With the 41st edition of the Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch approaching, we will spend the next few weeks running through some of the names you might not know raced Loretta Lynn’s. Of the thousands of people who have raced at the Ranch, not everyone has gone on to race at the professional level. But, several are industry members, the parents/siblings of current pro racers, people who became well-known outside of the motocross industry. So, in this year’s countdown we are going to highlight some names that make you say, “Wait, they raced at Loretta’s?!”
Let us know in the comments some names of people you recall that raced at the Ranch that might not be as well-known.
Legendary cameraman Wes Williams has been going to the Loretta Lynn’s Ranch for the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship basically his entire life. You more than likely have seen his videos as a part of vurbmoto, the Red Bull Moto Spy Series that covered Monster Energy AMA Supercross, and many more places. But did you know the distinguished videographer actually went to the Ranch one year and competed on the track?!
Williams recalls his first trip to the Ranch in 1999: skipping his seventh-grade orientation, packing up five people deep, and heading to Tennessee in his mom’s CRV.
The self-proclaimed video nerd—his words, not mine—learned about the prestigious Loreta Lynn’s event via Mini Warriors 2. Upon seeing the track with his own eyes for the first time, Williams recalls his first—of the many, many, many—memories he has from the Ranch:
“The first thing I saw, still burned in my brain, JS259 coming around the finish line corner and hucking the first double,” he said. “Something little bikes used to not really do. He was seriously the only one. Blew my mind.”
And from then he was hooked as he has not missed a Lorretta Lynn’s week since!
In 2002, the Georgia native qualified and raced in the 125 C stock class! Pulling off a solid 7-7-7 for seventh overall at the Echeconnee Regional was as he described “probably the best day of my life.” Even though he crashed away a qualifying spot in moto two of the 125 C Modified class, which ended up going to his good buddy Randy.
“But we both made it and it was mind blowing,” Williams remembered on qualifying.
A few months later he got a first-hand, up-close look at the brutal course.
“I had no idea what a national was like, or how hard 20 minutes would be on THAT TRACK,” he said. “I was the definition of a local southeast kid. The race itself was an insane eye-opener. I remember how choppy the ruts got, how far turns would push in a moto, and honestly how freakin’ brutal it was all around, including the heat. Grossly underprepared is the only way to describe it. BUT the week started out good; I drew third spoon, and I went and lined up at the exact gate I'd seen [James] Stewart pull holeshots from the year before on his 125,” he said. “Didn't work out quite the same for me. Not only did I piss my pants on the line, but I hit neutral coming out of the gate.
“But I remember I did in fact have some really good laps throughout the week,” he continued, “and the last moto I was doing way too damn good four or five laps in and it got in my head, and subsequently decided to tank it in a corner. And that's all she wrote. My mom was f%#$^&* pissed.”
His results were not great—33rd, 23rd, and 31st in the motos for 32nd overall—but he qualified and raced with some of the top amateur racers in the country. Still, the experience of competing in the event has stuck with him.
“To this day I feel honored to say I've ridden and raced that track, but I most certainly didn't appreciate the opportunity nearly enough as a 16-year-old kid,” he said now looking back. “I knew it was my dream to make it there and getting the last qualifying spot at the regional was a literal dream come true.”
He also shared the following about his one and only go behind the bars:
“So, my funny story. My mom made me a shadow box for Christmas that year. And literally yesterday Aubrey [wife] was like, ‘F&^% Wes, can we please take this apart and free up some room on the closest?! You got fourth it's time to move on,’ and then I proceeded to tell her I actually got 32nd and she was dying.”
It was late in 2002 when Road and Dirt released an edit that changed Williams’ life.
“It blew my mind you could put footage on a computer and make movies,” he recalled. “I'd always been a nerd with a camera and stacks of tapes. The two worlds finally collided.”
Despite his mediocre results, Williams still had faith in his skills as a racer.
“After such a stellar finish, I think I still dreamed I would be fast enough to make it in Mini Warriors 4 and go pro, so I definitely still rode and raced with partial intention,” he said.
In 2003 he returned to the Ranch with a video camera in his hand. Discouraged, he was denied track access to film.
But when 2004 rolled around, that was his year. He understood and accepted which path would be better for him (surprising it was taking videos of the racers, not being one himself) and he managed to get a credential to shoot videos from the track.
Then in 2005, MXSportsCenter was born. Williams was the behind-the-scenes man for the post-race show directly from the track that covered the action on and off the track late into the night, only for the crew to get back up and do it all over again the next day. All. Week. Long. After a few years off, the MXSportsCenter show was brought back in 2020!
Despite not making it as a racer, things worked out for Williams to get into the industry though, as he eventually found his calling behind the camera, becoming one of the most prominent members of the motocross media due to his videography skills. From 2004 through last year, Williams has been found running around the Ranch covering the next up-and-coming stars of our sport. He even has his media credentials from each year to prove it if you call his bluff. And he is already looking forward to heading down to Hurricane Mills, Tennessee in few weeks’ time to keep doing what he loves. Ironically, what got him hooked on Loretta’s is what keeps bringing him back.
“So, my whole foundation of Loretta's was always from video,” he said. “Luckily, I ended up being better with a camera rather than a dirt bike.”
Here are Wes Williams’ overall and moto finishes from his only week at the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch:
Wes Williams | 2002
32nd overall in 125 C Stock | 33-23-31
