DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(May 8, 2026) –
AMA Pro Racing joins the
motorcycle racing community
in mourning the passing of
Mike Kidd, the 1981 AMA
Grand National Champion, AMA
Motorcycle Hall of Famer,
race promoter, series
builder, and former AMA Pro
Racing executive. Kidd was
72.
A native of Fort Worth,
Texas, Kidd authored one of
the most respected careers
in American motorcycle
racing, first as a rider who
overcame repeated adversity
to reach the sport’s highest
level, and later as a
promoter and executive who
helped shape the future of
flat track and indoor
motorcycle racing.
Kidd turned professional in
1972 and quickly established
himself among the elite
riders of the Grand National
era. His first AMA Grand
National victory came at the
1974 Charity Newsies Half
Mile in Columbus, Ohio, and
he went on to collect 12 AMA
national wins during his
professional racing career.
His greatest competitive
triumph came in 1981. Riding
for the Lawwill/Roberts
team, Kidd earned eight
podium finishes and
victories at the Ascot Park
TT national and the Du Quoin
Mile. The championship
battle came down to the
final race at Ascot Park,
where Kidd finished second
to secure the AMA Grand
National Championship by
five points over Gary Scott.
After the 1981 title, Kidd
joined Honda’s newly formed
dirt track effort and played
an important role in the
development of machinery
that would help power Honda
riders to multiple Grand
National Championships in
the years that followed.
Kidd retired from
professional racing after
the 1983 season, but his
influence on the sport only
expanded. He was named AMA
Promoter of the Year in
1984, built and operated
Boyd Raceway in Texas, and
created the AMA National
Arenacross Series in 1985.
He later worked as a vice
president with Clear Channel
Motor Sports and continued
to shape motorcycle racing
through event promotion,
sponsorship development, and
television initiatives.
Kidd also served the sport
from within AMA Pro Racing,
including leadership roles
with AMA Pro Flat Track and
later as AMA Pro Racing
Director of Sales. Across
those roles, he brought the
same racer’s determination
and promoter’s vision that
defined his life in
motorcycling.
Inducted into the AMA
Motorcycle Hall of Fame in
1998, Kidd leaves behind a
legacy that reaches far
beyond his 1981 Grand
National Championship. He
was a racer, promoter,
innovator, salesman, and
advocate whose work helped
sustain and grow the
uniquely American discipline
of flat track racing.
AMA Pro Racing extends its
deepest condolences to
Kidd’s family, friends,
former competitors,
colleagues, and the many
fans whose lives he touched.
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