Lula Morton

I’d say I had an unconventional childhood. Very few people can sum up the most impactful years of their youth with just four letters — fortunately, I can. Those letters are GNCC. From middle school through high school, my dad, mom, brother, and I traveled across the East Coast and Appalachia, most notably to Waverly, Tennessee, to Loretta Lynn’s ranch. I spent much of that time riding in the back of a Chevy TrailBlazer, sketching from race weekend to race weekend and meeting some of the coolest people in motorsports history — Jeff Aaron, Jason Britton, Travis Pastrana, Doug Gust, William Yokley, etc.

Although we never knew William Yokley personally, he made a decision that deeply impacted our family and became a defining moment in my life — one that pointed me toward the career path I have today.

In 2006, my mom and dad responded to an ad for a Suzuki LTR450, hoping to get my mom the most ferocious race bike we would ever own. Lo and behold, we purchased the Dirt Wheels magazine bike and became a satellite team. This quad had features I haven’t seen since we owned it — features I still fantasize about today and am actively trying to recreate in my current moto builds.

Surprisingly — or perhaps unsurprisingly — the GNCC is far from where my family’s relationship with motorsports begins. Above my supermoto in my home office hangs a photo of my great-grandfather Edwin, sitting on his 1942 Harley, covered in bandages.

Moments before the photo was taken, Edwin had crashed his Harley in a back alley somewhere in the city of Akron, Ohio. From the smile on his face, you could tell he had learned nothing. Apparently, neither have I — after many years of making the same mistakes.

Much like my great-grandfather, grandparents, and parents, I look forward to one day passing the love of motorsports down to the next generation.