Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128200
(Above) Preston isn't standing on a box in this photo • that's just how much bigger he is than most of his competitors. Despite his size, he now has four 125cc supercross wins and one championship to his credit. (Left) You'd think that being the defending champion would solidify a rider's status as the man to beat, but with Stewart on the track, Preston finds himself the underdog· and he likes it that way. CN How do you think your size affects you in the 125cc class? TP In supercross, like last weekend in Phoenix, I think it kind of hurt me with stuff right out of a corner. I can't get my bike revved up good enough to hit things like that. But in the whoops, I do awesome there, so I think in supercross I actually do better. But outdoors it just kills me. TP I don't know. I was looking forward to it, but now when I ride it... See, I feel that I ride a 250 better than I ride a 125 because I don't like using the clutch. So now I've got myself using the clutch on the 125, so when I go riding my 250, I think it's going to hurt me on the 125 - so I'm kind of iffy on that whole thing. But I really like riding a 250, so I'm just going to have to wait and see. CN Well, on the podium at Anaheim I, she asked you what you thought of Stewart, whom you beat that day. Does that bother you that you won the race and she asked you what you thought of the guy that you beat? TP Well, (laughs) if I sit here and think about, yeah, I guess it would. (Continues laughing) I'm pissed off right now. No, it doesn't bother me because, for some reason, everybody likes Bubba. Don't get me wrong, the kid can ride good, but I think half the people like Bubba because they run so many ads and they kind of push Bubba on you. So I think that's why a lot of people like him. But, you know, if a lot of people got to know me, they'd probably like me. CN Do you think you might ride a 250 outdoors this year maybe? TP We'll see. My secret plan is defending the title again so that I have to ride a 250 next year and then telling Honda, "Look, if I'm going to be riding a 250 in supercross next year, why not let me ride 250 outdoor to get me ready for 250 supercross?" CN What does your average day away from the track consist of? TP If I'm not riding my motorcycle or going to the gym, I'm washing my dirty gear and working on my practice bike because my mechanic doesn't work on my practice bike (he laughs, as his mechanic, who's just a couple feet away, smiles back at him). This thing is my life. All I do is ride my motorcycle, and then when I'm not riding, I'm resting, getting prepared for the next day. And if I have a day off, my ass is on that couch. CN Briefly, how would you describe your entire career to this point? TP I kind of feel like, out of everybody, I was at the lowest low - having to quit and actually get a real job. Drive two hours to work every day, two hours home, and actually work a real job. And then, going from there to where I am now, it's a pretty good story. Because, you know, you've got guys like Bubba who just have gotten free bikes their whole life, and they had an awesome amateur career - as an amateur, I wasn't that good. I never got support. For all the other privateers, I think it shows them that if you really work hard and stick to it, with a little good luck, things can happen. CN Are you jealous of any riders on the circuit? Like any riders whose situation you kind of wish you had that maybe drives you harder to beat them or anything like that? TP Oh! (as if he thought of something) Oh, no. I'm just going to keep my mouth shut. I'll say it tonight if I win. Even though Travis Preston's rival James Stewart Jr. is the focus of this photo taken on the podium in Phoenix, the humor of it lies in the look on Preston's face. "What the•••" CN Do you have any competitors with whom you don't get along very well on or off the track? TP No, I mean, everybody out here's pretty nice. I really don't hate anybody. The guys I get along with the best are probably just the guys on my team - I spend so much time with them. Our team didn't change so much from last year. shot? TP I came into a little bit of money, and I didn't really get myself bikes, but I got myself gas money and I was able to pay a mechanic a couple hundred bucks a week - I was able to actually start going on my own. And working really sucked, so ... CN How do you feel about the uproar regarding contact on the racetrack? I know you got together with Matt Walker at Phoenix. A lot of people think it's a necessary part of racing, but other fans think that it's unnecessary... TP Those fans are the guys that have never raced motorcycles, and they just kind of like got turned on to motorcycles, like from their buddy next door or something. I had friends that were in the stands [at Anaheim I], and my one friend who grew up racing with me was cheering on Ricky [Carmichael] when him and Pastrana hit. My other good friend next to him that hasn't raced motorcycles in his life was booing Ricky. That proves it right there. A normal person that doesn't know anything about racing is going to think that that's bad, but it's not. It's racing. CN So you don't miss that? TP No. I hate work. CN Are you looking forward to riding a 250 on the East Coast? How do you think you'll do? CN What was the turning point between when you quit and you decided you wanted to give it another CN What do you do when you're not riding or training? Just couch potato stuff? TP No, no, no. I just recently got into... I don't really hunt, I just like going out and shooting guns. Just getting big guns and just shooting things - like cans and whatnot. It's just fun. (laughs) I just go out into the desert and just shoot stuff. CN What's your biggest gun? TP I've got a Colt .45 - that's my favorite gun. So I do that every now and then, and then I like to mountain bike. I like to snowboard. I like to trailride too. I really like going out and trailriding. Where I live, it's just trails for days. I usually do that when I'm off. CN What's in your CD player right now? TP N.E.R.D. Have you ever heard of him? CN No, I haven't. TP Black guy. Rap. CN Have you ridden the CRF250R yet? TP No. CN Do you think you'll get a chance? TP They don't even talk to me about that thing. I don't even know if they really have one. (laughs) I've seen pictures, but... I know Ernie [Fonseca) has ridden it, but I haven't seen it. I don't know when it's coming out. So I don't know if I'll be riding it - I don't know. We'll have to see. CN cue I EO nevvs