Tommy Lee Brackens (born November 20, 1960) is an American former professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer. His prime competitive years were from 1980 to 1988.
His nickname was "The Human Dragster", so named for his adeptness at getting the "Holeshot", or getting out in front literally at the drop of the starting gate and leading the other competitors down the first straight and into the first turn. The moniker was coined by Bob Hunt, an NBL announcer at the 1982 NBL Grand Nationals that Tommy raced in.Super BMX February 1983 Vol.10 No.2 pg.26 Many racers received their monikers from the pithy play by play race announcers.
Brackens was a former motorcycle motocross (MX) racer that made the switch to BMX in 1977 (he would return to MX after his BMX career). He noted that "...to be the people's favorite is my goal".BMX Plus! April 1983 Vol.6 No.4 pg.58 In 1987 he won BMX Action's Number One Racer Award (NORA) Cup.
Brackens placed National No. 2 within the NBL in 1986. He failed to transfer out of his semi (crashed) while only a few points behind the eventual No.1 for that year, Pete Loncarevich. Brackens won the 1986 IBMXF World Championship.
Racing career milestones
Note: Professional first are on the national level unless otherwise indicated.
Milestone Event detailsStarted Racing: August 11, 1978 at 17 years old. Anthony Sewell, who would later become pro BMXer himself (approximately a year or so before Tommy) introduced him to the sport.BMX Action June 1983 Vol.8 No.6 pg.50BMX Plus! November 1986 Vol.9 No.11 pg.16 Answer to "Positive Attitude = Big Fun" letter. As did Turnell Henry and another friend named James Stalworth.BMX Plus! April 1983 Vol.6 No.4 pg.57Sanctioning Body: National Bicycle Association (NBA)First race bike: Redline.First race result: Second in 16 novice at the Valley Youth Center in Van Nuys, California on August 11, 1978.First win (local): First sponsor: City of Bicycles.First national win: Turned Professional: December 1980 age 20. He did it for both monetary reasons and the fact he was 19 years old in the 16 Expert class.First Professional race result: Second in "A" Pro Money on January 18, 1981, at the American Bicycle Association (ABA) Northwest National in Seattle, Washington. It was the very first national in which the new ABA junior "A" pro class was run.Bicycle Motocross Action May 1981 Vol.6 No.5 pg.39 (race results) He also was second in "A" Pro Trophy.BMX Plus! May 1981 Vol.4 No.5 pg.59 (results) Brackens would be one of the first later to be well known pros to graduate from the new junior pro "A" class which was instituted by the ABA.Bicycle Motocross Action May 1981 Vol.6 No.5 pg.39 "ABA Rules Change"First Professional win: In "A" Pro at the ABA Coliseum Classic III national in Detroit, Michigan on February 1, 1981Super BMX May 1981 Vol.8 No.5 pg.56First Junior Men/Pro* race result: See "First professional race result".First Junior Men/Pro win: See "First Professional win"First Senior Pro** race result: First Place in Pro Class at the National Bicycle Association (NBA) Winternationals in Las Vegas, Nevada in February 1981. Unlike the NBA's rivals the ABA and NBL, the NBA did not initiate a second tier, junior pro division for the 1981 racing season. When Brackens turned pro and competed in the pro class in the NBA he raced seasoned veteran professionals like Stu Thomsen, Scott Clark and Kevin McNeal and others of that quality who also raced in the senior pro divisions of the ABA and NBL. Therefore, Brackens was in effect racing senior pro.First Senior Pro win: See above.Height and weight at height of his career (1983–1987): Ht: Wt: Retired: 1990; in part to devote more time to his bicycle frame and fork company Brackens Racing Products.
*In the ABA "A" Pro; in the NBL "B" Pro/Superclass/"A" Pro depending on the era. **In the ABA it was "AA" Pro, in the NBL "A" Pro (Elite Men). However, the NBA did not have a Junior Pro division. The NBA would merge with the NBL after the 1981 season before it had a chance to create a junior pro class. Therefore, any win in the Pro class of the NBA counts as his first Senior pro win.
Career factory and major bicycle shop sponsors
Note: This listing only denotes the racer's primary sponsors. At any given time a racer could have numerous ever-changing co-sponsors. Primary sponsorships can be verified by BMX press coverage and sponsor's advertisements at the time in question.
Amateur The Pedal Shop: Early 1980-Mid-1980 Jag BMX: Mid-1980-December 1980. Would turn pro and be briefly with this sponsor as a pro. Left under bad circumstances. Jag wanted Tommy to stay an amateur for one more year, but Tommy wanted to be a pro immediately.Super BMX February 1983 Vol.10 No.2 pg.29-30
Professional Jag BMX: Mid-1980 – December 1980. Powerlite Racing: April 18, 1981 – September 1983. Left because by September 1983 he was the only member of the Powerlite team and he needed the security of being on a true team. Otherwise he left Powerlite on good terms.Super BMX November 1984 Vol.11 No. 11 pg. 22 Torker BMX Products: October 1, 1983 – November 1984 Torker literally went out of business while the racing team was racing on the East Coast. He didn't have a clue until people came up to him with the news.Super BMX September 1986 Vol. 13 No. 9 pg. 62 GT (Gary Turner) Racing: November 1984 – December 31, 1986 On the return flight west after Torker folded Richard Long, the owner of GT, offered Brackens a spot on his team, which he accepted. At the end of his contract he turned down an offer from GT to stay on a pared-down team because his salary would have been reduced. GT offered to compensate by increasing contingency awards (a contingency is a monetary award for coming in first place at any given race as an incentive). Brackens did not accept. According to the September 1999 issue of Snap magazine, it didn't sit well and it left a "bad taste" that freestylers Eddie Fiola and racer Gary Ellis were being paid more and he was offered less than they were being paid.Snap BMX Magazine September 1999 Vol. 7 Issue 6 No. 35 pg. 81 Teammate Gary Ellis remained under those terms.Super BMX April 1987 Vol. 14 No. 4 pg. 5 KHS (Kung Hsue She): May 1987 – August 1987. World Class Racing/KHS: August 1987 – July 1988. World Class Products, Inc. is the product of the merger between Jag BMX and DG Performance Bicycles in the spring of 1982.Super BMX June 1982 Vol. 9 No. 6 pg. 5 KHS was still a co-sponsor when World Class Products was Tommy Brackens's main sponsor. Brackens Racing: July 1988 – 1990 – This was a Tommy Brackens-owned BMX company that made frames and forks. It was prosperous enough to factory-sponsor Eric Carter at the beginning of his pro career.
Career bicycle motocross titles
Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial/Department, Regional, National, and International titles in italics. Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles. Only sanctioning bodies active during the racer's career are listed.
Amateur National Bicycle Association (NBA) 1980 winner of the amateur Race of Champions (ROC) at the 1980 Grand Nationals winning a $3,000 Fisher stereo systemBMX Plus! March 1981 Vol.4 No.3 pg.19 Amateurs can win expensive prizes without jeopardizing their amateur status as they would be if they won the cash equivalent.
National Bicycle League (NBL) 1980 16 Expert Grandnational Champion American Bicycle Association (ABA) None
Professional National Bicycle Association (NBA) None National Bicycle League (NBL) 1984 National No.3 Pro 1986 National No.2 Pro American Bicycle Association (ABA) None United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA) 1986 "A" Pro and Pro Open Race of Champions Champion (Double) International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF) 1986 Pro European Champion 1986 Pro World Champion Pro Series Championships and Invitationals 1984 European Challenge Cup Champion
The 1984 European Challenge Cup was a comparatively small race (130 motos) that drew a select portion of racers, professionals and amateurs, Europeans and Americans held on June 10, 1984, in Slagharen, the Netherlands. Though small, it was well received.BMX Plus! October 1984 Vol.7 No.10 pg.10 1985 Kellog's Frosties BMX Champion.
The Kellogg's Frosties BMX Championship held in Birmingham, England was a series of six races held on three days total (but stretched out over a week including off days) that was centered on the invited 12 top pros of the United States and 12 British pros and tailored for British television broadcast. There were also eight amateurs class races held but the race focus was meant for the pros. Bicross de Paris 1985 Challenge Yoplait Champion (King of Bercy 2)
The 1985 Paris Yoplait BMX Challenge was an invitational race sponsored and promoted by the Yoplait Yogurt company in which American and English pros as well as French pros were brought together to compete in a single race. As is typical in Europe, the public had greater enthusiasm for BMX than the American public, in part because bicycle racing of any type was and is much more popular in Europe (and in Asia and South America as well) than in the United States. A staggering (by American standards) 18,000 spectators attended the sell out event and it was covered live on French television.BMX Plus! March 1986 Vol.9 No.3 pg.9 1986 Scorpion International Spring Classic Champion.
The Scorpion International Spring Classic was an invitational race held at Lowestoft, a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England on May 4, 1986. Four American pros were invited: Eddy King, Scott Clark Travis Chipres and Tommy Brackens. They raced at least four respected English pros in the main including Tim March, Geth Shooter, Garry Llewellyn Jamie Vince and Charlie Reynolds. Other nationalities were invited but did not make the pro main. Brackens was pro champion.
Notable accolades Winner of the National Bicycle Association's "Most Improved Rider" Award in 1981.Super BMX May 1985 Vol.12 No.5 pg.61 Winner of BMX Action's 1987 Number One Racer Award (NORA) Cup with 17.91% of the vote (total cast unknown)BMX Action March 1987 Vol.12 No.3 pg.26 He is a 1991 ABA BMX Hall of Fame Inductee.
Miscellaneous
He was the 1986 winner of the "King of the Mountain" outlaw Gravity Powered Vehicle (GPV) Championship.BMX Action March 1987 Vol.12 No.3 pg.20* This win was the beginning of a career in GPV racings. His enthusiasm was reflected in this quote:"That, by far...and I'm serious, meant more to me than winning ANY BMX race I've ever won! THAT was intense."BMX Action March 1987 Vol.12 No.3 pg.47 (bottom)----BMX Action March 1987