What’s your job outside of racing?
I do CNC programming and machining. I also have a little side business that makes tractor attachment parts.
How does a typical race weekend look for you, and who works with you on your team?
I’ve been with Nielsen Racing the whole time that I’ve raced in MotoAmerica with Ken Nielsen being the crew chief. We usually have three to five guys from CRA like PR Stafki, Ryan Largent, Martin Holte, Jes Schwartz and Matt Warnert. As far as the weekend goes, we usually get there a day or two early. Once we get in, we set up which consists of setting up the bike, going through tech and getting everything ready with the team. The first qualifying, we try to get a banker lap in, get a good set up with the bike and get everything dialed in. Q2, I try and push hard and get the best lap time I can without any incidents. The whole team helps me out on the grid, taking warmers, stands, etc., my wife will always help out too, she helps to hold things down.
Who’s your racing hero?
My racing hero is probably Valentino Rossi because when I started watching MotoGP was when I got into racing. I went back and watched all of the seasons that they have on the MotoGP website which starts in 1994 or 1995, and I think Rossi comes in after that.
How did you get into racing?
I rode dirt bikes when I was five years old, doing trail riding and hill climbing. I got a streetbike at 18 and then started doing track days when I was 20. As soon as I did a track day I was hooked. In 2017 I went to CRA, and I was hooked on it right away, too. I did a bunch of races the first year and the second year I won the novice championship.
What other racing have you done/do you do?
Most of my other racing is with CRA in Minnesota. I’ve also done some flat track and hare scrambles racing, but it’s been quite a few years since I’ve done that. Three years ago, I did some ice racing, as well, but it was very limited.
By Graham Williams
