Jay ‘Springer’ Springsteen has made an entire career based on one principle: Go 130 miles per hour, turn left and repeat. When he was in his late teens and early 20’s, he was considered one of the best riders on the American Motorcyclist Association Grand National Dirt Track circuit.
At the age of 45, he’s still considered one of the best. To some, he is the best. Just consider this: at the end of this year’s race schedule, Springsteen was ninth in the points standings without having won a race. He did finish second or third in six of the 23 races.
In being inducted into the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame, Springsteen joins Bart Markel, another three-time Grand National champion, in the hall. In 1975, at age 18, Springsteen earned rookie of the year honors. He claimed Grand National championships in 1976, ’77 and ’78. He has won 43 Grand National races, second only to Swartz Creek’s Scott Parker, who has 94. It’s been quite a ride starting with that first season when he was an 18-year-old still attending Kearsley High School.
“I was still in high school and I was making more money than the teachers,” he said. “It was pretty exciting. I never thought I’d go this far in racing. I still love it. I might be getting a little old, but if you can make a living doing something you love, why not keep going?”
Tom Cummings, who raced against Springsteen on the AMA circuit and has owned a dirt track racing team, said nobody would ever match Springsteen’s natural ability to slide a motorcycle through the corners at speeds of more than 100 mph. “I was racing back when he was the best, and when he was winning he just flat out blew us away,” Cummings said. “When it comes down to natural ability, he was the greatest dirt tracker I ever saw. Look at him, he’s 45 years old and he’s still running with guys less than half his age, and beating them”
Springsteen credits living in Michigan, with its opportunities for ice racing, for helping him develop that ability. “All the fast guys are from Michigan,” he said. “Look at all of them, Bart Markel, Scott Parker, Garth Brow, Kevin Atherton. When you learn to ride on ice, you learn the limits of a motorcycle – and you learn how to fall.”
If not for a mysterious stomach ailment that afflicted him after the 1978 season, there’s no telling how many championships Springsteen could have won. After myriad tests, which all proved inconclusive, he put the illness down to nerves.
Springsteen is one of the most popular riders on the dirt track circuit. He has that rare ability to connect with people that defines celebrity in many walks of life. John Zwerkin, an AMA rider representative from Michigan’s District 14, has been following dirt track racing for 41 years and said “Springsteen is perhaps the most popular rider he’s ever seen. Jay’s always been one of the most well-liked people around and there’s a reason for that,” Zwerkin said. “He’s always connected real well with the fans. He’ll sign autographs until the last person has left the track and not all the riders will do that.”
Parker, winner of nine Grand National championships, said Springsteen influenced his early career when both riders were sponsored by the Harley-Davidson factory team. “When I was coming up, he was at the top of the totem pole,” Parker said. “You could say he kind of took me under his wing and showed me around.”
There’s no telling when Springsteen will finally hang up his helmet, but he does intend to be a little more choosey about which races he runs. “I’ll probably be more selective,” he said. “Like the race in Peoria (Il), it’s a TT with right turns, left turns and a jump. I’m old school, I try to keep both wheels on the ground.”
Zwerkin can’t imagine a Grand National circuit without Springsteen. “Usually guys his age are over the hill,” he said. “But not Springer, he’s far from that. The kid’s never lost it, he just keeps getting better with age.”
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