Cruz Rainwater of Kimberly

Kimberly’s Cruz Rainwater just made his dream come true. 

The 7-year-old dirt bike racer has qualified for the largest amateur motocross race in the world, the 32nd Annual Red Bull AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships at Loretta Lynn’s ranch. 

Rainwater took on more than 20,000 hopefuls from across America to earn one of just 1,446 qualifying positions.

“The Amateur Nationals at Loretta Lynn’s is the event every motocross racer in the country wants to compete in,” said Event Director Tim Cotter. “A win at the Amateur Nationals gives a rider instant national notoriety and can serve as a springboard to a lucrative professional motocross career.”

Most of America’s top professional motocrossers, including James Stewart, Ricky Carmichael, Travis Pastrana and Jeremy McGrath, have won AMA Amateur National Championships at Loretta Lynn’s. The race is so prestigious that in 2012 it became part of the Red Bull Signature Series, airing race coverage on NBC for the first time ever. In 2013, the coverage only gets better as the Red Bull Signature Series will air live coverage from the ranch on NBC for the first time.

Rainwater, who attends Bryan Elementary School, has been riding since he was 4 years old. He has won three championships in the last three years and competes nearly every weekend at different tracks with the Alabama State Series.

Rainwater will make the journey to Tennessee along with his parents and sister and countless friends and family members. The race runs July 29 through Aug. 3.

Racers may enter a wide variety of classes, from minicycle classes for children as young as 4, all the way up to a senior division for riders over 50. There are also classes for women and classes for both stock and modified bikes.

The track is built on a section of Loretta Lynn’s ranch and campground in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. The course contains a variety of jumps, corners and other obstacles designed to test the skills and stamina of the racers.

Most riders attend the event with the help of their families. In fact, many groups consider the event their family’s summer vacation. 

Besides races, the ranch provides family-friendly facilities including a game room, swimming pools, arts and crafts activities as well as a fashion and talent show.