Personal History
I began riding and racing at the age of seven. Growing up My dad and I always went to the big amateur nationals such as Loretta Lynn's, Mini O's, Mill Creek, and Branson. As an amateur I always had some fast kids to race growing up, but I always struggled a bit mentally when it came to the big races putting way too much pressure on myself to preform. In the Spring of 2015 I moved up to A class and shortly after earned my Pro motocross license. I entered my first pro national at Muddy Creek Raceway the summer of 2015, where I suffered a broken radius in practice. This was a frustrating injury that took a few months to properly heal, and even after it did I suffered through a lot of pain with it while riding. This proved to be a pivotal moment in my racing career because I was now entering my senior year of high school and applying to colleges. In January of 2016 I was accepted into the University of Virginia, which was my dream school, and after racing for over 10 years at this point I was pretty burnt out. My desire to be a normal kid prevailed and I attended UVa from August 2016 until May 2020 where I graduated with my bachelors degree in Kinesiology. Even after graduation, my racing days seemed so far gone and I never thought I would be able to get to the same level, but finally on my 24th birthday in December of 2021 I decided to get back in the saddle. I think my time away from the sport really allowed me to grow as an individual and alter my perspective on racing and the role it plays in my life. This change in mentality I think has been an advantage for me since I have been racing again the past year, and I truly believe my potential is much higher than my current level of performance. Personally I want motocross racing to be something I do for the rest of my life, I truly believe there are so many lessons you can learn about the world and yourself through competition, so that what I'm here for, to compete.
Riding Goals
This past summer I attempted to qualify at Unadilla, Budds Creek, and Ironman. I cam into the summer with a pretty severe shoulder separation late in April, so getting ready for these nationals was a task. My goal for this summer were to improve my qualifying position, as I felt that was a more reasonable step although my ultimate goal is to make the gate. At Budds I finished 13th in the LCQ which was a goal I was happy to accomplish. I entered Ironman with much higher confidence and after the 2nd timed qualifying I was P52, a huge improvement for me, but unfortunately I had two crashes in the LCQ and finished in 21st. My sights now are set on next summer, where I think I have will have a real chance at making the gates. This winter I will be finding Pro-am races to compete in and get myself in shape, also while focusing on staying completely healthy, something I have struggled with the past couple years.
Competitive Highlights
Growing up I qualified for Loretta Lynn's every year from 2008 till 2014. I always struggled as this was such a tough track with so many fast kids, but in 2014 I was able to secure my first and only podium (3rd) in the two-stroke B/C 16+ class with 2-5-3 moto scores.
Earning my Pro License in the spring of 2015 was a pretty special accomplishment for me, I was only 17 in my Junior year of High school and had just moved up to A class. Instead of doing Loretta's again this year my Pops suggested we try some nationals. I think at this point he knew I was thinking about going to college rather than pursuing my career in racing so we were eager to try and get it going. Unfortunately I broke my wrist at this first event which was a fractured radius, it took almost three months to heal.
Vurbmoto TopGun Showdown 2022 - I raced the Cody Gragg two-stroke memorial pro-am. This event had a $40,000 purse so some awesome riders showed up such as Mike Brown, Chris Canning, Jared Lesher, Justin Rodbell, Matt Burkeen, and I was able to be competitive in an event that over 50 people entred into. I finished 10th in the main event which was huge for me, for the first time since I'd been back I felt like I was where I should be.
Travis Pastrana Pro Challenege pleasure valley raceway - I was able to finish 8th in the 450 class, another event I was proud of.
The Spring of 2023 after coming off a shoulder surgery to repair my Labrum I was able to finish getting enough points to re-earn my Pro Motocross License, this was a huge accomplishment for me. I honestly think it meant more the second time around. I raced from July to January this past year with my shoulder in pretty rough shape, and since coming back the end of April I have been able to begin building myself back to get to where I feel confident entering the nationals this summer. As of now I am signed up for Redbud, Millville, Unadilla, Budds Creek, and Ironman.
The summer of 2023 I was able to compete in Millville, Unadilla, Budds, and Ironman. My first two rounds were a big learning curve but by Budds I had started to get the hang of it. At the final round at Ironman I was 19th on the last lap of the LCQ before a simple tip over tore my knee up pretty good. Even with the injury I was estatic on my riding, had I made it on more turn I would have finished 19th and only been 15 spots out of qualifying in a fairly stacked 450 field. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do this summer.
Summer of 2024 I was able to check off some goals at the last three Pro Motocross rounds. Under extremely challenging conditions I was only 9 spots from making the gate at Budds Creek, coming in 13th in the LCQ, then the following weekend at Ironman I was P52 out of the second qualifying session. These are small steps to my ultimate goal of qualifying to race the best in Pro Motocross. Qualifying has never been my strong suit as I am much more of a racer, however I have made some significant improvements in my sprint speed and will continue to build on that into next summer.