Over the last four decades, most motocross legends have been born into stardom on a starting gate nestled in the woods of Hurricane Mills, Tenn.
Since 1982, Loretta Lynn’s Ranch has been the national stage on which amateur riders, including Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart and Eli Tomac, have proven themselves to be the future of the sport.
It has been, and still is, a hard-earned rite of passage for those who dream of racing under the stadium lights of Monster Energy AMA Supercross or in front of hillside crowds of AMA Pro Motocross.
But before a rider can make his or her case during the six-day Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship (July 31-Aug. 5), they must first earn an invitation. Based on local and regional race results, only the 42 best riders in each class qualify for the summer exhibition.
“For any amateur, Loretta’s was pretty big. In my day, you had to do good there. You had to win,” said Jason Anderson, the 2018 AMA Supercross champion. “It was definitely some of the most stressful days of my childhood.”
Anderson was 9 years old during his first trip to Loretta Lynn’s in 2002.
It quickly became apparent to the New Mexico native that the national competition was considerably steeper than the typical rivals he faced on his local tracks. During his inaugural run, Anderson competed in the 65 (7-9) Stock class and finished 13th.
“It was way bigger scale than what I was used to,” Anderson remembered. “Thankfully, my second year, I started doing really well and started winning motos, and after that, it was kind of game on.”
In the years following his debut, Anderson won five Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National Championships. He earned his last title in the 450A Class in 2010 — the year before he turned pro — but fosters more affection for his younger days at the 6,000-acre ranch.
“Those years on a 65 or 85, being so naïve to what my future was and everything like that, it was more just living in the moment, which is hard to do when you get older,” Anderson said.
Upon reflection, the 30-year-old admits his experience at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch was different than most, as he was connected with factory teams (Suzuki, KTM and Kawasaki) for most of his amateur career.
Attending the nationals was more of a job than an opportunity.
“I’ve seen where guys have nothing throughout their whole career, and then they do good when they’re 14 (years old), and then you can see their whole life change overnight. They find confidence with the attention they get from factory teams,” Anderson explained.
For newly crowned AMA Supercross champion Chase Sexton, Loretta Lynn’s was everything.