By Staff
Kim West
Franklin County Times
I paid my first visit to Little Power Sports Track, a dirt-racing track owned by Greg Little, during a practice Tuesday night.
The LPS track opened three years ago at a location just south of Russellville on Hwy. 43, and will host the N.E.A.T. Motocross Series three times this summer, including Saturday's 6 p.m. race.
The track was a beehive of activity, with two practice courses in constant use and a parking lot filled with families and their trucks, racing trailers and dirt bikes.
While I was there, I met Kelly Williamson, a track volunteer from Muscle Shoals and the mother of the No. 92 racer, Jacob Williamson, who recently qualified for the Loretta Lynns, a national series race.
"He was very fortunate to make it to nationals because he had to finish in the top eight of the area race and top seven of the regional race to qualify," said Williamson, whose family has driven as far Michigan and Pennsylvania for races. "I think he was able to make it because of all the work he did at practice and being in races all over the place."
Williamson said her son practices biweekly at the LPS track and will be competing in Saturday's race.
"This is a great track, and there are people who drive from Mississippi and Tennessee to ride here," said Williamson, who was clad in paint-splattered overalls after adding a fresh coat of paint to the track bathrooms.
Williamson said the track receives constant upgrades.
"There are other tracks in the Shoals area, but they all rely on ponds to water them. Greg uses city water, which means big water bills," Williamson said. "Greg loves kids and wants them to have a place to ride, so he puts everything he makes back into improving this track, including loads of sand and sawdust, and he just put in two extra lights for the track."
Despite the potential dangers of motocross, Williamson said she doesn't worry about her 16-year-old son, who has only been competitively racing for a year.
"A lot of mothers do worry, but Jacob has been riding for four years, and he's had a lot of training," said Williamson. "My husband was a rider when he was younger so when Jacob decided to ride, he bought him a dirt bike.
"I like motocross a lot, and we go to a lot of national races – I don't ride, but I'm addicted to it."
For more information about the LPS track, visit www.littlepowersports.com or call (256) 710-3703.
Kim West is sports editor for The Franklin County Times. She can be reached at kim.west@fct.wpengine.com or (256) 332-1881, ext. 30.