Loretta Lynn's Countdown: One Last Tie: North Carolina and Tennessee

Next, from his first title in 2002 in the 51cc Stock Oil-Inject class to his last in 2012 in 250 B Stock, Newport’s Cooper Webb won just four times at Loretta Lynn’s, but his professional career has seen him skyrocket to the top, with two Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championships in the 450SX class, two in 250SX, and an AMA 250 Pro Motocross Championship. In other words, Cooper Webb has been a better professional than he was as an amateur—and he was pretty good!

Another four-time champion from North Carolina is Lincolnton’s Austin Stroupe, and while he had a few professional successes, his career did not go to the heights many predicted.

Among current professionals that came through Loretta Lynn’s from North Carolina, current Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider Jordon Smith of Belmont got on the board at the ranch with two titles, and Morganton’s Daxton Bennick, now one of Smith’s teammates at Star Racing, has the most for a Carolinian with six LLMX #1 plates. There’s also Cary’s Broc Tickle, who earned himself an AMA 250SX Championship as a pro, and he's now a full-time bike development rider for Kawasaki.

Multi-time AMA National Arenacross Champion Kyle Peters hails from Greensboro and has himself a Loretta Lynn’s title, and we can’t forget four-time champion Tyler McSwain of Shelby, who won three titles in the early ‘00s on 51cc minicycles, and then got another one ten years later in 450 B.

Also a note for Kyle Peters, who is the rider you see in the main photo at the top of this story. The North Carolina native has one Loretta's title, in 250A in 2011, but has now gone on to be one of the best ever in AMA Arenacross.

As far as Tennessee goes, the state that hosts the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship every year has also turned out some fine professionals who made their first gains at the ranch. Most prominent among them is Johnson City’s Mike Brown, who won his first LLMX title in 1988 and his tenth and eleventh in 2022 while riding the vet classes. In between Brownie won the 2001 AMA 125 Pro Motocross Championship and raced all over the world.

Even with his 11 titles Brown is not the most prolific winner from the Volunteer State. That distinction goes to Gray’s Kevin Walker, who has a total of 15 championships from Loretta Lynn’s, all but one in the vet classes.

Just now on the rise as professionals are Arlington’s Casey Cochran, a six-time champion at the ranch and now a first-year pro with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna, and Livingston’s Nate Thrasher, a two-time champion at Loretta Lynn’s and multi-time 250SX winner with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing. And about to graduate from the ranch is Chattanooga’s Drew Adams, the current Kawasaki Team Green rider who has been posting excellent results in the AMA Pro Motocross Scouting Moto Combines and SX Futures events (and even some Canadian Nationals). Adams has won four titles at Loretta Lynn’s.

Ironically, there’s one other Tennessean who had an outstanding professional career, but never actually won at the ranch. Hixson’s Nathan Ramsey was a 125SX Champion and a factory rider for many teams—he’s currently the manager of the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team. But in the early nineties Nate Dawg raced at the ranch three times and the best he did was a tenth overall in the 250 B Stock class, which goes to show you that if you don’t have success at Loretta Lynn’s, it’s not the end-all to a rider’s career!

Next, we head to Georgia.