West has a good start going this season in ATV racing
Apr. 14—Stiles West had a slow season, for him, in 2022. But the 3-time ATV national champion has rolled off to a quick start in this 2023 ATVMX season.
West won the super-mini (12-15) division, the 90 open (8-13) and the 90 shifter (8-13) at the Underground track in Texas last week.
In March, West won the 90 open and 90 shifter classes, and was fourth in the super-mini at the Gatorback in Florida.
"He is now in three different classes," said Todd West, Stiles' dad. "Super-mini is the premiere class of youth riders. After the super-minis you go up to the 250 class."
Speed and learning curves on handling increase significantly in going up to the super-mini class.
"I remember watch them a few years ago (the super-minis) and thinking 'I hope my kid doesn't want to go that fast, and that high on jumps," Todd said. "When he started on his 50, he was one of fastest kids on a 50, and I asked him if he ever thought he could go that fast (super-mini), he said I think I can, I said hope you don't."
This season Stiles is racing against some of the fastest age-group competitors in the country, and their divisions are competitive. Stiles runs for e-racing.
"We're not surprised because of the way he trained in the offseason," Todd said. "Last year he was there to win, he just kept having bad luck. He jumped from 70s to 90s, even when having bad luck was still getting third and fourth."
Stiles took off-track training seriously last winter and it made a difference.
"He rode a full indoor season, 15 races, but really what he did was running, conditioning, weight lifting, he completely changed his body with strength," Todd said. "Other kids he competes with, they are in training facilities year around. He made up his mind that they won't be in better shape than him. He runs several miles a day, he does arm training, leg training, he gets up at 5 a.m. After all that he makes his breakfast, lunch for school, then he wakes me up."
Stiles got the workout bug to such a degree that he also trained for and ran in the Wendell Foster half marathon. He finished well up in his age group and talked his mom into running the race with him.
"I love doing it," Stiles said of working out for ATV racing. "Sometimes it can get a little tiring, but when I win and get on the podium it motivates me to do it. It's a 4-lap race, the track is brutal with ruts and bumps. I wanted to be really strong in my arms and not get tired. If you hit a bump wrong you can fly over the bars. Running can help you overall through the moto. After one race you don't want to be worn out. It completely has made a difference.
"Texas really stood out to me this year, it's the roughest track we will ride all year. I felt completely great, fast, in control of the bike, I never really got tired."
The 8th grader at Daviess County Middle School will be racing again in three weeks in Pennsylvania at High Point Raceway.
"That's the track where I got my first national win," Stiles said.
The racing team will look to add another national championship to the ones it won in 2019-20-21. In 2022 Stiles and the team had bad racing luck, according to Todd.
"In '22 we had a bad season," Todd said. "In '23 he's off to the best start he's had."
"Things breaking down really hurt," Stiles said of the mechanical failures that seemed to crop up throughout the 2022 season. "This year during the winter it motivated me. Last year I didn't feel comfortable on the bikes, and I worked harder and harder to get back on top."
