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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VOLUME 58 ISSUE 43 OCTOBER 26, 2021 P113 tedboody.com) dedicated to his fallen son, and it's a wonder- ful site that reviews Boody Jr.'s racing career with photos and remembrances by friends and fans alike. It was easy to spot Ted Boody on the starting line of an AMA Grand National. Stand- ing 6-foot-3, Boody was head and shoulders above most of his fellow racers. He was easy to pick out on the track as well, with his unique riding style of sitting straight up, high on his bike's saddle, smooth, looking far ahead as he attacked the corners of dirt tracks across America. Boody's numbers were im- pressive. He was twice runner- up in the AMA Grand National Championship and earned a total of eight National victories during his professional racing ca- reer, which spanned just over 12 years. He won at places such as the legendary Springfield Mile, the Indy Mile, Ascot Park and the Houston Astrodome. Boody was versatile, winning on Miles, Half Miles and Short Tracks. He even scored a couple of top-10 road-race finishes, even though his pavement experience was limited. Even more impressive than his numbers were Ted's outright determination and his willingness to make sacrifices for a bigger goal. In the determination depart- ment, Boody lost his factory Harley-Davidson ride after the 1978 season, but instead of go- ing home and sulking, he came back strong with a point-proving victory in the very first race of 1979. Then, after a lull in the early 1980s when most people had written Boody off, he came back with a remarkable resur- gence in the mid-1980s, capped off by a stunning 1985 season, when he scored a remarkable nine podium finishes, including an upset victory on the Ascot Park Half Mile in May of that year. He finished runner-up to factory Honda's Bubba Shobert in the season's final AMA Grand National Series, matching his career-best ranking. In the area of sacrifice, Boody put aside selfish goals and in 1981 went about helping Honda develop its Grand National dirt- track machines—giving Honda its first National points on a Half Mile. Boody's first success was a precursor of things to come as Honda set out to challenge Harley-Davidson's dominance in AMA Grand National dirt-track events. Boody 's groundwork helped pave the way, and even- tually Honda won four straight championships in the mid-1980s with Ricky Graham and Bubba Shobert. By 1988, Boody had proved everything he needed to in motorcycle racing and had already shown early success in sports-car racing. He turned in solid rides in the 24 Hours of Daytona and Sebring, and important people in that industry were starting to take notice. A potentially life-changing meeting with the marketing department of Chevron was scheduled, he was suddenly on the verge of making the transition to NASCAR. Just two days before that meeting, Boody was racing at Ascot Park in the second AMA Grand National of the year when he collided with Ronnie Jones coming off the fourth turn on the final lap of the main event. Boody ended up just 30 yards from the finish line–fatally injured. He died shortly after- ward of massive head injuries at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Boody was just 29. He left a young wife, Terry (sister of Phil and Sam McDonald; Ted said marrying her was the thing he was most proud of in his life), and two beautiful daughters, Tara and Lindsay. Boody was born in Lansing, Michigan, in 1958. Ted Sr. owned a motorcycle dealership and was also a racer. That area of the country was a hotbed of dirt-track motorcycle racing, and young Ted Jr. started racing both motocross and dirt track as a teenager. By the time he turned rookie Expert in 1976, Boody was being called the latest member of the "Michigan Mafia"—the amazing