Tuesday Toolbox: Jordan Ashburn

19-year-old Jordan Ashburn is on a roll this year. He's won all four of his races in the Open A class and even ran in the Overall lead at Big Buck. According to Ashburn, this is the start to the career he's wanted his entire life. Check out his story in today's Tuesday Toolbox.

Hey Jordan, what are you up to today? Oh, not much, just working on a bike right now and watering my pit bike track. Well, not the whole track, just one jump.

You have your own pit bike track? Is that part of your training or just for fun? (Laughs) No, just for fun! I go out on it once a week or so.

I saw where you did really well in the OMA's this weekend. Good job! Yeah I was pretty happy with it. The first 5 laps it was me and Whibley and Jarrett, Watkins and Thad. It was fun. It was a really tight track so we were all really close together. I had problems, Whibs had problems and so did Jimmy. I'm happy with my race.

How are you feeling about this year so far?  You have to feel pretty awesome leading your class. Last year I know I had the speed to run in the top 15. Chris  Bach and I had a couple of good races. This year I want to get the overall amateur.

Is that your overall goal this year? I want to be Top Amateur and I want to finish inside the top 15 this year. And win the Open A class!

We saw you running with the overall lead at Big Buck. Was that one of your goals when you started the season? I was hoping I would at the mud races but at Big Buck, I got the holeshot, and I guess those guys had a few problems in the tight sections. I didn't believe it when they told me where I was. I was like, "What?"

I bet that gave you a ton of confidence for the rest of the race. It definitely did. I caught a few of the Pro guys, and I knew I just had to stay with them to keep a good overall because they were just ahead of me.

What happened after that? Your brakes melted? I rode the entire 3^rd lap without rear brakes. Dad and a couple other guys pulled the whole system off, fixed it, and then I took back off.

And how did that race end for you? I won Open A, and I got 16th place overall. About the time we pulled the bike off the stand, second place in my class came through and third came through and then I pulled out behind them.

I read in your interview with DigitalOffRoad.com that you'd had an accident before the season? You definitely recovered well from that. I was down in Florida, just riding some moto tracks, and me and this other guy were coming over a jump and he hit me in the back, and took us both out.

Were you worried it was going to mess up your season? At first they told me I wasn't going to be able to ride until April so I didn't even know if I was going to make the first GNCCs. Then I was released 2 weeks before the season started. I wasn't sure how it would turn out because I hadn't been riding at all.

Those two weeks before Florida must have been pretty busy for you then? I started riding a lot, and riding the bicycle. I was just trying to get ready to go down there. I was hoping to be ready.

Now that you're showing these kinds of results, are you thinking about next year? I'm definitely going to move up next year, either XC1 or XC2.

We've definitely seen what kind of jump Open A to XC1 can do for you. We've seen great results out of Chris Bach. Do you think that's something you'll consider when making your choice? I know he worked really hard over the winter. He was really prepared and I'd really like to do the same thing.

I was talking to your dad before the race at Big Buck, and he said you are pretty much fearless and that you do a lot of other sports besides racing, like wakeboarding. You must like the adrenaline rush. It's awesome. It's so much fun. I love doing about anything. I like to ride mountain bikes, go wakeboarding, caving, just about anything, it doesn't really matter, as long as it's outside, even hunting fishing.

You're 19 years old, how do you balance the fun stuff and racing? You just have to have fun racing. I like to do other stuff, too. You get burned out if you do the same thing every day. You need to try to have fun.

How did you get into racing? My dad used to race when he was younger. I started riding when I was 3 or 4. Then, I started riding flat tracks. That's really how I got into it. I didn't start racing off-road into 2004. I think I raced my first full GNCC season in 2005 or 2006. I'm going to race the whole OMA series this year, too.

So, you're making this into a career then? That's been my goal my whole life, just to keep moving up. I just got around to doing it. I got more focused the past couple of years, and I'm getting more serious about it and moving up.

Where do you think we'll see Jordan Ashburn one day then? I don't know, hopefully on one of the factory teams would be nice!

We're racing in your home state this weekend. Is Loretta's typically a good race for you? Loretta's has always been the closest one besides the one in West Moreland, which is only about an hour from the house. I've had some pretty good races there. Last year I broke the bike there, though.

Alright, Jordan. I'll let you get back to working on your bike. Is there anyone you'd like to thank? I'd like to thank my mom and dad first, Monster Energy Kawasaki, Pro Circuit, Moose, Johnny Signs, Maxima Oils, Barber Cycles, Dunlop, Renthal and Acerbis.