Troy Dog
Before you even say anything, I know. I know that the legendary career of Kevin Windham had more like 1,000 reasons why he deserves to be in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. I don’t have the space to write all that, but I wanted to honor him today…so five reasons will do.
PS. These are five reasons that are important to me, but I’m going to try and cover everything…okay?
The Heel Clicker
When K-Dub signed with Yamaha for the 1995 season he was an instant threat to the 125 class. In 1996 and 1997 he won back-to-back 125 West Region Championships and he won 13 Main Events in those seasons. One of those was a 250 Main Event while he was moonlighting on the East Coast. That means that he did probably 13 heel clickers. As a kid I would wait by the TV during the Main Events he would win and just marvel at the heel clicker. My dad would take me to Kenworthy’s and all I would want to do is stand by the big “Widowmaker” double in hopes that K-Dub would throw one. Looking back now, I’m like chill out young Troy Pup, it’s only a heel clicker. Marvin Musquin tried to bring them back. I respected Marv’s hustle and ode to K-Dub, but it just wasn’t the same.
He Beat Generations
K-Dub’s career lasted from when I was four-years-old to when I was 22. So, I witnessed all of it and the stuff that I may have missed as a young 4-6 year-old I went back and watched on VHS. The amount of talent that K-Dub beat in his career truly shows how special of a rider that he was. He could win on any given night…and he did…a lot. He beat different generations of other greats in this sport. He beat Jeremy McGrath, Jeff Emig, Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart, Chad Reed, Ryan Villopoto, and Ryan Dungey. He beat everyone else in between. The fact that he could beat those greats on any given night puts K-Dub on a higher pedestal to me.
The Transfers
I keep saying that someone should bring back opening ceremonies transfers, but now I’m going to back peddle. No one on this planet could make the transfers look as easy or cool. It’s just like the heel clicker thing. The Supercross opening ceremonies lost a lot of luster when K-Dub retired. I used to love sitting in the stands after the practice sessions wrapped up to watch K-Dub come out and practice the transfer that he was going to do that evening…in the dark…with one spotlight on him. Are you remembering how incredible this man is yet?
Cool Factor
We all wanted to be like K-Dub…except the Suzuki years K-Dub…but he learned from that okay? He always had the best gear setups throughout his career and let’s face it, he made the Honda 450 a part of him. Could you imagine if Windham had never signed with Factory Connection Honda for the summer of 2003, how different all of our lives would be? Those two parties were like PB&J. The way K-Dub carries himself in interviews, his different hair styles, the way he interacts with fans, it all made us want to be better humans. Only K-Dub could race looking like Forrest Gump after his running trip.
The Trademark Style
Kevin Windham walked so that the Lawrence brothers and Chase Sexton could run. You think Sexton and the Lawrence’s just magically are that smooth while riding? I could be wrong, but I’ve seen their riding styles before on Windham (and before that on Ron Lechien). No one looked as smooth as K-Dub on a bike. He was always in control and always going fast without looking like he was going fast. These kids today should be writing thank you notes to K-Dub for showing them the ropes. Nothing and I mean nothing, is better than a K-Dub whip.
From all of us at Vurb, congratulations K-Dub. You deserve nothing more than to be in the Hall, but what I’m wondering is…what took so long for them to put you on the ballot?
Main Image: GEICO Honda
