Motocross Racing: How Mike Porter Capture His Dream: Teen & Young Adult Sports & Outdoors

Mike was a fraction of a second quicker. He let out his clutch earlier than everyone else on the line. His weight was positioned perfectly for just the right amount of traction and it put him in the lead. He had the "hole-shot" and would be the first one to the track entrance, a tricky, ninety-degree turn onto a thirty-foot wide course.

Mike was pleased with himself. "That start ought to impress the factory boys," he thought, remembering the Honda factory representatives who were there to watch him race. His life's ambition was to get sponsorship and ride the national circuit the following season. This was his big chance to impress the factory "reps".

He led the pack almost to the first turn. Then, as he began to shift his weight forward for the turn onto the track, his front wheel hit a rock hidden in the grass. The front forks bottomed out and he slid violently up the gas tank to the handlebars. His mid-section hit the bars and he felt the rear wheel rise slowly into the air. He was going to "endo" and he knew it.. In horrifying slow motion, he was down.