 Riders: Levi Younkins & Keegan McDade Joel YounkinsHigh Performance Coach A local race might look small on the outside, but for the riders who show up, it’s where habits, confidence, and futures are built. With the rise of training facilities, national-level racers now spend the majority of their time honing their craft at these programs during the week. A more recent trend has shifted the focus away from local weekend races, prioritizing training and riding with top competition during the week instead.
The result? Parents, coaches, and riders don’t always see the value in attending local series races. They feel the competition doesn’t stack up, and that the seat time, coaching, and weekday battles with elite riders provide everything they need. I get it. There are a lot of positives to that approach. But here’s the truth—you don’t have to choose one side or the other. Both worlds can coexist, and both can make you better. As a High Performance Coach, I’m constantly turning over every stone—dismantling, dissecting, and rebuilding until I find the best path forward. In this blog, I’ll share why national-level racers (whether they train at a facility full-time or not) should still consider racing select local races. Not every weekend, but strategically. Because if you look beneath the surface, the value is real. Emotional Capacity At a national race, you’re not at your home training grounds anymore. You’re at someone else’s track. You’ve got new people parked next to you, strangers who know you (but you don’t know them), familiar faces you’re excited to see, and others you’d rather avoid. You’ve got to learn the facility, deal with someone else’s race schedule, handle delays, and manage your head space between motos. None of that can truly be replicated at a practice track. And all of it drains energy, focus, and sometimes confidence. But you know where you can replicate those stressors? A local race. It may be a scaled down version, but those same details all exist. These smaller events, if you allow it, can build the emotional capacity to handle the stresses of race day—so when you show up to a national, the environment doesn’t rattle you. You essentially become "used to racing" and not just used to riding. You Can’t Replicate a Race No matter how hard you try, you can’t recreate the intensity of a real race without being in one. Stopwatch motos and practice battles help, but until you’re under the emotional weight of a scored, sanctioned race, it’s not the same. During the week, you can shrug off a bad moto and say “I’ll get you next time.” That’s good—it’s what practice is for. But on race day, there’s no do-over. The results get posted. The world can see them posted on the internet. The stakes shift. Even if you go to a local race and win by a minute, it still counts. It’s a gate drop, it’s pressure, it’s scored. That’s real experience. And during the long gaps between nationals, why wouldn’t you sharpen that muscle? You’re Being Hunted If you’re a top national amateur, everyone at the local track knows the second you roll through the gate. That puts a target on your back. Can you handle it? If that bothers you, how will you handle Loretta’s when 41 of the best amateurs in the country are gunning for you? Other racers will take their shots at you. Good. Let them. That pressure is your training ground. The best athletes in the world thrive when the spotlight is on them. Local races give you that stage, too. Even if in reality, the other riders are pissing down their legs because you showed up, tell yourself they’re all desperate to beat you. That creates pressure. That pressure creates growth. The more pressure you eat, the more you can digest it. Treat Local Races Like “Big Races” If I hear one more family say, “It’s just a local race, we don’t take them seriously”—I’m going to lose it. You wonder why riders struggle at national races? It’s because they've been conditioned to think big races matter more, so they tighten up when the stakes rise. I tell my racers this: "whether you’re racing at your favorite track, or circling two cones in a gravel lot, you bring it. Whether you’re lined up next to Jett Lawrence or a first-timer, you bring it." It's an anytime, anyplace mentality. That mentality teaches you to flip the race-day switch on command. Some riders lose 1–2% at big races because of nerves. The ones who train themselves to go all-in every time, find an extra 1–2%. That’s the difference maker. We’ve all heard of pro riders who aren’t the fastest during the week, but on race day, they flip that switch and crush it. That’s the dog in them. Show up at “little races" and treat them like big ones and train yourself to flip that switch too, and you’ll be on your way to building that same dog in yourself. Racers Race If your goal is to go pro, understand this: the pro schedule is relentless. It’s not one week of peaking—it’s 31 races a year. And no, the schedule isn’t shrinking anytime soon. More races mean more money, and that’s how pro sports work. So, if you’re serious about making it, start preparing now. Learn how to perform consistently, not just a couple times a year. Because in the pro ranks, one-week wonders don’t last. And here’s the truth: the hardest part of racing isn’t the laps. It’s everything else. The packing, traveling, unloading, sitting through long days, loading back up, and doing it all again. Build that capacity now, instead of when a pro team is expecting you to perform on a weekly basis. Time and Place I’m not saying you need to race every single weekend. The national amateur races already have built-in breaks. Use some of them for rest. Use others for sharpening your game at local races. Think of it this way: instead of dismissing local races as “just a local,” ask yourself: what part of my game can I train here today? Maybe it’s handling pressure, maybe it’s starts, maybe it’s focus between motos. That mindset turns every race into a tool. Every rider is different. Every schedule is different. Every family has its own goals and logistics to work out. But if you start viewing local races as opportunities instead of just extra seat time, you’ll unlock growth that no practice can give you. Final Thoughts Personally and professionally, Kelly and I don’t use the term “big race.” A race is a race. Every race is research. We want you to be a competitor at all times. You don't perform to the level of your external environment, you control your environment. At the end of the day, every track has pits, racers, fans, a gate, a first turn, and a finish line. The environment can either distract you—or it can sharpen you. When you learn to handle the noise and focus only on yourself and your craft, that’s when you race at your true potential.
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