CHAPTER 386 Ft. Rick Johnson

Ricky "RJ" Johnson — 7-time AMA champion and the original supercross bad boy — joins the Gypsy Tales Podcast for over 3 hours.

Ricky won 61 AMA national races, held the all-time Supercross wins record, dominated the 250cc and 500cc classes for HRC Honda under Roger De Coster, won 4 Motocross des Nations with Team USA, and was forced to retire at just 25 after a devastating wrist injury at the 1989 Gatorback National. After motocross he won the Baja 1000 twice and earned ASA stock car Rookie of the Year alongside Jimmie Johnson.

In this episode Ricky breaks down how good Jett Lawrence really is, whether Haiden Deegan can beat Jett, what signing with Fox Racing was like, Jeffrey Herlings and the European riders, his biggest rivals from the 80s, the brutal reality of motocross media, factory bike advantages, Hunter Lawrence in 2026, and his 2026 Supercross predictions.

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🔥 CHAPTERS:

00:00:00 Intro

00:01:11 Welcome Ricky Johnson to the Podcast

00:04:31 The Crazy History of Motocross

00:15:00 Culture Shock

00:22:39 Japanese Culture and Their Motocross Fan Base

00:29:09 The Riders RJ Has Worked With

00:35:46 Working with Roger De Coster & Others in the Moto Industry

00:39:34 How Good Is Jett Lawrence?

00:49:34 Forced to Retire at 25

01:03:21 Staying Active to Stay Healthy

01:09:21 RJ Knew He'd Be a Pro Motocross Racer

01:31:25 The Brutal Reality of Motocross Media

01:51:00 RJ's Biggest Rivals

01:58:09 Jeffrey Herlings and Why European Riders Are So Good

02:02:16 Signing with Fox Racing

02:12:09 Haiden Deegan's Fox Deal

02:13:54 Brad Pitt's F1 Movie

02:20:36 How Haiden Deegan Can Beat Jett Lawrence

02:28:31 Is Hunter Lawrence the Man to Beat in 2026?

02:29:46 The Most Stacked Field Ricky Raced

02:32:51 Factory Bikes Had a Huge Advantage

02:41:37 Starting American Offroad

02:51:09 Are Riders Neglecting the Basics?

02:52:35 Ricky Johnson Speaks on Jett Lawrence

03:00:54 2026 Supercross Predictions

03:04:16 The Mid 400

03:06:32 Outro

#motocross #supercross #rickyjohnson #jettlawrence #haidendeegan #hunterlawrence #jeffreyherlings #foxracing #rogerdecoster #honda #hrc #baja1000 #moto #mx #dirtbikes #gypsytales

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