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MIKE TOMPKINSFor 5-year-olds like Tyler Lang, the best ride around is a dirt bike.
When most kindergarten-age boys talk about who they want to be like when they grow up, many give clicheanswers, typically regarding sports figures.
Tom Brady. Derrick Brooks. Hulk Hogan.
Most kids, however, are not 5-year-old Tyler Lang. Lang is in his first season of racing at, among other places, the Dade City Raceway located off S.R. 52, adjacent to Pasco High. Tyler began riding dirt bikes at age 3 after mastering a bicycle at 2 years old. You read that correctly - 2.
"After he didn't need training wheels for his bike, and he was able to get adjusted quickly to the dirt bike at 3, we knew he was destined," said his mother, Theresa. "His friend had one, and he'd ride it maybe two or three times a month. He picked it up real quickly. So we got him (a Honda CRF 50) for his fourth birthday last April.
"All he ever wants to do is ride."
His ride almost became a short one. In January, with one payment left on the Honda and her son's first racing season set to start in March, the bike was stolen from the garage of the Langs' Embassy Hill home in Port Richey. Knowing their son's love for racing, his parents anted up the $2,200 for a new bike.
After some coercing, Theresa and her husband, Tony, finally got Tyler to try the new bike. The coaxing paid off, as Tyler has two first-place finishes and one third in his past three races in the Pee-Wee Oil Beginner division (4- to 6-year-olds). He finished second in his second career race.
He has earned a sponsorship from Walker Ford in Clearwater, and he wears No. 2, same as Supercross stud Jeremy McGrath. He placed first in the four-wheelers points race June 4 and first in the MX Points Race Championship Series on June 11 and July 1.
"My husband rides with him, as does my 12-year-old, Austin, who's going to start racing next year," Theresa said. "They ride three or four times a week, at Croom (at I-75 and S.R. 50 in Hernando County ) or at Hard Rock (in Ocala) or in Hudson. It's because of Tyler though. He makes it clear that this is what he wants to do. I figure if he can be good at it and earn sponsorships, all the better, because this can get expensive."
"We make sure, though, to tell him he's a winner no matter what place he finishes because there's a lot of talent out there."
That talent includes 7-year-old Tyler Pantley. Pantley is first in the Pee-Wee Oil advanced division and recently won a qualifier in Gainesville and a regional in Georgia. "Oh, (Lang) emulates (Pantley)," Theresa said. "He wants to ride like him, jump like him, and he wants to win like him. ... (These kids) are talented. Especially for 5- and 6-year-olds.
DIRT BIKE RACINGWhat it costs to get started:
Bike - $2,200
Uniform - $90
Spare pants - $45
Helmets (2) - $95 apiece
Chest protector - $75
Kidney belt - $20
Gloves - $20
Gear bag - $100
Boots - $100
Racing fee $20
Entrance fee (per person, including racer) - $10