The late Nicky Hayden, a MotoGP and AMA Superbike Champion, is among seven inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame this year.

Most AMA members know of Hayden’s accomplishments. The Owensboro, Ky., native grew up racing amateur flat track and road racing. On his way to winning the first-ever AMA Horizon Award—annual awards now named in Hayden’s honor—he accumulated several AMA amateur national championships.

Nicknamed “The Kentucky Kid,” Hayden went pro in 1999. That year, he won the AMA Supersport Championship and AMA Rookie of the Year honors.

In 2002, at age 21, Hayden became the youngest-ever AMA Superbike Champion, and in 2006, he won the MotoGP World Championship for the Repsol Honda factory team.

Hayden was struck by an automobile while training on a bicycle in Italy in 2017 and later succumbed to his injuries.