I was born in Campbell, California and moved to Grants Pass, Oregon  in 2001.  I’m twelve years old and the youngest of three children.  I have two sisters, Jessica is six years older than me and Brooke is three years older than me.

     My family has been riding dirt bikes and racing for three generations and also raced sprint cars.  I have many uncles and cousins who race off-road. My family members who are currently racing in California’s District 36 are Jeremy Puma, Steve Puma, Kelly Puma, Katie Nelson and Anthony Brelinski.   My cousin Jeremy Puma earned the #1 plate in Oregon (OMRA) in 2002 and 2003.    He also qualified and raced in the ISDE in France and won a silver medal.

   I had seriously been thinking about starting racing. A year ago on January 1, 2005 my sister Jessica met Alex Gragg through his brother Garrison who was and still is dating my cousin Ashley Young.  Jessica and Alex have been a couple ever since. My family started going to watch the Gragg boys and the rest of our family race.  Alex and Garrison love riding so much that it’s hard not to get excited about it.  They started taking me riding and helping me with my bike, I got excited too. I started working on convincing my mother that it wasn’t as dangerous as it looked (Right!). “The racers in our family are on my dad’s side, my mom’s family leans towards golf and such.” I soon convinced her and my racing adventures began.

     My first dirt bike was a Yamaha 90, I grew out of this in just a few months.  I progressed to a Honda XR 80 and in 2005 I started racing in the largest youth off-road program in the country AMA district 36.I started in the beginner class and won my first four races, and was advanced to the “C” class.  I then realized that my Honda XR 80 didn’t have enough power to compete well in this class where you can ride a 80-105cc bike.  Alex helped me get a deal on a new Yamaha YZ 85 through one of his sponsors, (Mach 1 Motorsports.)  My bike now matches Alex and Garrison’s bikes and it has a lot of power.  I am a happy Ant Man!

With my parents support, training and encouragement from Alex and Garrison I am looking forward to improving my skills and I hope to become a more confident, faster and aggressive rider.  I, one day hope to have the recognition they have achieved, through all their hard work, dedication and determination and I would like to be as fast as they are and earn as many trophies.  Maybe I can even train a new rider!

Currently, I’m in sixth place in my class and hope to finish this season within the top five.

Hope to see you on the track.

Ant Man