FOR THE FRIESE CLAN, MOTOCROSS HAS BECOME A REAL FAMILY AFFAIR

For the Friese clan of Cape Girardeau, motocross racing has become a family affair.

And never was that more evident than recently, when Doug and Lisa Friese packed up their two children, 11-year-old Max and 7-year-old Vince -- along with plenty of belongings -- and took off for a two-week jaunt in the family's motorhome.

By the time they returned to Cape Girardeau on Aug. 9, Max and Vince had accumulated quite a list of accomplishments competing in two national motocross events.

"It was a lot of fun for the whole family and the boys did really well," said Doug.

Max and Vince participated in the National Motorcycle Association National Championships in Ponca City, Okla., the last week of July and in the American Motorcycle Association National Championships in Nashville, Tenn., the first week of August.

Vince finished ninth in his age division in Ponca City and he placed 10th in Nashville. Max was 15th in Ponca City and 27th in Nashville.

Just to make it to the national meets, both the youngsters had to advance through two regional qualifying events.

The Friese boys have both been competing in motocross for several years, Max starting out when he was 7 and Vince starting out when he was 4.

They got the interest from their father, who said he also was a competitive motocross participant while growing up and maintained his interest as he got older.

"I really enjoyed it when I was young and I've stayed interested in it," said Doug. "The boys got into it pretty big time and we have a lot of fun. It gives us an opportunity to spend time together. All the big events are really family oriented. It's a neat family sport. We usually spend every weekend together and get to meet a lot of different people."

Said Lisa, "We've met so many neat families through the sport. The boys even had one boy they got to be friends with spend some time at our house."

It hasn't hurt that Doug has set up a practice spot behind the family's house.

"Almost every day they try to get at least an hour practice in," he said. "That pretty well gets them ready for the weekends."

And it's not like Max and Vince have been pushed into something they don't enjoy. They display big smiles when talking about their sport, which involves going over various jumps and valleys while riding motorcycles built specifically for motocross racing.

"I've always loved it," said Max. "Jumping is the most fun."

Chimed in Vince, "I love the jumping the most. We both want to keep doing this forever."

Doug said the family can usually find a race to attend just about every weekend, with most of the venues being in Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee.

"Within two to three hours you can usually find a track with a race almost every weekend," he said. "And we try to go to a lot of different places to get them used to different kinds of tracks, because you never know where the (national) qualifier races are going to be."

Doug said that as many as 7,000 racers start out trying to make the national events each year and ultimately only 42 qualify in each division.

"So it's pretty tough just to make it (to nationals)," he said. "Just getting there is a big accomplishment."

Doug hopes he and his boys can achieve one other major accomplishment next year.

"I'll turn 40 and my goal is for me to qualify for the over-40 nationals so all three of us can compete together," he said with a laugh. "I guess I better start training."