There are races you attend. There are races you remember. And then there is Loretta Lynn’s.
For 45 years, the Amateur National has represented something bigger than another motocross race. For young riders and their families, simply earning the opportunity to make the trip to Hurricane Mills is an accomplishment. Approximately 1,500 riders arrive after months of qualifying, training, sacrifice and travel, all chasing the same dream.
This year, ClubMX — supported throughout the season by Flo Motorsports — brought 28 riders to Loretta Lynn’s.
We arrived hoping to compete at a high level. We left having produced the most successful Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National in ClubMX history.
28 Riders. One Team.
The statistics tell an incredible story.
Of the 28 ClubMX riders who made the trip: • 20 riders earned at least one trip beneath the coveted Top 10 tent • 15 riders finished Top 10 overall • Three championships • Three additional overall podium finishes • Two major Rider of the Year honors • One prestigious scholarship award
Those numbers are worth celebrating. But anyone who spent the week with us knows they only tell part of the story.
For eight days, ClubMX was everywhere. Riders helping riders. Mechanics working late. Coaches watching motos and studying lines. Families celebrating great races and picking each other up after difficult ones. The support system — including the trusted equipment foundation provided by Flo Motorsports — helped keep the entire program running at a championship level.
With roughly 15,000 people on the property during the week, Loretta Lynn’s can feel enormous. Our group somehow made it feel small. It felt like a team.
JETT KELLOGG – 450B CHAMPION
Some weeks have the ability to change the trajectory of a rider’s career. This may have been one of those weeks for Jett Kellogg.
Jett captured the 450 B National Championship, establishing himself at the top of one of the most important development classes in amateur motocross. He wasn’t finished.
Jett backed up the championship with 2nd overall in 450 B Limited, demonstrating the kind of consistency required to compete at the highest level throughout an entire week at Loretta Lynn’s.
His performance was recognized beyond the results sheet when he was named:
Yamaha BLU CRU Amateur Rider of the Year
And then came another special honor:
The Ryder Colvin Scholarship Award
A championship can define a week. The recognition Jett received beyond that championship says something about the rider — and young man — he is becoming.
It was an extraordinary Loretta Lynn’s for Jett Kellogg.
BRANDON HAAS – VET +30 CHAMPION
There are easier ways to spend a week when you own a race team. Brandon Haas chose to line up and lead by example. And then he won.
Brandon captured his 4th +30 Vet National Championship, adding another Loretta Lynn’s title to a week already filled with success for the organization he built. His performance also earned him Vet Rider of the Year honors.
Then came the +25 class — one of the deepest and most competitive classes at the event — where Brandon added a 3rd‑place overall finish.
For the ClubMX riders watching from the sidelines, there was no better demonstration of the philosophy behind this program: the person asking everyone else to compete, prepare and put in the work was willing to do exactly the same thing himself.
RYDER MALINOSKI – 250 PRO SPORT CHAMPION
If there is one class every industry insider watches closely at Loretta Lynn’s, it is 250 Pro Sport. It is where tomorrow’s professionals begin announcing themselves.
This year, the rider standing on top was Ryder Malinoski.
Ryder captured the 250 Pro Sport National Championship, winning one of the most highly contested and closely watched titles of the entire week. After everything Ryder has worked through this season, the championship carries even greater significance.
He came to Loretta Lynn’s with expectations. He left as a National Champion.
JESSON TURNER – 3RD OPEN PRO SPORT
The future of the program was also on display with Jesson Turner.
Fresh off an impressive professional debut earlier this summer, Jesson returned to amateur competition and delivered another major result, finishing 3rd overall in Open Pro Sport.
The podium reinforced what we have seen throughout the season: Jesson possesses the speed, composure and work ethic required to compete at the next level.
With Ryder winning 250 Pro Sport and Jesson standing on the Open Pro Sport podium, the results also provided an exciting glimpse into what may be coming next for ClubMX.
MORE THAN THE CHAMPIONS
It would be easy to write this report entirely about the trophies. That wouldn’t accurately describe the week.
Some of the moments we’re most proud of came from riders whose names won’t appear at the top of the results sheet.
Twenty of our 28 riders experienced a Top 10 moto. Fifteen finished inside the Top 10 overall.
For some, that represented a career‑best result. For others, it was validation of a year spent training at ClubMX. And for a few, simply making it through the qualifying process and lining up at Loretta Lynn’s represented the accomplishment of a childhood dream.
Every one of those stories matters.
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE RESULTS
None of this happens because of 28 riders alone.
Behind every gate drop was a group of mechanics, trainers, coaches, staff members, sponsors — including Flo Motorsports, whose equipment support helped keep bikes performing at their best — and families who invested enormous amounts of time and energy helping these young athletes reach this point.
Loretta Lynn’s is demanding. The days are long. The temperatures are high. Emotions swing from incredible highs to heartbreaking lows, sometimes within minutes.
That’s amateur motocross. And that’s why weeks like this mean so much when they come together.
To everyone who wore a ClubMX shirt, worked on a motorcycle, filled a cooler, cleaned goggles, walked to the gate, studied a track, offered advice or simply put an arm around a rider who needed it:
Special thanks to Hope, Alyssa & Samantha from Fly Racing for making us look great and hosting us for dinner on Thursday. To everyone from Yamaha for the amazing support and including us in the Thursday night banquet. To Justin Jennings for keeping the guys feeling like pros all week. And to Tom Paulson and Jeff Schellhammer for keeping the team fed all week.
Thank you. This was your week too.
CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE
An event of this magnitude is extraordinarily difficult to execute.
MX Sports brings approximately 1,500 competitors and thousands of family members, team personnel, sponsors and fans together for a week of racing, and somehow keeps the entire operation moving.
The amount of planning and coordination required behind the scenes is difficult to appreciate until you’ve experienced Loretta Lynn’s firsthand.
Our sincere appreciation goes to the entire MX Sports organization and everyone involved in producing another exceptional Amateur National.
OUR BEST LORETTA LYNN’S EVER
ClubMX has attended Loretta Lynn’s many times. We’ve celebrated wins. We’ve endured losses. We’ve watched young riders grow into professionals. We’ve made memories here that have helped shape what ClubMX has become.
But we’ve never had a week quite like this one.
28 riders. 20 riders with Top 10 motos. 15 Top 10 overall finishes. Three National Championships. Three additional podiums. And the most successful Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National in the history of ClubMX.
The trophies will eventually find their places on shelves. The results will become lines in a record book. But the people who were there will remember something else.
They’ll remember the noise underneath the tent after a great moto. They’ll remember teammates standing along the fence cheering for one another. They’ll remember the exhaustion, the nerves, the celebrations and probably a few tears.
Most of all, they’ll remember doing it together — with the support of Flo Motorsports, Yamaha, Fly Racing, and every partner who helped make this week possible.
That is ClubMX. And this is one week we’ll remember for a very long time.