Summerville youth races in national motocross event

Summerville's Goodman Bare recently made his dream come true. The 12-year-old dirt bike racer qualified for the largest amateur motocross race in the world, the 30th annual AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships at Loretta Lynn's Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.

Goodman, who has been riding since he was 5 years old, finished seventh overall out of the 42 who qualified from around the country. He was just one of more than 30,000 people who spent the past four months attempting to qualify for the event.

The top finishers in area and regional qualifiers earned a birth into the national championship race.

Racers may enter a variety of classes: from minicycle classes for children as young as 4 all the way up to a senior division for riders older than 50.

There also are classes for women and classes for both stock and modified bikes.

The course at Loretta Lynn's contains a variety of jumps, corners and other obstacles designed to test the skills and stamina of the racers.