Round 3
OFF-ROAD
~
AMA Grand National Cross Country Series
njuries are an unfortunate part of
racing, and often the menta l
anguish of being hurt is even
worse than the physical pain .
When Am -Pro Yamaha 's Jason
Raines broke his shoulder blade at the
opening AMA Grand National Cross
Country round in Texas last month, his
sp irits seemed as broken as his bone .
But with a month off to heal , he learned
to ride for fun again. And now he's not
only back , he's riding better than ever.
And his win at round three in Georgia
I
50
proves that.
"I came into these two races loo king
to have fun," Raines said . "When I was
injured, I had a lot of time to think about
my racing . I was putting a lot of pressure
on myself to win , and I wasn't having a
good time. Rodney [Smith1 always told
me, if you have fun with this, you can
race forever. I'm try ing to relax and have
more fun at the races."
Raines' performances as of late
are probably making him feel
good, too. A month ago his
40th Anniversary
doctors said he wouldn't be able to ride
the Florida or Geo rgia rounds o f the
GNCC series, basically ending his title
hopes before they began . But he healed
in record time and emerged from
Florida with a podium finish. And then at
the Maxxis General GNCC in Georgia,
he rode to a dominant win , leading his
competitors by nearly a minute all day.
"This was just one of those days
every athlete has where you can't
do anything wrong," Raines said.
"When I first got hurt, my doctors
