Minnesota’s lineup of professional motocross riders has been well covered before. From Ryan Dungey’s rise from the B Class to become a multi-time supercross and motocross champion, to the Martin brothers becoming a powerhouse duo in the 250 Class, you’ve heard plenty about this before.
I grew up around the Metro area of Minneapolis, and lived there for the first 20 years of my life. I knew there was a lot more talent to come from the land of many lakes (it’s a lot more than 10,000, people) because I watched these guys ride from the fences after I finished floundering around in my C Class races.
With Millville, Minnesota’s Spring Creek National up this weekend, I decided to fire off some questions to the rest of the Minnesota talent contingent, some serious, and some silly. We’ve covered some of these riders in this column before, and some are new to the site all together, but all of them have a decent shot of putting it in the show this weekend. Keep an eye out for these guys on Saturday.
Hometown?
Jerry Robin: Hamel, MN
Jake Loberg: Ham Lake, MN
Nicholas Jackson: Rochester, MN
Zack Williams: Elko, MN
Joe Perron: Elko, MN
Cody Slark: Chaska, MN
Henry Miller: Rochester, MN
Philip Maus: Albany, MN
Nick Schnagl: Stillwater, MN
Trevor Lind: Cambridge, MN
Current residence?
Robin: Currently living in Pennsylvania with Chad Sanner.
Loberg: Somerset, WI
Jackson: Lake City, MN
Williams: Elko, MN
Perron: Elko, MN
Slark: Jordan, MN
Miller: Club MX
Maus: Albany, MN
Schnagl: Stillwater, MN
Lind: Cambridge, MN
What team do you ride for?
Robin: Blue Buffalo/Savij/Waynesburg Yamaha.
Loberg: None.
Jackson: Plainview Powersports/BDMX/ Midway MX/ Kawasaki.
Williams: Fusion Motorsports.
Perron: Plainview Powersports.
Slark: Fusion Motorsports.
Miller: Trigger Racing.
Maus: Myself. Maus Racing. [Laughs]
Schnagl: Schnagl Racing Team sponsored by Crankyape.com, Thomas-Grace Construction, Nitro Lubricants, FXR, BlackTop Central, Tri-State Bobcat, Works Connection, Dunlop, Scott.
Lind: FML Power Cleaning/Check-Point Off-Road/Larson’s Cycle KTM.
Favorite feature at Spring Creek?
Robin: My favorite part has to be the whoops. They seem to always eat people up but I've always loved them!
Loberg: The sand whoops.
Jackson: The sand whoops.
Williams: The whoops.
Perron: I've always enjoyed the Chadapult.
Slark: I love the whole track at Millville really, but the sand whoops are definitely its trademark. Being a bigger guy I feel I can muscle through them pretty good.
Miller: Whoop dee dos.
Maus: Mt. Martin, dude.
Schnagl: I would have to say the whoops, because it sets the boys away from the men.
Lind: Start for sure, kind of the holeshot king there on the local race weekends….
Least favorite feature at Spring Creek?
Robin: I can't have a least favorite part for this track, it's Millville!
Loberg: The narrowness on the backside.
Jackson: First turn. It gets sketchy.
Williams: Flat corners with no ruts.
Perron: Nothing. It’s a one of a kind track.
Slark: Some of the downhills get pretty rough and it is brutal when you're already tired.
Miller: The new Chadapult.
Maus: Nothing.
Schnagl: Nothing.
Lind: The corner before Honda Hallway, it’s always slippery.
Favorite memory going there as a kid?
Robin: My favorite memory there is hard to pick, I've been there so many times. Henry Miller and I grew up and battled each other literally every single Millville weekend! So many good memories to choose from, but I've always really enjoyed the last round there because it usually falls around Halloween so they throw something together every year for a fun weekend.
Loberg: Probably just the nonstop fun to be had between riding and families that come together like one giant one at the track.
Jackson: Beating Alex Martin a few times when we were growing up. (It didn’t happen a lot!)
Williams: It was my favorite place as a kid racing, but the memories of camping with family and friends is the best part for me.
Perron: Honestly, as a kid my buddies and myself had more fun off the track than on!
Slark: I’d say just camping with my family. All my friends would be down there too. Millville is pretty much the only track you get people from all over the Midwest so I made a lot of friends there for sure.
Miller: Just being a kid at the track.
Maus: Racing the Schoolboy class on my YZ125.
Schnagl: Viking Clash weekend water balloon toss with Henry Miller. We won.
Lind: Just the atmosphere. They always make it feel like a big race event.
Favorite District 23 track (not including Spring Creek)?
Robin: My favorite D23 track besides Spring Creek has to be Little Falls.
Loberg: Berm Benders Raceway in Mora, MN.
Jackson: Midway MX.
Williams: Berm Benders Raceway.
Perron: Mora [Berm Benders Raceway].
Slark: There are so many good tracks in Minnesota and so many different dirt types. But I'd say my current favorite besides Millville is Mora.
Miller: Midway MX
Maus: Little Falls Raceway.
Schnagl: Berm Benders Raceway
Lind: I’d have to say Grantsburg. It’s a gnarly sand track that makes Southwick feel like hard pack.
Have you actually gone swimming in Spring Creek?
Robin: Unfortunately, I've gone swimming in Spring Creek plenty of times, everyone that has been in it knows how cold it is!
Loberg: Of course! Pretty sure you have to swim to be able to race as a kid.
Jackson: Yes, it's the best place to go after a hot moto.
Williams: Many of times!
Perron: Damn right, almost every time I was there as a kid.
Slark: I have and yes it is freezing cold!
Miller: If you grew up racing there you’ve been swimming in it!
Maus: I have, but it’s more of an ice bath than a swimming hole. [Laughs]
Schnagl: I have gone swimming in Spring Creek. Very cold!
Lind: I have a few times, only when it’s around 90-100 degrees out though otherwise it’s way to cold.
Best part about growing up in Minnesota?
Robin: Best part about growing up in Minnesota is that we obviously have plenty of lakes to go hangout at. During the summer it's always really nice weather!
Loberg: Has to be the summers up here, can't beat it.
Jackson: The summers are great and there are tons of places to ride.
Williams: The tracks are all fun places to go, and we have such a family atmosphere at the races that is hard to find other places.
Perron: I really enjoy all seasons. I've always been a snowboarder and ride snowmobiles, then get to moto all summer long!
Slark: I think the best part is all the good people you meet. Everyone’s genuine and friendly. Especially the moto community here, everyone is a family member at the races and I think that's so cool.
Maus: The people here are actually “Minnesota nice.”
Schnagl: The best part about growing up in Minnesota would have to be the seasons.
Lind: With four seasons here you get to do a little bit of everything would be the best part from racing, snowboarding, and wakeboarding. It’s the best of all worlds.
Worst part about growing up in Minnesota?
Robin: Worst part about Minnesota is the brutal winters. We might be able to ride an indoor place a couple times a year or even sometimes go out on the frozen lakes to ride some ice, but besides that it’s a pretty long winter with no riding.
Loberg: The frigid temps and lack of riding.
Jackson: The snow.
Williams: The winter is not our friend.
Perron: No complaints here. I love it.
Slark: The obvious answer is winter, but I love winter. I would say the random weather changes. In spring this year we had one day where it was 90 degrees and humid and the next week it was like 45 and rainy.
Miller: The winter.
Maus: January.
Schnagl: The long winter.
Lind: Winter is way too cold sometimes. It’d be awesome if it stayed above 25 degrees.
Favorite lake to take a summer vacation on?
Robin: A lake up by the Boundary Waters called Crescent Lake, great fishing and no cell service.
Loberg: I like Lake vermillion quite a bit.
Jackson: Lake Pepin, it’s close.
Williams: Lake of the Woods.
Perron: Prior Lake. I actually work on the lake so I'm there everyday.
Slark: Any lake that's not crowded and has a lot of fish is a favorite of mine.
Miller: Never taken a vacation. [Laughs]
Maus: Two Rivers Lake.
Schnagl: Gull Lake. Buddies cabin.
Lind: Any lake on the Whitefish Chain for sure.
Do you consider the Mall of America to be a vacation spot or just a big mall?
Robin: Mall of America to me is just a big mall. I live really close to it so it's nothing really that special to me, but I know plenty of people come there and think it's a little getaway for them.
Loberg: For someone not from the state I could see it as a vacation spot.
Jackson: It’s just a giant mall.
Williams: Just a big mall, and I’m not a fan.
Perron: A big mall for sure.
Slark: I think it's cool, but it's just a giant mall.
Miller: Just a big mall.
Maus: Just a big mall.
Schnagl: Just another mall.
Lind: Just a big mall. Good for people watching.
Favorite Mighty Ducks movie?
Robin: I honestly have never seen a Mighty Ducks movie.
Loberg: D3.
Jackson: The original for sure.
Williams: Can’t say I remember them all.
Perron: D1.
Slark: Can't go wrong with the original Mighty Ducks.
Miller: Never seen any.
Maus: D3.
Schnagl: The original.
Lind: First one. Originals are always the best.
Favorite sports team between the Timberwolves, Vikings, Wild, Twins, the Lynx or none?
Robin: My favorite Minnesota sports team is tough because I never really got into them. My favorite Minnesota sports athlete has to go to Dungey though!
Loberg: Not into sports too much, but I like playing hockey so I would say the Wild.
Jackson: Do the Martin brothers qualify as a team?
Williams: Honestly, not a big sports guy, so I can't pick a favorite, but I'm always rooting for the home team.
Perron: Wild.
Slark: Minnesota Wild for sure. I'm a pretty big hockey fan and don't really pay attention to any other sport.
Miller: Probably the Wild.
Maus: The Lynx.
Schnagl: Vikings.
Lind: The Wild all the way. I’m a big hockey fan.
