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/128245
AMA Hare & Hound National Champion Russ Pearson says . "I als o enj oy p la ying wit h m y dogs and my rabb it . I travel so much, it's nice to be ab le to go home and be abl e to relax once in a while. It's nice to ju st sit and watch a m ov ie." Pear son also li k es hang ing out at h i s fath er 's ranch, where he spe nt a lot of his childhood growing up , as well as in Las Vegas . (He cu rre ntly li ves in Henderson , Nevad a, not far fro m Vegas .) "I love animals: he says . "Every once in a whi le I go up to the ranch and hang out with my brothers and sisters . It's a cattle ranc h an d an alfa lfa ranch in nort hern Nevada - Pioch e. It's kind of in the m iddle of nowh ere, ac tua lly; it's like 55 miles fro m the nearest sch ool. I went to schoo l in Panaca ; it was a 55 -m ile trip to school eve ry day . " I gre w up p retty mu ch in Las Vegas [too], the n we lived betw een there and our ranc h. Th e elevation th ere is about 6 500 feet; we 've got tr ees and st uff , so th at ki nd of go t us more in volved in the t ighter stuff. But I' m used to the desert ; I like the rocks . I lik e th e cactus and th e rocks ." Even tho ugh th e AMA does n't recognize Hare & Hound raci ng as a "professiona l" spo rt, Russ Pearson certainly does. He m ak es h is liv in g raci ng di rt bi kes. " We' re p r o f e ssi on al s o u t th er e , " Pe a r so n ex plai ns . "Yes , I' v e worked t hrou g h m y raci ng ca reer, but as of right now , I' m j ust co nc ent rating fu lly on raci ng. Som etimes I' ll go and help m y dad out a little bit and do little jobs here and th ere, but for th e m ost pa rt , raci ng pays the bills and keeps famil y ," Pearso n says . " Nick , we're two years apart but everybo dy thinks we're twins. David is a co usin. Nat e [brother] used to race . A nd th ere are the new Pearson s; yo u have Beth, A xel , T uffy, Maggie, Laura, Emm a, Ava - all my littl e brothers and sisters. It 's quite the family - a big family . T hank sgiving is always a treat. We always k ill one of our turkeys that we grow up there [at the ranch ]; it' s always a goo d time. " It [liv ing in th e country ] gave me a lot of character growing up , because , I m ea n , w e demolished trucks from hitt ing animals - elk, deer, cows - on th e ro ad and st u ff. Th ey 'd dart o ut from behind th e bush es, especiall y at night. It was an ad venture j ust gett in g back and fo rth t o school every day; some days you 'd show u p an ho ur late because yo u go t stuck in the snow or som ething . I got to experience a lot living ou t on a farm - get u p early in t h e morning, 30 deg rees below zero , fe e di ng cows and stuff, work i n g o n th e f a r m b rand i n g cow S ~~... for the most part, racing pays the bills and keeps my belly full." my belly full . Yamaha , they have a program where whe n yo u do good, yo u get rewa rded for it. They 've got a real good bonus program , and I' ve fortuna tely crone well this la st year, and they 've taken care of m e, and you can' t ask anything bet ter of a co m pany . Montclair Yam ah a is kind of like the m iddlem an. Th e gu ys down th ere alw ays treat me real well ; if I eve r need anyth in g, they do it for m e; Bill and To m Maddox and eve ryone down the re they support us a bun ch . It really helps kee ps yo u going. " c,Infort unate ly for Russ , d own tim e is a rar e occurrence. There isn't much of an "off-season," for him. "I' ve b een on th e phon e t r y ing t o g et everything ready fo r this nex t year , work ing on my progra m to make it muc h better tha n th is yea r ," he says. "I do everythi ng. My gi rlfriend , Tina , she helps m e out; it' s kind of our p rogram ." Russ says that T ina is a big part of his racing , as she attends just about every race, alon g with their dog , YZ. "T ina just got a new puppy , Ril ey ," he sha res. " He' s been g oin g to so me of t he races as wel l. ( lov e ani m als. We hav e a rab bit, too - T hum per. The rabbit is vicious ." Not only is Russ into his anima ls, but he's also into his fam ily . "I love fam il y , and I love th e fami ly I have - my m om and dad , m y brothers; we 're a real close 26 J A NUARY 7,2004 ' cu e I EO n e vv s I castrati ng co ws - I got to see that k ind of li fe. Now , I' m ki nd of li ving in the city - go t to ex perience that, too, an d it 's good. I' ve enjoyed all th e aspects that I' ve had in m y lif e." But Russ will t ell th at he' ll take the fresh air over the bri ght li gh ts. "I like th e cou ntry better," he says . "I m ean , I li k e them bo th, they both - have their pluses an d mi nuses - the city you get sick of people , the co untry yo u get sick of no people ; I don't know; it' s k ind of a fine li ne . In the city, though , yo u have bette r accessibi lity to m ot orc y cl es and stuff." Even though Russ has experienced life in both th e fast and slow la nes , it's the laid-back, easygoing cou ntry side of him that dominates Pearson 's personality. Eve n with a National title now to brag about, you won't hea r any of th at. Instea d, Russ maintains his down-to-earth and ultrafri endly nature that has m ade him one of the ni cest guys you'd ever want to b ump into out in the mi d dle of the Nevada desert - or anywhere else for that matter. So, wh o j ust is Russ Pearson? " I'm j ust a redheaded , freckled boy fro m the stic ks , ki nd of out there try ing to find m yself and tryin g to have fun and enjoy life ." And he's certai nly not clumsy on a m ot orcycl e any more. eN