By Staff
HURRICANE MILLS, Tenn. – Taylor Davis just made his dream come true. The 14 year-old dirt bike racer has qualified for the largest amateur motocross race in the world, the 26th annual AMA/Air Nautiques Amateur National Motocross Championships at Loretta Lynn's Ranch in Tennessee.
Taylor took on over 20,000 hopefuls from across America to earn one of just 1386 qualifying positions.
"Every motocross racer in the country wants to compete in the Amateur Nationals," says Tim Cotter, event director. "A win there can serve as a springboard to a lucrative professional motocross career."
Most of America's top professional motocrossers, including Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael, Travis Pastrana and James Stewart, have won AMA Amateur National Championships. A victory at this race is so valuable that last year, teenager Josh Hill from Yoncalla, Oregon, was rewarded with a six-figure pro contract from the Factory Yamaha racing team after winning two Amateur National Championships last year.
Taylor, who attends Ring Lardner and carries a 4.0 average, has been riding since he was 3 years old. Sponsors such as Behind Bars Motorsports, Torco Race Fuels, Renegade Suspension, B + S Trucking and Frese Discount help pay his way to the races.
He has won hundreds of races in the last eleven years, and competes nearly every weekend at state and regional race tracks.
Taylor's parents, Kevin and Anne, will pack up the family camper and head to Tennessee for the race, which runs July 30-Aug. 4.
Taylor is just one of the over 20,000 who spent the last four months attempting to qualify for the event. The top finishers in area and regional qualifiers earn a birth into the national championship race. Racers may enter a wide variety of classes, from minicycle classes for children as young as four, all the way up to a Senior division for riders over 45.
There are also classes for women, and classes for both stock and modified bikes.
The track is built on a section of Loretta Lynn's Ranch and Campground in Hurricane Mills. The course contains a variety of jumps, corners and other obstacles designed to test the skills and stamina of the racers. Most riders attend the event with the help of their families.
In fact, many groups consider the event their family's summer vacation. Besides races, the ranch provides family-friendly facilities including a game room, swimming pools, arts and crafts activities, and a fashion and talent show.