MX HEROES: DOUG HENRY

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Success has many fathers, failure is an orphan. Total victory in any form of human endeavor is rare. For those who excelled against the odds, we have a special name…heroes

Doug won the 1993 125 East Supercross Championship, 1993 and 1994 AMA 125 National Championships, and 1998 250 National Championship. But, his career wasn’t ensuredeven though he got off to a quick start. In 1991, little-known Doug Henry won his first-ever 125 National at the infamous one-moto mudfest at Hangtown. He wouldn’t win again for two years (when he won three Nationals and the 125 Championship). In 1994, Doug backed it up with three more wins and his second 125 National Championship.

Under then-AMA rules, Doug was required to move to the 250 class after winning the 125 crown twice. He was in immediate contention for the 250 Championship against Honda teammate Jeremy McGrath and Kawasaki’s Jeff Emig. Unfortunately, a horrendous get-off at the 1995 Budds Creek 250 National left Doug with a broken back. With emergency surgery and rods placed into his spine, Doug’s career looked like it was over.

In a show of faith, Team Yamaha offered the still-hobbled, Oxford, Connecticut, rider a contract for 1996, and Doug, still in rehabilitation, rejoined the fray a few races into the 1996 Nationals. He had been out of action for a yearand on his return he was not very fast. “The guys were lapping me, and that is not what I was expecting,” says Doug. But the more he raced, the quicker he got, and by the 11th race, Doug wowed the Washougal crowd by winning the second moto. “I had only won the second moto,” says Doug, “but the fans wanted me up on the podium. It felt so good.”

For 1997, Team Yamaha asked Doug to race a prototype Yamaha YZM400 four-stroke. And, on May 17, 1997, in Las Vegas, Doug Henry became the first rider in AMA history to win on a four-stroke. It was the highlight of Doug’s ?97 season, because one month later at Budds Creek, the same track that had broken his back two years earlier, Doug crashed, breaking both arms. Few can forget the poignancy of Doug walking over to the spectators and asking them to undo his helmet strap.

Never one to quit, when the ?98 season began Doug was back in action on a production-based YZ400. He had a solid Supercross series, but went winless. The same could not be said of his 1998 AMA 250 National series. Doug won five of the 12 races, and the defining moment was at Budds Creek. This was the track that had almost ended his career. The Creek was a jinx for Doug Henry. Or was it? In ?98, Doug rode to victory at Budds Creek and went on to win the 1998 250 National Championshipthe first-ever National Championship for a four-stroke! Doug’s triumph was the biggest comeback story in motocross history.

Doug retired after winning the ?98 250 National Championship, but has come back every year since to race an occasional Nationaland last year competed in the complete AMA Supermoto series, finishing third overall. He is truly an American motocross hero.

For more MX Heroes go to Top Ten Stories