Insight: A Race for the States

With that in mind, we got to thinking about which states have been the most successful over the years at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch, going back to the very beginning. If you look up all of the classes (which have obviously evolved over the years) from each of the 42 previous events, it paints a clear picture where most of the best motocross riders in the country live and compete for much of the rest of the year. However, it can also get a bit confusing when factoring in moves along the way, riders and their families going from one state to another, for the purposes of work, weather, training, whatever the case may be.

All told, there have been 1,336 AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships claimed at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch. Here’s a look at how they break down, and why.

Check out our full countdowns by states here, or view the top six states below.

It should come as no surprise that California is at the top of the list with approximately 280 championships listed in the Loretta Lynn’s Results Vault (llvault.racerxonline.com). We say “approximate” because lots of people have their birth roots in other states, or even countries, but end up moving to the Golden State. Same goes for Florida, Georgia, Texas, and other year-round riding destinations. As the epicenter of the American motocross industry, California has produced far more champions—both amateur and professional—than any other state in the union. Most of the motorcycle manufacturers are located there as well, though a recent trend has both Yamaha and Honda, as well as newcomer Triumph, basing their U.S. operations in Georgia. But the aftermarket industry, many of the media outlets, and a huge rider base remain. As a result, California boasts twice as many Loretta Lynn’s titles as any other state.

Related: View the 2024 Loretta Lynn's Souvenir Yearbook

In regard to California, Jeff Emig is a case in point. He was born in Kansas, grew up in Missouri, and moved to California for what would turn out to be an AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame career, with championships in both Monster Energy Supercross and AMA Pro Motocross. He won his first of nine Loretta Lynn’s titles way back in the early eighties on micycles, and his most recent just last year in the Senior 40+ and the Masters 50+. While Kansas and Missouri might both have claims to his earlier championships, Emig’s home is actually listed as Riverside, California, where he’s lived since the late eighties, for all of his championships.

Other Californians with big title hauls include Apple Valley’s Mike Alessi (11 total titles), vet legend Doug Dubach of Tustin (9), and Bakersfield’s Jett Reynolds (9), Ryder DiFrancesco (8) and Stilez Robertson (7). They have all contributed to the fact that in the quest for the annual AMA State Championship Trophy, California has won it more times than every other state combined. As a matter of fact, the Californians are currently on a State Champs winning streak going back to 2007. The last state other than California to win? Florida.

The Sunshine State has also recently become a motocross destination, particularly for professional riders looking for land to build private tracks on as well as the lack of a state income tax, but their big youth and amateur title winners are all homegrown: Havana’s Ricky Carmichael (10), Winter Haven’s James Stewart (10), Dade City’s Tim Ferry, and Port Orange’s Adam Cianciarulo (11) all rank among the top graduates ever from the Ranch. And for what it’s worth, Florida would have a lot more if the titles of Winter Park’s Kevin Foley (10) and St. Cloud’s Davi Millsaps (9) counted, but both moved while still racing—Foley to California and Millsaps to Georgia—and thus their titles count towards those other states’ totals.

Which brings us to the curious case of Cairo, Georgia. Located in the southwest corner of the Peach State, the town boasts a population of just 10,000 residents, yet it has an inordinate number of “residents” that have won Loretta Lynn’s championships, totaling nearly 25 titles in all. That ranks the tiny town of Cairo higher than half the states! Cairo is home to several motocross training facilities. Many riders and their families set up a home-away-from-home there for training purposes. Tops among them is the OG Cairo resident, the aforementioned Davi Millsaps, whose mother Colleen helped kickstart the whole training facility movement when she set up MTF (Millsaps Training Facility) in Cairo in the late nineties, following in the tracks of Ricky Carmichael, who forged most of his professional titles at his GOAT Farm, now the base of operations for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s pro and amateur programs.

Even if you took Cairo out of the mix, Georgia has produced a long line of stellar motocross talent, which is why they rank sixth on the all-time list. Among the more decorated champions are Bainbridge’s Ezra Lusk, Ellenwood’s Shae Bentley, and McRae’s Matt Walker. However, it’s worth noting that there are just as many titles in the LL Vault with Bakersfield, CA as the hometown as there are from Cairo, Georgia, based on three riders with massive titles hauls: Jett Reynolds (9), Ryder DiFrancesco (8) and Stilez Robertson (7), all current professional racers.

Tennessee itself has been home to the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship since 1982 but the state itself has produced a few big-hitters in the all-time wins column. Mike Brown (11), and while Kevin Walker was originally from Penhook, Virginia, he moved to Kingsport, Tennessee, so all 15 of his vet class titles are under the banner of the Volunteer State, not Old Dominion (Virginia by another name). More recently there’s been Arlington’s Casey Cochran (6) and Chattanooga’s Drew Adams (4), both rising prospects on everyone’s SX/MX radar.

Obviously, the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship is held entirely in the United States—the Areas, the Regionals, and the Finals—but that doesn’t mean international riders are not allowed to participate. But they have to qualify just like the domestic riders, which means attending Area and Regional qualifiers before they ever reach the Ranch. That’s not easy, but a few seem to do it each year, some by moving to the U.S. at least temporarily, often setting themselves up at training facilities. Germany’s Ken Roczen, Australia’s Jett Lawrence, France’s Christophe Pourcel, England’s Max Anstie, and Ecuador’s Martin Davalos were all among the international talent that qualified for Loretta Lynn’s as kids, yet they all failed to win titles at the Ranch. Among the internationals that did were Costa Rica’s Ernesto Fonseca, Scotland’s Dean Wilson, and Japan’s Jo Shimoda.

When Loretta Lynn’s began in 1982 the dominant state in amateur motocross was Michigan. Their riders, known collectively as the Michigan Mafia, practically swept the last AMA Amateur National before Loretta Lynn’s, held in 1981 at RedBud in Buchanan, MI coincidentally. From that very first year here at the Ranch, when Lisa Akin-Wagner, “Fast” Eddie Warren, and the Bowen brothers, Keith and Greg, were leading the way, the Wolverine State has been a steady presence in the winner’s circle, despite their northern exposure to the elements and a shorter riding season. The late Brian Swink of Fenton (5), Rockford’s ageless John Grewe (8), the Bowen brothers of Pontiac (who account for 10 titles between them), Edwardsburg’s Lisa Akin-Wagner (5), and Dewitt’s Nick Wey (8). But as for Vincent Wey, Nick’s son, any titles he wins will be listed under the place Nick moved to when he was racing pro, California.

Texas is another state with an interesting lineage and lots of Loretta Lynn’s AMA Amateur National Champions. The first standout from the Lone Star state was San Antonio’s Danny Storbeck, who in 1983 became the one and only rider in the history of this event to go home with three national titles. That’s because in the first two years riders could race in up to four classes, and Storbeck took full advantage, winning the 125 A Modified class as well as the 125cc (12-15) Schoolboy Stock and Modified classes. Storbeck was the first in a long line of top amateur talent from Texas to have success here at the Ranch. He would be followed by hotshoes like Nacogdoches’ Jeff Dement, Lufkin’s Billy Whitley, Grand Prairie’s Charley Bogard, Pilot Point’s Blake Wharton, Houston’s Kristy Shealey, Weatherford’s Matt Bisceglia, and more. And Paradise’s Ty Masterpool gets a tip of the hat here because after winning six amateur titles here growing up, earlier this summer he become the first Texan ever to win an outdoor national in 41 years in the 125/250 class!

There are some states that have never actually produced a Loretta Lynn’s champion. They are mostly in northern climates, less populated, and boast few motocross tracks: North Dakota, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Maine. Even Hawaii and Alaska have titles, thanks to Haiku’s Ryder Bell and Anchorage’s Ben LaMay, respectively. And there are two states with just one Loretta Lynn’s title to its credit—Delaware and Iowa—but both need qualifying. Katie Benson was born in Delaware but moved to South Carolina in 2019, the year before her 2020 Girls (11-16) title, and while Chad Pederson hailed from Fort Dodge when he won two titles back in 1988, he’s listed under Minnesota after a move to Waseco. As a result, the lone title for Iowa is listed as Spencer’s Cody Gilmore, who won the 250/Open B class in 2003.

Other states have one-rider wrecking crews who account for the majority of their wins, like Oregon’s Josh Hill (9), Colorado’s Eli Tomac (8), Massachusetts’ Keith Johnson (8), and Utah’s Garrett Marchbanks (8). There are also two-man wrecking crews—Baton Rouge’s Kevin Windham and Breaux Bridges’ Matt LeBlanc account for 14 of Louisiana’s 21 total titles over the years.