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Cycle News 2013 Issue 22 June 4

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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VOL. 50 ISSUE 22 JUNE 4, 2013 that he wasn't bragging. Wyman was too humble to be a braggart. He was concerned. As the guy that I believe to be the greatest starter in the history of the sport, when he didn't get the holeshot, there had to be a reason. And, he was looking for it." Priddy reached the peak of his racing career in 1972. That year he was a contender in the AMA 500cc Motocross Championship riding a CZ. Unfortunately for Priddy and everyone else in the championship that year, they were up against Brad Lackey at his peak. Lackey won five of the eight 500cc Nationals that season en route to dominating the championship, but one of the series events that year in Washington, Indiana, became a legendary race and very likely the closest finish in AMA Motocross history. The National in Southern Indiana was put on by a physician and motocross racer named Dr. C.E. Snyder. To illustrate how fluid the championship was in those days, the National, held in June, was dreamed up at Daytona earlier that season. Somehow Snyder and a group of area enthusiasts built a motocross track on Snyder's 40-acre farm in the span of 10-weeks after the sanction for the National was granted by the AMA. Snyder spent $16,000 promoting the event in the local media. Bultaco's Gary Bailey won the 250cc National that day in a great battle with Swedish rider Gunnar Lindstrom on a Husqvarna. But it was the 500cc National that was easily the most riveting. In the days of three motos, Priddy and another CZ rider Barry Higgins went into the final moto each with a first and second in the previous motos. As the third and deciding moto played out it came down to a dead heat between Priddy and Higgins on the final lap. It was quite a scene as hundreds of spectators realized what was happening and ran to the finish line to get their best view of the finish and what they saw was spectacular and historic. Higgins and Priddy entered the final turn side by side. Higgins picked an inside rut, while Priddy stayed wide open on the gas of his C-Z and when high off an outside berm. As they came out of the P131 turn to the finish line and the checkered flag, their lines converged and the duo came together as they crossed the line with Priddy's CZ ahead of Higgins' by less than a wheel length. The impact sent Priddy into the outside catch fencing and - after taking the flag - he crashed, rolling head over heels. When he got up and made his way back to the podium to pick up his winners' trophy he received a loud ovation from the crowd, who had just witnessed an epically close finish. That would prove to be the peak of Priddy's career. He picked up his ride with Kawasaki in 1973 and rode for the factory for the next three years. In spite of having factory support, Priddy, who by then was in his late 20s, was never able to match the consistent podium results he scored in 1972. Priddy left the series as a full-time rider after the '76 series. He continued to race select Nationals over the next couple of seasons, but he had a lot of things going on in his life outside of racing. Married and the father of two, Priddy completed his college education and became a teacher, coach and athletic director for a high school. Unfortunately, on September 14, 1982, Priddy passed away suddenly in his sleep at the young age of 36 from arterial sclerosis. He had no symptoms and was not even sick. Priddy was a strong man of Christian faith, and he left behind a family that loved and respected him very much. Texas motocrossers were left with the memories of a motocross father figure that helped put the Lone Star State on the national motocross stage. Motocross legend Steve Wise might have put it best when he said, "There are two reasons that Wyman is the Father of Texas Motocross, not only because he was the original fast guy, but more importantly he was a true father figure and a great role model for all the people that surrounded him on and off the track. His very character was an example for a lot of us younger guys coming up." Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives

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