INTERVIEW I JOE WASSON: 2021 AMA HARE & HOUND N ATION AL C HAMPION
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and he began hitting the first of several
bumps in the road. "I had some bad
luck throughout the rest of the year. I
broke a bead putting a mousse tube
in, so I failed to finish the Idaho City
100. Then I did the same thing in Utah
[at the Hare & Hound National]—I
couldn't figure out how to put the
mousses in!
"But then we kind of pulled it
together and the following year my
dad said, 'Well, if you're going to do
this, let's race the 250cc Pro class.'
We went out and bought a YZ250 two-
stroke and raced the whole Na-
tional Hare & Hound series
in 2016. I got second in
250cc Pro at the first
"I ended up getting a job in an as-
phalt plant and one of my buddies that
worked there, he kind of talked me into
getting back into dirt bikes. That was in
2015; I went and bought a KTM 300
and went out and raced one of the
local SIDRA (Southwestern Idaho
Desert Racing Association) races
and I got fifth overall. I hadn't rid-
den a dirt bike in 10 years!
"I was like, 'Wow, I've still got
something going on with this!'
"A month later I did the Murphy
[Idaho] National Hare & Hound
and I got 10th overall. I was like,
'I'm going to start chasing this
[motorcycle racing thing].'"
But it wasn't all smooth sailing,
(Below)
Consistency
throughout the
varied courses
in five states was
key to earning
the crown this
year as he never
finished off the
box until after
he'd wrapped
it up. The title
safely in hand,
Wasson then
rode the finale
for fun on a Beta
125 RR.
