Weld teen racing phenom to sizzle track in Loveland
Dustin Moser is barely old enough to drive a car, but already he's a teen racing phenom. Moser has racked up a slew of top finishes racing vehicles on dirt, asphalt and, most recently, ice.
Moser, 16, of Keenesburg will be among the competitors in the Pro Quad class at Saturday's World Championship Ice Racing Series event at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland.
“This is way more physical than any other type of racing,” said the sophomore at Weld Central High School. “Everybody's eager to get the top points, and also because it's a short track.”
Moser, who debuted on the ice-racing circuit in mid-November, is gunning for a top finish in Pro Quad when the national series wraps up in late February. His best series performances so far were third-place finishes in Abbotsford, British Columbia, in November and Ontario, Calif., in December.
Moser got his start racing dirt bikes about three years ago, earning first-place finishes in a flat-track competitions in Berthoud (2007), Erie (2008) and Longmont (2008).
“My uncle bought my cousin a dirt bike, and I rode it,” Moser recalled of his racing start. “We went racing one day, and it just kept going on. And now we have our own team.”
The team is Goodwin Racing, named after Moser's uncle, Gary Goodwin of Hudson. Other racers on the team are Moser's cousins Austin Goodwin, 11, and Hunter Goodwin, 8. Austin and Hunter also will compete Saturday in Loveland, in the amateur class quad and monster quad, respectively. Also part of the team is Gary Goodwin Jr., who serves as team manager.
In the past year, Moser began racing quad, or four-wheel, machines on the spectrum of surfaces — dirt, asphalt and ice.
He won the American Motorcycle Association's National Dirt Track Grand Championship in DuQuoin, Ill., last July. In early October, he finished on top of the 5280 Supermoto Race Series. That competition featured a
10-round format on asphalt tracks around Colorado.
Now Moser is sizzling on ice, which is essentially a flat track on a hockey rink. Moser said his quad actually gets better traction on ice than it does on asphalt.
“They're regular tires (for ice racing) but they have a special type of stud called Silver Rocket Studs,” he said. “All four of my tires have over 1,500 studs on them.”
The quads reach speeds of about 60 mph on ice, Moser said, compared to top speeds of 80 to 90 mph on asphalt. Moser will race in eight more World Championship Ice Racing Series events, and “we're going for the championship.”
The races are on weekends, so “I usually miss every Friday (of school) that there's a race,” he said. “I just fly out to every race.”
The competitors' quads get transported by trailer to the race sites by the ice series operators, but racers are responsible for their own travel costs. Moser's main sponsors are DJR Wall Service, Goodwin Racing, Holloway Enterprises and TowFop.
Moser said he hasn't crashed yet in a race. He loves the sports — be it quad on ice, dirt or asphalt or a dirt bike — “pretty much for the competition and the adrenaline it gives you.”
He is hoping for at least a top-three finish in front of the home crowd at Budweiser Events Center.
Asked what it takes to be a successful ice racer, Moser said, “body movement, probably just common sense. We shift, brake, accelerate, move our body and watch out for all the other riders.”
Source: Weld teen racing phenom to sizzle track in Loveland
Moser, 16, of Keenesburg will be among the competitors in the Pro Quad class at Saturday's World Championship Ice Racing Series event at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland.
“This is way more physical than any other type of racing,” said the sophomore at Weld Central High School. “Everybody's eager to get the top points, and also because it's a short track.”
Moser, who debuted on the ice-racing circuit in mid-November, is gunning for a top finish in Pro Quad when the national series wraps up in late February. His best series performances so far were third-place finishes in Abbotsford, British Columbia, in November and Ontario, Calif., in December.
Moser got his start racing dirt bikes about three years ago, earning first-place finishes in a flat-track competitions in Berthoud (2007), Erie (2008) and Longmont (2008).
“My uncle bought my cousin a dirt bike, and I rode it,” Moser recalled of his racing start. “We went racing one day, and it just kept going on. And now we have our own team.”
The team is Goodwin Racing, named after Moser's uncle, Gary Goodwin of Hudson. Other racers on the team are Moser's cousins Austin Goodwin, 11, and Hunter Goodwin, 8. Austin and Hunter also will compete Saturday in Loveland, in the amateur class quad and monster quad, respectively. Also part of the team is Gary Goodwin Jr., who serves as team manager.
In the past year, Moser began racing quad, or four-wheel, machines on the spectrum of surfaces — dirt, asphalt and ice.
He won the American Motorcycle Association's National Dirt Track Grand Championship in DuQuoin, Ill., last July. In early October, he finished on top of the 5280 Supermoto Race Series. That competition featured a
10-round format on asphalt tracks around Colorado.
Now Moser is sizzling on ice, which is essentially a flat track on a hockey rink. Moser said his quad actually gets better traction on ice than it does on asphalt.
“They're regular tires (for ice racing) but they have a special type of stud called Silver Rocket Studs,” he said. “All four of my tires have over 1,500 studs on them.”
The quads reach speeds of about 60 mph on ice, Moser said, compared to top speeds of 80 to 90 mph on asphalt. Moser will race in eight more World Championship Ice Racing Series events, and “we're going for the championship.”
The races are on weekends, so “I usually miss every Friday (of school) that there's a race,” he said. “I just fly out to every race.”
The competitors' quads get transported by trailer to the race sites by the ice series operators, but racers are responsible for their own travel costs. Moser's main sponsors are DJR Wall Service, Goodwin Racing, Holloway Enterprises and TowFop.
Moser said he hasn't crashed yet in a race. He loves the sports — be it quad on ice, dirt or asphalt or a dirt bike — “pretty much for the competition and the adrenaline it gives you.”
He is hoping for at least a top-three finish in front of the home crowd at Budweiser Events Center.
Asked what it takes to be a successful ice racer, Moser said, “body movement, probably just common sense. We shift, brake, accelerate, move our body and watch out for all the other riders.”
Source: Weld teen racing phenom to sizzle track in Loveland
