in the 125, 250 and 500cc classes. He successfully defended his 500cc crown in 1990 then, finished second in the 1991 500cc championship, nine points behind Jean-Michel Bayle. Ward retired from professional motocross competition after finishing in third place in the 1992 500cc national championship. In 15 seasons, Ward won a total of 56 national races placing him third on the all-time AMA motocross/Supercross win list at the time of his retirement. He won a total of seven AMA national championships, tying Bob Hannah and Ricky Johnson for the most career motocross and Supercross championships at the time of his retirement. In international motocross competition, Ward was a member of 7 winning U.S. Motocross des Nations teams, and a member of 2 Trophée des Nations winning teams. Auto racing career After the end of his motocross career, Ward still had a desire for competition and turned his attention to open-wheel auto racing in the Indy Racing League. He quickly proved to be competitive with a fourth-place finish in the Phoenix round of the 1993 Indy Lights season and a third-place finish at the Nazareth Speedway during the 1994 season. At the 1997 Indianapolis 500 while competing for the Cheever Racing team, Ward qualified on the third row and led the race for 49 laps before finishing the race in third place. His performance earned him the 1997 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award. He improved to a 6th-place finish in the 1998 Indy Racing League season while competing for the ISM Racing team. Ward was contracted to drive for the Pagan Racing team during the 1999 Indy Racing League season and, began the year with a third place at the season opening round at the Walt Disney World Speedway and a second place in Phoenix. He followed this with an impressive second place at the 1999 Indianapolis 500. Ward suffered inconsistent results for the remainder of the 1999 season to finish 11th in the championship. He won the 2002 race at Texas Motor Speedway for the Chip Ganassi Racing team, marking his first and only Indy Car victory. During his open-wheel auto racing career, Ward garnered three top five finishes in seven starts at the Indianapolis 500. Return to motorcycle racing At the age of 43, Ward returned to motorcycle racing and won the 2004 AMA Supermoto Championship competing against riders half his age. He won a second Supermoto