Nicky Hayden races a Honda RS125 in a WERA regional race at Putnam Park Road Course in Mt. Meridian, Indiana, sometime in the mid-1990s. Hayden was already winning road races when he was still a kid of just 11 or 12 years old. In fact a few of club riders of that era boast today that they beat Hayden. Never mind that their memories are probably little foggy, if you think about it they’re bragging that they beat a pre-teen. Fortunately most who raced against him and his brothers have a more accurate recollection of how they got smoked by the little dudes from Kentucky. Nearly all of them became huge fans of Hayden and followed his career to ultimately becoming MotoGP World Champion in 2006.

Nicky Hayden races a Honda RS125 in a WERA regional race at Putnam Park Road Course in Mt. Meridian, Indiana, sometime in the mid-1990s. Hayden was already winning road races when he was still a kid of just 11 or 12 years old.(Larry Lawrence photo)