[1] Tripes rose to national prominence in 1972 as a teenage prodigy when, he defeated some of the best riders in the world to win the first-ever stadium supercross race in the United States.
[1][4] It's also notable that Tripes was successful despite being one of the biggest riders of his era, at 6’-1” tall and weighing over 200 pounds in his racing prime.
[1] Tripes was born in San Diego, California and began riding bicycles during the era that spawned BMX racing.
[1] As a child, he watched one of the first motocross races in America which featured the top European riders of the era.
[1] The riding ability of the European riders greatly impressed Tripes and he sought to emulate their style, especially that of his idol Joel Robert.
[2] He rose to national prominence in July 1972 just after his 16th birthday when, he scored an unexpected victory for Yamaha in the inaugural Super Bowl of Motocross in the Los Angeles Coliseum.
[6][3] His Super Bowl victory created a huge wave of excitement in the American motorcycle community.
[1][14] Hannah’s only other real defeat in the 1978 Trans-AMA Series came in the Missouri round where he engaged in an opening moto battle with Tripes, exchanging the lead numerous times until the final laps when Hannah’s front brake cable adjuster came loose, allowing Tripes to take the victory.
[1] After retirement from racing, Tripes became a pioneer in safety gear design in the paintball industry and currently develops ammunition for Tippmann Pneumatics.