Motorcycle racers from all over the Southeast gathered at the Miller Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 16, for Round Three of the 2009-10 Arenacross Tour.

One of those of riders was MTSU student Ben Linderman, who is trying to make a mark in the motorcycle industry both on and off the track.

Linderman raced in the top professional classes on the tour, AX Pro and AX Lites, for the first time on the Murfreesboro stop. That meant he had to race on the dirt-covered track four times trying to qualify for the special “Clash for Cash” event at the end of the night. Each class uses a two-moto format, which means everybody gets to race twice and those two results are added together to decide the participants in the “Clash for Cash.” Each moto was 10 laps long, with the final race for the money being 20 laps long.

For those who had never seen or attended an arenacross race, the track was built on the floor of the arena, which measures 150 by 300 feet. The officials of the series said it is the biggest floor that the tour competes on. It is designed with banked turns, a flat section and a wide variety of jumps. Some of the jumps launched the bikes and quads (four-wheelers) near the ceiling.

Click here for more photos from the event.

Linderman said he has been riding a dirt bike for 13 years. He got his first bike, a purple and white Yamaha PW 80cc, as a Christmas present when he was 8 years old. His favorite rider, Ricky Carmichael, is considered the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) of the sport. A few years ago, Carmichael switched from two wheels to four. Last year, he spent his first season competing in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series. Linderman joked he should have stayed on the bike a little bit longer.

He said one of his biggest accomplishments in racing was a couple of years ago at a qualifier for the biggest amateur motocross race at the famous country singer Loretta Lynn’s ranch. He got all the way to second in his class, while putting down some of the fastest laps on the track. Linderman, however, was caught up in a crash.

A few months ago, he joined the Tennessee Fellowship of Christian Athletes MX team, which has many members in several different age groups from the midstate area. Linderman said he attends church with some of his teammates and even plays guitar. He tries to give helpful tips to the younger riders, and it brings him back to his own youth.

“I try to put myself in their shoes,” Linderman said. “I remember back to their age when I looked up to the older ones when they were on bigger bikes.”

During the action at Miller Coliseum, 395 riders—up from last year’s 364—ranging from ages 4 to over 30, took to the track, including many from the ‘Boro. Director of Operations of the Arenacross Tour, Robby McQuary, said the tour with be back in Murfreesboro next year.

For those that are new to dirt bike racing, the racers are set up in a line while the official turns the 30-second board to the side. He then lets down the gate and the riders sprint to the first turn.

“I try to calm myself down and not think about anything,” Linderman said about his mindset while waiting for the gate to drop.

Linderman, who is now on a Honda, jumped out to a good start and stayed with the leaders in the first moto of each race. He finished fourth in each one that included over 10 riders in each class. In the AX Pro second moto, Linderman collided with another rider. He was able to finish the moto, but the bike suffered enough damage to knock him out of the final race of the night.

In the “Clash for Cash” race, Johnny Moore dominated all 20 laps and held off a late charge from Justin Thompson and Kyle Gills to pick up his second win of the season in the final race.

“We had a lot of great competition tonight and with a lot of money on the line; that’s a lot of pressure, but I’m good with pressure,” Moore said after the race.

At the end of the night, Linderman said he had a good performance and the action was pretty intense in his first professional race on the tour.

He hopes to race in 10 to 12 more races in several different series before the end of the year.

The Decatur, Ala., native also does a lot of work in the industry off the bike. The digital media production major has his own production company, Studio 129. The 129 represents his birthday and it is also his racing number. He has produced online videos for several companies in the motocross industry. His website is 129Pro.com.

Gills, who won the AX Lites division Saturday night, plans to compete in the AMA Supercross East Coast Lites in a couple of months. The AMA Supercross series is the top indoor series in the sport, and the Lites class is considered the Triple A. His races will be shown on the Speed Channel, and Gills is looking forward to racing on television.

“It’s a cool feeling to go back home and seeing yourself on TV, because every kid that races, their dream is to be on TV racing with the top pros,” Gills said.

The nine-stop tour heads to Cookeville on Saturday, Feb. 6, before rounding out the season with three stops in Mississippi.

Here are the results of the riders from Murfreesboro on Saturday (Moto finish):

85cc 12-15 yrs
10. Peyton Patterson (4-7)
18. Chase Stockton (8-17)

65cc 7-9 yrs
7. Zachary Jordan (7-7)

Girls 9-13 yrs
4. Taylor McCord (4-4)

Quad Mini 4-7 yrs
3. Blaine Alig (3-3)
5. Connor Beasley (5-6)

AX Lites Beg
5. Jacob Ruf (3-5)
10. Matthew Wilcox (4-9)

Vet Plus 30
6. Bryan Whitt (6-DNF)

Schoolboy
8. Ezra Jones (6-8)

College Boy
3. Caleb Gregory (4-3)
9. Craig Poindexter (8-9)
10. Patrick Harris (2-DNS)

65 cc 7-11yrs Beg
4. Zachary Jordan (4-4)
6. Damian Lowman (6-6)

Open Outlaw
2. Caleb Gregory (2-2)

85cc 9-15 Open
11. Chance McCord (4-11)
13. Peyton Patterson (9-13)

85cc 9-15 yrs Beg
6. Chase Stockton (5-6)
17. Devin Drew (10-16)

51 cc 7-9 yrs
12. Hope Sledge (12-DNS)

85cc 9-11 yrs
4. Hunter Pruitt (8-5)
11. Chance McCord (2-DNS)

AX Nov
15. Craig Poindexter (7-16)
18. Matthew Poland (DNF-14)

AX Int
5. Caleb Gregory (3-6)

Quad Beg
7. Marty Thomas (5-7)
8. Jonathan Edwards (6-8)

Quad Jr.
3. Bryce Alig (3-3)

AX Lites Nov
13. Ezra Jones (6-12)
18. Matthew Poland (10-18)
19. Dylan Livingston (12-19)

Ax Lites Int
4. Caleb Gregory (7-4)

Here are the winners from the professional classes from Saturday:

Quad Pro
1. Wesley Holifield (1-1)

AX Pro
1. Cameron Stone (2-1)

AX Lites Pro
1. Kyle Gills (1-2)

Clash for Cash
1. Johnny Moore
2. Justin Thompson
3. Kyle Gills