'Remarkable career' lands Euless rider in Hall

Terry Poovey has a date this fall with the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, where his wife believes his acceptance speech will be a revelation.

Poovey, of Euless, is recovering from the effects of traumatic brain injury, the result of a last-lap, last-corner crash at the famed Springfield (Ill.) Mile on May 28, 2006.

Terry's speech is halting these days, and Kathey Poovey says her husband is "not as fast to get around." But his motor skills and short-term memory are improving, and induction weekend in Columbus, Ohio, near the Hall of Fame Museum in Pickerington, is not until Oct. 11.

"There's not a doubt in my mind that he won't be able to give a speech," Kathey Poovey said. "It won't be lengthy, but it will be emotional. He'll be able to stand in front of his peers and this wonderful group of people at the American Motorcyclist Association we've known for almost 30 years... and it'll be emotional."

Poovey, 49, is among six inductees selected as the Class of 2008. Poovey earned 11 AMA Grand National victories on mile, half-mile and short track courses aboard Bultaco, Harley-Davidson, Honda and Rotax-powered bikes. One of a select group of riders to have competed in 350 AMA National main events, Poovey posted more than 200 top-10 finishes, 80 top-fives and two championships.

"He had a remarkable career... like a Kenny Roberts," said Mark Mederski, the Hall's executive director. "We only induct six a year, and it's done very democratically. It's not a boiler room process where they say, 'Hey, it's time to put Terry in.'"

Still, Poovey said he was surprised to learn of his selection.

"I wasn't expecting it at all," said Poovey, synonymous with the No. 18. "I figured I might be elected but I really didn't count on it, even after all I accomplished. It's a good deal. I'm retired now and I'm a little too old to race. But I raced for a long time."

What proved to be Poovey's last race was a "one-off" ride nearly a year after he officially retired. "I never quite saw this in our future. We were home free," Kathey Poovey recalled. "It had nothing to do with anything except for the fact he has a passion for what he does."

Poovey was running mid-pack in the feature when the engine blew on one of the motorcycles ahead of him. Poovey's bike went down when he ran over coolant and oil on the hardened dirt surface at a speed in excess of 100 mph.

"They were flipping and tumbling, and we think he got hit by another bike, not his own," Kathey Poovey said.

The impact with a 300-pound bike knocked Poovey unconscious for 22 days. His list of injuries was extensive, as every rib on his left side was broken, some with multiple fractures; his left shoulder blade was fractured, as were the C-6 and C-7 vertebrae in his neck. He was not paralyzed, but spent 12 weeks in a neck brace and five and a half months in hospital care before beginning an extensive, and ongoing, rehabilitation regimen in Texas.

"We kept thinking he'd wake up and be himself," said Kathey Poovey, an analyst in the cargo division at American Airlines headquarters in Fort Worth. "When he started coming around, he had to re-learn how to do everything. It's been two years and he's gone from being wheelchair-bound to a walker and a cane. They say it could be at least five years before he's back to himself."

Friends have kept up with Poovey's progress via his Web site, www.terrypoovey.com. Meanwhile, the Pooveys will mark their 29th wedding anniversary in October, a celebration including that trip to the Hall of Fame.

"It just validates everything he worked for for so long," Kathey Poovey said. "And he's thought about going back to Springfield. Why? He wants to see the people he hasn't seen in a couple years -- and watch a really good race."