Local racer earns spot at National Motocross Race
Championship event to be held at Loretta Lynn's Ranch

Mic Sowa just made his dream come true. The 15-year-old dirt bike racer from Allentown has qualified in two classes for the largest amateur motocross race in the world, the 26th annual Air Nautiques/AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships at Loretta Lynn's Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.

Sowa took on over 20,000 hopefuls from across America to earn one of just 40 qualifying positions.

"The Amateur Nationals at Loretta Lynn's is the event every motocross racer in the country wants to compete in," said Event Director Tim Cotter. "A win at the Amateur Nationals can serve as a springboard to a lucrative professional motocross career."

Most of America's top professional motocrossers, including Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael, Travis Pastrana and James Stewart, have won AMA Amateur National Championships at Loretta Lynn's. A victory at this race is so valuable that last year, teenager Josh Hill from Yoncalla, Ore., was rewarded with a six-figure pro contract from the Factory Yamaha racing team after winning an Amateur National Championship last year.

Mic, who goes to school at Allentown High, has been riding since he was 5 years old, under sponsors such as Mount Holly Suzuki, FMF, Wiseco, Sunstar and No Fear. He has won many races in the last 11 years, and competes nearly every weekend.

Mic will make the long journey to Tennessee along with his dad, mom, Ken Lilly and Chris Duymich. The race runs July 30-Aug. 4.

Mic is just one of the over 20,000 who spent the last four months qualifying for the event. The top finishers in area and regional qualifiers earn a berth into the national championship race at Loretta Lynn's. Racers may enter a wide variety of classes, from minicycle classes for children as young as 4, all the way up to a senior division for riders over 45.

There are also classes for women, and classes for both stock and modified bikes.

The track is built on a section of Loretta Lynn's Ranch and Campground in Hurricane Mills. The course contains a variety of jumps, corners and other obstacles designed to test the skills and stamina of the racers.