LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Nov. 21, 2022) – Motocross legend Brad Lackey, only American rider to win the 500cc World Motocross Championship in 1982, has been named the 2023 Maely Award recipient for his Lifetime Achievement to the motorcycle sport and will be awarded the honor on Saturday, Jan. 28, in the third annual Hot Shoe Hall of Fame Museum and Motorcycle Industry Celebration at the Las Vegas’ Notoriety Theatre on the famed Las Vegas Fremont Street Experience (450 E. Fremont St., 3rd Floor).
Lackey, 69, was one of America’s pioneering motocross racers in the 1970s and 1980s and first captured the U.S. AMA 500cc National Motocross Championship in 1972, winning five of eight national races. He then moved to the 500cc World Championship in 1973 and placed second to Heikki Mikkola in 1978.
The Pleasant Hill, CA legend came back with Suzuki and won the coveted 1982 500cc World title and later retired from pro action that season. The 1982 world motorcycle scene saw the United States winning three championships with Lackey in the 500cc World Motocross title, Danny LaPorte taking the 250cc World Motocross crown and Bruce Penhall capturing his second straight World Speedway championship.
Lackey was inducted in the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and the prestigious Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2013. Brad also will be awarded the 2023 "Dick Hammer Award" by the TrailBlazers Motorcycle Club.
Lackey also donated his first "Steel Shoe" to the Hot Shoe Hall of Fame Museum this year as he began racing short track races early in his racing career at various Northern California tracks.
"I’m extremely honored to be named for the Hot Shoe Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award," said Lackey, who’ll be on hand to accept the honor on Jan. 28 in Las Vegas. "I have been named to several Hall of Fames for my career, but this is the first Lifetime Honor and I want to thank the Board members and voters who acknowledged my racing career. The Hot Shoe Hall of Fame Night is so much fun and a must for the motorcycle fan and enthusiast. It’s a tremendous night of racing memories."
Lackey joins Judy Maely (2020), Kenny Roberts (2021) and Larry Huffman (2022) as the fourth member of the Hot Shoe Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement to the motorcycle industry award.
In addition to Lackey’s Lifetime Award, over 75 new inductees will be a part of the 2023 class for the Hot Shoe Hall of Fame when this year’s event gets underway on Saturday, Jan. 28, with special motorcycle display at 4 p.m. and the popular "meet and greet" celebration and presentations at 6 p.m.
Hot Shoe Hall of Fame Museum founder and curator Gene Woods is excited to add Lackey to the lost of Lifetime Achievement Award winners in this year’s celebration. "Brad helped put American motorcycle racing on the map in the 1970s and 1980s," said Woods. "He has given so much to motorcycle racing and the two-wheel industry and we are pleased to honor him this year as joins Judy Maely, Kenny Roberts and Larry Huffman as honorees. Brad is still the first and only U.S. native to win the 500cc World Motocross Championship. We honor him this year for his great contribution to the motorcycle industry."
In the last two years, Woods, Hot Shoe Hall of Fame president Keith Mashburn, the Hot Shoe Hall of Fame Board of Directors and his staff produced the Hot Shoe Hall of Fame Museum Celebrations attended by a star-studded affair of motorcycle legends. The motorcycle display opens this year’s event also ties in with the annual Mecum Motorcycle Auction at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The "Hot Shoe" is the symbol that recognizes the cream of the crop of motorcycle racing stars who used a very specialized tool, the steel shoe, to assist them in navigating the dirt track corners.
An added attraction on Jan. 28 will be the popular feature film, "On Any Sunday 2," which will be shown to attendees at the Notoriety Theatre on Jan. 28 to highlight several of the Hot Shoe Hall of Fame inductees featured in the movie.
For those accepted into the Hall of Fame, the honorees’ Hot Shoe is mounted on a Hall of Fame plaque. Recipients also receive their own version 8x10 plaque. Potential Hot Shoe Hall of Fame candidates can apply on the www.hotshoehof.com website.
For more information on the Hot Shoe Hall of Fame celebration and hotels, visit the website at www.hotshoehof.com or on Facebook at Hot Shoe Hall of Fame.
Contact: Tom Blattler, TB Communications, tomblattlercomm@gmail.com, 317.525.5692
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