Motocross, Supercross Promoter Passes
A
true pioneer in the sport of
motocross and supercross
has died. William (Bill) Carroll
West, 88, passed away on July
28, 2024, after a lengthy illness.
Born in Clarksville, Tennessee,
in 1936, Bill West was a member
of the U.S. Army in the 1950s,
stationed in Germany. After his
service, West was working for
Florida Power when he bought
his first motorcycle, a Honda
100 Scrambler. With a growing
passion for both cars and motor
-
cycles, he opened his own shop
in St. Petersburg called Cycle Vil-
lage. He also began competing
in flat track, enduro and moto-
cross events, even though he
was well into his 30s. He soon
ventured into motorsports pro
-
motions, where he found his true
calling, and began creating and
producing events that helped
shape the entire motorsports
world as we know it today.
West's first venture was the
Florida Winter-Am Series, which
he co-created with a fellow en
-
thusiast named Russ Coe. Within
a few years, it became one of the
most competitive and presti-
gious series in the entire sport.
In 1971, West helped convince
Daytona International Speedway
into adding a motocross event
on their infield that would run
in conjunction with the Daytona
200 and serve as the final round
of his Winter-Am tour. That
event morphed into the Day
-
tona Supercross, what is now
the centerpiece of the Monster
Energy Supercross Champion-
ship. In that same year he began
organizing a youth event called
the Winter Olympiad, a multi-
discipline event run over the
Thanksgiving holiday week that
is now referred to as the Mini O's
and continues to be the single
largest amateur competition in
the sport, with more than 6000
entries just last year.
Next for Bill West was Pro
Motocross, as he began host
-
ing Southeastern rounds of that
AMA-sanctioned series at tracks
like Sunshine Speedway in St.
Petersburg, Road Atlanta and Ga
-
torback Cycle Park in Gainesville.
The success of those events and
many other ventures led West to
WIND
IN THE
P30
Motocross and supercross
promoter Bill West (center) passed
away at the age of 88.
