VURB CLASSIC RACE

This last weekend I raced at Oatfield in Turlock at the Vurb Classic.  The Vurb Classic race is a large two day race that brings the best riders together to compete for bragging rights different than most local races.

The morning of the first race day, during our four lap practice, my 65 mod motor blew up.  I switched to my stock bike for the races and I knew I would have to work really hard to keep up with the fast racer that were in my class.  My starts were awesome the entire weekend which helped me to be able to battle for the top positions in every race.  The first round of motos in the morning I had to ride really hard to stay in front because the track wasn’t very rough and the mod motors the other kids had were really fast.  I was excited to be able to battle back and forth and stay in first and second place spots in each race.

I raced my 85 the first day but my motor wasn’t running well.  My Dad and his friend Gary and Brian switched my motor for the second race so I can finish out the day.  Even with the motor problems I had I was able to pull out an overall 5th place finish for the day.  Thank you Gary and Brian for everything.

Even with the motor problems I was able to pull out a 5th place overall finish for the day on my 85.

After practice Sam from 51 Fifty Energy Drink came out to watch me ride and take some pictures of me on and off the track.  Sam even brought some more energy drinks for people at the race….as you can guess I was extra popular.  I will share the pictures with you soon.

All 8 of my 65 races we amazing.  Each race was really great battles with passes back and forth from first to second on almost each lap.  The track got really rough throughout the day and we were racing really hard every lap for the top spot.  I finished up the weekend with 2 overall 1st place wins and 2 overall 2nd place wins for the weekend.

I did have one race that the gate dropped really fast and because I was distracted on the line I wasn’t ready and I ended up leaving the gate last.  Even in that race I was able to battle through all the riders and almost made a pass for first place on the last lap but was not able to make it stick and finished in second place.  On the last race of the day they announced a $25.00 hole shot award which I won.

After the race I was helping my Dad load up and the people from Vurb Moto asked me to stay around after all the races were finished.  They gave out some awards and I won one.  I received the PERFORMANCE AWARD for the weekend.  They gave one of these awards out to a kid that stood out for the weekend with outstanding performances and sportsmanship.  It was really cool to be noticed and given this award.  I have to thank everyone at Vurb for choosing me for this awesome award.

Vurb Moto also interviewed me after I received my award.

For the weekend I got 2 – 1st place trophies, 2 – 2nd place trophies, 1 – 5th place trophy, and the Performance Award

The Performance Award is really cool.  It is made of metal with cut outs and really cool designs….you have to be careful though because I cut my finger on it on the way home.

Fun weekend of racing, can’t wait for the next event!

THE ROOTS MX DIGITAL MAGAZINE

The people at Lucas Oil have put together a really amazing digital magazine.  After the race at Mammoth Mountain I spoke with them and we discussed an article they were writing for the Mammoth issue.  The magazine is really awesome and the things you can do with the magazine is so cool!  Because it is online and digital you get way more from it than any traditional magazines.

The magazine has over 100 pages of pictures, articles, videos and information about everything dirt bike racing.  The pictures are awesome, the articles are really cool, they have videos you can watch right in the magazine, and links that can take you directly to other sites.  As you look through the magazine just run your mouse across the magazine and the links are highlighted that will take you to hundreds of different websites.  With the way they put in videos and links, the magazine is totally interactive.

In the last ISSUE #3 MAMMOTH MOTOCROSS they have a featured article about me.

Issue #3 on Page 84 and 85 is an article that I wrote for the magazine.  Although I won one of my other races at Mammoth, the article is specifically about the race I finished in second place and the pass/battle for the second place spot.

You have to check out TheRootsDigital.com to view all the past issues of the digital magazine.

To see my article go to HunterCrossArticle for issue #3 to read about my race at Mammoth on pages 84-85

On page 113 of issue #3 make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss the next issue of The Roots Digital Magazine!

Thank you My Lucas Oil for putting so much time into giving us the amazing digital magazine.  Can’t wait to see what is coming next.

RACE VIDEO FROM 2014 LORETTA LYNN NATIONALS

I found a video on YouTube of one of my races last week at Nationals at Loretta Lynn’s ranch.  In this short video you can get an idea of what the track looks like at Nationals.

In this three minute video you will see:

• Short ten second ad
• The start of the race with 42 bikes battling around the first turn.
• Me in 3rd place (I am wearing red gear and my bike number is 71).
• The ten commandments (that is what the whoop section is called) I am on the right side passing into 2nd place.
• The next shot is of me in 1st place.
• I stay in 1st place but it will show lapped riders in front of me that I catch up to and pass.
• On the last lap (2:28) you will see me fall and when I got back up I was in 3rd place.

I lead all the first 8 laps of the race but I fell on the last lap and finished in 3rd place.  Overall it was a great ride, really disappointed I lost the win but really glad I was able to finish the race on the podium.  Hope you enjoy the video!

3rd Place Finish at 2014 Loretta Lynn Nationals Race

LORETTA LYNN 2014 NATIONALS

I just got back from the Loretta Lynn Nationals in Tennessee….what a trip!

The first day we drove 26 hours and stopped in Oklahoma to sleep and play.  It was SO HOT when we stopped!  We ate dinner and then went to a place where we squirted each other in the water boats, played pee-wee golf, and rode go carts.

In the morning we started the rest of our drive to Tennessee but did stop in Memphis and had lunch on Beale St.

We checked into our hotel in Tennessee and the next morning we got to go to the race track.  Dad and I walked the track and Mom got me all signed in.

Some of my amazing sponsors hooked me up for the week of racing at Nationals.  Before I left the house I got a ton of goggles and shoes from Von Zipper and DVS.  We stopped at Honda KTM to get some last minute parts.  Jimmie from Fly Racing gave me the some awesome gear to race in.

After spending time at the track we went back to the hotel and rolled the dirt bikes into our hotel room so we could put our new graphics on the bikes.

The next day was race day and I was so excited.   In the first few races I had some suspension problems.  I needed to have my suspension worked on twice throughout the week.  It was really difficult to race each time with different suspension.  My Dad did a really good job of getting it close to what I needed during the race, but each time on the track we were making changes to figure out what would work best.  In my second race when my Dad changed my pipe he didn’t hook up the power valve.  Without the power valve the bike had no power and it was difficult to keep people from passing me throughout the race.  I finished the race in 19th place which is really bad, but not to bad without a power valve.  My Dad was so mad at himself but racing is a lot about skill and practice and even sometimes about luck….sometimes I fall, sometimes the bikes don’t run, and sometimes you get stuck behind a lapped rider….everything doesn’t always work together…..I love you Dad!

In most of the races I did not have very good starts.  In one of the 65 open races I got a better start and came around the first turn in 7th place.  Within the first lap I was able to make some aggressive passes and make my way to the front.  I lead the entire race and as I was coming around the last turn to get the white flag I went down.  I tried to get up as fast as I could and get back into the race but I fell back to third place.  I tried to catch the two riders in front of me but when I fell I had broke my clutch lever and it was difficult to race hard without being able to use my clutch.  I did finish the race in 3rd place and was interviewed on the podium with Wes Kain

There was 42 of the best riders on the line for each of my races and the entire event was so awesome.  I finished out the week with a few really good races and a few really bad races which brought down my overall race average.

65 10-11 Stock  – finished 7th, 5th, 11th for an overall    8th place finish

65 7-11 Open  – finished 19th, 3rd, 7th for an overall    9th place finish

Throughout the week after the races we had some time to play.  One night they had a concert at the track and Jamie Lynn Spears performed.  One day when I had a really early race my family and I drove to Nashville to visited the Grand Ole Opry and we had dinner at Dicks Last Resort.   The concert was really fun, she sang some of her original songs and some current radio hits.  When we went to Nashville we walked downtown, to eat dinner and visited the Grand Ole Opry.  Dinner was so much fun, everyone that works there is really sarcastic and they make hats for you to wear that says something funny about you.  My hat said “My parents beg me to run away”…….lol

My family went back stage at the Grand Ole Opry.  We got to see where the show Nashville is filmed, we saw all the dressing rooms the performers stay in, and I got to go on stage.  I got to stand on the circle wood floor from the original Grand Ole Opry and “pretend” like I was singing.

I had so much support from so many of the most amazing sponsors throughout the week.  I want to thank everyone that supported me during Nationals and throughout the entire year.  First is my Mom and Dad, Grandparents and my entire family.

The guys from KTM and the Orange Brigade

Jimmy with Fly Racing

Danno with Von Zipper and DVS Shoes

The guys from Lucas Oil

The guys from Pax Racing

….and 51 Fifty Energy Drink, 2X Promotions, Americore SMX Scooters, FMF, Mika Metals, DT1, Terry Bostard, The Vaccarello Family, Gary and all our friends at home that kept checking in.

After the last race my parents drove 36 hours straight home so my Dad could make it to work on time.

See old posts from my past trips to Loretta Lynn Nationals:

2013 Loretta Lynn Nationals Part 1 of 2

2013 Loretta Lynn Nationals Part 2 of 2

2012 Loretta Lynn Nationals