Jeremy in his truck drivin' garb.
Seven-time AMA Supercross champion Jeremy McGrath was recently inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame while he was racing at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill. McGrath talks about his thoughts on the hall of fame induction, his first TORC offroad series win, offroad racing, and his future race plans.
HOW'S IT FEEL TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE MOTORSPORTS HALL OF FAME OF AMERICA?
“Oh, man. Well, it's flattering, of course, but it's kinda funny at the same time. I think I'm kinda young for hall of fame stuff or hall of fame talk, but it's quite an honor.”
YOUR INDUCTION SPEECH WAS SENT TO THE BANQUET IN DETROIT VIA LIVE INTERNET STREAM FROM THE RACE IN JOLIET, ILL. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?
“It was pretty neat. We've been working on that for a while, trying to do the live feed thing. I'm really glad that it happened. Obviously, it's kinda hard to tell how it turned out because I'm here behind the camera and they're actually at the function. I think it's big for the TORC (Series), big for truck racing, you know, and if I can help that, that's good. We did our job.”
YOU KNOW YOU DESERVE TO BE IN THE HALL OF FAME, RIGHT?
“Yeah. I mean, I don't look at myself like that because I try to look at it like a humbling experience, but I understand. If you look at what I've accomplished on my motorcycle, I guess, it kinda makes sense.”
Jeremy on the 405.
WHY IS SUPERCROSS TO OFFROAD SUCH A NATURAL TRANSITION?
“I think first and foremost what helps me is all the experience racing. I'm very comfortable in a race situation out there with the other trucks. Even a guy that's race off road for a long time, you only have seven races a year. My whole career, for 15 years plus, I ran 32 races a year. I've spent a lot of time racing. I think for me, that was an advantage because I think trying to figure out how to drive the truck is a lot easier than figuring out how to race.”
WHAT'S NEXT?
“I still test for Honda, that's one of my main deals that I do. I work with a race team and develop the race bike for Factory Honda. Other than that, I'm just racing trucks, pretty much right now in the summer. I don't know. With the TORC Series the way it's been this year, it seems like we have a race every three weeks, so I haven't had a whole lotta time to do much. I've been pretty busy. I don't know. I've just been riding my motorcycle or doing truck stuff.”
DO YOU SEE YOURSELF DOING MORE TV ANALYSIS LIKE YOU DID FOR THE X GAMES?
“I enjoy the TV stuff, I enjoy doing that. Paul Page and I have known each other for a long, long time. I've been on a lot of TV shows with him and he's an excellent announcer guy. X Games for me this year, I didn't get a chance to compete and I didn't really want to compete. I just didn't feel it. I got to do six hours of live TV and one of the hour shows was with Paul. I think I'm alright at it. I enjoyed it. It's a little boring, but you do get a good seat when watching the events, so maybe I'll stick to it. We'll see.”
DO YOU SEE YOURSELF DOING THE KIND OF THINGS TRAVIS PASTRANA DOES?
“I don't have the nerve to act crazy like that. I'm more of a calculated person. I'm in the TORC Series until I can figure out how to win and win a lot. That's what I want to do. I'm not a guy that enjoys following around other guys. That's what I do; I win. And until I get that figured out, that's what's in front of me.”
IF YOU COULD GO BACK TO THE PEAK OF YOUR SUPERCROSS CAREER, WHO AT THEIR PEAK WOULD YOU WANT TO RACE?
“It's hard to say. You always try and match up the greatest champions in the sport. I mean, Ricky Johnson is one of my heroes and it would be fun to race him at his peak and me at my peak. I don't think he would have had a chance. But then again, with that being said, if I raced a guy like James Stewart at his peak a few years ago and at my peak, I don't think I would have had a chance. It's all relative. Guys are the best for a reason during their time and after that, it's over. I'm just a huge fan of Supercross still. I love motocross, Supercross, anything to do with a motorcycle. Obviously, I'm loving the truck thing. Johnny Greaves, Toyota, and Monster have given me a great opportunity to drive this truck the last few years. I feel like I'm getting pretty good at it and we just have to put a few more pieces in place, but I'm working on that.”
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