Kids at NHMS

[Woodcraft]

We're super excited to see the influx of young talent coming to the track! The plan is slowly unfolding as we hoped - get young riders the opportunity to try out the track on smaller bikes (which was a major goal with our events at Canaan) and then transition them on to full size bikes when they are ready. We love the energy and enthusiasm these kids and their families bring to the track. The future of our sport is looking brighter every day. I thought it would be fun just to talk about a few of the new under 18 faces that have either come in the last couple seasons or are on the way!

Teagg Hobbs (16)- started in 2017 with LRRS. Already a CCS national expert champion and Moto America top 7 finisher
Ben Gloddy (14) - started in 2018 with LRRS. Won LRRS ROY, current LRRS championship leader with LRRS and Moto America top 5 finisher
Lukas Doucette (16?) - started in 2018 with LRRS, Son of the King Rick Doucette and steadily gaining speed- -down do the 1:25 range on an R3
Eli Block (16) - started in 2018 with LRRS. LRRS championship leader in 2019, current 500 Supersport NHMS record holder (19.2) and planned 2020 Moto America rider
Brianna McHugh (13) - started in 2019 with LRRS. Aiming to be the 2nd youth rider in 2 seasons to advance from Novice to Expert in one season, already down to steady 1:24's on a Ninja 300.
Renee Franco (15) - started in 2019 with LRRS. Has raced two events, and just broke through a barrier this past Monday and dropped 4 seconds per lap! Has set a goal of winning her Novice races at LRRS in October.
Jacob Crossman (14) - participated in his first race with Penguin (NESBC at Loudon this past Monday) and is looking forward to starting with LRRS in 2020
Trafton Taylor (12) - standout at the kids days at Canaan on his CRF150, faster than a majority of adults on full size sport bikes. Has purchased his 300 and is looking forward to trying to race in 2020

....and there are more where these guys came from. I'm sure I've missed a few that are already here. We're working to make it easier for families and kids to experience our great sport in a fashion that is both safe and fun. If there are any more kids that you think might have interest in asphalt racing (perhaps not on the "big"track at NHMS, but just in general) let's get the conversation started here. Perhaps some 8-12 year olds that have a TTR90, XR100 or similar that cold be set up with street tires (a la NJ Mini GP)? There are some cool things boiling under the surface and I'd love to have some gas to throw on that fire to help them come to life sooner than later!

[loudbeard]

I love it. My son is 3 1/2 now, doing great on his balance bike, and I'm planning on getting him a dirt bike for his 4th birthday in February. If there were asphalt related activities, I'd have him on it in short order. Doesn't need to be racing (Mother would prefer not anyway,) just getting him out regularly for some organized parking lot drills would be great.

[xrocket21]

I can't imagine my kid reaching these levels! Very impressive!

[nt650hawk]

love the young guns and hate them all in the same. how did i miss out on these opportunities!....

So much untapped early talent! Show them the support in what ever they do!



i'll live thru everyonelses kids.

need a hand?

[loudbeard]

need a hand?

Yes, are you available to babysit this Saturday? You guys can talk about motorcycles all night.

Seriously though, I'd love to have him up in the parking lot at NHMS doing cone drills with good experienced rider coaches there.

[nt650hawk]

bring em up to Thompson

[timv2444]

Nathan Bettencourt is a primed and ready to go 9 year old. Ready and eager to learn from great teachers and get more track time. Plus he’s a GREAT kid !!

[tsorfas]

You’re doing incredible work Eric. Thank you and please keep it up

[maxim_X]

Many of those names were racing at Boxshop with NEMM before moving up. I think it’s the only asphalt opportunity for children in the area. For my own selfish reasons I would love to see a small/ cart track on the property that would work for kids and maybe double as a more permanent venue for supermoto.

[sdog30]

Nathan Bettencourt is a primed and ready to go 9 year old. Ready and eager to learn from great teachers and get more track time. Plus he’s a GREAT kid !!

^this

Nate is getting fast and smooth. Getting more comfortable with dirt too.

I noticed Eli clocked a 1:16 on his motard this weekend.

[nt650hawk]

holy crap 16's.


i bet Sav has Alex watching IOM vid's

[Pittenger5]

A 1 fucking 16 on a motard? Have I been out of the game that long?

[nt650hawk]

they were routinely hit back in the day. wellll.... maybe only afew
9 JEFFREY WOOD 8 76.959 HON CRF 450 EX-SSIN
Jonathan Gosselin 8 1:16.877 KTM SMR 450

[Kurlon]

Damn motards!

[tsorfas]

holy crap 16's.


i bet Sav has Alex watching IOM vid's

I mean we did watch MotoGP together this weekend lol

[Woodcraft]

Many of those names were racing at Boxshop with NEMM before moving up. I think it’s the only asphalt opportunity for children in the area. For my own selfish reasons I would love to see a small/ cart track on the property that would work for kids and maybe double as a more permanent venue for supermoto.

I love the opportunity that NEMM gives these kids. The more chances that they've got to ride, the better! If there are people looking to help, there very well may be some opportunities coming.

I love racing and don't see myself stopping anytime soon, but I have just as much fun these days watching these kids break through barriers and get those "aha" moments when they really figure something out. There's just a different kind of energy when they're at the track and each one of them is so easy to root for. Hopefully before long some of these kids are faster than all of us. Eli and Ben ripped off a whole string of 19's this past Monday on a pair of Ninja 400's with stock motors. That's moving! It's my hope that someday soon we have a place for kids like Nathan Bettencourt to be able to play up at NHMS sometime during an LRRS race weekend. It was only a few short years ago that I was looking around the track and noticed the lack of young riders at the track. It's my hope that in the next few years we grow this core group to a couple dozen or more. It's just going to take a little work on the part of all of us to invite people up to share this sport we all love.

Looking forward to the future - it's looking brighter every day! Off to Barber to join Ben and Teagg for the final Moto America race of the season - hope every gets a chance to watch and cheer them on this weekend.

[sdog30]

Looks like Ben Gloddy took 4rh place at Barber yesterday. Congrats!!

Good luck today.

[timv2444]

Looks like Ben Gloddy took 4rh place at Barber yesterday. Congrats!!

Good luck today.

Gloddy with the close 3rd place podium finish. Big CONGRATS !!

[sdog30]

Gloddy with the close 3rd place podium finish. Big CONGRATS !!

Sick!

[Woodcraft]

It was a really good weekend at Barber for our local kids - Ben Gloddy was 4th on Saturday and 3rd on Sunday, and Teagg Hobbs was top 10 in both races. These guys both worked really hard and had to step out of their comfort zones in order to be competitive in the stacked Moto America Field. These races usually end up as 2-3 massive packs of kids who are jockeying for position the whole race through. Ben and Teagg's packs both had at least 5-6 passes going on within them PER LAP. It's a steep learning curve but they both did super well. Teagg ended up 8th in points for the year and Ben finished 9th in spite of missing 6 out of 17 rounds when he was 13 (and not yet eligible).

Looking forward to next season!