Darrell Young
Encyclopedia
Darrell Young is a former American "Old School" professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX)
racer whose prime competitive years were from 1981–1988 and 1991 to 1994.
Started racing: In June 1979 at the age of 13 at the Y-BMX track, in Gladstone, Oregon
As it happens with many BMX racers a friend, Tim Murnane, talked him into racing.
Sanctioning body:
First race result: First Place 13 novice.
First win (local): See above.
First sponsor: Bob's Bike Shop.
First National race result: First place in 13 Expert in the 1979 American Bicycle Association
(ABA) Fall nationals in Tacoma, Washington
. He also won 11-13 Trophy Dash and a third in Open Class.
First National win: See above
Turned professional: June 1984 at age 18.
First Professional race result: He first raced a local track summer Series and emerged undefeated. In his first Professional national he came in first place in "A" Pro at the American Bicycle Association
(ABA) Mile High Nationals in Denver, Colorado
on July 1, 1984. He won USD$240. This is equivalent to USD$475.15 in 2007 dollars.Cost of living Calculator
First Professional win: See above.
First Junior Pro* win: See above.
First Senior Pro** race result: Eighth place in "AA" Pro at the ABA Lumberjack Nationals in Clackamas, Oregon on August 25, 1985. He won USD$30. (USD$59.39 2007)
First Senior Pro win: In "A" pro at the NBL National in Fort Wayne, Indiana
on July 16, 1988 Due to injuries and sponsorship troubles it took approximately two years, ten months, and three weeks to get his first senior pro win.
Retired:
Height & weight at height of career (1990): Ht: Wt:lbs.
----
National Bicycle League (NBL)
American Bicycle Association (ABA)
United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)
(NBA)
National Bicycle League
(NBL)
American Bicycle Association
(ABA)
United States Bicycle Motocross Association
(USBA)
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)
Pro Series Championships
Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:
Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:
BMX Plus!:
Total BMX:
Bicycles and Dirt:
Snap BMX Magazine & Transworld BMX:
NBA World & NBmx World (The NBA/NBmxA official membership publication):
Bicycles Today & BMX Today (The NBL official membership publication under two names):
ABA Action, American BMXers, BMXer (The ABA official membership publication under three names):
USBA Racer (The official USBA membership publication):
BMX
Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
racer whose prime competitive years were from 1981–1988 and 1991 to 1994.
Racing career milestones
----Started racing: In June 1979 at the age of 13 at the Y-BMX track, in Gladstone, Oregon
Gladstone, Oregon
Gladstone is a city located in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 11,438. The 2007 estimate is 12,200 residents. Gladstone is a four-square-mile suburban community twelve miles south of Portland at the confluence of the Clackamas and...
As it happens with many BMX racers a friend, Tim Murnane, talked him into racing.
Sanctioning body:
First race result: First Place 13 novice.
First win (local): See above.
First sponsor: Bob's Bike Shop.
First National race result: First place in 13 Expert in the 1979 American Bicycle Association
American Bicycle Association
The American Bicycle Association is a United States-based Bicycle Motocross sports governing body in Gilbert, Arizona created by Merl Mennenga and Gene Roden in 1977. It is the largest sanctioning body in the United States concerning BMX. It has tracks in Canada and Mexico as well as in the USA...
(ABA) Fall nationals in Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
. He also won 11-13 Trophy Dash and a third in Open Class.
First National win: See above
Turned professional: June 1984 at age 18.
First Professional race result: He first raced a local track summer Series and emerged undefeated. In his first Professional national he came in first place in "A" Pro at the American Bicycle Association
American Bicycle Association
The American Bicycle Association is a United States-based Bicycle Motocross sports governing body in Gilbert, Arizona created by Merl Mennenga and Gene Roden in 1977. It is the largest sanctioning body in the United States concerning BMX. It has tracks in Canada and Mexico as well as in the USA...
(ABA) Mile High Nationals in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
on July 1, 1984. He won USD$240. This is equivalent to USD$475.15 in 2007 dollars.Cost of living Calculator
First Professional win: See above.
First Junior Pro* win: See above.
First Senior Pro** race result: Eighth place in "AA" Pro at the ABA Lumberjack Nationals in Clackamas, Oregon on August 25, 1985. He won USD$30. (USD$59.39 2007)
First Senior Pro win: In "A" pro at the NBL National in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
on July 16, 1988 Due to injuries and sponsorship troubles it took approximately two years, ten months, and three weeks to get his first senior pro win.
Retired:
Height & weight at height of career (1990): Ht: Wt:lbs.
Amateur
- Bob's Bikes: Late June 1979-October 1979
- GT (Gary Turner) Racing Support Team: October 1979-April 1980
- RRS (Riverside-Redlands Schwinn) (bikeshop): April 1980-December 1980.
- JMC (James Melton Cyclery) Racing Equipment: January 1981-June 1985. Darrell would turn pro with this sponsor.
Professional
- JMC Racing Equipment: Early 1981-July 1985. JMCJMC BicyclesJMC, or Jim Melton Cyclery was a bicycle company in the 1970s and 1980s. It started as a bicycle shop in 1969. It began manufacturing bicycle components in 1974, mostly to make a bicycle look more like a motocross motorcycle, including fenders and false fuel tanks. In 1977 JMC began manufacturing...
went out of business in July 1985 after 11 years of being a bicycle component and later a complete bicycle manufacturer.
- Bike Gallery (bike shop): July 1985-October 1985 This was a bike shop that had co-sponsored him back during his tenure with JMC.
- Kuwahara Cycles, Ltd.: October 1985-May 1986. The February 1987 issue of Super BMX & Freestyle magazine implies he resigned in May 1986. due to a personality dispute with the Kuwahara team manager Denny Henderson. "Kuwahara" is Japanese for Mulberry Meadows. The company is named after Sentaro Kuwahara who founded the company in 1916 in Osaka, Japan.
- Bike Gallery (bike shop): May 1986-September 1986. Once again he was back with The Bike Gallery became his primary sponsor while he looked for a factory sponsorship.
- KASL Racing: Sometime in between here. KASL Racing was a small private team from Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA that was started by Lesa Angelo and Ken Hicks (the "K" and "L" of KASL. The "A" and "S" stand for Albert and Sheldon, Lesa's two sons). They provided a jersey for Darrell to wear and paid some of his entry fees during the summer including the ABA Great Northwest Nationals in Eugene, OR.
- X-Caliber: September 1986-December 1986
- First Class BMX (Bicycle shop): Mid July 1987-
- Titan: Early February 1988-
- Oregon ELF (Extra Light Frames): -Late April 1990
- Northwest Kastan: Late April 1990-December 1990. The entire Oregon ELF team went over to NW Kastan in April 1990.
- R&C Racing: January 1991-Mid 1992
- Quick Silver/Bomber: Mid 1992-Late November 1992
- SE (formerly Scot Enterprises now Sports Engineering) Racing: Late November 1992-1999. The 1992 ABA Grandnationals was his first race for SE Racing.
- North Woods BMX: 2000-
- Supercross: November 2003-
- Arrow Racing: 2005
Career bicycle motocross titles
Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial/Department, Regional, National, and International titles in italics. "Defunct" refers to the fact of that sanctioning body in question no longer existing at the start of the racer's career or at that stage of his/her career. Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles. Series and one off Championships are also listed in block.----
Amateur
National Bicycle Association (NBA)National Bicycle League (NBL)
American Bicycle Association (ABA)
- 1981 15 Expert Oregon No.1
- 1982 16 Expert, 15-25 Cruiser & Overall Amateur Northwest Gold Cup Champion
- 1982 16 Expert Utah All-State Champion
- 1982 15-25 Cruiser Jag World Champion (ABA Sanctioned)
United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)
- None
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)
- 1982 15* Expert World Champion
Professional
National Bicycle AssociationNational Bicycle Association
The National Bicycle Association , later known as the National Bicycle Motocross Association was an United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Soledad, California that was created by Ernie Alexander in 1973 and ceased operations as an independent body in 1981...
(NBA)
- None
National Bicycle League
National Bicycle League
The National Bicycle League is a United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Deerfield Beach, Florida but after several moves it was based in Hilliard, Ohio...
(NBL)
- None
American Bicycle Association
American Bicycle Association
The American Bicycle Association is a United States-based Bicycle Motocross sports governing body in Gilbert, Arizona created by Merl Mennenga and Gene Roden in 1977. It is the largest sanctioning body in the United States concerning BMX. It has tracks in Canada and Mexico as well as in the USA...
(ABA)
- 1987 Pro Oregon State Champion
- 1990 Oregon Governors Cup Pro Champion
- 1990 Canadian Amateur BMX Association (CABA)* Grandnational Champion
- 1990 Pro Cruiser National No.3
- 1991 Pro Cruiser National No.3
- 1992 Pro Cruiser National No. 1
- 1993 Pro Cruiser National No.2
United States Bicycle Motocross Association
United States Bicycle Motocross Association
The United States Bicycle Association was a short lived Bicycle Motocross national sanctioning body based in Tempe, Arizona. It was founded in March 1984 by five former members of the American Bicycle Association : Rich Mann, Dave Cook, Geoff Sims, Steve Schaefer and Rod Keeling, who became the...
(USBA)
- None
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)
- None
Pro Series Championships
BMX product lines
- JMC Racing Equipment introduced the Darrell Young Design Signature Series Frame, Fork and Handlebars on October 24, 1983.
- Magazine evaluations:
- Bicycles and Dirt March 1984 Vol.2 No.6 pg.42
- Super BMX February 1984 Vol.11 No.2 pg.61 (Description only)
- Super BMX April 1984 Vol.11 No.4 pg.78 (Full testing and evaluation)
Notable accolades
- Named one of the "Terrible Ten", BMX Actions pick of fastest amateur racers in the world in 1983
- Darrell Young is a 2003 ABA BMX Hall of Fame Inductee.
Significant injuries
- He had back-to-back collarbone breaks in the summer of 1981. The first was at the ABA Great Salt Lake National in Salt Lake City, UtahSalt Lake City, UtahSalt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
on June 28, 1981. He was laid up for approximately five weeks. Six weeks after that first break he rebroke it in mid August at a national while jumping between motos and trying to avoid landing on a young racer also practicing. He was laid up again until late September.
- Broke ankle in early January 1982 in an AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n skateparkSkateparkA skatepark is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, aggressive inline skating and scooters. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, quarter pipes, spine transfers, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, pyramids, banked ramps, full pipes, pools, bowls, snake runs stairsets,...
. Laid up five weeks until the ABA Winternationals in Chandler, ArizonaChandler, Arizona-Demographics:As of the Census of 2010, there were 236,123 people, 86,924 households, and 60,212 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 73.3% White, 4.8% Black or African American, 1.5% Native American, 8.2% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 21.9% Hispanic or Latino, and 8.3%...
held on February 13 and 14.
BMX press magazine interviews and articles
- "Darrell Young" Bicycle Motocross Action February 1982 Vol.7 No.2 pg.22 Side bar.
- "JMC's Darrell Young: An Interview with a True Champion" Super BMX February 1984 Vol.11 No.2 pg.54
- "JMC & Darrell Young" Bicycles and Dirt March 1984 Vol.2 No.6 pg.40
- "Back in the day: Darrell Young" BMX World August/September 2006 Vol.1 Iss.5 pg.14
BMX magazine covers
Bicycle Motocross News:- None
Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:
- February 1984 Vol.11 No.2. In insert "Miss Mongoose" Austin Taylor poses with "Fubar The Robot", Super BMX's prop radio control robot mascotMascotThe term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
. In the centerfold Young is posing with celebrity soap opera actress Andrea Evans-Massey.(SBMX)
Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:
- August 1986 Vol.11 No.8 (BMXA)
BMX Plus!:
Total BMX:
Bicycles and Dirt:
- March 1984 Vol.2 No.6
Snap BMX Magazine & Transworld BMX:
NBA World & NBmx World (The NBA/NBmxA official membership publication):
Bicycles Today & BMX Today (The NBL official membership publication under two names):
ABA Action, American BMXers, BMXer (The ABA official membership publication under three names):
USBA Racer (The official USBA membership publication):