‘Valley Rally Raceway’ educates young riders

SUTTON — Local motocross enthusiast Andy Andersen is now the proud owner and operator of a racetrack just for kids, set right in his backyard.

Andersen started building the track about five years ago as a training facility for children, designed to foster the growth of the sport in the Valley and engage youths from the community. Now called Valley Rally Raceway, that same track is home to a number of motocross events throughout the summer.

The third annual Youth MX Training Camp was the first of those events this year. The two-day camp, which usually occurs in the middle of May, has consistently attracted around 50 young riders since its inception. The camp offers a fun environment for riders of every experience level. While Andersen helps some of the campers start on training wheels, he has also created fun activities for more seasoned attendees. Riders improve their timing by hitting targets at the bottom of jumps, work on turns through a barrel-racing activity, and learn extensively about bike maintenance.

“We do a bunch of fun things that you don’t really see anywhere else,” Andersen said.

The concept of a motocross camp is actually rather rare, according to Andersen. Riders usually pay pros or coaches for training sessions, but seldom have the opportunity to attend a camp, Andersen said. The event is also unique because it allows young riders to benefit from an exceptionally large amount of time on the bike. Regular motocross practices are limited to 15- or 30-minute intervals, according to Andersen, so the 20-hour camp naturally offers a lot of practice.

“Their skill sets just get substantially better over that amount of time because it’s equal to almost a whole year of racing,” Andersen said.

Andersen also added a seven-race series to the list of events at Valley Rally Raceway. The fourth installment of the event took place July 18, with the remainder of the races set to happen over the rest of the summer. The series is the only one in the Valley, according to Andersen, and the event sees around 75 racers compete for positions in different age and experience divisions.

Valley Rally Raceway has also unexpectedly grown into quite a draw for the community of Sutton, according to Andersen.

“It’s becoming way more than I ever envisioned as far as community involvement,” he said.

Andersen said he invites teens from the area to come help around the track, an approach that not only brings more traffic to the raceway, but also piques an interest in the sport.

“They come up to the track and go ‘this is pretty awesome, I gotta get me a motorcycle,’” Andersen said. “To have a facility like this is pretty cool, where everybody can come on the weekends and hang out.”

The racetrack also receives a substantial amount of support from local businesses and organizations. The Lions Club, Team CC, Huffman’s Gunsmith Shop and Fish Creek Sales are just a few of the raceway’s sponsors. Andersen said that Yukon Equipment also provides him with any machinery he needs for free, and that the Sutton Fire Department helped water down the track at last year’s Youth MX Training Camp.

“The amount of support that I have got to help facilitate these kids is pretty awesome,” Andersen said.

Andersen’s ultimate goal is to build up motocross as a sport in Alaska. That’s why he’s also introduced Valley Rally, a motocross team based out of the eponymous racetrack, and wants to host an American Motorcycle Association-sanctioned race.

Andersen will soon travel to Loretta Lynn, Tennessee, with his son, Chase, for the Amateur Motocross Championships. Chase qualified for the race by placing in a number of AMA competitions in the Lower 48, and he is the youngest Alaskan to ever qualify for a national motocross event. Through his work on Valley Rally Raceway, Andersen said he hopes to see more racers like Chase break into the national scene.

“One of my goals is to get Alaska motocross to a national level,” he said. “Alaska is just not on the map.”

But Andersen said Valley Rally Raceway is already capable of producing outstanding riders, because that’s where Chase learned to race.

“The cool thing is I’ve never once told him to ride his motorcycle, I’ve created an environment of family-fun racing,” Andersen said. “He’s put in the hours because of how many people come over and make him want to ride.”

For more information on the racetrack and Andersen’s team, visit teamvalleyrally.com

Contact Kaden Weaver at 352-2270 or kaden.weaver@frontiersman.com.