With the 2024 Monster Energy Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Dude Ranch in Hurricane Mills, TN, presented by Amsoil, in the rearview mirror, some standout riders shouldn’t go unnoticed. The world's most prestigious Amateur National Motocross Championship hosted another phenomenal week of racing. It was hot and humid at “The Ranch.” Still, the heat wasn’t the only thing cooking in this year’s event.
Starting things off, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Drew Adams had an impressive week at The Ranch. He dominated the Open Pro Sport class with 1-1-1 moto scores and 250 Pro Sport, going 4-1-1 to take home the week’s Nicky Hayden Horizon Award. This is the first time since 2010 with Jason Anderson that Kawasaki has had a rider hold the award at the end of the week. Adams will make his pro debut at Ironman for the final round of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship to see where he stacks up against the best in the 250MX business.
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Another Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider, Caden Dudney, had a standout week. He took the 250 B overall with 3-1-1 moto scores and the final moto tiebreaker going in his favor with the win over teammate Landen Gordon. In the Schoolboy 2 (12-17) class, Dudney dominated each moto with 1-1-1 moto scores on his way to taking home the Amateur Rider of the Year Award at the end of the week.
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The Vet Classes had some of the best battles on the race track this past week, but the best one to witness was with Andrew Short and Mike Brown, two ex-professionals, duking it out for the Senior (40+) title. In the final moto, a winner-take-all situation between the two came down to the final corner and final double at the finish line to decide who would take the title. Short would be victorious in one of the closest finishes we have seen to date, with 0.016 over Brown. With this hard-fought battle between the two, Andrew took the week's Vet Rider of the Year award. This would be Short’s second title at The Ranch in his career, with his first in 2001 in the 125A/Pro Sport class. (I would highly recommend going back and watching the final moto from Friday if you missed it!)
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NSA Factory Yamaha rider Owen Covell came to Loretta’s with a mission. On Friday, he took home his first-ever championship at The Ranch in the 125 Jr. (12-17) B/C division with 4-1-2 moto scores. Then went on to take the Schoolboy 1 (12-17) B/C title on Saturday, finishing 1-1-1. With the great week for Covell, he took the Youth Rider of the Year Award for his impressive performances all week long.
Moving down to the SuperMini 1 and 2 classes, Aidan Zingg put in great rides all week with his first-ever championship at The Ranch after never being on the podium or winning a single moto coming into the week. He took home the Supermini 2 title over some top favorites coming into the week, going 1-3-1 moto scores and placing 2nd overall in Supermini 1, finishing with scores of 5-1-1. With this turnaround in his racing performance, Zingg is on the rise and a rider to watch for in the future.
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In another first-ever title at The Ranch, Noah Stevens dominated the Collegboy (18-24) class with 1-1-1 moto scores on the way to his first championship. In the Open Pro Sport class, Stevens was seen out front early in those motos with great starts all week and would go on to finish 4th overall on a non-factory machine with 4-5-8 moto scores. That's impressive in itself. Now, I may be a little biased here since Noah is a North Carolina native, but the struggles and injuries he dealt with in 2023 (no LL’s showing due to those) show the hard work he had put in at MTF (Millsaps Training Facility) coming into this year's event and have him as the underrated rider of the week in my book.
Photo Courtesy of MTF
Moving on, Diesel Thomas was another rider who had a standout week and took home his first title(s) at The Ranch. Before entering the week, he only had one top-5 finish, and that was back in 2020 in the 85cc (10-12) class. Diesel didn’t compete in 2023 at Loretta’s due to injury, and what a way to bounce back one year later. Dominating the highly competitive 450 B class with 1-1-1 scores and in the 450 B Limited going 2-2-1 for both titles. This feat is impressive, and be on the lookout for Thomas in the future with this upward trend.
Last but not least, Jacob Hayes (2018 AMA Arenacross Champion) took home the Junior 25+ division after a hard-fought week of competing against Cole Martinez (2022 champion) and Heath Harrison (last year’s winner). Hayes, an agent on the professional side of the sport, came out with one mission in mind: bringing home a title, and he did just that. It wasn’t easy, though, and it went down to the final moto for the three riders, with Hayes grabbing that final moto victory and taking home the championship with 3-1-1 moto scores.
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These are not all the outstanding racing and champions we witnessed during the week, but they are some of the ones that stood out. Some of these riders are potentially looking for factory rides after a great week, and we will see what shakes down in the next couple of months heading into the Winter National Olympics (Mini O's) in November. Another Loretta Lynn National Championship is in the books. Who were your standout riders from the week, and who are you looking forward to seeing in the future that caught your eye? Let us know!
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