Next: Supercross Futures, The Future of Supercross

Words by: Mike Holliday

The title may sound redundant but Feld Motor Sports, the promoters of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, has started a program to help young racers transition from the amateur ranks to the professional ranks. In a well thought out step-by-step program, current amateur riders can get a glimpse into the professional sport they have dreamed of since they were little kids. It is appropriately titled Supercross Futures and offers opportunities to select riders from across the country to participate in one of four venues on the pro circuit today. The young racers will follow a rigid schedule of practice, qualifying and racing mixed in with the rigors of interacting with the media over the course of a weekend. The four events culminate with a championship style finale in Salt Lake City this weekend. Parker Ross and Jaxon Pascal are just two of the riders chasing the dream and their story, like many others, outlines their trials and tribulations on the road to success.

Both Ross and Pascal started riding dirt bikes at a very young age. Ross began his racing career in Northern California at the now famous Prairie City SVRA (home of the Hangtown Motocross Classic round of Pro Motocross). When he was just eight years old, he made his first run at AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch, and qualified. From there he was hooked. He spent all his time racing at the local scene to improve his craft and later found himself traveling out of state to compete with faster riders.

Pascal found himself on a similar path, however he was based out of Thunder Valley in Colorado. He also made his way to Loretta Lynn’s at 11 years old and had some moderate success. He too was hooked and found himself wanting to chase the circuit to find faster racers. Both riders grew up watching supercross every Saturday night, and this quickly became their dream to race in a stadium one day, as professionals. Even though the two competitors were on the same trajectory, to this point in their racing careers they had never met. That was until January of this year. By coincidence, the two made it to the same team and they both had the same goal of racing professional supercross and that perhaps they could join forces to do it together.

For the 2023 season both Ross and Pascal were given an amazing opportunity to ride for the SLR Honda team, owned by seven-time Baja 1000 champion Mark Samuels. Being a part of a team that has already experienced what it is like to win is a huge advantage for both of these amateur riders. SLR Honda’s goal for Ross and Pascal was to qualify for the Supercross Futures National Championship in Salt Lake City. They took this opportunity to do what they love every day very seriously. Ross, now 17, and Pascal, 18, took the leap of faith and left home within a month to move to Southern California. This gave them the opportunity to start living, riding, and training every day. As you can imagine, this has been a monumental transition for them, having to live on their own while trying to become professional athletes.