Steering herself back on track

Joseph Boo

In an almost weekly event, Neil and Elaine Cramer of Newport Beach

used to take their d aughter, Krystal, to the motocross races. Krystal,

only 4 years old at the time, instantly knew she wanted to ride a motor

bike. So, she asked her dad to get her one.

“He’s all, ‘OK, I’ll get you one for Christmas or your birthday,’ ”

Krystal, now 9, said.

With her dad fixing up motor bikes they had bought used, Krystal started

racing junior motocross at age 5. It wasn’t long before she started

winning.

She could still be racing, and winning motocross races, but that doesn’t

interest Krystal anymore. Ever since her mom died more than two years

ago, Krystal could not race without the woman who used to take her to all

the events.

“That shook her up,” Neil said. “After her mom passed away, she lost all

interest in motocross.”

But racing was still in Krystal’s blood, so she turned to the race track

closest to her home, the Costa Mesa Speedway.

Krystal’s first race at Costa Mesa was the last junior event of 1999. She

has raced three times at Costa Mesa this year.

Krystal won the junior race June 17, which her dad describes as the

highlight of her short speedway career. Her smooth riding style, her dad

said, allows Krystal to excel in the demanding Speedway races.

“She used to have a little rocking horse, and she showed a lot of balance

on that thing,” Neil said. “She used to bounce up and down with no hands.

One of my friends said she would be a natural at riding.”

When Krystal started racing, she was actually behind the learning curve,

since there were other kids who picked up motor bikes when they were 3.

She was also one of the few girls competing.

Krystal, however, earned more than 40 trophies, including 16 for

first-place finishes, in three and a half years of motocross racing. She

proved to be a natural on the bike.

“It was kind of easy,” Krystal said of her first time on the track. “I

was good at it from the start.”

“She’s always been real smooth,” Neil said. “She’s had a couple of

tumbles. But her worst injury was when she fell off the grandstands, not

from the track. She’s just always been a real smooth rider.”

Krystal traveled to Glen Ellyn, Victorville, and her favorite track, Star

West in Perris for motocross events. She settled into a weekly routine of

practice Wednesday, practice Saturday, and race on Saturday night.

Picking up trophies with regularity, things were going smoothly for

Krystal until she lost her mother, with whom she shared her success. She

continued to race for another year, but it wasn’t the same without her

mom.

“There was the thing with her mom, and that weighed pretty heavily on

her,” Neil said. “But once she started racing at Speedway, things have

been going pretty well.”

Just like motocross, Krystal got into Speedway racing by going to Costa

Mesa every Saturday with her dad. With the loss of her mother fresh on

her mind, Krystal decided to change sports.

She now races whenever Costa Mesa schedules junior races. She gets her

weekly dose of racing every Sunday at Ken Maley’s Track in Corona.

Krystal will be traveling to Auburn for a big event Friday and Saturday,

competing against 30 or 40 other kids.

Her dad might have the bike with a 250cc engine ready by that time to

replace her current 125cc Honda. Neil never raced before and he works on

Krystal’s bike as a hobby.

“We’re just going through the junior programs,” Neil said. “I’ll tell you

one thing though, whenever she’s done, I’m done. But I don’t see that

happening for a long time.”

He will have to continue his hobby as Krystal continues to race.

“I like racing,” she said.