FOX Racing Shox supports AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and AMA Racing Championship Banquet, presented by KTM North America

PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- In support of motorcycling's history and racing's future, FOX Racing Shox is sponsoring both the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony -- as presenting sponsor of the 2009 AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Concours d'Elegance -- and the AMA Racing Championship Banquet, presented by KTM North America. The events take place on consecutive evenings, Dec. 4-5, at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas.

The sponsorship will include a special display at both events showcasing the history of FOX Racing Shox.

"Since FOX Racing Shox founder Bob Fox, along with his brother Geoff of Fox Racing, are being inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame this year, we're very excited about the company's additional participation in the program," said AMA Special Events and Marketing Manager Tigra Tsujikawa. "Of course, FOX Racing Shox made its mark in motorcycle racing, and their sponsorship will nicely complement the championship awards banquet on Friday night."

FOX Racing Shox's founder and Chief Engineering Officer Bob Fox said that his company is proud to support this celebration of the accomplishments of motorcycling's innovators, leaders and stars.

"FOX Racing Shox totally supports the mission and goals of the AMA Hall of Fame, and our sponsorship flows naturally from that," Fox said. "FOX's own history began more than three decades ago with a passion for motocross and for innovation. Those passions continue to this day. For us, the celebration and commemoration of motorcycling's history and heritage -- and the individuals who created it -- enriches our sport and will inspire its future innovators, leaders, and stars. We are proud to be a sponsor of this event."

On Dec. 4-5, the motorcycling community will descend on Las Vegas' Hard Rock Hotel & Casino for the 2009 AMA Racing Championship Banquet, presented by KTM North America, and the 2009 AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

The racing banquet will recognize the champions from 2009 AMA Racing premier events and series. In addition, special awards, such as the AMA Racing Athlete of the Year, the AMA Racing Sportsman of the Year and the AMA Racing Female Rider of the Year, will be awarded.

At the Induction Ceremony the following evening, Perry King, legendary actor of stage, screen and TV, will serve as master of ceremonies as the AMA officially welcomes the 2009 class to the Hall of Fame. In addition to Bob Fox, this year's inductees are Fox Racing's Geoff Fox, industry innovator Robert Bates, off-road racer Randy Hawkins, suspension pioneer Gilles Vaillancourt, off-highway rights activist Mona Ehnes, longtime motorcycle safety proponent David Hough, noted race team manager Gary Mathers and successful dirt-track racer and tuner Chuck Palmgren.

On Saturday morning, the program will showcase some of the most beautiful motorcycles in existence at the Concours d'Elegance, presented by FOX Racing Shox. In addition, attendees will be able to meet the 2009 Hall of Fame inductees and other Hall of Famers at an autograph session held earlier in the day.

Advance ticket purchase is required for both evening events at a cost of $49 per person per single event, or $89 per person for both events. To purchase tickets, visit AmericanMotorcyclist.com/LetsRock. Tickets will remain on sale through Nov. 29. Admission to the Hall of Fame autograph session and the Concours d'Elegance, presented by FOX Racing Shox, is free.

About the American Motorcyclist Association

Since 1924, the AMA has protected the future of motorcycling and promoted the motorcycle lifestyle. AMA members come from all walks of life, and they navigate many different routes on their journey to the same destination: freedom on two wheels. As the world's largest motorcycling rights organization, the AMA advocates for motorcyclists' interests in the halls of local, state and federal government, the committees of international governing organizations, and the court of public opinion. Through member clubs, promoters and partners, the AMA sanctions more motorsports competition and motorcycle recreational events than any other organization in the world. AMA members receive money-saving discounts from dozens of well-known suppliers of motorcycle services, gear and apparel, bike rental, transport, hotel stays and more. Through its Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, the AMA preserves the heritage of motorcycling for future generations.

Simply put, Bob Fox is a natural engineer. Born into an Illinois farming family in 1939, some of his earliest memories are of finding mechanical solutions to problems that prevented him from having fun. When his father wouldn't let him go fishing because the hooks on fishing lures were too dangerous, seven year-old Bob took pencil to paper and designed a sort of safety lure, which encased the lure and its hooks until it successfully hit the water. Like many young boys, Bob played with Erector Sets and model trains. But for him, these childhood toys represented components with which to develop ever better structures instead of a simple kit to build and push aside.

After Bob graduated from high school, his father sold the farm and moved the family to California, where he attended Santa Clara University, graduating with a degree in Physics. From there it was off to career, family, and normal life ... until he discovered motocross bikes.

By the early 70s, motocross bikes were rapidly evolving from the days of extremely limited suspension travel, toward the lightweight, long-travel machines they are today. Suspension technology, however, was not keeping up with the ever-increasing motocross population's desire to go faster. Like the seven year-old who wanted to go fishing, Bob Fox saw a hurdle that could be overcome with the help of a motivated engineer and a better mechanical design - the first FOX AirShox was born in 1974.

In 1976, American motocross star Kent Howerton put a set of FOX AirShox on his factory Husqvarna and went on to win the United States 500cc National Championship. A year later Marty Smith collected another 500cc national championship win aboard a FOX AirShox equipped motocrosser. Bob's young company was officially on the map, and sold race-winning suspension faster than it could produce it. By the early 1980s, however, motorcycle manufacturers began selling bikes that were already equipped with decent suspension, so the demand for FOX AirShox diminished, and Bob Fox, the engineer, had to go back to the drawing board as Bob Fox the businessman, in order to keep his company alive.

But FOX Racing Shox was built upon racing, which served to not only save Bob's company, but also propel it toward the successful business it is today. In 1982, FOX Racing Shox made its debut at the Indianapolis 500. By 1983, nearly half of the Indianapolis 500 grid was equipped with Bob's shocks. Tom Sneva won that year's Indy 500 and Bob was there to see the checkered flag fly. The company that was born in motocross became a force to be reckoned with in off road truck racing, snowmobile racing, and motorcycle road racing.

In the early 1990s a brand new revolution was taking place; mountain bikes were being equipped with both front and rear suspension. Bob's company entered the race, and in 1993 Cannondale Bicycles first line of dual suspension mountain bikes came factory-equipped with a FOX Racing Shox rear shock.

Since the company's humble start in Bob's friend's garage more than three decades ago, vehicles equipped with FOX Racing Shox and the athletes who race them have won countless medals, trophies and championships. While some certainly garner more acclaim than others, each win seems to delight Bob equally. It seems that each new success sparks the desire to improve upon the last one. Because despite considerable business success, his proudest accomplishments are the ideas and products he and his company have developed.

"The best way to find happiness and success is to do something you love and are good at. I've been lucky enough to have spent the last 35 years of my career following that formula - and I wouldn't trade it for anything." - Bob Fox

Interview with Bob Fox by Dirt Mountain Bike Magazine

HOW DID YOU COME TO START FOX?

It's the old story of a sport or hobby that you love that leads you into starting a business. In the early '70s I loved racing motocross. The so-called "Long-Travel Revolution" was happening then, wheel travel went from about 4" in the early '70s to around 12 by the mid-'70s. The problem was that the shock absorbers that had been working o.k. with 4" of travel were now over-worked with 12" of travel. They were overheating and fading (losing damping during the race), and all too often an over-stressed shock would break apart during the race.

As a motocross racer I knew about these problems; I was in the middle of all this. I'm also a mechanical engineer, so in 1974 I decided to take a shot at designing a better shock, one that would handle the demands of the new long-travel suspension designs, and work really well. I was also fascinated with the idea of using internal air pressure to replace the conventional coil springs usually used, and so I called them "FOX AirShox".

How well did they work? Well, just two years later, Kent Howerton put FOX AirShox on his factory Husqvarna and went on to win the 1976 US 500 cc National Motocross Championship! After that, as they say, the rest is history.

HOW HAS THE COMPANY CHANGED OVER THE YEARS?

There have been lots of changes. Probably one of the more interesting is that when the company began, the only market we were involved in was motocross. Motocross was 100% of our business, but a decade later we were completely out of motocross ? by the late '80s, motocross was 0% of our business. What happened? The biggest change was that the bike OEMs began producing new motocross bikes with better shocks. Whereas previously, any serious rider would immediately purchase aftermarket shocks for his or her new motocross bike, now many riders found this was no longer a necessity. Also, our aftermarket competition had become a lot tougher.

So with our motocross orders declining rapidly in the early '80s, the company was struggling. Compared with the instant success we had enjoyed with the AirShox (and the sense of "Wow, where has this been all my life?"), these tough times came as a bit of a surprise to us. What I found out, and what I like to tell people who ask, is this: you learn an awful lot more about business when sales are bad than you do when sales are good. When sales are good it seems easy, but until you've gone through a period when sales go bad, there's still a lot about business that you don't really know yet.

We decided that in order to survive as a company, we had to find new markets. So over the years we've learned to design winning shocks for off-road cars, Indy cars, snowmobiles, ATVs, bicycles, and various other applications. We've learned that each market has unique requirements, and we've developed a broad range of technologies to meet them. Because we were forced to broaden ourselves beyond just the motocross, we are a much better and stronger company today. And, going full circle now, the really great news is that after a 25-year absence we are now getting back in the motocross market!

Our return to motocross was enabled by all the new technology and new ideas we've learned and developed over many years in many different markets. We are confident that, by combining, twisting, and tweaking the various technologies we've learned, and by coming up with some new ones, we can once again offer suspension products for motocross that will provide a winning edge. For me, this is déjà vu. All the changes have taken us full circle right back to motocross where it all started, and it sure feels good.

DID YOU EVER IMAGINE THE COMPANY COULD GROW TO WHAT IT IS TODAY?

Absolutely not. Never dreamed or imagined it. That was never the goal. What drove me was mostly a "pride of engineering" kind if thing. I believed in myself, that I was a pretty good engineer, and I loved racing, and I just wanted to make the best possible shocks. So I just went for it.

Looking back at it now I think to myself, "Wow, I guess that's the beauty of youth (I was just 35 then), you think you can do anything." You don't think about how it's just one guy (you) against the big corporations out there that are going to compete with you, and how likely it is that you will fail. It was just taking one day at a time; there was no master plan. It was sort of like that saying about a thousand-mile journey begins with a single step, except then I had no idea that I was going on a thousand-mile journey. But is sure has been an exciting trip.

WHY DID YOU START PRODUCING MOUNTAIN BIKE PRODUCTS?

It was a perfect fit. Given our background in motocross and other kinds of racing, this was a natural. We didn't need to have an MBA degree to figure that out. So when the mountain bike market began to take off in the early '90s, we jumped right in.

WHAT PROPORTION OF THE COMPANY DOES THE BIKE SECTION MAKE UP?

That varies year to year, but currently the bike division is roughly 3/4 of our business.

HOW COME IT TOOK YOU EIGHT YEARS TO MAKE THE MOVE INTO PRODUCING FORKS AS WELL AS REAR SHOCKS?

Forks and shocks (of course) are both "suspension components", involving spring rates and damping. However, one very major difference is that the design of forks involves testing, analysis, and optimization of many structural aspects (such as strength, weight, stiffness, and fatigue behavior in various models, etc.) to a far greater degree than rear shocks. Prior to the year 2000, we didn't have the right in-house experience and expertise for design and procurement of the magnesium lowers ? one of the most critical structural components. We didn't want to enter the market until we had a superior top-end product, and that's always been a core FOX new-product philosophy.

In 2000, all the stars aligned, so to speak; everything we needed just kind of fell into place. We decided the time and opportunity was right to launch our mountain bike fork project, so we did it. The plan was to focus on the top-end of the market only. Our goal was to be the industry leader in that category within five years. We like to think we have succeeded ... and then some.

DO YOU THINK YOU'LL EVER MAKE MX FORKS?

Complete forks? Maybe, but it's too soon to say. We are working on development of new technologies for MX forks, but in general, these technologies involve the fork cartridge only, not the fork chassis. Features and performance of the fork cartridges are where we see the biggest opportunities for enhancement, therefore that's what we're focused on now, and not complete forks. Whether or not we might decide to offer complete forks as some later date remains to be seen.

DO YOU DO MUCH RIDING YOURSELF?

Not as much as I'd like to, but that may change as I free up more time. I still love the challenge of being an engineer and designing cool new products, but after 35+ years, the time has come for me to cut back on my hours a bit. Then I'll do more riding.

WHAT IS MOUNTAIN BIKING TO YOU?

Fun and great exercise. Also, and I think all the top design guys would agree, to do your best work as a design engineer, there's no substitute for actually riding the product (in addition to getting feedback from pros test riders). You need to personally experience the features and performance of your new shock or fork design. So that's another reason I ride.

WHAT'S YOUR GREATEST MEMORY?

Hmmm.... I'd have to say that no one particular memory stands out above all the rest, but there are a few that are definitely up there: When Kent Howerton won the 1976 500 cc National Championship on FOX AirShox. That was a huge, and very exciting. And when Marty Smith won it again in 1977. That also was huge, and again really what launched the company.

Being there in the stands at the 1983 Indianapolis 500, and watching along with 400,000 other fans as Tom Sneva won the Indy 500 using FOX shocks was another great memory. Thanks to TV coverage, it felt like the whole world was watching, and we had won it.

But, the best memories aren't the race wins. At the end of the day, the best memories are the people, the many really terrific individuals I've had the pleasure and privilege of working with, racing with, and getting to know over the last 35 years. And many of them I'm still working with every day right here at FOX in Watsonville. I won't even begin to try to make a list, it'd be too long. But, I'd just like to take this opportunity to say, "Thanks for everything" to each and every one of them. They made all the difference; they made it happen.

ANY FUTURE AMBITIONS?

Keep on having fun as an engineer, designing really cool, great products. Start doing more of the things that I've postponed for 35 years while I was dedicated to running the company. Like traveling more, and spending more time with family and friends. Another goal is to help others, and find way to give back to the sports (like mountain biding and motocross) that were the foundation of the company's success. Another ambition is to spend time learning more about, and becoming involved with, organizations dedicated to helping make the world a little bit better place to live for the many among us who are less fortunate.

FINALLY, ANY LAST PEARLS OF WISDOM?

The best way to find happiness and success is to do something you love and are good at. As for me, I've been lucky enough to have spent the last 35 years of my career following that formula, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.