VOLUME 59 ISSUE 1 JANUARY 4, 2022 P29
National Short Track event. It
marked the first time in AMA
racing history that three family
members filled the podium at an
AMA Grand National event.
When Nicky scored his first
MotoGP victory at Laguna Seca
Raceway in Monterey, Califor-
nia, in 2005, Earl was there to
greet his son with a big hug, the
emotional moment captured by
TV cameras and those images
flashed across the globe.
Tragically, Nicky passed away
in May of 2017, after colliding
with a car while he was training
on a bicycle in Italy.
"I'd like to think Earl and Nicky
are now reunited, and Earl is
standing on the pit wall timing
Nicky," Jonnum said. "There was
nobody quite like Earl Hayden
and he made so many friends
wherever he went. It seemed like
you always walked away after
talking with him with a smile on
your face."
CN
Earl (in white and black cap, front
row) at the unveiling of his son
Nicky's tribute statue in Owensboro,
Kentucky, in 2018.
