EVRETT CLARKE

What’s your name and where are you from?

I’m Evrett Clarke from Lehi, Utah.

What classes do you race?

This year I moved up full-time to the 85. I grew so much in the last six months that we decided it was time to give up the 65.

How did you get into motorcycles?

My dad rode dirt bikes growing up and my mom rode four-wheelers. When they got married my dad convinced my mom that dirt bikes were the way to go and she got one. They used to give me rides in the yard until it was dark. They would have to drag me inside as I was bawling, trying my best to escape back to the garage! When I was 3 years old they got me a dirt bike for my birthday and I was so excited! It’s been the dirt bike life for me ever since.

Tell us about your first race.

My first race was at a local minibike series here in Utah. It was a small course built in the parking lot of some rodeo grounds. It’s pretty funny when I look back, but I thought it was so awesome! I met a lot of the kids I still race with locally and nationally at that race and series. I am pretty sure I took 3rd place. I took a lot of 3rd places when I first started racing lol. 

What other sports do you like?

We are pretty into moto, but I have wrestled in the past and I really like that, I was gonna do it again this spring but…COVID-19, but I also love to mountain bike. My mom and I go all the time and when my dad isn’t working he comes! There are so many trails all over Utah so no matter the time of year we can mountain bike. We live about fifteen minutes from several really challenging but awesome trails. There are a ton of trails with some sweet downhills, which is the best part, but my mom and dad always make me go uphill first to get in some exercise. I really want a new mountain bike so I’m working with my dad and saving my money to buy a new one!

Describe a typical day at the track for you.

A typical day at the track on race day usually starts with my parents and I sitting around the table in our motorhome chatting and teasing each other. We are kinda teasers! We talk about the day ahead and get a game plan going. Here at our local series, the days are more relaxed than at the nationals. We have so much fun with all of our friends; we all camp together and sometimes we BBQ and eat together! We usually try to watch our friend’s motos and cheer them on. A lot of us are in the same classes so we are competing against each other as well. I love the competition on the track even with my friends. At the end of the day, we all jump on our pit bikes and ride around till its dark!

Favorite meal to have before you race?

I really, really like to eat pasta before a race. It seems to help keep me fueled up for the races, plus I really just love spaghetti or even chicken alfredo, I am a big fan of that, too!

Best moment on a motocross bike?

The best moment for sure is when I got a 3rd place moto finish at Loretta’s. I came out 3rd on the start and was able to hold onto that the first couple of laps. I was battling for second and made the pass about halfway through the moto. I got to the corner wrapping around the wall of fame and hit a rut with a really big hook. I tried to pin it out and went down. Luckily we were far enough ahead that I got back up in 3rd and held that through the finish! I was so pumped I was shaking! That’s been my best moto and finish at Loretta’s, so I was stoked!

Best road trip story.

So In the Fall of 2018, my mom and I drove from Ponca to Texas to train at Underground MX for a couple of weeks and then headed to Florida to stay with some friends and train before racing Mini O’s. My dad stayed home and worked and then met us in Gainesville before the race. Well, we left Ponca and hit Underground and trained with Kyle Regal for a couple of weeks. On the way to our next stop in Florida, just outside of Mobile, Alabama, my mom asked me if the motorhome sounded weird. It sounded a little louder, so we pulled over and my mom checked it out. It turned out that the exhaust had some major issues and we couldn’t go anywhere else till we got it fixed! My mom was kinda freaking out…we were parked in a Lowes, somewhere in Alabama, knew nobody, and had no idea what to do! My mom made a ton of calls to exhaust shops and no one could help…not a big motorhome. At this point, she really started to get nervous, but for some reason I was pretty sure we would figure it out. So I told her to just keep calling places cause I knew everything would be ok. Eventually, she found a shop that told us maybe they could help but since it was Friday afternoon they probably couldn't get to us till Monday. We decided to just head over there and see what they could do. It ended up being the best decision! The guys at Andrew's Diesel and Automotive Repair in Spanish Fort, Alabama, were seriously angels sent to help me and my mom. My mom explained our situation, telling them we race amateur motocross and were driving basically from Utah to train and race Mini O’s in Florida. The service manager, Chad, ended up being a huge fan of moto! He knew all about Mini O’s and a ton of the amateurs who race nationally! They worked some magic and got our rig in and fixed in a couple of hours! It was one of the most amazing experiences we have ever had with it being such an answer to our prayers! We still keep in touch with them on social media, and if we ever go back to Spanish Fort, we will definitely stop in to say hi!

What’s your favorite track to ride?

My favorite local track to ride is the track in Rupert, Idaho. It’s kind of a mix between a supercross track and motocross track. It's got a set of whoops that are super fun to haul butt through and the doubles in the front are really fun too! It has a really good flow to it that a lot of tracks don’t, plus the dirt is awesome. My favorite national track has to be Underground MX. The dirt is awesome there, too! It's super tacky and it’s always good. It’s never not good. Lol! I like the jumps too because they are big, but I still feel confident when I am jumping them.

Who is your favorite professional racer and why?

My all-time favorite racer is Ryan Dungey. I really admire his confidence and how methodical he was. He always seemed to be in control of himself, his mind and the bike. He was really confident even though he wasn’t over the top about it. You could just tell he believed in himself and I feel like that was why he was so great and achieved everything he did.

Who would you like to thank for helping you out?

You really can’t get anywhere in this sport without help from other people and I have had a lot of it. Obviously, my mom and dad are number one because I could not go anywhere without them. But especially my sponsors, Bell Helmets, Rich at EKS Brand Goggles who has been awesome to me from day one, FXR, No Toil, Guts Racing, Paul and everyone at Mika Metals. Josh at Special Blend Concrete has always believed in me and is always helping me out at the track, whether it’s with bike stuff or trying to figure out track lines, etc....and also Mikey with Wrap it Utah, Dunlop Tires and KTM.  There are so many more people who have helped me since I started racing, some who literally just do it because they want to see me succeed and expect nothing back. I can’t thank everyone enough who has ever done anything for me. Thank You!!