Troy Dog
It’s not often a privateer does well in the 250 Class in Lucas Oil Pro Motocross. The odds of the “weekend warriors” having the total package to run with the factory boys is slim to none. Regardless of the racing conditions over the weekend a new name emerged in the results by way of a 13th place overall finish. His name is Ezra Hastings.
You could say, “Oh, its just because it was muddy, that’s why he did so well.” Sure, the mud evened the playing field for everyone. Ezra had his ups and downs as well during each moto, but he raced smart and ended up 15-13 on the day. With the help from a few key sponsors Ezra put his privateer Husqvarna near the top ten in his second ever national.
How did he turn his Loretta Lynn’s 1 results of 31-26 into a breakthrough ride?
“I was nervous last weekend and it was about getting the first one out of the way,” the Aurora, Indiana, native said. “Proving to myself that I could race with those guys helped a lot for round 2.”
Hastings is no stranger to success at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch. He grabbed a 450 B Limited title there in 2017 and backed it up with a second overall in Collegeboy in 2018. He officially turned pro this season, but broke his hand before supercross, and still tried to race through it. His 250SX East Region season was halted due to the shutdown. Like many other privateers, Hastings drives to the races by himself. He has been training at The Goat Farm and will be based out of his house until Millville because of the shorter drive times.
Hastings is full of confidence as he heads into his home race at Ironman this weekend. He has never ridden the full pro track; however, he loves racing so close to home.
Ezra’s rise through the amateur ranks has been a steady climb. It seemed like when he would get an awesome breakthrough he would get hurt and then he would have to build his foundation back. If you look through his results, you will see a solid mid-pack racer on 85s turn into championship contender on a big bike. Now he is hitting his stride and putting all those years of grinding and hard work to the test.
What is next for this Hoosier and can he back this ride up on a dry track? We will have to wait and see. His eyes are set on doing the entire series and giving it everything he’s got.
“My goal before the season started was to get some top 20 finishes and I hope to be around that mark from here on out,” he said.
As a privateer in the 250 Class it is going to be a tough road ahead in a class full of kids trying to prove themselves and established championship contenders on factory bikes. Hastings made a splash (literally quite a few in that mess) in his second ever national. You are going to want to keep an eye on the #251 for the rest of the series, especially all of you fantasy players.
