Jay Springsteen in his first full-time season, 1975
SPRINGER’S RISE: THE MAKING OF A FLAT TRACK LEGEND
Written by The Harley-Davidson Museum
Photos by Josh Kurpius Archival photos courtesy of H-D Museum
Jay Springsteen remembered his first motorcycles rides in the family’s front yard.
It was 1966 and he was 9 years old. Jay’s father Wayne gifted him a 50cc Harley-Davidson model M-50. Within just two weeks of the first ride, Jay talked his father into letting him enter a 90cc regional TT Scramble race at the Auto City Speedway in nearby Clio, Michigan. In this first race, he placed third.
Jay Springsteen was born near Flint, Michigan in 1957. His father often took Jay and his brothers Ken and Chuck to local motorcycle races. Wayne himself was an auto industry worker and amateur motorcycle racer. At the age of eight, Jay was stricken with Perthes Disease, which temporarily causes deterioration in the hip sockets. He was first on crutches and then unable to walk at all. For a while, his father had to carry him. At the same time the condition subsided, his father gave him the M-50 motorcycle. Now, he could at least move more freely and spend more time with friends. The region of central Michigan also had an active ice racing scene in the winter, which allowed young Jay to gain experience through the year. He was not just limited to summer racing. Jay later went on to say this environment led to the rise of other champions such as Bart Markel and Scott Parker, also natives of Flint.
Poster celebrating Jay Springsteen’s 1976 Grand National Championship
His success in his mid-teens was drawing attention. He was named the AMA’s top amateur by 1974 and was earning a living off his riding. For 1975, Jay raced full time on his own Harley-Davidson XR-750 in the Grand National Championship series, the elite level of flat track racing. His first GNC win came at Louisville, Kentucky half-mile course. For an eighteen-year-old rookie, his performance was nothing short of astonishing. He won a podium in six races and won four. At the season’s end, he was named AMA Rookie of the Year.
With a new vacancy on the H-D factory team for 1976, Springsteen was signed full-time on the recommendation of Director of Racing, Dick O’Brien. The 1976 season would prove to be incredibly competitive. In a total of 28 season races, Springsteen finished in the top three positions (podium) in 15 of them. Seven of those were won by Springsteen. These included back-to-back victories in Columbus, Ohio and Albuquerque, NM. Even more impressive was his winning 4 of the final 5 races of the season. And yet with that much dominance, the Grand National Championship title would not be determined until the final race at Ascot Park (Gardena, California). With a final season tally of 301 points, Jay Springsteen was the Grand National Champion in only his second full-time season. This earned him the right to carry the “Number 1” plate for the following season. It also made him the youngest racer to win the title, taking over that spot from earlier H-D racer Brad Andres.
FOR 1975, JAY RACED FULL TIME ON HIS OWN HARLEY-DAVIDSON XR-750 IN THE GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES. AT THE SEASON’S END, HE WAS NAMED AMA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR.
JAY SPRINGSTEEN
THE YOUNG MATADORS
In the 1977 season, Jay Springsteen got an early start and won the second race, a short track effort at Houston, Texas. By season’s end, he had won 5 more times, and this time, winning the season final by a total of 42 points over second place finisher (Harley-Davidson rider Ted Boody).
The 1978 season proved to be another epic battle. Springsteen won a total of 6 victories, including a run of 3 straight in late May and early June. With the points battle once again running down to the very last race of the season at Ascot Park, “Springer” won and secured his third GNC title in three years. This also made him only the fourth rider to win three straight flat track championships.
Springsteen missed four of the first five races of 1979 with an ailment. But, with an amazing rally, he still managed to finish second place in the final point standings. He also came within a mere two points of winning the 1982 GNC championship. In that same season, he claimed the all-time wins top slot for AMA Flat Track, which he would hold until Harley-Davidson’s Scott Parker would later surpass him.
The 1980s brought mixed results for Jay. In some seasons he was not racing full time. In others, he finished near the top of the point standings. With improving health in the mid-1990s, Jay Springsteen began another resurgence, this time in the new Harley-Davidson 883 Sportster Performance Series. He placed second in the point standings three years in a row. His final full season was 2003 in which he managed to score two podium finishes.
JAY SPRINGSTEEN REMAINS NUMBER 3 ON THE LIST OF ALL-TIME WINS IN AMERICAN FLAT TRACK AT 43. HE ALSO HOLDS THE DISTINCTION OF BEING THE OLDEST RACER TO WIN A FLAT TRACK RACE AT AGE 43.
Jay Springsteen remains number 3 on the list of all-time wins in American Flat Track at 43. He also holds the distinction of being the oldest racer to win a flat track race at age 43. During the years that he raced, his brother Chuck was a successful motorcycle ice racer in Michigan.
Jay Springsteen currently lives in Lapeer, Michigan. He has always been an avid outdoorsmen, enjoying fishing, hunting, snowmobiling and camping. He is known to host fellow racers and friends on hunting and fishing expeditions.
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