Revved for nationals: Vince Friese tries to chase down national title

Vince Friese was one of more than 17,000 dirt bike racers across the country in his class to compete for a spot in the 24th annual Air Nautiques AMA Amateur National Championships.

Now he's one of only 42 racers left to vie for a national title.

Friese, a 14-year-old Cape Girardeau resident, will head to Loretta Lynn's Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn., Monday through Aug. 6 for the largest amateur motocross race in the world. He qualified for the spot by placing in the top seven in the area qualifying race in Dyersburg, Tenn., then finishing in the top five in the regional event in Salem, Ill., in June. Friese has already raced in the national event six times, placing in the top 10 twice.

Friese will compete in the School Boy Stock for 12- to 15-year-olds and the 250 B Stock for all ages. Participants are limited to two events and are allowed a day of practice. On race day, the 42 competitors in each class race against each other three times, and the winner is decided by the best average performance.

"I probably have the best chance in School Boy because it's kids my age," Friese said. "But I think I have a pretty good chance in the 250 B class, too."

Many top-notch professional motocross athletes have AMA Amateur National Championship titles under their belts, and Friese said a victory in Hurricane Mills would be a huge step toward his goal of becoming a professional.

"I can't go pro until I'm 16," he said, "so this year's kind of just for fun, I guess. You still get a lot of good sponsors if you win, though. This is the biggest amateur race, so if you win, you're pretty much the best in your class in the country."

Friese's father, Doug, and his 18-year-old brother, Max, competed in the national race last year, and Doug is serving as an alternate this year. Vince said he picked up the need for speed from the two of them when he started riding at the age of 4.

"My dad and my brother were already riding a little bit," Vince Friese said of his beginner days. "They've always taken me practicing and stuff. My brother's always been faster than me, so it's been good practice."

The significant amount of physical stress involved in dirt bike racing generally goes unnoticed. In order to get in racing shape, Friese practices on his bike about twice a week and lifts weights and rides his mountain bike in the meantime. He recently attended a motocross training camp at the Millsaps Training Facility in Cairo, Ga., during which he spent five hours riding and three hours conditioning every day for two weeks.

But physically demanding doesn't necessarily mean dangerous. Friese said that dirt bike racing is not as dangerous as it looks; besides a torn ACL suffered in a biking accident in fourth grade, Friese has avoided any serious injuries.

"It's not really dangerous," he said. "You're wearing a lot of gear, so you're pretty protected in case something happens."

Friese practices turning corners at a small track at his house and also makes trips to a track in Fruitland and the Auto Parts and Tire NAPA RacePark in Benton. Although he races just about every weekend before the weather turns cold, Friese said there is a limited number of races in Cape; most of the race sites are in Illinois, Kentucky and St. Louis.

"Every once in a while we'll take a weekend off and go ride for fun," he said.

After the first week of August, Friese will begin training for his jump to the A Class, a step ahead of his current B Class status.

"I hope I can make it to nationals again next year in A Class," he said. "It'll be really hard, but I'm going to give it a try."