Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

And it's no wonder. Brad sh aw is surrounded at T eam Yamaha by a n u mber of mecha ni cs a nd tech n icia ns who a t one time o r a no ther wo rked for severa l pa st cham pi ons. At th e beg inn in g o f last year Brad sha w was team ed up with mech anic Brian Lunniss, wh o has been behind severa l pa st cha mp io ns , mo st recentl y Ri ck J ohnson. Many th ou gh t Lunniss wo u ld p rovide th e guidance Bradshaw need ed , but th ey sta rted th e yea r poorly. "I was trying a bunch o f diff erent things," says Bradshaw. "Th i n g s Brian said, things tra in ers said. I was working my ass off, and wh en I got to th e race I just look ed forward to ge tt ing it over with because I was tired. " " I think ma ybe Damon thought I was going to wave a magi c wand over him," says Lunniss. After some adjusting, th e pair settled down and becam e a formidable co mbina tion . , "He helps keep me motivated," says Bradshaw. " I talk to him three or four times a week , and I don 't lik e to tell him I haven 't been doing a nyth ing, so that helps me work every da y. His ex perience is good to steer me in the right direction." "I can lead him down th e path, show him sho rt cuts, bu t he has to do it himself," Lunniss sa id. "I noticed during the o ff-seas o n he had th e con fidence in hi s riding that Johnson and H annah had. Everything was spot on ." Lu nni ss a ttribu ted tha t con fide nce to his ag e, of getting hi s li fe more orga nized. Brad sh a w is no lon ger th e wi ld you ng rider he was a cou p le of years ago. H e's fill ed o u t hi s six -foot fram e a nd and no lon ger looks lik e a la n ky teen ag er. Brad shaw's thinking is more a rt ic u la te , alth ough he sti ll exh ibi ts a you thfu l cockiness essen tia l to a ny potential cham p io n. H e now formulat es a stra tegy for racing. " Whe n I first sta rted I was o u t to show other riders that 1 was aggressive, th a t I would do wh at ever it took to win, regardless of wh at kind o f pass it took to beat th e ot he r g uy ," Bradsha w said. Now Bradshaw prefers a clo se, fair race , and Jeff Stanton is one of his most resp ected rivals. Although he beli eves th er e' s nothing wron g w ith some handlebar-banging, he di slikes rid ers · wh o become overly o ffens ive in th e heat o f battle. 'Jeff and I ca n race as fair as a nyo ne o n the track because he gives it a cha nce to see how I'm going to rac e with him ," says Bradshaw. ' 'I' ll do th e sa me. Some guys you com e up behind a nd th ey get offensive as hell." La st yea r's Dallas Supercross seeme d to mark th e turnin g point where Bradshaw began to sh ow signs of maturity. Bradshaw led much of th e main event while J eff Wa rd stalked from behind, Late in th e ra ce, Ward took th e lead , but Bradshaw quickl y retaliated and won th e race. "T ha t was a go od rac e," says Bradsh aw . " Wardy was right th ere and tried to screw m y head up. I retaliated. I was tired, but I reached down a nd grabbed a little more. That meant a lot because it was a sma rt race for me." Although sma rter, Bradshaw still had some growing up to do off the race track. Du ring th e su m mer, he moved out of h is parents' house a nd bought a lakefront home in Mooresvill e, abo u t 30 miles north of Charlotte. With hi s new-found freedom, Bradshaw says he began staying up late at night, then sleeping late the following day. He'd often skip meals, and combined with training and riding it wasn't long before he felt run down. now I co uld li ve co m fortab ly, bu t th e more I ma ke the mo re I'll have when I'm o lder." The money doesn 't d istract him fro m hi s immedi at e go a l o f winning the Ca m el Supercro ss Cha mp ions hip . And th e path to th at cha m p io nsh ip runs through Da ytona International Speedway, a p lace tha t hasn 't been ki nd to Bradsh aw in th e pas t. H is only success in th e black sand o f th e tri-oval 's infield ca me wh en he won th e 125cc ma in in 1989. Aboard a 250 th e following yea r, Bradshaw started near th e front but dropped ba ck to 13th at th e fini sh , In last year's rainsoaked event, Bradsh aw di scarded his goggles a nd struggled to finish 12th after a rock hi t hi s eye. " I hope 1 ca n turn it arou nd this year, I kn ow I ca n go fast there," Bradshaw sa id. ," It 's o ne of th e tougher supercross ra ces because it's more lik e an ou tdo or race. It 's stra nge racing a su pe rcross in th e sand, it can get deep and miserabl e. It 's Stanton 's kind of tra ck, a nd maybe this is th e year he'll get beat there." Bradshaw feels that Stanton is not only a threat a t Daytona, but is one of th e rid ers who could sta nd in his way o f winning th e title. T he other rider is defending Camel Supercross Cha m p io n J ean-Mi ch el Bayle , and Brad sh aw badl y wants to dethrone him. . " I get tired of hearing his name," says Bradshaw. " I cred it h im for what he's don e, he deserves it. Everyb od y Damon Bradshaw has roosted his rivals in the Camel Supercross Series. Now Bradsh aw ma kes sure he's in bed lJy II a nd up befor e 9. He works hard to build hi s end u ra nce, alt hough not necessarily in th e way you 'd th ink mo st m otocros sers tra in. Brads ha w does th e usu al runn in g, weigh t lifting and riding, but he doesn 't a lwa ys spend a lot o f time do ing those th ings. " I d o so me t h i ng ev e ry d ay to improve Illy end urance. whether it's p lay ing basketball or running for 30 minutes," says Brad sh a w. "Some times I'll go to my par ents ho use and wo rk out in th e barn until 9 a t ni gh t. I enjoy that. I don 't care if I'm di gging d itch es o r cu tt ing trees, as long it's so me thing besid es motocross a ll th e time. " While Bradshaw loves to ride as mu ch as a nyo ne, he keeps hi s ent h usiasm for riding by ge tt ing a way from it during the week , H e's go t severa l " toys" to di stract him , although he . plans to sell th e wat er ski boat he's o n ly us ed once and the Co rve tte co n vert ible he bought wh en he was 16. H e figures he's grown o u t o f that and would like to bu y a n eye-ca tch ing cla ssic car. But Bradshaw' s bi gg est interes t cu rrent ly is in sho w horses a nd he o wns several that are boa rded near his home. " It's so neat to 'g o up to th e barn, " said Bradshaw with a smi le. " I' m in a nother world. I'm seri ously th inking about dealing horses after I'm done with racing, of opening a barn' for fun ." Not th at Bradshaw is already con sidering retirement; he pl ans to race as long as he feels com pe titive. But show ing horses is something he ca n enjoy with his entire famil y, whom he is very close to. His mother a nd fath er, Marsha a nd Randy, often travel to see their oldest so n co mpete, but Brad sh aw says that once the hor se sho w season begins, they 'll attend th ose even ts every weekend and miss his performances on th e track. Bradshaw's parents supported him as he ros e through th e amateur ranks, Bradshaw and mechanic Brian Lunniss (left) have become a formidable team. and he' s a lways wanted to repay th em , H e spo nsors th eir horses and pays th e boarding fees, and he bought his mother a new tru ck for hauling the horses and su p p lies. " I can never full y repay th em ," said Bradshaw, "They don't need me to, but a t least I feel like I a m." As a factory sta r and potenti al cha m p ion , Bradsh aw shou ld have no problems pa ying for just about anything. H e's in th e second year o f a three-year co ntra ct with Yamaha th at will a u to ma tica lly be extended if he wins a cha mp io ns hip , H e recently extended hi s AXO clothing contrac t for another three years and als o signed a thr ee-year co n tra c t with Shoei . Bradshaw is o ne of the highest-pa id riders on th e circu it. Bradsh aw says he has no idea exactly how mu ch he m akes. His father handl es much o f th e bookkeeping while his business manager, who als o m anages sev era l o th er top riders , guides him in making investments. " My goal is to be financially set for life, and I'm real close to meeting that righ t now," Bradshaw says. "Right says that he' s th e best rid er there ever was, so every time I beat him I love it. " But Bradsh aw may already be the best to a growing legion of fans. He 's getting increasingl y louder cheer s from th e stadium cro wds, a nd a t a deal er a p pea rance prior to th e San Diego Super cross, Bradsh aw wa s mobbed by fans seeking hi s autograph. " Any time a nyo ne as ks me for an autograph, I try to do it. Sometimes it 's a pain in th e ass, but that's part of the sp ort. " Bradshaw a lmos t seem s to want th e Camel Supercross Championship for his fans as much as himself. "For th e past couple of years, people would ask for an a u tograp h a nd as k me to put number o ne under it , but I'd have to tell th em I'm not number o ne yet," Bradshaw sa id. . " I want to be able to write th at and be proud of it. To ride with th e number o ne plate next year would mean a whole lot. " In the past, hi s fans told him "next year is th e year," If the sta rt of this season is any indication, 1992 is " next yea r." OJ 25

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