Michael Earnhardt - Mechanic

Michael Earnhardt was born into a motorcycle racing family--his father raced everything from trials to road racing--and first started riding motorcycles at the age of five. Earnhardt got his first job at a dealership in 1985 and started road racing in 1986. He learned the racing ropes while traveling to and competing in WERA Regional and National races with Scott Russell in the late 1980s.

After years of working in bike shops while racing on the side, Earnhardt became a full-time race mechanic in 1996, and in 2002 he went to work with rising star Jason DiSalvo on a team put together by DiSalvo’s father, former racer Jim DiSalvo. When Jason DiSalvo landed a factory team ride for the 2003 season, Jim DiSalvo recommended Earnhardt to Team Hammer co-founder John Ulrich and Earnhardt quickly became a key member of the Team Hammer organization, building race engines for the 600cc and 1000cc programs. In 2009 Earnhardt joined Barry McMahan working for the Geico Powersports RMR Buell team; he returned to Team Hammer for the 2010 season and is now working for the Contract Services department, building and maintaining engines for RMR’s new Suzuki-based program, Geico Powersports RMR Suzuki.   

Personal Stats

Born: 1967

Personal Status: Married to Kristianne

Original Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia

Now Living In: Toney, Alabama

First Job As Motorcycle Mechanic: 1988

First Job As Race Mechanic: 1996

Started With Team Hammer: 2003

2010 Riders: Danny Eslick and Elena Myers