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Kari Prager interviews Vicki Pearson
Trey Pearson's Mom tells his story
When did Trey start riding? How old?
Trey started trail riding a few times a month when he was 4 years old on a Kazuma 4-wheeler and Kawasaki KDX50 while living in Texas with his family. He eventually grew into a Yamaha TTR90 soon after moving to California when he was 6 and a half years old. Trey tried a peewee track for the first time at the Carnegie OHV park and loved it. He wanted to race motocross. His sheer determination and ability brought him to his first race in February 2008. He rode his 4 stroke TTR90 at an AMA Arena cross against the 65cc! Wow! What a lesson learned - trail bikes don't beat race bikes - but he still held his own. He was hooked! Convincing his folks to get him a KTM 50 Pro Senior in March 2008 -- he has never looked back!
Do you and Gary ride? Since how long? Street too, or strictly dirt?
Gary rode motorcycles for as long as he can remember but never had the opportunity to race. Between sports and school, he helped his parents run their manufactured housing business. His parents met drag racing and his Dad taught him how to fix any type of thing or problem while his Mom and older sister taught him to always do his best. He and his younger brother would scrape together parts to build their own motorcycles and take them to the hills behind their house to see what it could do. Living in Minnesota, sometimes it was below zero but that never stopped them. It was the good 'ole days with lots of brotherly competition, grease monkey repairs, and some major crashes. But it just furthered his desire to make each bike bigger, faster, and stronger. Gary developed a passion for the sound of any kind of engine and he can always be found doing something that makes the adrenaline pump (he's now an Apache gun pilot). His love of motorcycles continued throughout his life owning anything from dirt bikes and crotch rockets to Harleys.
Vicki grew up mostly enjoying the softer side of things like animals, tennis, or equestrian. Still, being the 3rd of 3 girls she had a little tomboy in her and she could throw a mean football or be up for just about any challenge. Gary bought her an ATV then later a Honda XR100 to trail ride as a family. Vicki confesses she's been dragged along side it more than riding it -- just not fully understanding the whole concept of throttle, clutch, and brake but always having fun. Now days, she's become more accustomed to the role of pit crew, cruise director, and cheerleader - a/k/a Moto Mom.
What were his early days like? Did you know right away that he had a special talent?
By 2 years old, Trey had already had 2 concussions and a CAT scan because he kept jumping off the playground equipment at day care. He's always been a spirited kid with a lot of determination, ambition, and competitiveness. He took to motocross like a dog to a bone. Although, we would not say he has any kind of special motocross talent beyond what any kid might have. He tries to improve every time, he works hard, he's naturally athletic, and he has a lot of guts.
How have you balanced school with training and riding?
Balance... what balance? Truth is, there are sacrifices with training in motocross but that is true of any activity a person wants to excel in. Trey no longer does many sports he once did but the rewards of motocross, for him, far outweigh the sacrifices. Luckily, Trey is very smart and for the most part self motivated even with school work. He likes his teachers, gets along with most everyone, and enjoys learning so he does schoolwork each day without problems. His training schedule is more rigid which consists of running one mile a day combined with either weights, sit-ups, or pushups to stay fit for races. Trey's Mom would be the first to admit with three kids that it does get chaotic at times and there's no time for attitudes. Gary says "discipline is doing the right thing when no one is looking" which became a type of family motto. It applies to every aspect of our lives - chores, school, health, relationships, training, racing, etc. and helps keep things balanced and in perspective. Trey tries to ride motocross 2-3 times a week and races nearly every weekend. He also has a 2nd degree red belt in Tae Kwon Do working 2 days a week towards a black belt someday. He's had many good coaches in basketball, baseball, soccer, swimming, golf, and hockey. He likes sports, PS3, cards, and math. Trey has a strong conviction for fairness and sportsmanship, which he always carries with him.
What are Trey's goals?
Trey gives 100% effort in everything he does. He tries to inspire confidence, respect, and discipline in himself and in others. His goals are to compete at a regional level and ultimately advance to national competitions at the expert/pro level within the next ten years. His immediate goals for this year include: 1) maintain high academics; 2) place top 10 at National Rankings Amateur races; and 3) podium spot at all upcoming races.
What does he consider to be his best accomplishments (race placings, which races, what dates)?
Trey's most memorable race was the NMA qualifier in May 08 when his Uncle Greg (Gary's younger brother) was visiting. He took his first double moto win that weekend. As for his greatest accomplishment... it's just knowing in his heart that he's worked hard to get where he is and he can compete against riders that have been racing for 2-3 times longer than him.
Does he have friends/racers he likes to train with or does he usually do it on his own with Gary?
Gary coaches Trey at Clubmoto on Tuesday Mini Nights and sometimes at Carnegie OHV park or Sandhill on an off weekend. Trey was recently invited to two friend's private tracks to practice and train along side them but we have yet to coordinate dates. Trey is looking forward to it and always enjoys riding along side some friendly competition whether it be 50cc, 65cc, or 85cc riders.
Has he ever been injured?
Trey races all his KTMs as stock and with each ride he tries to learn something new. He's had some almost perfect motos and some bad ones too. In August 08, he was coming off the practice track after clearing a table top when a 250cc rider behind him decided to pass and broadside Trey then ran right over him. Trey was flown flight-for-life to Oakland Children's Hospital. His growth plate in his left leg was injured then cast so he did not finish the TransCal Series. In September 08, another 50cc rider and friend of Trey's went down on the back side of a blind jump, the flagger didn't waive the yellow flag at all until Trey was already airborne. They hit and Trey flipped end-over-end with his bike flying across the both of them. This was the first and only time Trey could not finish a race moto from being hurt. Both kids eventually shook it off but it set him back a bit in his training. It seemed to be a culminating point of bad luck because directly after it and at the Dodge Nationals he had moto after moto of problems with blown tires, bike problems, or casing jumps. In October 08, Trey and another rider hit while airborne off a jump causing Trey a concussion. His head whipped sideways to the ground and he did not remember doing the next two laps or where his pit was.
Do you have a results book that you could pick out some significant
placings or victories for me to list?
- 1st Overall - Clubmoto Summer Night Series Championships, 50cc Beg
- 2nd Overall - Clubmoto Summer Night Series Championships, 50cc Open
- 1st place - CMC 16th Annual Memorial Day Championships, 50cc Beg
- Qualified 6th - NMA Ponca City Grand Nationals, Super Pee Wee 6-9
- Qualified 8th - NMA Ponca City Grand Nationals, 50cc Stk 7-8
- 4th Overall - CMA Pacific Coast Series Championships, 50cc Beg
- 3rd place - Sand Hill Hangover Marathon, 50cc
- 3rd Overall average out of 36 motos, 50cc Beginner class (Mar-Sept 08)
- 6th Overall average out of 36 motos, 50cc Open class (Mar-Sept 08)
- Currently averaging top 5 and top 8 in 7-8 Stock/Open classes (Oct 08-present)
What do you consider his greatest challenge to overcome?
As a family, we had some serious challenges with 50cc racing but also some humorous experiences. We've learned:
Math 101: 1 Racer + 1 Coach = everyone else Pit Crew
Geography 101: 5th wheels don't like U-turns
Nutrition 101: Hot dogs and juice boxes don't mix before a race
Biology 101: There are no port-a-potties while on the race track
Mechanics 101: If it ain't broke... just wait
Physics 101: What goes up, must come down
Moto 101: Missing the start gate is BAD
For Trey, his greatest challenge has been getting past the rookie habit of looking down or being intimidated by new conditions. In the beginner class, he could make mistakes or get used to the track and still catch up but in the novice/intermediate level, he's expected to know how to ride any condition, any where, any time from the start gate. Mentally, he's still a beginner but his riding ability is more competitive with the next level. He knows as every race unfolds, his fundamentals, training, and experience will eventually merge to create that "in-the-zone" moment racers thrive for.
Has it brought the family closer together? If so, how?
Gary and Vicki always enjoyed the outdoors such as horseback, scuba diving, boating, or camping. We still enjoy the occasional boating on the SF Bay, but motocross has minute to minute excitement and we've always tried to live our lives by making memories. Nearly every motocross rider or family learns to appreciate the rewards that come with hard work -- how most anything can be achieved with precision and persistence. For our family, everyone has responsibilities and everyone gets to have fun at the track. The friends we've made and nearly all the people at motocross are naturally driven, positive, and tenacious with a little sense of humor for those evening camp fires after a day's races. Hanging out together just fits and for us doing something active as a family that can not be duplicated by many other things week in and week out gives us a deeper value.
How has the shop's sponsorship helped him improve? Suspension, tuning, parts, encouragement?
We remember Trey's first KTM race like it was yesterday. Vicki bought a set of black numbers, Jessica & Rachelle helped pack, and Gary did a tune up on Trey's only bike. We left at 4am to get to the race with the kid's stuffed animals, pillows, and PJs. We had no idea what lay ahead. 15 yards off the holeshot in his very first moto, he got some "rubbin & racin", flipped end over end and went down HARD. Gary ran to him, checked him out, got him back up, off he went without fear. We knew then, this was his thing. Trey's KTM ran good but it went through a lot of dime-store repairs over the next several months of learning to race. One time Gary had to gorilla-glue and duct tape the throttle back together. We even bought a second KTM because each bike hit the dirt more than their fair share but always got back up - just like Trey. Every race Trey tried to improve and do his best. Trey started to win the 50cc Beginner series but still had an uphill challenge compared to friends with years more experience or modified bikes. So we looked for more support and guidance.
The first time Trey met everyone at Tri-Valley Moto they were all so nice... giving him high fives and calling him "little racer dude". We loved it and he was grinning from ear-to-ear. We met the owners Mr. Mike and Mr. Kari and all the staff. They were shaking Trey's hand and said they'd get his KTMs set up just right. Tri-Valley Moto rocks!
Mr. Phil with Aftershocks at Tri-Valley Moto is a suspension genius. Until he fixed Trey's suspension most all his jumps were bottoming out and rebounding back into the air, bouncing out of the whoops, and diving in the corners making it very hard to control. Any KTM is good, especially if you've got the guts and heart, but now Tri-Valley Moto fixed the suspension, replaced some old parts, tweaked 'em a bit, and put on cool graphics and an FMF pipe. It felt like Christmas morning the first time Trey saw it. He placed on average in the top 3 in Beginner and in the top 7 in the Open. But with the help of Tri-Valley Moto, he won the next seven motos in a row for 50cc Beginner and placed top 5 in the Open motos. Trey is ready for the 7-8 class this Winter season with a new 09 KTM Pro Senior from Tri-Valley Moto.
We are especially thankful for all the technical support and encouragement given by the Tri-Valley Moto staff. Their recommendations and fine tuning made Trey's bikes pull hard, run smooth, and track straight regardless of race conditions.
Special thanks to the owners of Tri-Valley Moto - Mike & Anya Meissner and Kari & Gail Prager; and to the awesome staff - Mr. Danny, Mr. Phil, Mr. Jason, Ms. Sara, Ms. Lisa, Mr. Tom, Mr. Derek, Mr. Lance, and Mr. Kevin.
Has anyone made a videotape of a whole race that Trey has done well in?
I have video tapes of nearly all Trey's races from beginning to end but generally I edit them to music and make a summary of races. I'm working on a new video now AND/OR I can get you a race from beginning to end if you'd like his next (good) race.
Anything you think I might have left out?
Just how appreciative we are of Tri-Valley Moto!!! Thank you for your continued and dedicated support!!!
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