Ricky Johnson

Ricky Johnson
Johnson celebrates winning the 2012 AMSOIL Cup
Nationality	American
Born	(1964-07-06) July 6, 1964 (age 52) El Cajon, California
Related to	Luke Johnson
TORC: The Off Road Championship Pro 4 career
Debut season	2011
Current team	Menzies Racing
Championships	2011, 2012
Best finish	1st in 2011, 2012
Finished last season	2nd
Previous series
2009–2010	TORC Pro 2
Championship titles
1984 AMA 250 1986 AMA 250 and Supercross 1987 AMA 250 and 500 1988 AMA 500 and Supercross TORC Pro 2 (2010) TORC Pro 4 (2011, 2012)
Awards
AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame inductee (1999) Motorsports Hall of Fame of America inductee (2012) 1997 and 2003 Baja 1000 winner 1999 American Speed Association Rookie of the Year 2012 AMSOIL Cup winner 2014 Frozen Rush winner
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
12 races run over 4 years
Best finish	31st (1996)
First race	1995 Spears Manufacturing 200 (Mesa Marin)
Last race	1997 Carquest 420K (Las Vegas)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 2 0
Last updated on: February 3, 2014.

Rick Johnson (born July 6, 1964) is an American former professional motorcycle, off-road truck and . He competed in AMA and Supercross during the 1980s and, won seven . He later switched to off-road racing. In 2010, he won the Pro 2WD Trophy Truck championship in the Traxxas TORC Series. In September 2012, he won the 4x4 world championship race at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway and later that day won the AMSOIL Cup pitting the two and four wheel drive trucks. Johnson won the 2014 Frozen Rush, the first short-course off-road race on snow.

Johnson was born in El Cajon, California where his father was an avid motorcyclist who bought his son a mini-bike when he was 3 years old. When he turned 16 in 1980, he earned his pro license. He won his first national championship in 1984 for the Yamaha factory motocross team. For the 1986 season, he was offered a job with the Honda team by team manager and five time former world champion Roger De Coster. He battled his Honda teammate throughout the 1986 season, coming away with the 250 title and the Supercross crown. During this season Johnson and Bailey were part of one of the most epic battles in Supercross history at the Anaheim stadium. De Coster picked Johnson, Bailey and another Honda teammate Johnny O'mara to represent the U.S.A in the Motocross des Nations in Maggiora, Italy. Team U.S.A. won with a clean sweep. Back home, he finished second to Bailey in the 500 class. Unfortunately, the rivalry was short-lived as just prior to the start of the 1987 season Bailey was paralyzed in a practice crash. Johnson would dominate the 1987 season, winning both the 250 and 500 crowns.

In 1987, Johnson also won what is considered one of Supercross history's greatest races in the Super Bowl Of Motocross at the L.A. Coliseum. After crashing in the first corner Johnson came back from near dead last to pass Jeff Ward and eventually privateer Guy Cooper on the penultimate lap to squeeze the win. He followed this performance by adding the 1988 Supercross and 500 titles to his name. Johnson started the 1989 season strongly but suffered a serious injury when he broke his wrist in a practice session. He would never fully recover from the injury. He soldiered on for a few more seasons but the injury proved too debilitating. He announced his retirement at the beginning of the 1991 season. At the time of his retirement from motocross racing at age 26, he was the all-time leader in Supercross victories. Johnson was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2012.