Let's get this out of the way right off the bat - last year at this event (BITD Terrible's Town 250), you DNF-ed. What happened?

Last year I had a partner who was green to Best in The Desert, and he basically got lost for a good long time.

We were in the trucks by the time that he got to where we needed to be. I decided, safety-wise, we weren't going to win the event. I wasn't racing the series, I was only doing a couple races. I figured it would be best just to cut my losses.

Have you run this particular race before?

Yes. I've raced with Jimmy Stephensen a couple years ago and we won. We won by 6 seconds I think. And I've raced it by myself. When I partnered with William Yokely a few years back, he had a cross country race the same date. If your rider of record cannot ride, your partner cannot have another partner so I had to race it by myself. That was the year that it snowed. It was dumping rain, and I managed to get third, and I was pretty stoked about that.

This year you have Danny Prather as a partner. How'd you score that?

I've known Danny for a long time. I've known his dad - his dad's raced with us in Baja, my brother and myself, so I've known Danny for quite a while. Danny & I are good friends and he's a good guy. He's a humble guy and we just clicked, so it was an easy partner choice.

Is he with you for the rest of the season, or do you set a partner race by race?

He's with me for the rest of BITD. For sure.

How do you go about picking a partner?

That's a very tough decision. Generally if I'm going to commit to someone, I commit them for the season. If I'm racing a series - like I'm not going to kick Danny off the team if he screws up. I'm with him for the year, no matter what. If I'm racing single races, yeah, I might get a different partner or something. I just don't even go any further than "Hey, do you want to race this race with me?" That's it pretty much. They can't read into it any further. But that doesn't happen too often. I'm generally racing a series. Last year was the only year that I didn't race the whole series, as far as BITD goes.

What other series do you try to hit?

I was going to bail out of SCORE this year, but I'm getting sucked back in. I get sucked back in every year. I raced the first race, San Felipe, and we DNFed that. That was another thing that happened. Danny had hit a rock 20 miles into the race in the lead. It was just a fluke thing. He hit a rock so bad that it took a long time before we could get the bike running again and by that time we were in the trucks and I made another decision.

I've been hit by a Trophy truck before so I don't want that to happen again or to my partner. We cut our losses at that point in time. I wasn't running the whole series. I was just running that race. That's all I had planned for, all I had talked to my sponsors about, we were just out to do it for fun type of thing, and at that point in time it wasn't fun. Better safe than sorry.

I was looking at the finishes of the Parker race. When you're chasing teams like Doug Eichner or Wayne Matlock, they won that race by a 45 minute margin. When you're looking at what can you do, how do you get 45 minutes out of your bike? Well, Parker was a bad race for us.

It was the first race on the new bike, the YFZ, and honestly, I blame myself for that race. We were in third and we had a chance at second on the last lap, and I had installed a kick-starter on the bike, when stock they come with an electric start. In my thinking, desert riding you want to get away from all the things that can break. My lack of knowledge with the bike at the time… you're supposed to retard the timing one tooth when you put that kick starter on.

It makes it 10 times easier to kick. Last lap, I stalled it and could not get the bike started for half an hour. It was just hard to start - I didn't have the bike down, I didn't know it as well. Now I know these bikes a lot better and have gotten used to them.

So you aren't going out there to "make up 45 minutes"?

I'm going out there to win, and that's it. We know we can run up with Eichner and with everyone that's out here. We know we can beat 'em. It's just a matter of these guys want to do it just as bad as we do. And they have just as good of equipment. And they have just as good of riders.

Is there one person you're going out there gunning for? Who do you look to?

No, I don't look to any one person. There's a handful of guys that can win this race. 250 miles - that's a long way. And this is the shortest of all our races. But these guys are going out to do the same thing. It's a tough crew out there. You have Eichner, you have Greg & Jimmy, you have Steve Bielman, you have Chad Prull and Wayne Matlock; all these guys are capable of winning. So if one team falters, someone else is going to be right there. I mean, we won this race by 6 seconds, a 250 mile race. That just goes to show how tight the competition is.

We talk to some riders and check in with what they think about while they are riding - what do you think about? What do you do for five hours, or for 2 ½ hours you are on board?

I try to concentrate on the task at hand. I concentrate on being smooth. I do dilly-dally sometimes, my mind starts wandering, and I have to smack myself, say "Hey, wake up."

How far down the course are you looking? Are you looking right ahead, placing each wheel, or reading upcoming turns or grooves?

You look a ways down - you're trying to read terrain, especially out here where you don't get to pre-run. And you do kind of have to do both. You have to read what's ahead of you, and you have to realize what's right in front of you. So you're not hitting something hard, getting flats, or whatever.

Is that something you have to teach yourself?

I wouldn't say it's "natural." Some people have a better ability for it, but it's definitely learned. It's definitely experience. Experience out here is a big thing. You have to be fast, but you have to finish to win.

When you're sitting on that line, staged, 30 seconds to the flag - what's the last thing you think about before you take off?

I'm thinking "Is there anything that I didn't catch?", as far as the bike goes, as far as logistics. That's a whole other thing. Logistically, is my pit crew going to know where they are going, are they going to be there on time, if we've planned everything out accordingly.

Is there a point where you STOP thinking about all that?

Generally yeah, as soon as that flag drops, you start concentrating on the task at hand. Your mind starts wandering then that's when you start making mistakes. You have to think about what you're doing at that point in time. You have to let that trust go and just hope for the best.

You work at Temecula Motorsports - does that help? Does it build trust that carries over on race day?

There's certain guys that I use. As far as Temecula goes, I don't use a lot of their help for pit crew. I have a guy on his way out here right now who's been pitting my brother and me in Baja for years, so I know he's pretty savvy as far as everything goes. Certain people I trust. Shawn has always helped us out, Kevin - we kind of pool together as teams, some of us, and help each other out. Having a good pit crew is important - it's almost as important as picking as good rider. It's experience. Whether it be a rider, or pit crew.

One thing we wanted to ask you about was how involved you really get with the bike. First thing when we walked up, we see you are the one out there wrenching on it. I am the only one that really touches that bike. I go through the entire thing.

If someone else is touching it, I make sure I know what they are doing, and I go back and check it. I don't care who it is. I trust Kevin [Avina] 100% with my bikes too, and when he did my prep, I still went over his stuff How many bodies do you have with you doing this? I have two guys coming out - I have Wade Summers, the TireBall guy, who's coming out to help me pit…

More than just the TireBall guy - you have the founder of TireBalls here to help you pit!

Yes, he flew out just for this race. (We pointed out if the TireBalls do their job, Wade really shouldn't have anything to do, should he?) He's going to help pit, as far as gas and everything, TireBalls are awesome. I wouldn't run a race without them. Wade is a great guy, number one, and the product itself is awesome.

I know we are still in stages of development for the desert, back East they are working really good. There aren't too many people that have them out here, but it's a lot nicer than dragging a flat for 50 - 60 miles. They WILL change the industry. They are going to change how your average hunter, your utility rider, a worker - you can go through a set of tires without worrying about a flat. You can be out in the middle of no where hunting and not worry about getting a flat. That in itself is great.

You have an amazing group of guys surrounding you - the mood in your pit is definitely to have a good time. Who would you like to just go relax and go shoot some pool with, get away for a while? I get along with all of them. I've known Kevin for 12 or 13 years, the Chislocks I've recently met and gotten to know them. We go out now and have a glass. The whole family is really impressive, and I enjoy that. I've known Chuck, I've known a lot of these guys a long time - 90% of them I have no problem going out and hanging out with and have done it.

Any really good grudges you can let us in on? Any other racers that stuffed you into a bush that you'd like to take out and have a talking to?

No, I get along with everyone - I honestly do. I got hit by the Herbst truck and probably should have been killed, but that's racing. It's an inherently dangerous sport and shit happens.

Do you put stock in "race Karma" - what you put in, you'll get back? Yeah, hopefully. That's the way you want it to go down. In the whole ATV scene, I think there's a lot of comaradarie. I get along with everyone. When you're racing, you're racing. But it's more enjoyable to get along with the people you're racing against instead of having animosity. It's a pretty good group of guys as far as the whole ATV scene is concerned, and that's mainly why I do it. If I didn't get along with these guys and I hated them, I wouldn't be here. I think each (motorcycles, trucks & cars, etc) have their little groups, their whole scene, just like we do.

You don't really see them mix. Do you ride for fun too?

I'd rather ride a motorcycle for recreation, and I don't get to ride often, recreation-wise. It's either practicing or racing mainly. So it's a treat when I get to go out and go riding with my buddies.

You have some big names for sponsors - what do they do for you? Who's your biggest supporter?

I'm pretty fortunate - I have to admit that. I hooked up with the right people a long time ago. Doug Roll is one of my best friends and one of my biggest sponsors.

He brought me where I am today, as far as learning everything, working on the bike, knowing the set up. He's been an important part of my whole racing experience. Everyone he associates himself with has been awesome. Martin from Elka - his guys come out here twice a month just to do testing, working with me and Eichner. That's real important.

Wade Summers from TireBalls just flew out here on a whim, just to come help me do this race. Temecula Motorsports has been backing me - I'm rarely there. Almost every weekend I race. They foot the bill for it, they support me 100%, they let me use the equipment. I try to represent everyone that helps me out the best I can. I try to present a professional show - I try to make sure the bikes look like a show piece, instead of just a race bike. I put a lot of time, a lot of effort into that.

What do they get out of it?

It depends on the sponsor. For Temecula Motorsports, getting their name out there. People associating the racing industry, buying quads with a certain reputation, is big. As far as Roll Design & Elka, using their products and talking to anyone that wants to talk to me about them, I'm all for it. I will totally promote their products, because in my opinion, they are the best stuff out there. I've ridden a lot of stuff, and I don't like to compromise.

Do you see what happens here on race day as trickling down to the average rider, the industry in general?

It's like anything. A lot of guys that may be sport riders see the big time racers and want to be like that - or at least have a little piece of it. There's a lot of things that Roll, IMS, other companies make that your average rider can afford and have a piece of that. Not everyone can afford a $30,000 race bike, but I think it's interesting to people that can't do it or don't do it, and are just rec riders.

Do you see the manufacturers using race experience for product development?

I think a lot of testing gets done prior to race day. Race day is for racing. I spend a lot of time with Elka, Roll, the TireBalls guys. Any time something happens, I'll send product back to him, show him what happened, just to try to improve on it. We test different pressures. There's a lot of different variables to each thing. Testing is real important.

What is your goal this year - race by race, looking ahead?

Championships are what it's all about. That's what helps the sponsors sell their products. That's what I'm trying to achieve. What about next year?

Next year, I've put a team together involving one of the guys that's here. It's a motocross team. I'm not a huge motocrosser and I'm just sort of getting back into it a little more, promoting the sponsors on a local level. Glen Helen, Lake Elsinore - we'll have a box van there. I have a four-man team - myself, three other younger guys, up and comers that are doing real good - Kyle Chislock, Danny Regan and Tony Munoz. I have full backing from IMS, Roll, Elka, Douglas Wheel, Maxxis Tires.

We're just going to go in there and put on a nice show, have everything professional, everything laid out, and basically promote local sponsorship. This is kind of a new venture for me. I like the comaradarie, I like the ease of local events. To do these desert races - I've been doing desert races for about 13 years and it takes a lot. It takes a lot of money, it takes a lot of time, it takes a lot of effort, it takes a lot of resources. So this will be a nice change, to be able to go for a weekend, and be home in an hour instead of traveling.

What's the one thing left for you - what haven't you done yet, what do you want to try? What's your final hidden desire?

That's a tough one. (long pause….) Be rich. Relax and travel. Racing and everything, I've gotten a chance to travel to Europe, I've gotten a chance to do a lot of things. Racing alone I've gotten to travel a lot.

I enjoy surfing - (now he lights up…) I've traveled a lot doing that. That's probably honestly the best sport I've ever done. Way more relaxing, more humbling, way more spiritual. It's something I want to get back to. I've done it for years, I've done it pretty often when I've not raced as often. But now I'm heavy back into racing and I haven't gotten to do anything else. Once I retire from racing and get back to more recreational riding, I think I'll probably go back to doing that.

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Thanks for your time, Mike. You led me off-track from my intended questions expertly. Coming in June issue of Off-Road.com - an up-close look at the Yamaha YFZ450 that Mike and partner Danny Prather brought in to second place at Terrible's Town, and coverage of the exciting Vegas to Reno event.

---------------------------------------- This is the first in what we plan to be a full series of interviews with riders from all divisions and several series. Each racer brings a different aspect to the sport, a different background that got them there. For some, the goal is simply to go and have fun, hopefully just to finish the race in one piece. Others are looking to forge relationships and reputations that will build a long-term professional career.

Until you walk the pits before and after race day, listen and watch closely, and maybe spend a few hours around the bar AFTER the finish line is closed for the night, you'll never really get it. We hope this brings all the fans that couldn't be there, just a little close.