Local motocross riders Alex Vestal and Evan Woody are on their way to the 2016 Rocky Mountain AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship.
The 35th annual event is being held at Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee from August 1-6.
Vestal, 14 of Cortez, will be making his first trip to the national championship after qualifying in two different classes.
Riding his 112cc No. 240 bike, Vestal finished in fourth place at the Motozone Regional in Tigerton, Wisconsin on June 18 to qualify for nationals in the Super Mini 2 division, which features riders ages 13-16. And the following week, he took third place at Oak Hill Raceway in Alvord, Texas to qualify in the Super Mini 1 division, which features riders ages 12-15.
Earlier in the season, Vestal had standout performances at Oak Ridge MX in Garwin, Iowa and Reynard Racing MX in Wellston, Oklahoma.
He finished second in the Super Mini 2 division and fourth in the Super Mini 1 class at Oak Ridge, and then won the Super Mini 2 division at Reynard and finished fourth in the Super Mini 1 class.
Vestal has been riding for around five years, but it will be his first appearance at the national championship. He said that his goal is to finish in the top 15 or 20.
Vestal will have run-throughs on Monday, before racing in the Super Mini 1 division on Tuesday at 2 p.m., Thursday at 8 a.m. and Friday at 5 p.m. He will also race in the Super Mini 2 class on Wednesday at 11 a.m., Friday at 7:30 a.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.
Woody, on the other hand, is no stranger to the national stage.
For the third consecutive year, he’ll make the trip to the national championship at Loretta Lynn’s.
The eight-year-old Cortez rider has had a string of success all over the southwest United States this season.
In March, riding his No. 304 bike, Woody won the 51cc class for the 4-8 year-old division and 7-8 year-old division at the JS Spring Championship & WMX at Freestone County Raceway in Wortham, Texas.
“I usually do good there,” Woody said explaining why Freestone is his favorite track. “[This year], I won two championships and went 2-1 in both classes.”
After Freestone, Woody won the Sandia MX Area Qualifier in Moriarty, New Mexico in April, and in May, he won both the 51cc and 65cc classes at Rock Springs MX Area Qualifier in Rocksprings, Wyoming.
Finally, he took home first at the regional race at Oak Hill Raceway in Alvord, Texas in June to solidify his spot at the Rocky Mountain AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.
It will be Woody’s third straight trip to the national championship, so he has an idea of what to expect.
“They usually change the rollers every year,” he explained. “Last year they were more jumpable than the year before when they weren’t as jumpable.”
Woody finished third overall in the 51cc 4-6 year-old limited class at the 2014 national championship and then placed 30th last year in the 51cc 7-8 year-old limited class.
But racing as a seven year old last year, Woody was one of the younger riders in his division. This year, he’ll be one the older competitors in his class, and he believes his previous experiences will be valuable.
Woody will go through practice runs at Loretta Lynn Ranch on Monday, before racing in motos on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., Thursday at 11 a.m. and Friday at 11:30 a.m.
The races will be broadcast online so fans can watch at RacerTV.com.
