Kent Howerton was one of the top American motocross

Motocross

Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...

 racers in the 1970s and 1980s. He won three AMA

American Motorcyclist Association

The American Motorcyclist Association is an American not-for-profit organization of more than 300,000 motorcyclists that organizes numerous motorcycling activities and campaigns for motorcyclists' legal rights...

 national championships.

Born in Wichita, Kansas

Wichita, Kansas

Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...

, Howerton was raised in San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

 where he began racing motocross. In 1973 he began competing in the AMA motocross national championship series, and by 1974 he had won his first national race in the 250cc class. For the 1975 season, he was offered a job to ride for the Husqvarna

Husqvarna Motorcycles

Husqvarna Motorcycles, a subsidiary of BMW, is a company manufacturing motocross, enduro and supermoto motorcycles. The company began producing motorcycles in 1903 at Huskvarna, Sweden, as a branch of the Husqvarna armament firm which had supplied the Swedish army with rifles since 1689.-History:As...

 factory

Factory-backed

Factory-backed is a term commonly used in motorsports to describe a sponsored racing team, car, motorcycle or driver that competes with official sanction and financial support, or "backing" from a manufacturer. As motorsports competition is an expensive endeavor, some degree of factory support is...

 racing team and finished the season is second place behind Tony DiStefano

Tony DiStefano

Tony DiStefano was a top motocross champion of the 1970s. He won three AMA 250cc National Motocross Championships....

. Howerton would win the 500cc AMA Motocross National Championship in 1976 for Husqvarna. Suzuki

Suzuki

is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Hamamatsu, Japan that specializes in manufacturing compact automobiles and 4x4 vehicles, a full range of motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles , outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines...

 signed Howerton for the 1978 season and he went on to win the 1980 and 1981 250cc AMA Motocross National Championship. He is remembered for his battles with Bob Hannah

Bob Hannah

Robert "Hurricane" Hannah was one of the most successful motocross racers in American history. He won a total of seven AMA national championships....

 in the early 1980s. At the time of his retirement in 1984, he was second on the all-time AMA 250cc motocross win list.

In 2000, he was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame

Motorcycle Hall of Fame

The Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is an offshoot of the American Motorcyclist Association that recognizes individuals who have contributed to motorcycle sport, motorcycle construction and motorcycling in general. It displays motorcycles and riding gear and memoribilia. The museum is located in...

.