As Johnny Moore 140 makes his way across the country for the next round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship Series in the Ankle-Savers® rig, his Dad, John Moore, is at home in Madison, MS. There was a time, not too long ago, that this would not have been the case – but Johnny is older, and has the support of a team helping him achieve his goals. Dad John does not HAVE to travel to every event to know Johnny is taken care of (but you can be he would in a heartbeat). Instead, John knows that his role has changed and is still VERY important.
Sure, when he is at an event, he is working – always busy making sure that the checklist has been cleared and that Johnny is ready for a great race (the above picture from Atlanta shows John making some last minute adjustments just before practice). John knows what it takes – after all he raced MX from 1971-1979, and again from 1992-1994. He even chalked up a NMA National Championship in the 80cc Stock class in Springfield, MO back in 1976. So, John is no stranger to what it takes to make it to the top, but as a Dad it can be difficult to let your son go without you (especially when you love the sport). Sure, it may be a bit of a relief to know he doesn’t have to “foot the bill” for all the racing expenses anymore (thanks to all of Johnny’s sponsors who support him in addition to the Moto Innovations EBR Performance Team Sakai Race Team), but ultimately as a Dad, John would prefer to be at Johnny’s side during this time in his life.
So what is John doing while Johnny is away? Well, in and around his job at Got Gear Motorsports (www.gotgearmotorsports.com), John is working on getting additional sponsors for Johnny, maintaining a Facebook fan page and even spending some time with the media. In a tribute to Father’s Day, John is appearing on MX Talk Radio (www.mxtalkradio.com) on June 21st to share his experiences as an MX dad. You can bet that John is honored and excited to be able to share with the MX community his stories of Johnny’s path to becoming a pro – and he has plenty to be proud of!
As Johnny continues to push forward with the next round at Thunder Valley Motocross in Lakewood, CO, John will be working every angle to assure that Johnny reaches his dreams. On race day, John will have cell phone in hand and laptop primed to live timing and scoring and video feeds, and no one will be cheering any louder for the 140 Honda. Over the next few rounds, John will likely get to make the trip to some of the races and again go into full “pit dad mode”. After all, just a day in the life of a MX Dad!
