CHAPTER 386 Ft. Rick Johnson
Gypsy Tales
Jase Macalpine
4.6 • 564 Ratings
🗓️ 2 March 2026
⏱️ 188 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ricky "RJ" Johnson — 7-time AMA champion and the original supercross bad boy — joins the Gypsy Tales Podcast for over 3 hours.
Ricky won 61 AMA national races, held the all-time Supercross wins record, dominated the 250cc and 500cc classes for HRC Honda under Roger De Coster, won 4 Motocross des Nations with Team USA, and was forced to retire at just 25 after a devastating wrist injury at the 1989 Gatorback National. After motocross he won the Baja 1000 twice and earned ASA stock car Rookie of the Year alongside Jimmie Johnson.
In this episode Ricky breaks down how good Jett Lawrence really is, whether Haiden Deegan can beat Jett, what signing with Fox Racing was like, Jeffrey Herlings and the European riders, his biggest rivals from the 80s, the brutal reality of motocross media, factory bike advantages, Hunter Lawrence in 2026, and his 2026 Supercross predictions.
🎬 Join us for a special screening of 100 Hours with Jo Shimoda live and in person.
📍 March 6th in Indianapolis.
🎟️ Get tickets here:
https://us.gypsy-tales.shop/pages/premiere-screening
🧤 FIST HANDWEAR:
http://www.fisthandwear.com
CODE: GYPSYGANG for 15% off
👕 DIXXON x Gypsy Tales Flannel
🇺🇸 US: https://www.dixxon.com/products/gypsy-tales-flannel
🇦🇺 AUS: https://www.dixxon.com.au/collections/new-releases/products/gypsy-tales-flannel
🏍 MOTOSPORT.COM: https://www.motosport.com/?rstr=62946&ls=8vu&utm_source=roster&utm_medium=influencer&utm_campaign=-jasonmacalpine-62946
💧 Stay hydrated with SOTA Fuel — Order yours today:
https://sotafuel.com/products/sota-fuel-hydration-30-pack?variant=42103959945258
🛒 Shop Gypsy Tales merch: https://us.gypsy-tales.shop/
🎙 SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsBGR5UR7UCyLvNbHSxisFQ
📸 FOLLOW GYPSY TALES ON INSTAGRAM: @gypsytalespodcast
📩 Business Inquiries: ethan@gypsy-tales.com
🔥 CHAPTERS:
00:00:00 Intro
00:01:11 Welcome Ricky Johnson to the Podcast
00:04:31 The Crazy History of Motocross
00:15:00 Culture Shock
00:22:39 Japanese Culture and Their Motocross Fan Base
00:29:09 The Riders RJ Has Worked With
00:35:46 Working with Roger De Coster & Others in the Moto Industry
00:39:34 How Good Is Jett Lawrence?
00:49:34 Forced to Retire at 25
01:03:21 Staying Active to Stay Healthy
01:09:21 RJ Knew He'd Be a Pro Motocross Racer
01:31:25 The Brutal Reality of Motocross Media
01:51:00 RJ's Biggest Rivals
01:58:09 Jeffrey Herlings and Why European Riders Are So Good
02:02:16 Signing with Fox Racing
02:12:09 Haiden Deegan's Fox Deal
02:13:54 Brad Pitt's F1 Movie
02:20:36 How Haiden Deegan Can Beat Jett Lawrence
02:28:31 Is Hunter Lawrence the Man to Beat in 2026?
02:29:46 The Most Stacked Field Ricky Raced
02:32:51 Factory Bikes Had a Huge Advantage
02:41:37 Starting American Offroad
02:51:09 Are Riders Neglecting the Basics?
02:52:35 Ricky Johnson Speaks on Jett Lawrence
03:00:54 2026 Supercross Predictions
03:04:16 The Mid 400
03:06:32 Outro
#motocross #supercross #rickyjohnson #jettlawrence #haidendeegan #hunterlawrence #jeffreyherlings #foxracing #rogerdecoster #honda #hrc #baja1000 #moto #mx #dirtbikes #gypsytales
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Before the sport was polished, in the early days that would define Supercross, |
| 0:04.0 | when the gear was loud and two strokes were the center of the sport. |
| 0:08.0 | It was Rick Johnson's error. |
| 0:09.0 | This was a time when the sport was raw, dangerous, and still writing its own rules. |
| 0:14.0 | In the 80s, Ricky stacked championships, battled legends head to head, |
| 0:19.0 | and bought an intensity and persona that helped define |
| 0:21.8 | an error. He didn't just win races, he raised the standard of how hard everyone else had to work. |
| 0:27.3 | Indoors, or outdoor, 125, 250s, 500s, if there was a gate drop, Ricky Johnson was a threat to |
| 0:34.0 | win. Just as RJ was getting into his prime, a career-ending wrist injury would cut his |
| 0:39.1 | time on the bike short. But when most riders would hang it up, RJ didn't slow down. He changed |
| 0:44.5 | disciplines. He took that same edge from two wheels to four and went on to race trophy trucks, |
| 0:49.6 | finding a new love in four-wheeled racing, proving that elite races aren't defined by the machine. |
| 0:55.1 | From motocross dominance to off-road brutality, Ricky Johnson's legacy is simple. |
| 0:59.7 | Greatness adapts, and real races never stop racing. |
| 1:03.4 | Gypsy gang, welcome Ricky Johnson to the podcast. |
| 1:09.3 | I'm at a gypsy. |
| 1:13.1 | All right, man, I think we're ready to rip. |
| 1:13.9 | All right. |
| 1:16.6 | The bad boy is in the building. |
| 1:19.1 | We've been trying to do this for a while, mate. |
| 1:19.7 | No, I know. |
| 1:21.8 | We did a little something back at Pomona, right? |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jase Macalpine, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Jase Macalpine and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.