Seth Hammaker To Miss 2020 Loretta Lynn's

Seth Hammaker announced today that he will miss the Monster Energy Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National Championship next week after being diagnosed with Epstein-Barr Virus.

The Pennsylvania native said he will turn his focus to turning pro in 2021.

The Team Green Kawasaki rider was discussed as a potential fill-in for the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki squad who is without Austin Forkner, Garrett Marchbanks, and Jordon Smith for the upcoming Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, but he won’t be racing pro at all in 2020.

Hammaker ends his amateur career at the Ranch with one title (Super Mini 1 12-15 in 2016) and three runner-up finishes.

He also missed Loretta’s in 2019.

View this post on Instagram

Hello everyone, with Loretta’s coming up I wanted to provide you with an update on why I unfortunately won’t be racing. After the Spring Nationals in March when everything shut down, my focus had been on being ready to compete in the outdoor nationals when the time came and to accomplish my goals of winning at Loretta Lynn’s to finish off my amateur career. At the end of May I all of a sudden began feeling very weak and fatigued which made it difficult to continue with my riding and training. I raced my regional qualifier the first week of June to make sure I had a spot for Loretta’s but immediately returned home to Pennsylvania to get some answers. Unfortunately I was diagnosed with Epstein Barr Virus, but the good news was that we caught it early and I did not continue wearing my body down. I’ve been at home recovering and making progress to overcome the virus in order to get better as quickly as possible. It’s disappointing to miss racing Loretta Lynn’s, but as I look towards my transition to professional racing in 2021, I know it’s more important to make the right choices now and make sure I’m ready to give it my best effort. I appreciate the support from @racekawasaki and @pcraceteam in helping me make this decision and looking out for my future. I want to say good luck to my Team Green teammates and friends racing at Loretta’s. Can’t wait to get back at it and see everyone at the races.

A post shared by Seth Hammaker (@sethhammaker_510) on Jul 28, 2020 at 1:48pm PDT