Cycle News

D on't feel badly if you were at Anaheim 1 and found yourself scrambling for a program to find out who the rider with the holeshot was on the number-28 KTM, and who ran away and hid from the field during the 250 main event. You weren't the only one. Jessy Nelson is not brash, loud and in your face; that's not his style. He's cool, calm and collected, a humble young man from Templeton, California, who has done a good job of flying under the radar and downplaying his accomplishments. Considering the adversity he has faced and overcome in his life thus far, I doubt any challenge is too daunting for the 20-year- old Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM rider. That's good, because a miscalculation and crash while leading the main at Anaheim 2, plus a missed shift and dead- last start in Oakland on Saturday night, equals a 15-point deficit to make up in the second half of the 250 West series. "Hopefully I can turn it around. I felt like I had a win coming at Anaheim 2, but I kind of threw that one away," he told me the next day. A couple of bad races on the way to the championship must feel like not even a speed bump, compared to the rough patch of road already behind him. As I said earlier, Jessy doesn't like to toot his own horn, so I'm going to tell you some of his remark- able and unfinished story. Nelson grew up in small town, near San Luis Obispo, not exact- ly known as a hotbed for moto- cross talent. Matt Wallace was a mentor to Jessy, helping him rise through the amateur ranks. "My shop, Independent Suspension, was the only shop in our area at Jessy's level, so it was inevitable that we would hook up," said Wallace. "When I met him and his family, he was on 65s, just starting on 80s and mind-boggling fast. His KTMs were a little ragged, so I began helping him out. I had been working with Josh Lichtle at the time, who was riding under Cole Gress for U.S. Suzuki's amateur program. Once Cole saw Jessy race at an amateur National he hooked him up with Suzukis. Af- ter that, I built his race bikes and Jessy won everything the next year, something like 26 titles. He was unstoppable. He won both classes at Loretta's, five out of six motos. He was such a great student of racing, soaking up information like a sponge. His parents are fantastic and were totally supportive." By all accounts, the kid seemed headed for moto star- dom, especially when factory Honda began showing interest. "Honda made it known that they wanted Jessy in a big way. Bill Savino sent the family an offer that was too good to refuse—just an outstanding deal," Wallace said. "Then he had his accident." Understandably excited about the move to Honda, Matt and Jessy had borrowed a new 150cc Honda from a local dealer, promising to replace it with one of the dozen crated bikes the factory would be delivering soon. Matt was visiting family in Yucaipa and Jessy was burning some laps at the neigh- bor's private track. The track was dry and unprepared, a fact that wouldn't faze me at age 50, let alone a 12-year-old with a new bike! While railing a high-speed hillside berm, Nelson's rear wheel broke loose and went over the top of the berm, spitting him down the backside, with the bike tumbling on top of him. When he instinctively reached out to push the bike away as it was com- ing down on him, his left thumb went through the small gap between the chain guide and rear sprocket. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to envision the amount of damage he suffered. Bill Savino was in charge of Honda's amateur program at the time and remembers vividly the BY STEVE BAUER CN III FRIENDLY FIRE JESSY'S WORLD P120

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