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By: Robert Janis She Challenges Her Husband
Kristen Matlock |
Kristen Matlock got tired watching her
husband Wayne have all the fun. For five years
she has been the crew pit chief for team Matlock
as he competed in Best in the Desert races
through the deserts of Nevada and SCORE races
through the Baja. Sure, being in a pit crew
working a chase race is exciting, she must have
thought. It is nothing like taking the course.
So she did and she does.
That’s not to say that she is a novice when
it comes to ATVs. Kristen Matlock is just the
opposite. She has been riding ATVs since she was
16 years old. “I was about 16 years old with a
group of my friends at the sand dunes, and one
of them let me ride one of their quads. I fell
in love with riding instantly,” she said.
So she started on the sand, and she continues
to race in the sand. She competes in Best in the
Desert events, AMA National Hare and Hound
Series in California and Utah, and the AMA
District 38 Racing Series in El Centro,
California. In fact, in one of her first events
as a racer, the 2006 Best in the Desert ATV and
UTV AVI 150, she placed second among amateurs
and 17th overall with a time of 4:23:06.
Because of her experience riding in Baja a
minimum of 250 miles per weekend, it was her
concern for keeping hydrated that she
concentrated on in preparation for her first
race. “I focused on hydrating my body at least a
week before the race,” she said. “If you are not
hydrated going into a long distance race, like
the one I planned to enter, you end up cramping
up and can’t race to your full ability.”
Kristen Matlock in the Best in the
Desert Event. |
She takes on the desert on a Honda TRX450ER
quad. She has chosen this machine because it is
reliable, fast, and, as is, there is no need to
build the motor. However, she did enhance the
quad with a series of customizations. She added
Roll Design A-arms and +1 steering stem; Elka
Suspension shocks with Elka linkage in the front
and rear and Elka steering stabilizer; a
Lonestar axle; Tag Metals’ bars; IMS desert
tank, roll foot pegs, heel guards, bumper and
hand guards; Alba pipe; Douglas wheels; Maxxis
tires; AC Racing belly pan, custom skid plate;
and a Quadtech desert seat. She has also
converted the throttle from a thumb to a twist.
As of this writing, she has competed in nine
races and has placed first in five of them and
second in the remaining four. She noted that she
is usually the only female racer competing at
District 38 events, but in the other events she
does come upon female competition. “I would say
that I competed against half a dozen. There
really aren’t a lot of females involved in
desert racing. There are a lot more in motocross
for some reason,” she said.
She truly enjoys racing against the men. “I
think it makes me a better racer having to keep
their pace since they are so much stronger
naturally than women,” she said. “In order to
keep up with them, I have to ride smarter versus
stronger.”
And how do the men respond when they see her
on the track? “I have had nothing but support
and respect from the ATV male racers,” she
commented. “Every time I win a race all of my
competitors shake my hand and tell me how much
fun they had racing against me out there that
day.” She did admit that on one occasion she had
a problem with a male racer. “A male motorcycle
racer had a problem with me passing him with my
ponytail hanging out the back end of my helmet.
He decided that he wasn’t going to let me stay
in front of him after I had already caught and
passed him. He attempted to keep my pace for a
while in hopes of passing me and ended up upside
down in the bushes on the side of the
racecourse. After the race, he found me to
compliment me on what a great racer I am.”
Her prowess in the desert has landed her a
handful of prestigious sponsors including Alba
Action Sports, Precision Concepts, Elka
Suspension, Division Four, and Roll Design.
Kristen Matlock |
As with the guys, the best part of racing for
Kristen is the adrenaline rush that she gets
while at the starting line that continues
throughout the entire race. Is there a worst
part of racing for her? “There is not a bad part
of racing. I love everything about it,” she
said. Her favorite race is Vegas to Reno. “It is
about 500 miles long and is a true test of your
ability, the bike’s ability, and your pit crew’s
ability since it is a chase race.”
As for the future of ATV racing in general,
women in the sport, and her future, she
responded, “I see ATV racing growing larger and
larger. Already in the last couple of years I
have watched District 38 grow from about 50
entries per race to about 250 entries per race.
ATV racing is getting a lot more publicity than
it has in the past with District 38 getting
their own TV show called Pinnedtv, SCORE Baja
1000 “Dust to Glory,” and ESPN with the WPSA
series. I am hoping that with myself getting out
there along with the other female racers, we
will attract more women to get involved in the
sport and female ATV racing will grow as well. I
plan to race about 20 races this year, including
the Vegas to Reno, and I enjoy every minute of
it!”
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