Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1454376
K evin Brunson was another in the Texas pipeline of super- talented road racers that pro- duced Freddie Spencer, Kevin Schwantz, John Kocinski, Doug Polen and Colin Edwards, just to name a few. In 1984 Brunson emerged as one of the leading AMA Formula Two (250ccGP) rid- ers. Not only did he win two na- tionals that season, but he did so on his underdog Rotax-powered Armstrong against a slew of the more established Yamaha and Honda GP machines. And it was even more impressive than that. Had Brunson been just a couple of 10ths faster on the final lap at both Brainerd and Mid-Ohio that season, he would have been a four-race winner in '84. Then a funny thing happened to Brunson. He was on a rapid rise and factory teams were start- ing to pay attention, but at the peak of his career, Brunson had an epiphany. "I realized that racing was something I did, it wasn't who I was," he said. So, despite wins and podiums and factory racing attention, Brunson decided to walk away. Instead, he focused on finishing his university studies. He later became an inventor of medical devices, many of which are still in use today. In retrospect Brunson made the right call, but as a result very few racing fans today remem- ber one of the leading road racing prospects of the mid-1980s. Brunson came up flat track racing with the help of his dad. In '78 Kevin and his dad drove to Shreveport, Louisiana, to buy Freddie Spencer's Yamaha TZ250E. "I don't think Freddie was real excited when his dad sold that to us," Brunson recalls. "But I remember sitting in Fred- die's living room and us doing a deal to buy a couple of his bikes and their trailer." From there Brunson honed his skills with a combination of flat tracking and road racing. He had a near-death crash at the Santa Fe Short Track in the summer of '81, recovered, and scored a breakthrough in October of 1981 in the Fall races at Daytona. Brunson scored a surprise podi- um (third) behind Sam McDonald and Randy Renfrow. Suddenly people were asking who was this speedy 18-year-old from Texas. The turning point for Brunson was meeting a racing enthusiast and motor man named A.A. Harp- er. Harper, who'd cleared mines for the Allied forces in Germany during World War II, was a motor enthusiast who had success in outboard motorboat racing before turning his attention to motor- cycles. Harper was looking for a rider and Brunson a sponsor, and with that the duo got together and Brunson began racing Harper's quirky Armstrong 250 GP bike. "My dad had taken me as far as he could," Brunson said. "Mr. Harper was a great sponsor. He'd call me in the middle of the day and tell me to get down to his shop. He was really into aero- dynamics, and he'd make some modification to the fairing and call the local sheriff in San Marcos CN III ARCHIVES P120 BRUNSON BURNER BY LARRY LAWRENCE Kevin Brunson leading Sam McDonald in the October Daytona race on his way to winning his second national of the season. PHOTOS: GARY VAN VOORHIS