MY MOTOCROSS INSPIRATIONS BY JEFF WARD

MARTY SMITH
“I looked up to Marty Smith when motocross first started getting big. Marty was this teenage sensation and he was the big hero. I wanted to be like him and make it to his level. Marty was always really cool to me.”

SCOTT TINSLEY
“I have always admired sports figures who worked very hard and train to be the best. I used to do triathlons and Scott Tinsley was a big inspiration to me. My heroes were pretty much always athletes from different sports.”

Jeff Ward and mechanic Mike McAndrews.

MIKE McANDREWS
“Mike McAndrews was my mechanic at a point in time when I didn’t know what to do as far as racing and life were concerned. He helped me not only with racing, but with life. He kept me on the straight and narrow and helped me grow up to be what I was in motocross.”

ROY TURNER
“My team manager, Roy Turner, was more of a friend than a boss. In this day and age a team manager is the ruler and there are conflicts between the manager and the rider. Back then we were like family, but I’m sure it helped that I also delivered the results that Kawasaki wanted.”

Jeff was a star when he was five…that’s Jeff doing the minicycle wheelie in the opening scenes the 1970 movie “On Any Sunday.”

MY DAD
“My dad first got me into dirt bikes. I remember riding on his gas tank and also on his Triumph. Of course you want to be like your dad so naturally I got a bike. Things just grew from there because of him.”

PAUL TRACY
“I have to give a lot of credit to Paul Tracy for my Indy Car experience. He is a good friend and directed me towards the teams that were good to work for and wouldn’t take advantage of me. He was always there for me at the race track.”

I INSPIRE
“Kids. I like to think that I inspire young kids who are coming up through the ranks. It makes me feel good to know that I can still run the same speed as some current pros, which means that today’s kids can see how well the riders in my era rode.”