With the recent announcement of Chris Ulrich’s retirement from full-time pro racing, I thought it would be fun to find a photo of his first AMA Pro National victory and I found one.

This shot is from when Ulrich won the AMA 750 Supersport race at Laguna Seca in July of 2001. Ulrich was a hard-working rider who it seemed was often battling back from injury. But he had his moments of brilliance such as this race at Laguna.

Ulrich also left a much bigger footprint on the sport than just his two national wins. His tireless promotion of road racing during his entire career likely brought in thousands of new fans to the sport.

Ultimately Ulrich’s racing days may be equally remembered for the two-up promotional rides he gave local media personalities and others before races as he was for his solid career and national wins.

On a personal note I’ll always remember Chris for being a trooper as we sped across the Minnesota countryside at just a bit over the legal limit to get to some TV interviews prior to the Brainerd AMA National one year when I was the media manager for AMA Pro Racing. We made it to Duluth just in time to make our rounds. – Larry Lawrence

Chris Ulrich celebrates his victory in the AMA 750 Supersport race at Laguna Seca in 2001. Ulrich, who just announced his retirement from full-time pro racing, left a lasting legacy in the sport during his racing days through his constant efforts to promote road racing. (Henny Abrams photo)