Hall of Famer Passes
A
MA Hall of Famer Steve Wise
passed away after suffering
a heart attack. He was 68.
Wise was regarded as one of
the most multi-talented riders in
the history of motorcycle com-
petition. He is the only racer in
history to win AMA Motocross,
AMA Supercross and AMA
Superbike nationals. Addition-
ally, Wise earned a podium at
the AMA Grand National Cham-
pionship, his first-ever Grand
National Dirt Track appearance,
in 1982, and emerged victorious
in the ABC Wide World of Sports
Superbikers competition twice,
in 1980 and 1981.
Wise is the only National-class
motocross winner to ever win an
AMA Superbike National (Mid-
Ohio, 1983).
Born in McAllen, Texas, on
June 2, 1957, Wise's father,
Gary, was instrumental in Wise's
motorcycling journey, taking him
to local races at an early age.
Wise began his racing career in
the early 1970s, earning a Texas
State Motocross Championship
in 1974.
Wise then began competing
in AMA nationals at the young
age of 17. As a rider for Ka
-
wasaki and Honda during the
early stages of his career, Wise
notched a career-best third-
place finish in the AMA 250 Na-
tional Motocross Championship
in 1980, which included a victory
at the RedBud 250cc National in
Buchanan, Michigan.
Despite being a perennial
contender in both motocross
and Supercross, injuries and un
-
expected bike failures ultimately
kept Wise from his ultimate prize
of a national championship. But
Wise would have his day in the
sun during the early 1980s at
the ABC Wide World of Sports
Superbikers competition.
Riding factory Hondas, Wise
outpaced two stacked fields
WIND
IN THE
P28
Steve Wise, who first
gained fame racing
motocross, won the Mid-Ohio
Superbike race in 1983.
