I got my start riding motorcycles at a young age. My first exposure to racing came from my dad Rod Lawson. My father was a weekend racer in the 70’s with District 36 (#337F) in Northern California. His home track was Argyle Park outside of Dixon. We also spent a lot of time camping which included dirt bikes. My first bike was a mini bike (tube frame, square tires, with a Briggs and Stratton motor. I grew up riding many motorcycles, everything from my Uncles 1977 Indian to my best friends 1979 Yamaha YZ 250. I can remember riding my bicycle downtown to watch the bikes cruise on Friday and Saturday nights, man those RD’s and Kawasaki triples were the coolest thing around. I didn’t get my own first real bike until 1983, a water cooled 1982 YZ 125. I competed in my first moto cross event in Stead NV. I only raced about 3 or 4 times as we really didn’t have the funds to be racing. I graduated high school in 1986, at which time I was bike less and had somewhat lost the interest for more important things like hanging out at the American River. I purchased my first street bike in 1989, a 1988 Yamaha FZ 600. I had only owned the bike for about three days before I found out what the pavement tasted like. My FZ was stolen later that same year. It wasn’t until I recovered the FZ that I decided to try my hand at racing. I didn’t have any experience other than watching Grand Prix’s at Laguna Seca, but it sure looked fun. I converted my FZ into a track bike and the rest is history. I currently spend my weekends turning wrenches at the races for my son Daniel and other team riders Kyle Schutte, Bryce Schutte, Tom Jones, and Jimmy Stewart. I still compete on a limited basis as I don’t bounce like I used to.