For many Motocross racers, Spring marks the start of the quest for Loretta Lynn's Ranch and the AMA Amateur Motocross Championship Final. They don't hand out invitations to the Final, you have to earn them. Since the beginning of the championship, riders from District 23 have been taking up the challenge, often with great results. That legacy continues to this day (early 2024) with Avery Long being the latest of many great riders who have had success against national competition.

The first year of District 23 Motocross was 1971. When the Amateur championships began in 1975, D23 already had a reputation of producing tough competitors. If some of the names you re about to read sound familiar, that may be because he is the race dad (or granddad or crazy uncle) of someone you know, or he may still be out on the track in the upper end of the Vet classes. Many of them didn't venture too far from home.

By 1975, Spring Creek Park was considered one of the best tracks in the country by those in the know and was selected to host one of the first AMA regional qualifiers. The race itself had a moment of future lore. A large crowd of spectators witnessed one of District 23's first stars, Tommy Severson, pass a 15-year-old from Illinois named Mark Barnett. Severson began to pull away from the future Hall of Famer but the frame snapped on his CR125 and he was out for the day.

Another D23 rider, Gary Gengel, qualified for the big race. His first moto of the Final ended, as it did for many riders that day, when he was caught up in a pile-up on the first lap. No one outside the top five could see where they were going because of the dust. Be thankful that track prep has evolved in leaps and bounds since then.

Gengel Leads Barnett at the 1975 National Amateur MX Final

There were only three national classes at the beginning; 125, 250, and Open. District 23 had at least one rider qualify in each class in 1976, six in total. Their reward (challenge?) was to race at the fabled Carlsbad Raceway in California. Doug Karnow on a Montesa was the top Minnesotan, carding a 19th in the Open class.

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