Friday Sight Lap: Travis Moore

Coming to the realization that something is over is hard to do. Unfortunately that is becoming all too much of a familiar story for so many folks on so many levels these last couple of years. One rider who faced that realization and had accepted that the dream of being an AMA ATV Pro was over answered the call that changed it all. Meet Mushin Racing's Travis Moore, Rookie AMA ATV Pro racer.

ATVMotocross.com: Good Morning Travis, what's going on?

Travis Moore: Things are going good. It has started out a good morning, got us a workout in and now we are just waiting for the temperature to warm up a little bit so we can go put a couple of motos in this afternoon.

Wow! It sounds like with temperatures warming up and contemplating riding, you are

obviously nowhere near where a number of us are in the snow?

No I am definitely not. I'm from Tennessee but I have moved just south of Tampa at a place called Riverview. The weather has just been phenomenal, it's just beautiful here. Every day it is getting up into the 70s and at night it drops at least 20 to 30 degrees so we just wait till after lunch for it to warm up a little bit and that's when we get at it. I hit the gym early in the mornings and get at least two motos in each afternoon and then hit the gym again at night before I call it a day.

That's great to hear! The rumor at the end of last season is that you had thrown in the towel and you were done racing on the national level, what happened?

Yeah man it's been a struggle. It's been a struggle for me and my family. Its hats off to my family and girlfriend, friends, sponsors and everyone that's helped me get here, everyone's put a lot on the line. We have always worked our full time jobs and tried to put our time in on the track and make it to the races to compete to get to the point where I am at right now. For me, the best deal I could have got came through with Mushin Racing. I packed my bags and headed north for a couple of months and got some strength training in and then the bikes were done and it was time to make a move south. So we migrated south and this is where I am at. It's a whole different ballgame for me, its full time racing here and we definitely want to come into this season and make a mark as a team and I don't want to be a rider that came and went. We want to be a team that comes here and makes a statement and stays.

You sound pretty serious about all this.

You have got to be. You have to come into this swinging. It's not Pro Am anymore, it's not the A class, this is my job. It's survival like anything else. I have always farmed and that's a lot of long hours and long hours is something that I am used to long hours and dedication. You know coming home from work and trying to ride or squeeze some motos in on the weekend. Now I am trying to dedicate as much time, only now all to just racing and I really want to take this somewhere. It's a passion. It's a dream of mine and it is hopefully all starting to come true.

Tell me about how it all went down. I mean you were quitting and now you are coming back and running Pro, how does that happen?

Yes I was quitting. It was an unfortunate time for me. It's tough to make it in this sport. Times were getting real hard and it was hard on my family. As hard as I was working, my family was working twice as hard putting all of our funds into racing. So after the four DNF's we had last year and the practice bikes breaking down, the funds being limited all we sat down and made the decision. Money may grow on trees for some, but we never found it. We have always had to push hard to get there and scrape and scratch to get there. It's just one of those things we came to the conclusion that we had come as far as we could come. We just hadn't been seen by the right person we thought at that time and my parents were just like "We're sorry, but we just can't do it for you anymore. We tried, but have got to move on." There is one thing that somebody can remember if we did quit and that is that we didn't make it from a lack of trying. I had accepted that we were quitting and I was going to be a local rider and ride a little bit. It wasn't three weeks after I accepted that when Scott Ward and I met up on a phone conversation and the whole world turned around for me.

I heard he uprooted you from everything and everyone you knew and took you to some wilderness compound in the middle of nowhere. (Laughs)

(Laughing) Yeah man, I was definitely out in the middle of nowhere! And that was part of it. He knew I was quitting and he had probably heard that through the grapevine when he called to make the offer and I told him right from the get go that it was a done deal for me. He said that "quit" should not even be in my vocabulary. He basically made me an offer and it sounded so good. I was like, is this legit? I didn't think a whole lot about and didn't tell many people. Then several days later he called back and asked me what I thought about the offer. I told him it was a great offer. The best that I had ever had and he said pack your bags and get to Ohio in four days then.

I got off the phone with him and I was all excited and more nervous than I had ever been in

my life. I was running around packing bags and calling people. I called my boss and thought that he was going to be mad because I couldn't give him a two week notice, but he was happy for me. He knew how hard I had been working and how bad I wanted it. So they were happy, my family was happy and everybody was helping me pack my bags and helping me buy this and helping me buy that. It was the tooth brush, the sleeping bags and pillows. It was like I was going to my first camp. I was packed up and I was gone in two and half days, I couldn't wait for the fourth, I had to get there. Little did I know I was absolutely going to "No Man's Land". I mean there was zero cell phone service and there was hardly anyone around for miles. When I got there, I knew it was serious at that point and that's what has gotten me to where I am at right now. You made the comment earlier about how serious I am and the two months in Ohio helped make me that way. I wasn't around people and I didn't have distractions and it was time to get my head right and get dedicated. That is exactly what I did and that is what Scott's plan was the whole time, to get me dedicated before he brought me to Florida where there are a ton of distractions. But since I have been here there have been few distractions. I mean I don't even know much about Tampa to tell you the truth. I wake up, I work out, I ride, I workout some more and I prep the bike for the next day and then I sleep. That's just the routine and that is what I have programmed my body to do. I am looking forward to hopefully surprising everybody and surprising myself.

Whoa! I just got goose bumps!

It is awesome, I couldn't be anymore excited. It's going to be good to get up on the gate with some of the guys that I have looked up to for so many years. I can't even explain how I feel. I just know it is going to be great.

What are your goals for your rookie season?

The ultimate goal from the get go is to win. We have been racing 5 years and I have won three amateur national titles. The goal we set from the get go when I decided I wanted to race pro was the one thing that you only have one time and one chance to get and that is Rookie of The Year. You are only a rookie for one year and you only get one shot at that so definitely is the ultimate goal. I want Rookie of The Year so bad I can't stand it and I think it is a good year to earn it because there is going to be a lot talent that are rookies in the pro class this year. There is going to be 4 or 5 of us and you are going to have to want it bad to earn it. So I want Rookie of The Year and I want to rattle some cages.

All I can say to that is "Go get'em!" That is awesome, good luck and I look forward to watching this season unfold.

Thank you, it's going to be exciting for sure. I would also like to say thanks to everybody that is behind me. Most of all I thank the Lord for keeping me safe always. It's a long journey and a dangerous sport. I want to thank my dad and my mom; I love them and my girlfriend who has had my back the whole time. Thanks to my whole family, my brothers, my grandpa, all my friends and my sponsors that helped me get here. KG Clutches have been behind me for a long time as well as Houser and Ohlins. There is a ton of guys that are not on board with the new program this year and some that are that helped me get to the point where I am at and picked me up when I was nobody and stood behind me. As far as this year coming up goes I want to thank JB Racing/FMF/PEP/Mark Baldwin and Baldwin Motorsports/Troy Lee Designs/KG Clutches/ITP Tires/RPM/ Maxima Oils and most of all Mushin Racing. That's the team I am going out to represent so I just want to thank them for what is to come.