So, Steve Thaxton… Where Were You During WEXCR Round 2?
As many know, Steve Thaxton is trying to contend 3 series this year, WEXCR, GNCC and National Enduro.
What you may NOT know is that Steve Thaxton has been working with Jon Bon Jovi for 23+ years including 4 World Tours. Prior to that, he did the 2 ½ year World Tour with the Use Your Illusions 1 and 2 projects as Axl Rose’s Personal Chiropractor.
“Jon and I have developed a great respect and friendship through the years, and since there have been many females in and out of my life over the years, Sabrina has been here for 10 years; so I guess he thought it was time to bring us up and enjoy the weekend at his Country Estate and get to know her. So, not very often does my racing take a back seat, but………………
Thaxton has been involved with WEXCR since the beginning. He stated that Tim and Vikki Wood have been friends for years. “I knew when they took it over, it was going to be a great series and something I wanted to be involved with, so I have tried to sponsor it every year that I could afford to,” he said. Thaxton noted the great racing atmosphere for a family looking for ways to get their kids involved and reap the benefits and self confidence that only an individual sport can bring. Additionally, he explained that it provides a great outlet for adults that without some kind of competition in their life, makes it difficult to live with.
“As a Holistic Health Care Doctor, I see so many adults that were athletes at a young age and now suffer the mental and emotional turmoil of not having an outlet for their competitive self. I think Sabrina would echo that!”
The world of sports is no stranger to Thaxton. He explained, “I have lived 3 athletic lives so far, during and after college I had a World Ranking as a Track and Field athlete, I was a 1986 Div. 2 National Champion, and was on 2 U.S. Track and Field teams representing the U.S. in Europe and Japan I was also a Div. 1 All-American in 1987 and invited to the U.S. Olympic trials in both 1984 and again in 1988. ( I know that was before electricity for some of you guys, at least MTV had music videos back then) ha ha. Jon Bon Jovi also sponsored a Mountain Bike team I Managed and raced for back in 2003-4. I finished 9th at the World Masters Mountain Bike Championships in 2005 and 10th in 2006. Around 2008 I started focusing on racing my dirtbike and my addiction was almost instant as it is for so many! I won the 40A class in the GNCC in 2009 and 2010 and was runner up in 2012. In 2013 I won the WEXCR Open A class and had some great battles with some great riders. I got a 3rd at the opening round this year and was hoping to battle again with the boys at the second round, but it will have to wait till round 3!”
Thaxton enjoys that the WEXCR races are close to home for him and notes that he can have his bike clean and ready for training before dark on Sunday evening. He also loves the courses.
“Tim and the Crew do a great job of laying out great, challenging courses. Some of us racers never think about how hard and how many hours it takes, but unlike most moto tracks that are laid out on somewhat of a permanent basis with limited upkeep. An off-road course has to be laid out new or mostly new every race and quite often, Tim and his crew sometimes cut several miles of new single track for each race. That is a difficult and time consuming endeavor, especially when you have 10+ races a year,” explained Thaxton.
Thaxton’s sponsors include:
I’m so grateful to Jamin Jones and his crew at AOMC especially Open A racer Aaron Stutter, my 3rd athlete career could not have happen with out Jamin’s support.
JDPMX suspension, Jay has done an amazing job for me and keeps my bike feeling like I’m riding a cloud!
Bullet Proof Designs has been a faithful supporter since 2009 and I’m so grateful for there help.
SKF has been great this year in help with seals and bushings as many know they out last everything else out there.
Kenda tires have also been very supportive and Mike T. at Kenda has been so helpful.
Lastly I would like to thank all the racers and there families for coming out to the racing and giving us all something to train for and goals to shoot for, without them life would be pretty boring! Also, thanks to all those who choose me as there Chiropractor, I don’t know how we survived as an office before I started racing dirt bikes!
Steve’s final note: “Ride Hard and Keep it Twisted!” -Steve Thaxton DC
Do you have a great WEXCR racing series story or other racing highlight (or a better excuse for missing a WEXCR race, lol…) that you would like to share? Contact Julie Warden on Facebook for your own highlight article!
