5th Place today in the melting heat.

More pics and vids to come.

Thanks for all your support and to all of you who came out to say hi.

MC



The view walking up

Check me out on FUEL TV

That's Patrick the big boss of Baldwin Racing taking me to sign autographs

Thanks for all your hard work guys!

 Click here to see my CORR Gallery

So day 1 is under my belt.  We're racing abrand new track out here in Pomona, specially built for the CORR series.  I hope you all got a chance to watch it live on Speed Channel.

So here's a quick recap of yesterday.

I had some truck difficulties during qualifying and ended up 11th.

The race was awesome, it was tuff to come from behind, and we're still working out the quirks of the my truck.  It has to be set up a little different since we run on pavement for part of the race at Pomona.

But it's all good, I'm so stoked to be racing and learning from one of the best teams out there Baldwin Racing, thanks to all the team.

Here's a few photos from the day.  I'll have more after the race is over.

The Opening Ceremony

Getting Ready

Deegan's first race.  Good to see him out here.

Hangin with the Toyo Girls.  Thanks for the sweet tires!

March 06, 2008

 

By Eric Johnson; Photos by Simon Cudby and Matt Ware

 

Jeremy McGrath has decided to do a big U-turn on his asphalt-based NASCAR Late Model stock car racing plans to return to his roots—roots planted firmly in terra firma. McGrath, the greatest supercross racer in the sport’s history, will return to the sport that made him a household name for the energy drink generation when he suits up for the inaugural ESPN Moto X World Championship on April 12-13. Two weeks later, McGrath will turn in his factory Honda CRF450R motocross bike for a 4,200-pound, 800-horsepower wonder truck as he prepares to make a run at the 2008 Championship Off Road Racing Series P2 Championship. On the 15 freeway between Temecula and San Diego with a little bit of time on is hands, McGrath rang us up to let us in on his best laid plans.

Racer X: Jeremy, what made you leave the asphalt wrinkling NASCAR Late Model world in you rearview mirror?



Jeremy McGrath: The way that I look at the Late Model stuff I did is that I enjoyed it. I think I did pretty good for not having a coach or anything. I would just show up and drive. I had limited support and it was all sort of a tryout session. I raced in six races and enjoyed it. The thing I came to realize is that my whole life is in California. I wasn’t going to pick my family up and move to Charlotte to race stock cars. I knew it was going to be a steep learning curve. I also figured out that I wasn’t really looking for a second career. I mean if I was going to travel and put all this time in, I may as well have been racing supercross and making some money. I enjoyed the cars a lot, but geographically, it just didn’t fit in my life.

But CORR has…



Exactly. I knew CORR was what I wanted to do. I had raced before and it came really easy to me. (McGrath placed second in the P2 class at Round 7 of the 2007 CORR series in Antelope Valley, California). Everything that I have earned on my motocross bike I have been able to apply to the CORR truck. A program came together for 2008 and I knew all the races would be on the West Coast. It was an easy choice.

Who will you be driving for?



I’m going to drive for Team Baldwin. I’ll race in the P2 class, which is the two-wheel drive class. It’s going to be my first full-time season and I’m really excited about it. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m going to get to drive a lot in the next eight or nine weeks and that will give me a lot of seat time before our first race at the end of April. In fact, I’ll start testing next week. My practice truck will be out here in a week. I’ve already proven that I have the potential to do well. I have just had a lack of time in the truck itself and I don’t now the limits of the truck yet. So I’m going to build my own track on some property I have in San Diego and practice at least two days a week. I’m going to go out and use the track and drive as much as I can.

P2 is the most competitive classification on the CORR roster, isn’t it?



P2 is, like, The Class. Comparing the P2 class to the P4 class is not like comparing the 125cc class to the 250cc class in motocross. Yeah, P4 is more truck and the trucks are badass, but P2 is the really competitive class. It’s only February and already 32 trucks are signed-up to race this year.

Is Team Baldwin an elite outfit in the CORR pits?



For sure. We’re like a Hendrick or Roush in NASCAR. We get the A+ stuff. We’ll do anything we can to win. And with the first race two months away and with the truck out here for me to practice with, I’ll have a solid month of practice and testing under my belt. I’ll be a lot better off. In the past I just went to the race and when the races actually started, I was still learning. With all this seat time I’ll be able to get in a good groove.

You make it sound as if a 220-pound motocross bike has a lot in common with a 4200-pound truck. In what ways?



The throttle and the brake are all the same stuff. It’s mostly knowing the lines — knowing smooth lines and the rough lines. Most of the stuff on the truck is exactly like a motocross bike except it’s only wider. It isn’t like the Late Model stock car stuff I did. You don’t wait for the car to come to you. You can really make stuff happen in the truck.

With your motocross background, what may give you an advantage over the truck guys?



Some guys don’t jump so good and some aren’t too good at working the throttle.

Can you win?



I really feel I can win. I don’t feel I’m close to reaching my potential. I want to be in the mix for the championship. I hope I can do it in my first year.

And the word on the street is that you’re going to return to supercross, as well.



Yes. I just signed on to compete in the Moto X World Championship. I’m going to race Supercross and I’ll compete in Step Up. I may also race SuperMoto, but I’m not 100% sure yet. It depends on Honda. I’m not out to race an AMA Supercross. This kind of event is fun and, so far, I’ve done a good job of keeping my face and name out there, so this will be a lot of fun for me. The TV time scheduled for this event is really good. I’ve been riding a bunch of supercross. I’m going to put effort into this. I’m not showing up to just be Jeremy McGrath.

Did you know that Ricky Carmichael has signed up to compete in the ESPN Moto X World Championship Step Up competition?



I did not hear that. That’s interesting. I’m surprised he’d fly all the way out here just to do Step Up.

Is Step Up a difficult discipline to master?



Well, I got my ass handed to me at Summer X! It was weird. I felt good in practice, but with the way they put the bar up, it’s always a crapshoot. I think it takes practice. I don’t know… I’m going to practice. Step Up is an awesome event. It’s something really cool and it’s perfect for TV. Even people that do anything about the sport can tune-in and understand what’s going on. It’s like high jump with motocross bikes.

So, you’re about to begin racing both bikes and trucks. Sounds like you’re coming out of retirement…



I guess so. I’ll be preparing for both of them. I’m really happy about all this. It’ll be a good reason to get in shape and it’ll be good to get back in a routine of working out. All that goes by the wayside when you have no goals. Obviously, sitting around and playing golf and stuff is fun, but after you’ve done it for a couple of weeks in a row, it gets old quick. It’ll be great to be focused again.

Here's the official press release for my site...

Tell all your friends to come check it out.

Thanks for all your support!

MC

Loop'd Network Launches Official Fan Community for

Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath

JeremyMcgrathlive.com includes exclusive videos, photos, event information, industry news and blogs

Los Angeles - April 23, 2008 - Loop'd Network, a next generation social network for sports, today announced the launch of seven-time AMA Supercross champion Jeremy McGrath's fan community at www.jeremymcgrathlive.com. The community is a central archive of exclusive content from McGrath's own personal video archives and includes blogs from the champ himself, video updates, photos, event coverage and industry news.

“Jeremy McGrath is the king of supercross and his new fan community is a great addition to the Loop'd Network,” said Scott Tilton, chief executive officer of Loop'd Network. “Jeremy's online community gives fans a direct connection to Jeremy for exclusive content, provides exceptional value to his sponsors and helps his legacy live on for years to come.”

Starting this weekend, McGrath makes his debut in Championship Off Road Racing (CORR) as a factory-backed truck racer under the Baldwin Racing tent.  Racing gets underway with a special Press Day on Friday, April 24th at the Pomona Fairplex, and full-blown race competition goes Saturday, April  26th and Sunday April 27th.

Although retired from full-time Supercross racing, a bronze statue of McGrath, originally unveiled at a ceremony in July 2007 at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in Pickerington, Ohio, was on display at the main entrance to Angel Stadium, where McGrath has won a record eight AMA Supercross main events during his career.

“I couldn't be happier with my new community on Loop'd,” said McGrath. “I can interact with my fans and let them know what I'm up to and where I might be racing or appearing. Loop'd has the largest online community of Supercross fans, so it made sense for me to re-launch my site on Loop'd where I can easily build my community and stay connected with my fans.”

To join McGrath's community, visit www.jeremymcgrathlive.com and sign up!   Look for up-to-the-minute updates regarding McGrath's CORR race this weekend!

About Loop'd Network

Loop'd Network™ is a next generation social network for sports, and specializes in creating, aggregating, distributing and monetizing social media and interaction. By providing a purposeful place for the entire sports ecosystem - athletes, enthusiasts, teams, events, media and brands to connect and interact, Loop'd delivers a differentiated platform of member services and marketing products. Combining an interactive and personalized experience for its members with a truly unique approach to brand integration and engagement for advertisers, Loop'd Network is defining the future of online sports networks. For more information, visit www.loopd.com.

Troy just sent me some pics of my new lid to share with you.

Enjoy

MC

Don't forget.....

Thanks to everyone for checking in over the weekend and especially all of you who came out to say hi at the Moto X Championships.  I had a great weekend and I hope you did to.  Stay tuned, I start racing CORR trucks in 2 weeks.  I'll keep you posted throughout the season on my races.  And be sure to check back at the Ranch.  I have lots of cool stuff coming up to show you.

Hey everyone.

I just finished up another autograph signing with Monster.  Thanks to everyone who came out.

I also had a quick chat with Tommy.

I'm gonna grab some lunch with my friends who came out to watch and I'll post some more stuff later.

MC

Thanks for checking everyone.

So yesterday was an awesome start to the Moto X Championships. I spent the day doing some TV work with Deegan and Cameron Steele, and finished it off with an autograph signing at the Monster Army Truck.  Thanks to all those guys!

Here's a few photos from my day.  To see what a day at Moto X  is like check out my photo and video galleries for Moto X.

Amanda from Supercross.com

The Legend Mr Hoppen

Autograph signing at Monster

CYPRESS, CALIFORNIA – During the 2007 CORR (Championship Off-Road Racing™) season, Seven-Time Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath piloted a Baldwin Racing-prepared, 800+ horsepower Pro 2® class Ford F-150 truck equipped with Toyo® Open Country M/T®-R tires to a podium finish in Lancaster, California.  Competing as a “guest driver” at only a few races during last season, he demonstrated his ability to easily transfer his remarkable racing skills to four-wheeled vehicles.

For 2008, McGrath becomes a full-time driver for Baldwin Racing, joining teammate and Pro 4™ class driver, Josh Baldwin, both competing on 35X12.50R17 Toyo Open Country M/T-R tires.  The team will be a force to reckon with in CORR, as Baldwin also recorded multiple podiums on Toyo tires during the 2007 season.

“I’m excited to be part of the development of Toyo’s CORR race tire and of the Open Country M/T.  I’ve put a lot of laps on the new tire during practice and testing with the Toyo Team,” said McGrath.  “I can’t wait for the season to start. Working with their team and engineers, I’ve seen that they share my drive to put Toyo on top of the box.”

“We are excited to have Jeremy McGrath as our newest member of Team Toyo Off-Road,” said Stan Chen, manager of events and motorsports for Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp.  “McGrath will bring his huge fan base to CORR events and will deliver exciting results for Toyo.”

Toyo’s Open Country M/T has won everything from the Baja 1000, to short course events, rock racing and rock crawling events.  It’s “Attack” tread pattern provides maximum traction, yet is quiet and comfortable on the road.  To learn more about Team Toyo drivers and the Open Country® line of tires from Toyo, log on to toyo.com.



Toyo manufactures and distributes a complete line of replacement tires for high performance cars, luxury vehicles, light trucks and SUVs as well as tires for commercial trucks, buses and off-road and construction applications.

Ok here's my schedule over the weekend.  I'll be doing TV work both days.

But i'm going to have some time to meet everyone at the Monster Army truck.

Saturday

4pm to 5pm

Sunday

11am to Noon.

Please come by and say hi.

MC

Had dinner with my good friends at Nobu in the Hard Rock last night.  Ran into my good friend Steve Astephen who was having dinner with Ryan Scheckler and his posse. 

After dinner we made our way over to see Travis and watch his movie.  On our way we ran in to David Pingree.

Here's a couple of shots.

Keep checking back.  I'll be posting new pics in the Moto X Gallery all weekend!

MC

Tonight is Travis Pastrana's movie premier down in San Diego.

I think it opens next week nationwide.

I'm off with my crew to check it out.

I'll post some pics later

MC

I'm sure you all have heard that I hurt my leg preparing for the Moto X.  It's a bummer I won't be able to compete, I can't ride for 6-8 weeks.  But I will be at the Moto X World Champs this weekend doing some TV work and of course I'll be at signing autographs with the Monster Army crew.  Please come by and say hi.  I'll also be posting photos and vids while cruising around the pits and from behind the scenes.

See you there!

MC

Hey Everyone -

Sorry It's been a while I've been out at Stateline testing my new truck for the CORR series.   A lot of you have been asking me which races I'll be at.  I finally worked it out and I'll be at all of them! Here's the schedule.  Please come hang out in the pits.  For all you SX and MX fans who've never been you gotta come out! It's insane.  Her's a link to the CORR site.

http://www.corracing.com/

 April 26-27 Los Angeles

May 17-18 Las Vegas

June 7-8 Los Angeles

July 26-27 Chula Vista

August 16-17 Los Angeles

September 13-14 Chula Vista

October 25-26 Las Vegas

December 6-7 Chula Vista