Gavin Gracyk

Motocross

He made the jump to the pro ranks in 2003, when he rode as a privateer. Bridging the sometimes insurmountable gap between the amateur ranks and racing professional motocross is hard enough for most young racers to do. For Gavin, it became even harder when his father was diagnosed with ALS - more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. ALS is a nerve disease that causes a loss of muscle control and, for his father, it meant that he’d be attending fewer and fewer of his son’s races. Gavin ended the 2004 AMA Motocross series in 41st place in the 125 class before packing his bags and heading to Canada.