Dud Perkins Lifetime Achievement

While it was her singing voice that made the late Loretta Lynn famous, it was her charm and welcoming nature that endeared her to not only her fans, but to the motocross community. It is that unlikely impact and relationship with our sport that posthumously earned Lynn the AMA Dud Perkins Lifetime Achievement Award.

For the last four decades, Lynn’s Hurricane Mills ranch has hosted the largest amateur motocross event in the world. Impacting approximately 60,000 riders who have participated in the event over the years, the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn Ranch has forever changed the amateur motocross landscape.

“The event has grown because of Loretta, and the facility is unparalleled,” MX Sports Director Tim Cotter said. “Not many people allow you to come put a motorbike track in their front yard, but she [and late husband Mooney Lynn] did.”

Lynn, who passed away Oct. 4, 2022, at age 90, was named the AMA Dud Perkins Lifetime Achievement Award recipient by the AMA Board of Directors. The honor, which comes a little over a year after Lynn was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, acknowledges the highest level of service to the AMA.

And Lynn’s service to the motorcycling community is evident in how it’s changed amateur motocross for those involved.

“[The event] is the glue that holds amateur racing — amateur motocross, in particular — together,” Cotter said. “People have confidence that when they go there, they’re going to be treated fairly. They’re going to have a safe environment. It’s a family-oriented (event), there’s something for everyone there.”

It was Lynn’s talent in the music industry that helped her rise from a childhood dominated by poverty to become a country music icon. Lynn was inducted into the Country Music engines in one program and the entire motorcycle in another, with the objective of sparking a newfound confidence in each student.

In terms of being honored with the award, Schaffran and Vaughan are very grateful but also quite aware of what it represents.

“It’s exciting to be acknowledged and thought of as important enough in our industry to get an award,” Schaffran said. “I am super thrilled that what we are doing is perceived to be making a good difference.”

“I feel really lucky to be representing nearly a thousand kids who have gone through the Motogo program in the last five years,” Vaughan said. “While it’s totally an honor to get this award, I recognize it really isn’t about me, it isn’t about Brian. It’s a real gift that the AMA recognizes the value of bringing shop class back for kids. I’m super grateful this motorcycle riding community understands the value of learning to work with your hands.”

—Keaton Maisano

Hall of Fame in 1988.

Despite not growing up on her music, generations of motocross riders have heard “Coal Miner’s Daughter” ringing out through the ranch’s PA system at 7 a.m. every day as they prepared to pursue their dreams. Since the race’s inception, nearly every AMA Pro Supercross and Motocross champion — including Hall of Famers Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael — has navigated the ranch’s track.

The AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn Ranch will have its 42nd running at the end of July and early August.

Keaton Maisano