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The 2017 season has been kind to Josh Grant. Drafted back
onto the Monster Energy Kawasaki team for both the Monster
Energy Supercross Series and Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Cham-
pionship, he did well in the stadium season—while tail gunning
for high profile teammate Eli Tomac, he finished out the series
in 10th and earned an excellent third-place finish at Sam Boyd
Stadium.“I’ve always appreciated it, but there’s just a little bit more
meaning to it now,” Grant said when asked if he appreciates
the hard-earned results he earns in the 13th year of his career.
“There was a point where we weren’t sure if we were going to
race anymore and that really sets in. When I look back, a lot of
the guys that I looked up to, like Kevin Windham and Jeremy
McGrath, they all went out when they wanted to really go out.
They weren’t forcing it. I wasn’t ready to retire, but circumstanc-
es left me without a ride and I wasn’t going to race for nothing,
so now, being able to get back into the swing of things and
getting on the podiums and all of that type of stuff, that’s the
part I appreciate and try to hold on to a little bit longer now.
For me, they’re harder to come by now, you know what I mean?
It means a lot more.”One person who has been extremely satisfied with Grant’s de-
termination and professionalism thus far in ’17 is Mike William-
son. As crew chief for Eli Tomac, Williamson, who also works
closely with Grant, explained that the two riders both benefit
from each other’s strengths and career experiences.“Josh has added a lot to the team,” said Williamson, one of the
most accomplished technicians in the sport. “I actually had a
chance a couple of years ago to work with Josh. I did the out-
doors with him and did the MXGP here in the US, and he does
bring a lot of experience. Even for Eli, he is still young, and Josh
and Eli seem to get along really good and share ideas about the track, and I think it helps out. Josh brings a
lot with what you can do with the track. I think he brings knowledge to our other rider on what you can jump,
what you can do, what lines you use. Josh is really good at line selections and rhythms and combinations. Josh
having that sort of experience is more of a benefactor for us and for Eli. They talk back and forth, and they’re
able to bounce ideas off each other and be like, ‘What do you think of this? What do you think of that?’ It seems
to work out.”Tomac, who goes to the starting gate with Grant every single Saturday evening or afternoon, is also apprecia-
tive of his teammate and what he brings to the entire Monster Energy Kawasaki operation.BY ERIC JOHNSON
PHOTOS BY MIKE EMERY
Sunday, May 16, 2004. Prairie City OHV Park. Rancho Cordova, California.
The Hangtown Motocross Classic. Eighteen-year-old Josh Grant, a full-on
rookie from Yucaipa, California, grabs the holeshot and leads 39 other rac-
ers from all over the world out onto the undulating 1.4-mile circuit. Fearless
and undaunted, Grant and his number 386 Amsoil/Chaparral/Honda/Factory
Connection CRF250R lead the way for 10 glorious minutes, his lead over
James “Bubba” Stewart up to 10 seconds, before he makes a mistake and
falls off in a slow-speed right-hand corner. The life coughs out of the bike
and Grant kicks at it furiously, but to no avail. The opening moto of the 2004
AMA 125cc National Championship is over for Grant, but a huge impression
has been made on the 20,000 fans teeming along the hills and fences. Grant
is a future, no, an immediate star, and that fact is not lost on the Amsoil/
Chaparral/Honda/Factory Connection outfit, which signs him to a three-year,
six-figure contract a few days later. Ink to paper, Josh Grant is on his way.
Saturday, May 20, 2017. Prairie City OHV Park. Rancho Cordova, California.
The Hangtown Motocross Classic. Thirty-year-old Josh Grant places third in
the second moto of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, and upon
doing so, rightfully earns the third step of the 450MX class podium this after-
noon. Thirteen years, six different race teams, and 230 AMA Pro Racing Su-
percross and motocross races later, Josh Grant is still running up front—win-
ning trophies and collecting bonus checks—in the world’s most competitive
and prestigious racing series.
“It had been a while and I was finally able to make it happen at Hangtown,”
said Grant, who rode his factory Monster Energy Kawasaki KX450F to his first
podium in four years’ time in the long-abandoned gold fields of Northern
California. “It was super cool, and while I was standing up there, I didn’t want
that podium celebration to ever go away—even when we got back to the ho-
tel. Oh man, we were just so jazzed on it and stoked. It was cool because
before, back in the earlier years of my career, even right after the podium stuff
was over, we were already moving on to the next race. I think now with kids,
we get to celebrate and come home and check out the trophy. My kids were
reenacting the podium in the bubble bath at night before school. It has a lot
more meaning for me now.”
CAREER
OPPORTUNITIES
THE RESURGENCE OF JOSH GRANT