NUMBER CHECK with...Pj Larsen
Author: Andrew Campo	Number Check | Wednesday, 20 February 2008 07:55

Photograpy: Brent Stallo/Billy Browder 

Coming off a 250 A Pro Sport championship at Loretta's lastyear, PJ Larsen moved into Mini O's with a TON of hype. He signed on with Monster Energy/Kawasaki/Xtreme Team Green for his final season as an amateur, and was one of the few pros returning to the amateur ranks this year.

 
PJ lived up to the hype by bringing home four championships, two on the Supercross track and two on the Motocross track. He is currently stationed at the Xtreme headquarters in Pilot Point,Texas where his preparing to make his assaulton the Texas Spring Nationals in March.

 
Given PJ's success leading up to the first national of the season, it only seemed fitting that he be chosen for this week's Number Check.

 
Vurb: I'm not really sure if we are going to do 27 questions.That's a lot of questions. So maybe we'll just do 9 (2 + 7). Let's just see how it goes.
PJ: I agree. It's early and I'm still laying in bed, so 27 questions might be a little much.

 
So how pumped are you that you were chosen for this week's number check?
I'm so excited to be on Number Check this week it's not even funny. [Sarcasm]

 
Did you have trouble sleeping last night due to the excitement?
Nah, I didn't sleep all night. I was up all night anticipating what kind of questions you were going to ask. [More sarcasm]

 
You are probably one of the most rambunctious kids in the world. Is it because of a high sugar intake or is it all natural?
If would have asked me that five years ago I would have probably said it was sugar, but now I don't really get my sugar fix like I used to, so I can't really say it's sugar. I would have to say it's all natural now.

 
So the sugar was just a mask for your natural over the top personality?
Maybe I took in so much sugar as a kid that it's still with me now.

 
I've seen you eat an entire half pound bag of M&M's inunder five minutes.
[Laughs] Yeah, those were the days. I can't do that anymore though. My trainer won't let me.

 
OK, let's get this thing rolling. What's your full name?
My full name if Peter William Larsen IV.

 
What does PJ stand for?
It stands for Pete Jr., but I guess it's really Pete Jr. Jr.Jr. Jr.

 
Will you name your first born son PJJ?
Nah, probably PJ to the 5^th.

 
Alright, seriously, where are you training right now?
I'm out in Texas training at Bobby's right now. I've been out here for about 3 ½ weeks now.  We've done a few races at Oak Hill and we are doing the area qualifier at Lake Whitney this weekend, so everything is going really good. After Whitney, I get to go home for about a week and ahalf then I get to come back out here for the two Spring Nationals.

                                                                                                    
How long do you get to go home for before the Texas Nationals start?
I get to go home and train in North Carolina for about a week or so before coming backout.

 
Is that where you are from?
[Laughs] No, I live their now, but I'm from the greatest state on the map, South Carolina.

 
So who all is out in Texas training with you?
It's just me and Hunter [Hewitt] right now.

 
How's Hunter looking?
He's looking really good. He's going really fast right now.  He was actually going a lot faster on his first day back than I thought he would. He's making a lot of progress.

 
We saw you ride one round of the Winter Am's at Dade City and things didn't seem to go your way, how is everything going out there?
[Laughs] Yeah, Florida was a rough weekend. I'm glad to put that one behind me. It's going really well out here, though. We've got the race bikes set up and everything and we've got a good set up going into Lake Whitney and Oak Hill, so it should be a good two weeks.

 
Are these the best race bikes you've had heading into a National?
The bikes this year are definitely the best I've ever beenon. Mitch [Payton] and everybody at Pro Circuit really helps us out. Everything is really good. I can't complain a bit. I'm just really excited to get out there and see what we can do on them.

 
You ran #127 at Whitney last year. Are going to do the samethis year?
[Laughs] No, I'm pretty sure we're going with the bigtwo-seven this year.

 
We listed out 15 riders that have a legitimate shot ofwinning in the pro class this year. Where do you see yourself in that 15?
I thought the same thing before Mini O's. I remember being in interviews before Mini O's and people asked me who I thought was going to be the main competition and I said you can't really name just one, there are so many guys that are capable. There really are too many to name. But to answer your question, I think I am one of the top guys. It's going to be tough to win, but I'm going to give it my all. 

 

Well, that pretty much wraps up Number Check for this week.We didn't quite make it to 27, but we came close. Anything you want to add before closing?
I would just like to thank everyone from Xtreme for helping me out and having faith in me this year. I can't wait for Texas.