WHO IS
MARK "TEX" ADAMS?
Daytona winning jersey with Mark "Tex" Adams TEXAS in memory logo.
JOHNNY LEWIS SAYS:
"To me Mark was like the big brother I never had. I met Mark March 2005, just after I won the 2004 AMA Sports Athlete of the Year, AMA Flat Track Horizon Award and was just picked up by KTM USA to begin the next step in my career. KTM provided me with multiple KTM 450s that winter to prepare for selective flat track and supermoto races until I was able to race the 2005 AMA Pro Supermoto championship starting in July when I turned 16 years old. Mark was assigned by KTM to meet my father and me in Ocala Florida to help dial in these 450s. Mark was only 21 years old at the time, I was 15, but we both were just beginning our careers. We spent a week together at the Ocala supermoto track as well as at Marion County Speedway and began a relationship that I'll never forget.
Mark was inspiring and still inspires me to this day, never settle attitude, it can always be better.
I do have this funny story about Mark though. One day we were at the KTM headquarters in Ohio where Mark just built me an all new KTM 450 flat track motor and had HMF build me an exhaust for my J&M framer. My dad showed him the carb Ron Hamp built with a velocity stack for my CRF450 last season, Mark looked at it and within minutes was switching out carbs. After realizing the throttle cables were too short or were wrong for the KTM throttle housing, Mark figured out if they reversed the cables and had it so the pull was backwards it would at least allow him to start the bike and run on the dyno. My dad shot down the idea right away and said he would run to the local Honda shop to get the right cables. So my dad heads to the Honda shop, Mark goes "I'll just do it my way to at least get a heat cycle or two in before your dad gets back, he'll never know". Well we go outside to start it, didn't have an electric starter so it needed bumped off. Mark pushes the bike out the door and asked if I'd close the door and then come out. As I walk out the side door I see Mark pushing my bike (let me remind you ALL NEW KTM J&M framer) down the loading dock beside the KTM box trucks. And the moment he jumped down and kicked into gear to bump it off all I heard was a hi rev and saw my ALL NEW KTM J&M framer flying over top of the box trucks. The throttle cables stuck wide open! It lands on its wheels and is wide open down the parking lot, off a drop off into a field right next to the train tracks. Bars bent, carbon fiber tail section broken, pipe smashed, footpegs ripped off. Mark, was in panic mode, didn't say a thing to me, picked the bike up and ran it back up to the shop like he was going to fix it before my dad got back. There was no fixing that, and definitely not in 30 minutes or less before my dad returned and Mark knew it. But he was trying anything and everything, pulling it apart and putting the broken parts behind the KTM semi. Mark realized he was defeated, sat down, and said I'm sorry man.
If you happen to know my dad at all, well you can imagine that it didn't go over well, but Mark took it like a man that just made a huge mistake and after my dad cooled down, we got the bike running and man was it fast!
I decided to start the Mark "Tex" Adams Memorial TT Mayhem in honor of Mark, his hard work and dedication to the friends, riders and industry. I won the AMA Pro Flat Track Daytona Short Track just 2 months after Mark's death, Mark was with me that night. I crossed the line and pointed to the sky (almost crashing) and yelled out "we did it"! I want the Mark "Tex" Adams Memorial TT Mayhem to become the largest Amateur TT event in the country, I know it's not going to happen over night but I will work hard to provide the future stars of flat track the best racing event for years to come, to inspire them, to drive them to be the best, just like Mark did for me."
Courtesy JGRMX:
It is with sorrow and regret that we learned Mark “Tex” Adams was killed while trying to help a stranded motorist yesterday morning, January 26th, 2012. Apparently a vehicle drifted over and hit Mark as he was trying to assist the driver of a car that had run out of gas on his way to work as James Stewart’s personal tuner in Florida. Tex was an original member of the JGRMX team, and since has worked with Travis Pastrana and The Nitro Circus, built award winning custom choppers, and most recently as mentioned above worked as James Stewart’s in-house mechanic. His talent, versatility, work ethic and friendship will be sorely missed.
Tex has been involved in motorcycling practically his entire life. His father owned a motorcycle dealership in the town of Tyler, and Tex enjoyed being around the shop. He started riding at the age of nine, and as a teenager, he raced motocross on the local circuit around Tyler. By the age of 15 Tex had started working at nearby Broadway Yamaha. He told us how he remembered telling his associates there he would one day be a mechanic on a factory team, the pinnacle of professional tuning, and set his sites on achieving that goal.
In 2003 Tex started working as a tuner with privateer Adam Mennenga. Adam was subsequently hired as a replacement rider on the Holigan Walters Samsung Yamaha team and Tex was brought on to continue as Mennenga’s tuner.
In 2004, Tex secured a place with KTM working for the Supermoto team. Pleased with his performance, Tex was paired with Kurt Nicoll for the 2005 Supermoto season where the duo finished third overall in the series.
Nicoll was promoted to World Team Manager and reassigned Tex to work for Sebastian Tortelli in the 2006 MX1 GP Series as a test and practice technician. Tex relocated to France until Tortelli suffered an unfortunate injury, and Tex returned to the U.S. Upon his return, Tex was paired with the then injured Josh Hansen finishing out the 2006 National Motocross Championship. Tex continued with Hansen through the 2007 Supercross Lites West Series.
When the 2007 National Motocross Series kicked off Tex was working alongside Joaquim Rodrigues, and capped off 2007 with a Gold Medal wrenching for Ronnie Renner where he won the X-Games Step Up competition. In 2007 JGRMX team manager Jeremy Albrecht was building out the then new team and had heard positive things about Tex and contacted him about the opportunity to join the new team as a tuner. Tex felt the opportunity was right, and was especially encouraged when Dean Baker, who had worked at KTM with him made the move to the fledgling team as well.
Although he moved on after the 2008 season, he and the team remained in contact. Tex would attend races and join the team for dinner during the Texas rounds. When Tex began working with The Nitro Circus, he brought Travis and the crew by the Joe Gibbs racing Sprint Cup Shop for a day of fun, including challenging the 18 team to a pit stop contest (the 18 team won) and Travis and Andy Bell riding through the immaculate shop (after two years the tire marks are finally cleaned off the floor) on a pair of dirt bikes.
Tex then began creating high performance custom choppers, he built a “TP199” bike that took first place at the Dallas Progressive International Motorcycle Show in November of 2010.
As mentioned earlier, Tex had been handling the personal tuning duties for James Stewart at his training compound in Haines City, Florida, which again reunited Tex with the JGRMX team. Tex worked closely with the JGRMX testing and development personnel providing valuable assistance on the various areas Stewart and the team have been exploring. Tex was only 28 years old. God Speed Mark Adams.
Read more at http://motocross.transworld.net/news/rip-mark-tex-adams-of-jgr/#iqHeLwMMiiwK6Je5.99