Spotlight Nichole Cheza No Place <strong>for</strong> a Girl Speeds approach<strong>in</strong>g 130 mph. Elbow-to-elbow bump<strong>in</strong>g and weav<strong>in</strong>g. No front brakes. With dirt and dust fly<strong>in</strong>g so thick it seems to take days to scrub it from your sk<strong>in</strong>. Clearly, <strong>the</strong> AMA Pro Flat Track Rac<strong>in</strong>g circuit is no place <strong>for</strong> a girl. Not <strong>for</strong> any ord<strong>in</strong>ary girl, anyway. Good th<strong>in</strong>g Nichole Cheza, <strong>the</strong> only woman currently <strong>rid<strong>in</strong>g</strong> at flat track’s highest level, is as tough as any man out <strong>the</strong>re. She’s proven her toughness time and aga<strong>in</strong>. In 2003, at <strong>the</strong> tender age of 16, she won AMA Female Athlete of <strong>the</strong> Year. The follow<strong>in</strong>g year she turned pro and jo<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>the</strong> AMA Pro Sport class. With solid support from major sponsors Global Products (an H-D® licensee), Lancaster <strong>Harley</strong>-Davidson, and National Cycle, she earned all <strong>the</strong> po<strong>in</strong>ts she needed to jo<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Expert ranks <strong>in</strong> her first season. A bad crash at <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> year, however, put her on <strong>the</strong> shelf <strong>for</strong> most of <strong>the</strong> 2005 season. “We were on a mile [track] where we’re go<strong>in</strong>g about 130 mph. I crashed and hit <strong>the</strong> air fence and broke my back. That took me a little while to get over and come back. To get my confidence back.” But come back she did. Even ano<strong>the</strong>r bad crash <strong>in</strong> 2006 could not keep her off <strong>the</strong> track <strong>for</strong> long. She broke her back aga<strong>in</strong>, and her shoulder blade to boot. This time her dad, Mark, who has guided her <strong>rid<strong>in</strong>g</strong> and rac<strong>in</strong>g s<strong>in</strong>ce she was 4, wanted her to make sure she really wanted to keep go<strong>in</strong>g. “That was one of my dad’s first questions: ‘Do you still want to race? Are you sure?’ But it never really crossed my m<strong>in</strong>d to stop rac<strong>in</strong>g.” Her sponsors stuck with her, as well. She’s been at it s<strong>in</strong>ce be<strong>for</strong>e k<strong>in</strong>dergarten, after all, when her dad, a motocross racer, <strong>in</strong>troduced her to <strong>the</strong> sport. Later she added flat track rac<strong>in</strong>g. She did both <strong>for</strong> quite a while, but by <strong>the</strong> time she was a teenager her dad made her choose – it was gett<strong>in</strong>g quite expensive. She decided to stick with dirt track and hasn’t looked back s<strong>in</strong>ce. In 2007, she made her first AMA Grand National Ma<strong>in</strong> Event, to become only <strong>the</strong> second woman ever to do so. This year, she’s qualified <strong>for</strong> three ma<strong>in</strong> events, and with just two races rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g is eye<strong>in</strong>g a top-20 season f<strong>in</strong>ish. Long-term, her goal is to become <strong>the</strong> first female AMA Grand National Champion. Cheza says she tries not to make a big deal out of be<strong>in</strong>g a female, but <strong>the</strong> fans certa<strong>in</strong>ly take notice. Kids and o<strong>the</strong>r female riders are naturally drawn to her, and she appreciates be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a position to <strong>in</strong>spire people. “A lot of people come up to me after races and say, ‘Hey, that’s awesome, we’re really <strong>in</strong>spired by you,’” she says. “And I’ve had kids draw pictures or write notes and br<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>m to me at <strong>the</strong> races. So that’s really cool, too.” So is be<strong>in</strong>g a woman <strong>in</strong> a male-dom<strong>in</strong>ated sport. And bounc<strong>in</strong>g back. And hold<strong>in</strong>g your own. And scrubb<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> dirt off at <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> day know<strong>in</strong>g that maybe someone, somewhere, has seen you ride and decided to chase a dream of <strong>the</strong>ir own. Photography: Kev<strong>in</strong> Netz 18 HOG
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