State motocross brings out the thrills, chills and spills

The familiar guttural din of motocross bikes ripping around the track at the Twin Cities Raceway dirt motocross track quietly fell away Saturday afternoon when a rider in the 250cc novice division mistimed a jump and crashed violently onto the dirt, twisting his leg as he skidded to a stop.

The rider was writhing in pain as medical attention was given to him, and 15 minutes slipped away as an ambulance arrived to carry him off to the hospital.

Then, as suddenly as it had came, the silence was broken up by the return of the buzzing that brings riders back time and again to the State Motocross Championship races.

“It’s brutal,” said Kenai rider Jed Brown. “It’ll give you chills.”

The downed rider suffered a broken leg but was otherwise OK. So what exactly is it that keeps Brown and other locals coming back for more?

“I don’t know, you just think about what you do best,” Brown said. “When you’re out riding, there’s nothing else you’re thinking about.”

The state championship races held Saturday will finish today at the winding dirt course in Kenai. The races are No. 1 and 2 out of eight total this summer, with the final six events being held in Anchorage and Fairbanks.

Brown won his heat race at the 450cc intermediate class, less than half an hour after his fellow rider was injured. Brown said while the potential for injury is always present, riders must have the ability to push aside their fears if they wish to both win races and enjoy the sport.

“When you’re sitting at the start for 30 seconds you have time to think about it,” Brown said. “But when that gate dumps, you forget about it and it’s all about trying to win.”

The edge-of-your-seat excitement extends to all walks of life. Brown, 29, is still young and has years left of his motocross career, which began for him at age 12.

“I’m never quitting,” he said.

Just a few parking spots away from Brown sat the hauler of John Mullican, whose Soldotna family has been riding bikes for years. Mullican himself began in the 1970s as a young rider who wanted more out of his snowmachine and motorcycle days, so he began racing competitively.

Back then, Mullican said he raced at a different motocross venue near the Soldotna airport. The track eventually shut down in the 1980s and the current Kenai site popped up.

Eventually, Mullican met his wife and life had other ideas.

“Then I got married and had kids,” Mullican said with a smile. “So I couldn’t afford it.”

These days, Mullican plays the role of grandpa and sponsor for his grandsons, who he is more than happy to fund.

“We have a lot of family fun doing this,” he said. “I like to see all our kids get involved … it teaches the kids responsibility and how to race.”

Among those mixing it up on the race course Saturday was Kash Williams, 9, and cousin Draiden Mullican, 10. The youngest member of the family is Karbon, 4, who John said is just beginning to learn the ropes.

Draiden Mullican said he got the racing bug from older brother, Cole Crandall, who raced in Kenai before he went down with a broken leg. Mullican said while he followed his brother into racing bikes, he has a passion for the big races that bring together competitors from across the state.

“I enjoy a lot about racing,” he said. “Just meeting a lot of new people, they’re very nice and it’s very competitive.”

Mullican’s mother, Anna Love, said she enjoys watching her kids race after dabbling in the sport herself as a younger rider.

“It gives them the adrenaline rush,” Love said, looking at her son. “I raced for a few years and now they have that going.”

John Mullican said when his grandson, Crandall, wanted to try racing for the first time, he took to the sport in rapid fashion.

“He said, ‘I wanna race,’ so we took him out and he finished third,” Mullican said. “Draiden then wanted to try it, and that was it.”

Williams now races as well and echoed the thoughts of his cousin, explaining that racing is a way to branch out and meet other families that race.

“I like that we can meet other people and be friends,” Williams said. “I think it’s cool.”