Nic Hayes #18 from Chester has done it again!  The 19-year-old dirt bike racer has qualified for the largest amateur motocross race in the world, the 27th annual Air Nautiques/AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. Nic took on over 20,000 hopefuls from across America to earn one of just 1,386 qualifying positions.  This will be his third trip to the National Motocross event.  Nic has only been racing since 2002.

“The Amateur Nationals at Loretta Lynn’s is the event every motocross racer in the country wants to compete in,” says Event Director Tim Cotter. “A win at the Amateur Nationals can
serve as a springboard to a lucrative professional motocross career.”

Most of America’s top professional motocrossers, including James Stewart, Ricky Carmichael, Travis Pastrana, and Jeremy McGrath have won AMA Amateur National Championships at Loretta Lynn’s. The race is so prestigious that last year, three teenaged stars, Elk City, Okla.’s Trey Canard; Saint Clair, Mich.’s Nico Izzi; and Lincolnton, N.C.’s Austin Stroupe, were awarded six-figure pro contracts after the race.

Sponsors such as Honda bikes from Brewers Cycles in Henderson, N.C.; Fox Racing Gear from Fredericksburg; Motorsport, ItsAllMx.com from Chester; and Liquid Performance have helped Nic make his way to the races. Nic was the Motocross A and Lites A Champion for the Virginia District 13 last year.  He was also awarded the Sportsmanship Award for the State.  This is the second time he has been recognized as for the Sportmanship Award in his racing career. Nic competes nearly every weekend at local races in Sussex and Dinwiddie in addition to traveling the East Coast for Amateur events.

Nic participated in his first professional AMA Motocross event July 13 at Budd’s Creek, MD, just missing the main event by 3 seconds.  Nic ranked 47th in the premier class of Motocross A. The top 40 riders moved on to the main event on Sunday.  Nic will be running the #418 plate for his Professional racing events. 

Nic will make the long journey to Tennessee along with his family, who helps support his dedication to the sport. The race runs July 28 through August 2.

Nic is just one of the over 20,000 who spent the last four months qualifying for the event. The top finishers in area and regional qualifiers earn a birth into the Amateur National Championship race at Loretta Lynn’s. 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, Tenn. The course contains a variety of jumps, corners, and other obstacles designed to test the skills and stamina of the racers.

© Copyright by Village Publishing

Top of Page                                              Comment on This Article

The Village News office is located at 4607 West Hundred Road Chester
Mailing address is PO Box 2397 Chester, VA 23831
Phone: 751-0421  Fax: 751-9155
Office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Friday call ahead for other hours.
Statement of Journalistic Ethics