| December 10, 2023
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The Incredible Hulk vs. Goliath
By Kent Taylor
After a few years of importing a package deal of European racers and their dirt bikes, motocross racing found traction in America in the 1970s. But even though the sport was growing throughout all the states, it would be California that grabbed the birthright of MX. The Golden State spawned the top riders; champions like Smith and Jones, Hannah, Glover and others were all Californians. Jimmy Weinert moved from the East Coast to become one of them. Even transplanted European champ Pierre Karsmakers, born in Holland, called himself a Californian.
Professional MX was no place for a kid from Nebraska, but Greg Theiss was determined to break through that Californian ceiling. A privateer rider from the state where winter can arrive anywhere from October to May, Theiss was on his way to establishing himself as a real threat before a tragic accident stopped him and ended his career.
It was the 1970s, long before Loretta Lynn was anything other than a country singer, and a time when factory rides were earned on the circuit, traveling from race to race. The odds were against the privateer rider. The factory teams challenged them to beat their best riders, who were on their best equipment. While the privateer rider was still making the long trip in their vans, the factory riders were asleep in their posh hotel rooms.
In 1978, Theiss finished an impressive ninth overall in the AMA’s 250cc National series. But no factory team had beckoned. “I remember talking with people at Team Honda during the year” Theiss recalled, “but then they switched team managers. Gunnar Lindstrom was in charge, and the call never came.”
But the muscular kid (Theiss’ nickname was “The Incredible Hulk”) from Omaha persevered, and his showing in 1979 was a season that would’ve been a solid year for any factory-sponsored rider. Theiss rode a modified LOP Yamaha YZ400 in the 500cc class, which was stacked with talent. Reigning champion Rick Burgett, and 1977 champ Marty Smith signed up for the big bikes, along with Danny LaPorte, Jimmy Ellis, Steve Stackable, Tommy Croft, Billy Grossi, Darrell Shultz, Gaylon Mosier, Rex Staten and others.
Theiss proved he could run with the big dogs, grabbing some solid finishes in the early part of the season. The series moved to Binghamton, New York, on August 12. On the hilly, rock-strewn course, Honda’s Jimmy Ellis nailed the first moto holeshot and appeared to be well on his way to the win when his crankshaft broke, leaving Theiss and fellow privateer Yamaha rider Mickey Kessler to battle for the win. With just two laps remaining, Kessler attempted to stuff his way past Theiss, a move that he would later regret. “I was stupid,” he said, “to try and pass there.” Kessler wound up stuffing only himself—straight into the ground! He was quick to remount but not quickly enough to stay with Theiss, who motored to his first-ever AMA National moto victory.
The second moto did not go as well for the Nebraskan with an eventual 12th-place finish, but still good enough to net him a second overall behind Team Yamaha’s Mike Bell. Theiss would finish the 500cc series with a solid 10th place in the 1979 500c points.
In the fall of ’79, Theiss topped the field in the Support class of the Trans USA series at the opening round at Mid-Ohio. He would continue his winning streak when the series moved to RedBud in Buchanan, Michigan. Though his results slipped over the remaining rounds, he still finished the series in fourth place, making 1979 a success. Surely, a factory team was going to come calling this time?
Silence. And once again, Theiss, with some help from LOP Yamaha, hit the road as privateer in 1980.
That summer, Theiss suffered one of his first major injuries, breaking his foot at a local track in Nebraska. On a summer weekend when he should’ve been trying to qualify at the Los Angeles Coliseum for the Superbowl of Motocross, Theiss was instead attending a wedding in Iowa. That evening, Greg and three of his friends were involved in a tragic automobile accident. Two close friends were killed. The injuries he suffered that night would keep him out of racing for the rest of the season and he would never be the same.
He returned in 1981 but struggled to get back to his pre-accident speed. He also found himself without any support, and after a couple of races on a Honda CR450R, Theiss hung it up for good.
“I had started to make a little money from racing before the accident,” he recalls, “and now, I was going to have to spend it all if I wanted to keep racing.” Though he would continue to ride locally in Nebraska, his pro career and the pursuit of the fabled factory ride were over.
Today, Theiss is retired and still living in Omaha. “I worked very hard in real estate and with other investments while I was in my 20s and 30s, so that I wouldn’t have to do anything when I was in my 60s. And I’ve made it happen!”CN