| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Tommy Lee Brackens |
| Nickname | The Human Dragster |
| Born | November 20, 1960 Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 79.4–81.6 kg (175–180 lb) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Bicycle Motocross (BMX) |
| Role | Racer |
| Rider type | Off Road |
| Amateur teams | |
| 1979 | City of Bicycles |
| 1980 | The Pedal Shop of North Hollywood |
| 1980 | JAG BMX |
| Professional teams | |
| 1981 | JAG BMX |
| 1981-1983 | Powerlite |
| 1983-1984 | Torker BMX Products |
| 1984-1986 | GT Racing |
| 1987 | KHS |
| 1987-1988 | World Class Racing/KHS |
| 1988-1990 | Brackens Racing |
Tommy Lee Brackens (born November 20, 1960) is an American former professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer. His prime competitive years were from 1980 to 1988.
His nickname was "The Human Dragster", so named for his adeptness at getting the "Holeshot", or getting out in front literally at the drop of the starting gate and leading the other competitors down the first straight and into the first turn. The moniker was coined by Bob Hunt, an NBL announcer at the 1982 NBL Grand Nationals that Tommy raced in.[1] Many racers received their monikers from the pithy play by play race announcers.
Tommy Brackens was a former motorcycle motocross (MX) racer that made the switch to BMX in 1977 (he would return to MX after his BMX career). Quiet, shy and highly likable he was believed to have all the talents to be truly a top level racer. If Mr. Brackens was likable he had a strong desire to be liked. One of his goals was to be voted as the fan favorite among kids as their favorite racer; "...to be the people's favorite is my goal." he said.[2] That goal was fulfilled in 1987 When he won BMX Action's Number One Racer Award (NORA) Cup for that year.
Unfortunately his inconsistency prevented him from winning a national number one plate for any association amateur or professional. The closest was a National No. 2 with the NBL in 1986. He failed to transfer out of his semi (crashed) while only a few points behind the eventual No.1 for that year, Pete Loncarevich (who was not doing well himself at the time and barely qualified for the main). However, he did win the 1986 IBMXF World Championship. 1986 was a good year by any measure.