Pit Racing

In this episode we catch up with Mark Blackwell and break down each track on the Oklahoma State Championship Series for 2023. It's rowdy as usual!

In this episode we're joined again by our good friend Mason Banfield to catch up and talk about his recent crash where he ended up losing part of his finger. The conversation outside of that covered virtually everything under the sun!

Chan Baker is an amateur (soon to be professional) motocross racer from central Oklahoma. He is a long time student of Robbie Reynard and has been full time at Reynard Training Complex for some time now. He started his amateur career with a bang with a 50cc championship at the now defunct NMA Branson National Championship, and has only continued to impress since. He most recently made a massive statement by sweeping both of the Pro Sport classes at The Motoplayground Race in Ponca City, OK back in October of this year. He also competed in three rounds of the 2022 Outdoor Nationals and was able to achieve top 20 finishes, an impressive feat as a privateer with no prior experience at that level.  A hard crash at Freestone last month has kept Chan off the bike recently with a double collarbone break. However, his ambitions have never been higher and he will be entering 2023 with high confidence. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Chan and we look forward to seeing what he can do in the new year!

Glen Long is a veteran motocross racer from Oklahoma. Glen is a regular around the Oklahoma State Motocross Championship and also has two young boys that are now racing the series. Glen is the reigning +40 Champion from the World Vet Motocross Championship as well as the reigning +40 state champion. 

In this episode we are joined by Nate and Daniel Orr from Newcastle, Oklahoma. Nate is an up and coming amateur motocross racer who has recently had some impressive finishes at major national championships such as Loretta Lynn's and Mini O's. We discuss Nate's future goals in the sport, and he and his dad Daniel tell the story of how he got into motocross. Daniel was an accomplished racer in his own right, having raced alongside Robbie Reynard during his career and even finishing ahead of him one year in the mud at the Dallas supercross. Daniel talks about his time in the sport as well as his perspective on being a moto dad. He also tells a story about how he wound up with Robbie Reynard's 125 supercross championship bike in his garage for 25 years! Later in the episode we are joined by our good friend Mark Blackwell and we talk about the state of Oklahoma motocross as well as some discussion on professional racing. 

Topics discussed: Oklahoma motocross; motocross in a looming recession; Del City MX; Oklahoma State Championship Series; Pit Racing Party in the Pasture; AMP Motocross Park; Eli Tomac; Outdoor Nationals; Jett Lawrence; Raw Talent vs. Hard Work; the new "training culture" in motocross; racing vs. training full time; sinking Can Am defenders in the river; Firepower parts bike stand giveaway; several guest call-ins; and much more!

Alec Gaut works track crew for supercross and outdoor nationals. He also works as a professional photographer and his work has been featured in Racer X online/magazine, and has worked as a camera operator for RacerTV. We discuss Alec's experiences traveling with the supercross series and outdoor nationals. We also spoke to Jeremy Thomas about the upcoming round of the Oklahoma State Championship Series at AMP motocross park. Austin, Dihip, and Chase breakdown their motos from the +25 class at the third round of OSCS at Jandebuer's Motorsports Park. We made our picks for the first round of the outdoor nationals, as well as predictions for the overall series finishes. And all the usual shenanigans in between.

In this episode we are joined by Chandler Hardzog, a long time motocross racer in the state of Oklahoma and a regular contender in the +25 class. We discussed the state championship so far and Chandler's racing history. We were also joined by Bob Jandebeur to talk about his upcoming round of the state championship series, Marshall Plumb, and Mason Banfield over the phone!

In this episode we opened up the phone line to the podcast community! Conversations covered a wide range of topics with each guest. We also got into a deep analysis of the National Track at Jandebeur's Motorsports Park before their round of the state championship series coming up in two weeks.

In this episode we are joined once again by The Mayor Blake Barnes. We discuss the upcoming 2022 Oklahoma State Championship Series and our thoughts on how you should approach each track. Ryan Nichols also calls in!

Mason Banfield returns to the show for another hilarious discussion of moto and of course, a whole lot more!

Mark Blackwell races the +30 Expert class in the Oklahoma State Championship Series and is one of the most likeable dudes you will likely meet at the track on the weekends. Mark and his brother Zack were both talented racers earlier in their lives with very strong showings in the Intermediate and Pro classes at Loretta's. In this episode we talk to Mark about his history in the sport, his life now as a veteran racer returning to the sport, and his son's recent foray into racing. We also discuss some of the recent races around Oklahoma, the Pit Racing crew's standings in OSCS, Austin's thoughts on being a career musician, and more.

Terren O'dell was one of the most promising amateur motocross talents of the 2000's. As an amateur, he routinely finished in front of some of the most well known names in motocross you will see today. Some of those names include Eli Tomac, Dean Wilson, Justin Barcia, Ian Trettel, Blake Wharton, Malcom Stewart, Vince Friese, Cole Seely, just to name a few. A very promising future was stunted by the ramifications of the 2008 US financial crisis, which saw most of the factory teams hesitant to support many riders. After a couple years of struggling to secure a ride, Terren made the decision to retire from professional racing to support his family. He spent most of the following years relatively absent from the sport, but made a fiery return to competitive racing in 2020 at the Motoplayground Race in Ponca City, Oklahoma, where he was the class of the field in most of his motos. It was clear to everyone that Terren still had it, and in 2021 Terren qualified for Loretta's in the +25 class where he made a strong showing and finished 6th overall. Terren is an awesome guy and we had a blast sitting down to talk to him. 

Darrin Thomas is an ex-professional motocross and ATV motocross mechanic. Before becoming a mechanic he spent several years racing motocross before deciding he liked working on bikes. He then spent several years working as a motocross mechanic for amateur riders around Oklahoma before taking a professional position at Yoshimura Suzuki in California. Following his time at Yoshimura he was hired by the Snapp brothers as a full time mechanic for their ATVMX program. Darrin worked alongside Chase during all of his pro-am and professional success as an ATVMX racer where they won a pro-am title together and placed 6th overall in the premiere class Chase's rookie year. Chase's accomplishments as an ATVMX athlete are something that is still discussed among the ATVMX community to this day, and Darrin played a very significant role in that success. Following his tenure with the Snapps, he worked as a factory mechanic for Joel Hetrick and the Can-Am team. Darrin now works as one of the premiere bass boat mechanics for some of the world's most elite bass fisherman, including several members of the Bassmasters tour. Darrin is absolutely hilarious and has a really awesome story; you don't want to miss this one!

In this episode we brought the podcast equipment to the track where we originally intended to talk to some of the riders competing in the Oklahoma State Championship Series. However, significant rain led to the round being rescheduled and most of the attendees left early. We recorded the show anyway and talked to the owner of Jandebeur's Motorsports Park, Bob Jandebeur. We were also joined by the Vice Mayor, Spenser Barnes. Bob talks about the history and philosophy of the park as well as his history in motorsports.

For episode 10 we take it back to how it all started with just the three of us. We discuss the Oklahoma State Championship Series, how Austin has changed as a racer from when he was a kid, Chase's appearance on the Digging Deep ATVMX podcast, the state of the podcast, and more!

Coby Sharp is a veteran motocross racer from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and is currently competing for a title in the +40 class in the 2021 Oklahoma State Championship Series. He is the reigning 2020 state champion in the +40 class, the 2020 Motoplayground Race, as well as the 2021 Texas Winter Series. He also had strong finishes at the 2021 Spring-a-Ding-Ding national where he battled with Brian Deegan for a 3rd overall. All of these results have landed him in the top 10 of Motoplaygrounds Vet(+40) "Dirty 100" in 2021. Sharp was also very fast as an amateur, with strong showings in the 1990 Oklahoma City AMA Supercross as well as an impressive finish that same year at Loretta Lynn's where he finished 4th overall, one spot behind Ricky Carmichael. We also touch on the format of the Oklahoma state races, the lack of money in motocross/supercross, and we go through the names of all Oklahoma riders who have advanced to regionals from the south central area qualifiers.

Wyatt Carter is an amateur professional motocross rider from Cushing, OK who has been racing dirt bikes in Oklahoma his entire life. He is currently competing for an Oklahoma state championship in the 250 and 450 pro sport classes. Ryan Nichols is the sales manager at Stillwater Powersports in Stillwater, OK. He has become one of the most notorious powersports salesmen in the region through his hilarious Facebook posts and his friendly, down-home treatment of his customers. Both Wyatt and Ryan have been good friends of the Pit Racing crew for many years now and we had a really fun conversation with them.

Robbie Smith is the owner and operator of Robbie Smith MX Training in Wellston, OK. He is also an ex-professional motocross racer who has competed in both supercross and professional outdoor motocross races. In this episode Robbie shares some of his thoughts on proper riding technique, stories of growing up as an MX racer in Oklahoma, old injuries, and more.

In this episode we are joined by Oklahoma's own Marshall Plumb, owner and operator of Marshall's Racing in Stillwater, OK and one of the organizers for the Oklahoma State Championship Series. However, most people outside of Oklahoma probably know Marshall as one of the most tenured members of the professional motocross and supercross pits. Marshall started his career as a mechanic in his home country of Canada and later moved to the US where he tuned Guy Cooper and Bryan Swink to national championships in the early 90's. He remained a professional mechanic through the late 90's and eventually landed at Dunlop Tires where he still works on the weekends today. Marshall has an incredible story and the Oklahoma moto scene is fortunate to have him.

In this episode we sit down with Dylan Wray from Coweta, OK to discuss the upcoming 2021 Oklahoma State Championship Series. Dylan Wray is an old friend of ours who is making his pro class debut this year after a few years hiatus from the state series. We provide our thoughts on each track that will be a part of the series this year and what we love about each track.

Blake Barnes is a lifelong dirt bike racer with a history of success at various amateur nationals and the Oklahoma State Championship Series. Some of his notable wins include a title at the 2009 Amateur National Championship at Loretta Lynn's and the 2009 NMA Grand National at Ponca City. He is also the father of up and coming motocross racer Brayton "Spanky" Barnes. He has been one of our best friends for many years and a hell of a fun guy to talk to. 

Jeremy Thomas is the owner and operator of AMP motocross park in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He spent most of his younger life riding and racing dirt bikes and now spends most of his time hosting his own motocross events. In this episode, Jeremy shares his wealth of knowledge about the history of Oklahoma motocross over the last 30 years, as well as his thoughts on the current state of Oklahoma motocross and general motocross culture. 

In this episode we sit down with our good friend Mason Banfield to talk about the first race at Bubb's Creek in Bristow, OK, and all the good times we've shared racing over the years. It was a wild weekend and Mason had a really hard crash that made for a good story! The conversation also dives into some our adventures at amateur nationals in the late 2000's and 2010's, the upcoming Oklahoma State Championship Series, and more. 

In this inaugural episode of Pit Racing, the boys discuss their motocross background, Chase's days as a professional ATV MX racer, Oklahoma's newest motocross track "Bubbs Creek", other Oklahoma motocross news, Indianapolis supercross, and more.