Personal History
Thank you for taking the time to review my racers profile. I am a 30 year old racer from North Carolina currently competing in the NCHSA and VXCS championship series'. On the off weekends when I am not racing or traveling for work, I fill in with Mid East Hare Scrambles or GNCC's. Otherwise you can find me riding for fun at a park somewhere around North Carolina or Virginia. After all, fun is why we all threw a leg over a dirtbike to begin with.
Throughout my life I have always been a competitor striving to be the best I can be. Whether it was recording a perfect record in a soccer tournament as a goalkeeper, or racing my mountain bike in the summers to cross train, I wanted to be out there having fun and getting results. The highlight to my sports career was being a member of the 2005 National Championship Football Team at Appalachian State University.
My time in Boone, NC at Appalachian State University taught me skills in and outside of the classroom as I worked my way through school and helped run local ski and snowboard events whether it was races, demo's or competitions. I learned brand management, relationship building skills and how to cross promote and work with many individuals and companies to feature each one in a way that benefited all parties. My major of Recreation Management with a concentration in Commercial Recreation and Tourism only solidified these skills and gave me the 4 year degree to back up my real-world experiences.
After changing jobs a few times I finally landed in a career as a Project Manager; designing, building and managing trade show booths and corporate interior projects. This does keep me busy some weekends, but if I am not working I am out enjoying time on my dirtbike with friends. It has become a bit of an obsession, but it is what allows me to tap into that competitive spirit that seems to never die.
Riding Goals
Being that 2016 is my first full season dedicated to running a points class and competing for a championship, I am hoping to finish in the top 5 in both the NCHSA and VXCS Series. I have my work cut out for me in the NC series due to the bad luck bug following me around early in the season and currently sit 10th in points with 5 races to go, but I currently stand 4th in the VA series only competing in it part time. With my athletic background, at this point in my racing career, my conditioning off the bike far exceeds my skill on the bike so I find myself moving up through the pack as others fall off. I just need to refine some of my technique and and actually invest in my bike setup.
For 2017, I am planning to run the southern GNCC races early in the season as well as competing in NCHSA and VXCS again as well. I also plan on making it to a Kenda Sprint Enduro or two and hopefully travel up to New England for a JDay event if my schedule allows. The southeast is flooded with great off road race series so I want to sample as much as I can in 2017.
Competitive Highlights
My first race was at Windy Hill MX in Ellerbe, NC in 2015. I was on very antiquated equipment, racing aboard my 1994 CR250. After a reasonable start, I came from 6th to 3rd in my first event.
In 2016 I started racing in the VXCS race series and have had great battles with the guys in my class. We regularly push each other and swap positions throughout the race and any one of us can win on a given day. The highlight of this was the 2nd race of the day in their GPX format race at Birch Creek MX outside of Danville, VA. During the first race I set the fastest lap of the class on the very last lap and finished just off the podium. In race 2 I got a horrible start. On a very hot day and this being the second 1hr sprint race of the afternoon, I relied on my fitness and pushed my way through the pack. Catching 3rd place a mile into the last lap, I pushed that rider for around a mile before he made a mistake allowing me to thread the needle trying to pass an already downed rider. That rider happened to be 2nd place. Knowing these two have great sprint speed, I turned it up a notch and just sprinted to a 2nd place finish. I raced a clean, tip-over free race and got the finish I knew I worked toward all season.