The Loretta Lynn’s Experience: Racing, Watching, and Everything in Between

That brings us to this past week and the 44th running of the Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch. When you first pull up to the Ranch it looks like a basic campground, but once you drive up the hill towards the track, you realize you are at a motocross utopia. Loretta Lynn’s is undoubtably the single largest motocross race in the world. Each manufacturer has large set-ups and offers support for any rider on their bikes. Most of the marquee companies in the industry have vendors set up, and there are motorhomes parked as far as the eye can see. I have always been curious how much money is sitting in the paddock of the Ranch!

Once I got parked, and set up Sunday morning, I finally had an opportunity take it all in and be thankful for the opportunity to race on one of the biggest stages of the sport I love. I was lucky to have one of my good friends Nick tag along for the entire week and wrench for me. I did some of the qualifiers on my own, which is not ideal, nor recommended. At a race this big it really takes a team.

Monday is practice day and although we run transponders, the lap times mean nothing. It has been a hot topic on whether the lap times should count for moto one gate pick or not. I am still new to this event so I can enjoy the nostalgia of picking the chips out of the bucket. Ask me again after I pick chip 42!

I had the very first practice of the week. It was cool to be the first group on track and break in all the different materials they bring into the track. Cody Darr had me run an Insta360 Camera to give a POV of being the first on track. Check it out on Racer X Instagram below!

A lot of people commented on how badly the track was prepped, saying “it’s too deep”, “It’s too easy,” etc. I could not disagree more with those comments. The way that track is prepped is second to none. They have it down to science with where and how much sand and mulch to mix in, how deep to rip it to keep the moisture in, and how often to water it. I could do maybe do without the mulch. I think fresh mulch can create some awkward and unpredictable bumps, but after one prep job it gets mixed in, and it makes perfect conditions for racing on Tuesday. The track gets prepped like a national, and it is laughable to see people saying it is an easy track. Loretta’s gets next level rough and rutted and is one of the most technical tracks to try and go fast around.

My week of racing went well. I ended up fifth in 30+ with 7-4-11 scores and 20th in 25+ with DNF-20-7 scores. The 25+ was frustrating because I had a bike issue in moto one and a crash in moto two, but I was stoked with my seventh in moto three. I nearly completed the pass for third in the final turn second 30 moto but could not quite make it stick. That stung because one of my goals was to get a moto podium and get an interview with my guy Weege! I got terrible starts and had to come through the field every moto and that ultimately cost me that podium. Overall, I was stoked with how I rode and was happy to put in a few good motos. My 7-4-11 for fifth overall is a bit fortunate, but I will take the top five!

I do not want to fanboy too hard, but one of the biggest disappointments of my Loretta’s experience was Tate Reed’s injury. No hate comms Tate, but I was really looking forward to lining up with your dad! Chad was my idol growing up so that would have been really cool for me. Maybe next year! I still got to race a Supercross Champion in Jake Weimer. Weimer was way back in the third 25+ moto and did not pass me until late in the moto. I tried to catch a tow and in doing so it helped me make a late pass, so thanks for that Jake!

My racing aside, the opportunity to see the next generation race is something special. Every class is DEEP with talent and there are so many storylines beyond who is holding the #1 plate.

Raycin Kyler stole the headlines at the Ranch with her 65cc (10-11) Championship and rightfully so. It is tough to put into words how huge of a deal it is being the first female champion in a co-ed class. She rode incredible and deserves every accolade.

However, lost in Kyler’s glory is Yumena Berning. Just hours before Kyler clinched her 65 (10-11) Limited title, Yumena Berning came up JUST short of accomplishing the exact same feat in 65 (7-9) Limited. Yumena tied for the title with 2-5-2 scores. I had never heard of Berning until my mechanic Nick told me about how she got second in the first moto. We went down to the track just to watch her second moto, and I am glad we did. Yumena fell on the first lap, and her bike was stuck in a rut. She finally got the bike herself after at least a minute of pulling her KTM 65 every which direction. She got back going and put in one of the most impressive rides I saw all week, charging back to fifth! The ride was heroic in the moment but ultimately cost her the title. Had she not been stuck in that rut, I have no doubt we would have had two female 65cc Champions, and Yumena would have gotten it done first. At the end of the day, it did not work out, but her ride should not go unnoticed.

This led me down a rabbit hole of watching 65cc classes for the rest of the week. Here are some names to take a mental note of and come back to in ten years; Levi Geis, Tate Brush, Jett Rau, Shannon Tarnow, and Levi Meyer. All these kids have something seriously special. What is interesting to me about this class is that I believe this is the first generation that you truly see the influence of Jett Lawrence. And before you berate me in the comments, I am aware that Jett is not the first guy to jump bumps! I am sure Bob Hannah jumped bumps, but Jett just does it differently. The way the kids I named above hop through the bumps and the way they pick and choose where to be aggressive and where to let the bike roll is so reminiscent to what we see in Jettson. I was beyond impressed and cannot wait to watch their careers progress.

With the way my schedule worked out, I did not watch the Supermini classes as close as I would have liked, but Darren Pine’s week is noteworthy. Pine won his first moto of the week last year but then broke his femur in the next. He got redemption in 2025 winning both Supermini titles. The Supermini 2 title went down in dramatic fashion when his title rivals Colt Martin and Dane Pappas went down late, handing the title Pine via 8-1-1 scores. He has been on my radar for a few years now and it was cool to see him have a fairy-tale comeback story. Pine, Martin, and Pappas were on rails all week doing lap times that would put them easily inside the top ten in the B classes.