Pantley Earns Spot In The National Race

Tyler Pantley keeps striving to make his dreams come true.

The 10-year-old dirt bike racer from Brooksville has qualified again for the largest amateur motocross race in the world, the 27th annual Air Nautiques/AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships on July 28-Aug. 2 at Loretta Lynn's Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.

Pantley recently traveled to Louisiana and Texas to take on over 20,000 hopefuls from across America to earn one of just 1,386 qualifying positions.

"The Amateur Nationals at Loretta Lynn's is the event every motocross racer in the country wants to compete in," says Event Director Tim Cotter. "A win at the Amateur Nationals can serve as a springboard to a lucrative professional motocross career."

Most of America's top professional motocrossers, including James Stewart, Ricky Carmichael, Travis Pastrana and Jeremy McGrath, have won AMA Amateur National Championships at Loretta Lynn's.

The course contains a variety of jumps, corners and other obstacles designed to test the skills and stamina of the racers.

Pantley, who is entering the fifth grade and attends Moton Elementary School, has been riding since he was 4-years-old. His main goal each season is to return to Loretta's ranch. In order to accomplish this challenge, he practices on his 65cc KTM dirt bike every day after he gets out of school.

Pantley's efforts have landed sponsors such as Fox Racing, Oakley, Vortex, FMF, Stellar Graphics and Dunlop to help supply him with gear, bike parts, etc. He currently holds the Mini-Olympics champion title and competes nearly every weekend at the Dade City Raceway. This will be the third time he has qualified to race at Loretta Lynn's Ranch. He placed in the Top 10 at his last two appearances. In the process, Pantley has notched three medals for placing first, second and third in individual motos.

Pantley is one of the over 20,000 who spent the last four months qualifying for the event. The top finishers in area and regional qualifiers earn a berth into the national championship race at Loretta Lynn's.

In order to qualify, a racer must place in the top seven. There are usually six area qualifiers in all of the regions such as the Southeast, South Central, etc. Once a rider places in the top seven locally they qualify to race against 42 of the best riders in the world at Loretta's Ranch.

Racers may enter a wide variety of classes, from mini-cycle classes for children as young as 4, all the way up to a Senior Division for riders over 45. There are also classes for women, and classes for both stock and modified bikes.