees in the Class of 2018 on Dec. 7 at the Hilton Columbus/Polaris in Columbus, Ohio.

The 2018 AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will officially induct four-time AMA National Enduro Champion Terry Cunningham, stunt rider Gary Davis, flat track and road racing tuner Skip Eaken, MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden, flat track racer Clifford “Corky” Keener, and pioneering motorcyclist Mary McGee.

 

“The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Class of 2018 recognizes greatness in racing and ambassadorship, whether on the track, at the mechanic’s bench or in the court of public opinion,” said Ken Ford, a member of the AMA board of directors and chairman of the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation board. “In their own way, each of these individuals has advanced motorcycling for generations of motorcyclists, and we’re honored to recognize them this Dec. 7, and in perpetuity, as inductees into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.”

The induction ceremony is part of the 2018 AMA Legends & Champions Weekend, Dec. 7-9. The AMA Legends & Champions Weekend also includes the 2018 AMA Championship Banquet at the Hilton Columbus/Polaris on Dec. 8, and an open house and formal installment of Hall of Fame honors at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio, on Dec. 9. In addition, AMA Racing and Recreational Riding Commissions will meet to discuss rules governing amateur racing at the annual AMA Congress, also at the Hilton that weekend.

Tickets for AMA Legends & Champions Weekend will be available soon at www.americanmotorcyclist.com.

Reservations at the Columbus Hilton/Polaris are available now at a special group rate at the following link: www.hilton.com/en/hi/groups/personalized/C/CMHPOHF-AMOTOA-20181205/index.jhtml. Guests also can call (614) 310-2229 and reference the group “American Motorcyclist Association” or “AMOTOA.”

The Columbus Hilton/Polaris is an amenity-packed, award-winning hotel located adjacent to Columbus’ expansive Polaris Center on Columbus’ north side. A complimentary shuttle serves a 5-mile radius, which includes Port Columbus International Airport. It features a day spa, a fitness center, indoor pool and whirlpool.

The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame was established in 1998 by the AMHF to honor the legends and heroes of American motorcycling and highlight their achievements and contributions to motorcycling. Hall of Fame inductees represent eight areas: Ambassadors/Industry, Design/Engineering, Dirt Track, Leadership/Advocacy, Motocross/Supercross, Off-Road, Road Racing and Specialty Competition.

For more information about the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame and the 2018 induction ceremony, see www.motorcyclemuseum.org. Also, visit the Hall of Fame Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AMAHallOfFame or search the hashtag #AMAHoF18 on social media.

AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Class of 2018 

Terry Cunningham

Terry Cunningham is a champion off-road rider who played a significant role in the growth of off-road racing in the United States in the 1980s. His efforts anchored the success of the Husqvarna Motorcycle Company throughout the decade.

The four-time AMA Grand National Enduro Champion faced off against some of the greatest riders in America during his career, including AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famers Dick Burleson, Randy Hawkins, Larry Roeseler, Scott Summers and Jeff Fredette. Cunningham won the title in 1982, and then again in 1984, 1985 and 1986.

His other awards included six International Six Days Enduro gold medals and a silver medal. He also was a member of the American 1982 ISDE team that finished second overall against the best off-road riders in the world.

Gary Davis

Gary Davis, from Auburn, Calif., has spent more than 30 years in show business. He performed, coordinated and directed stunts in more than 280 films, 250 television episodes and 190 commercials. His longtime contributions have showcased the thrills of motorcycling to millions through the reach of Hollywood.

Some of Davis’s more notable credits include “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “Against All Odds,” “Terminator 2,” “Independence Day,” and “Spiderman 2.” His credits go back decades — to the 1977 Evel Knievel film “Viva Knievel!”

Davis’ motorcycle career began as an AMA professional dirt-track racer in 1969, riding alongside notables such as Hall of Famers Kenny Roberts and Gary Scott.

Davis soon shifted to showmanship, however, and he began exhibition motorcycle jumping in 1971, setting aside his racing career. In 1972, he entered the Guinness World Records for clearing 21 cars, bettering Knievel’s 19-car mark. After three years of jumping and more than 300 public jumps, he began doing stunt work.

Skip Eaken

Skip Eaken was a motorcycle racing tuner from Lodi, Ohio, who began building competitive and reliable flat track racers in the 1970s. He notched his first Grand National victory in 1983 with Ted Boody riding a Eaken-prepped Harley-Davidson.

Eaken is best known as the mechanic who worked on AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Bubba Shobert’s factory Honda motorcycles in the 1980s, when Shobert won three AMA Grand National Championships, collecting an AMA Superbike title and 28 Grand National flat track wins.

After Honda scaled back its factory racing programs, Eaken continued tuning flat track and road racing motorcycles in Indianapolis until his passing in 2012.

Nicky Hayden

Known as “The Kentucky Kid,” Nicky Hayden, of Owensboro, Ky., was a force on the American motorcycle racing scene before taking his talent to the world stage, ultimately winning motorcycle racing’s grandest championship, the FIM MotoGP title in 2006.

Born in 1981, Hayden raced flat track and road raced Yamaha YSR50s and then Honda RS125s as a youngster. With the full support of his family, especially parents Rose and Earl Hayden, Nicky Hayden’s story was a classic tale of an American grassroots racer accelerating through the ranks. In 1997, he capped his amateur career with the first-ever AMA Horizon Award, presented for his triumphs in flat track. The award signified that Hayden had proven himself to be the amateur racer with the brightest potential for continued success in the pro ranks.

With the Horizon Award in hand, the “Kentucky Kid” turned pro at the age of 16. As a professional, Hayden competed in the AMA Grand National Championship, the pro flat track series, as well as in AMA Pro Road Racing.

He signed with American Honda in 1999 to race the AMA 600 Supersport class, winning the 600cc championship that same year. Honda moved Hayden to the factory AMA Superbike team in 2000, and in 2002 he captured the AMA Superbike Championship. At age 21, Hayden became the youngest champion in the history of AMA Superbike racing.

Hayden then moved to the Repsol Honda MotoGP effort for 2003, earning his first MotoGP win at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif., in 2005. He won there again in 2006 while on his way to winning the MotoGP World Championship.

Hayden moved to the factory Ducati team in 2009, returning to Honda in 2014. He began racing in the FIM World Superbike series for Honda in 2016.

Tragically, Hayden was hit by a car while training on a bicycle in Italy on May 17, 2017. He succumbed to his injuries five days later, on May 22.

Clifford “Corky” Keener

Clifford “Corky” Keener was a professional flat track racer during the 1970s. Known by the nickname “Mr. Dirt,” he worked as an electrician for General Motors Corp. while he was getting his racing career started.

He almost quit racing when his results did not improve, but he decided to stick with it and eventually became a factory Harley-Davidson rider.

Keener won five AMA Grand National races during his career. He raced during a talent-filled era that often had him banging bars with the likes of AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famers Kenny Roberts and Jay Springsteen. Keener raced through the 1980 season.

Mary McGee

Mary McGee was among the first women to race motorcycles in motocross and road racing events in the United States.

McGee was introduced to auto racing by her husband, Don, in the 1950s. In 1957, she learned to ride motorcycles on a 200cc Triumph Tiger Cub she bought from a friend and later took up motorcycle road racing to try to improve her car racing skills.

Switching to dirt riding in 1963, McGee started her off-road career by riding a 1962 250cc Honda Scrambler in an AMA District 37 enduro. She began riding Baja events in 1967 and, in 1975, rode solo in the Baja 500.

Also during the 1970s, McGee worked for Motorcyclist magazine and joined editors Jody Nichols, Brad Zimmerman and Rich Cox for a 24-hour road race in Las Vegas, in which the team changed riders every hour on a 650cc Suzuki.

In more recent years, she has returned to competing in select vintage races, while speaking out in support of women racers and recreational riders getting started in motorcycling.

 

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