Mitch Payton

Mitch Payton’s life in motorcycling began like many others. The son of motorcyclists James and Norma Payton, Mitch, along with his brother James Jr., started riding at a young age. By 10, he was competing in family enduros and a few years later he was a rising star in the active desert racing community of AMA District 37. By the age of 17, he was the District’s 125cc class champion in desert racing. Where Mitch’s career went from there, however, has earned him accolades matched by few of his contemporaries. By some measures, Mitch Payton is the most successful race team owner in the sport of motorcycling. As a privateer effort, Payton’s teams have collected 26 AMA Pro Racing Championships in Motocross and Supercross since 1991. Payton’s career as a tuner did not come easy, however. In 1978, the year after his AMA District 37 championship, Payton suffered a debilitating crash in the desert. Instead of letting the discouragement of never being able to ride again turn him away from motorcycling, Payton refocused his efforts on the business side of the sport. “When I got out of the hospital, I wanted to stay in the industry doing something, so we looked at this little Husqvarna shop that was not doing very well, and I thought, ‘I can run that,’” Payton remembers. Only 18 years old, he bought and ran Anaheim Husqvarna. Meanwhile, Payton’s skill and reputation as a tuner grew.