Kaeden Amerine has competed at the national level in Arenacross, taking second place in his division at the American Motorcyclist Association Arenacross National Championship in Las Vegas in May 2011.
Amerine is nine years old.
“I like the speed and the excitement that happens on the track,” Amerine said. “It’s just fun to do. I like the Park City stuff. It’s a smaller track, but more challenging.”
Amerine has been competing for five years.
“He got his first motorcycle when he was three, and started racing when he was four,” Missi Amerine, Kaeden’s mother, said. “His first motorcycle was a little Yamaha PW50, and then his first racing bike was a KTM50 Junior, which is a smaller framed bike.”
Kaeden competes in the Central Kansas Motocross Series, which has tracks in Marion, Inman, Maize, Winfield and Park City. He also competes in the Park City Supercross Series, which has tighter courses and races at nights.
Kaeden also competes in the AMA Arenacross Series and the Oklahoma State Championship Series.
It was in the AMA Arenacross Series that Kaeden qualified for the national championship.
In five years of competing, Kaeden has amassed 49 first-place trophies, and 148 trophies in total first through fifth place.
“This last year, he won three classes in the Supercross series,” Missi said. “He won first place in the Peewee Senior class, first place in the Peewee Open class (both 50cc bike classes), and he also won first place in the 65cc Junior class.”
Kaeden’s second-place finish at the national event came in the 50cc Senior class.
Kaeden has already qualified to head back to Las Vegas this year, and will begin the Oklahoma State Championship Series this weekend.
“He’s raced in two Arenacross races so far this year, and he’s qualified to go back to the national championships, which is the first weekend in May,” Missi said. “We’re getting ready to start the outdoor series. It actually starts on Saturday in Oklahoma.
“Through the outdoor series, he can qualify to go to the Loretta Lynn’s (AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships), which is in Tennessee. That is where a lot of the major sponsors pick up their riders.”
Kaeden, joined by his family, Missi, father Craig and older sister Kaeli, will be traveling to Wellston, Okla., to compete in the first races of the Oklahoma State Championship series.