The official rider roster for the 250 C Limited class of the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship has been released. Riders are from Canada, California, Texas and Tallahassee, Fla. One is from Bridgeport, West Virginia: No. 50, 17-year-old Benjamin Cunningham.

 

Cunningham, who has been riding since he was a little boy, said this particular race – to take place July 31-Aug. 5 at the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. – has been a long-term goal.

 

“This race is big and not many people from this area qualify,” said Cunningham, son of Amy and Kevin Cunningham of the Bridgeport area. “This is the biggest amateur race and pro teams - as well as sponsors - are there looking for riders. What you do in this race really gets recognized.”

 

Cunningham was six years old when he got his first bike – a Honda CRF50. For three years or so, he never rode outside of the yard.

 

“I was actually playing basketball with one of my friends who raced dirt bikes and he got me to go to Pyramid Valley for the first time,” he said. “After that first time, I didn’t want to play any other sport. I quit everything and I have been riding since.”

 

For the next few years, he was content riding and racing at Pyramid Valley, located just off I-79 near Lost Creek. It was during that time – in May of 2010 - that his 15-year-old brother Michael died in an electric shock drowning incident at Stonewall Lake.  

 

“I was only 10,” Cunningham said. “Riding actually helped me. When that happened, riding was my therapy.”

 

By age 12 or so, he started racing on a national level and quickly became very serious about it.

 

“I even got home-schooled so I could live in Georgia during the winters,” said Cunningham, who attended Bridgeport Middle School through the eighth grade. “My mom was against it at first, but we finally talked her into it.”

 

Cunningham and his dad, Kevin, lived each year from January through April at the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Campus at Alpharetta, Ga., a premier training facility for serious racers.

 

“We took a camper and stayed in it for two to three months,” Cunningham said. “I’d ride every day, do my school work, go to the gym and go to bed.”

 

When the weather warmed up in West Virginia, they packed up and came back home to Bridgeport.

 

For a few years, Cunningham raced, on average, 20 to 30 times; some of his regular events including High Point and Mount Morris Pro National.

 

Regardless of the race, his protocol is the same.

 

“My dad usually goes over the bike – and I try to keep calm,” he said. “You can’t let nerves get to you. I know what I have got to do and I try to do it.”

 

The bike has to be in tip-top condition.

 

“One little thing can mess me up,” he said. “If you don’t have a good bike, you’re not going to win.”

 

He and his dad’s other hobby, he said, is rebuilding bikes.

 

Cunningham has tried various race formats, including the AMSOIL Arenacross series, which is a nationwide circuit.

 

“Indoor racing is a lot tighter and fast-paced than actual motocross. You’re only on the track for two to three minutes," he said.

 

Yet, Cunningham ended up in the top five in the point system, qualifying in Cincinnati to race at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

 

“We drove out there in May, pulling a box trailer,” he said. “I ended up placing third; my first time trying it.”

 

For the past couple of years, Cunningham has concentrated on qualifying for the Amateur National.

 

“But I kept getting injured trying to qualify for this race,” he said.

This past year, he said, he took some of the heat off and had fun with the quest – and he was successful. He qualified by placing in the top eight at the Northeast Area Qualifier, April 15 at High Point.

 

Cunningham is a 2017 homeschool graduate and plans to attend Pierpont Community & Technical College this fall, studying advanced processing technology. He’ll also continue to pursue his pro riding license.

 

The sport is a big part of his life; one which requires commitment, passion and good physical condition.

 

“It’s not easy whatsoever. You can go to the gym every day and work out, but as soon as you’re on the bike, it’s a completely different workout,” he said. “Cardio helps, in my opinion, but there’s no workout like riding so you have to ride more than anything to work muscles you really don’t work in the gym.”

 

That’s OK with Cunningham – because there’s no place he would rather be. He thanks his parents for their avid support through the years and helping him to excel.