TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

Avon Park's Casey McKibben Races To Three National ATV Titles

Courtesy of Kathy McKibben/Highlands Today

Avon Park's Casey McKibben drifts around a corner in his ATV during a race earlier this year.

ADVERTISEMENT

Brian Gjurgevich

Published: September 26, 2007

AVON PARK — Casey McKibben steps up to a game-winning field goal with the same intensity he employs while dashing to the lead in a hotly-contested ATV race.

But for the Avon Park senior, the incentive to succeed, whether it's splitting the uprights or passing a fellow four-wheeler at nearly 100 mph, comes from different places altogether.

"In football, the pressure comes from your teammates and everyone in the stands, but on the track, it falls on you," McKibben said. "In racing, you have 10 laps to get there, but when it comes to kicking, you have one chance to do it right."

Not that McKibben has needed many opportunities lately: His game-clinching 26-yarder against Hardee last week may have etched his name into Red Devil football lore, but over the past two years, McKibben's made quite a name for himself by kicking up dirt in the national four-wheel racing circuit, where the 17-year old recently clinched an unheard of sweep of the ATVA Extreme Dirt Track National B Class, winning titles in all three divisions.

"Some of my teammates think it's absolutely crazy," McKibben said of his high-speed hobby. "But they support me — they could be mad at me for not being at all the games, but they know it's my thing."

McKibben will miss Friday's game at Frostproof, but for good reason. He'll be competing in the circuit's final race of the season in Brownstown, Ill., essentially a victory lap for the Red Devil speed demon, whose domination of his class has earned him a nomination for the AVTA's prestigious amateur rider of the year award.

Avon Park head football coach Earnest Perkins said he'll certainly miss McKibben this week, but he understands why his clutch kicker won't be on the gridiron.

"This is the most important thing he has going," Perkins said, noting he'll be happy to have his kicker for the remainder of the season after this weekend's race. "Some coaches wouldn't be able to handle one of their starters missing games, but I feel like I need to be there to support him."

Casey's father, Charles McKibben, said he's delighted by his son's success, though he admits attempting to subtly nudge a younger Casey away from the risky sport years ago.

"He came to me wanting to do it and I tried to sway him in another direction, but he kept on me," Charles said, noting Casey took third in his first ever race, a 300CC stock division run when he was 15. "I knew he had it as soon as he tried it, he'd taken to it. And he's just gotten faster and faster ever since."

Casey, who's in the hunt for Avon Park valedictorian honors and plans on studying engineering in college, will move up to Class A next year, more than likely his final season as an amateur racer.
From there, he'll look to secure sponsorships and follow in the footsteps of his racing mentor, 11-time national champion Tim Farr, a veteran racer who's sold bikes to the McKibbens and offered valuable advice and encouragement along the way.

"They've been a tremendous help," Charles said, noting Casey is the first person who Farr has allowed to purchase his souped-up bikes. "A lot of kids his age are intimidated by the pros, but Casey's very outgoing and people like him. He'll go to their trailer and they welcome him right in."

Kathy McKibben, Casey's mother, said her son's been scooting around on four wheels ever since she can remember, and that from the age of four he's shown a knack for driving just about anything.

These days, Casey's hobby is the driving force for many of the family's weekend road trips to circuit stops in Virginia, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Georgia. One of the only riders from Florida on the circuit, Casey competes against racers from all over the country, and the entire McKibben clan, including Casey's sister, 14-year old M'Lynn, make the weekend treks to support their speedy namesake.

"We all go — even the dog goes," Kathy said. "We all have butterflies until he gets off that track. I'm nervous until probably the fifth or sixth lap in — you never know what's going to happen, and even though he has a pretty keen eye, we make sure he's got the best helmet he can get."

The family's investment, however, doesn't stop there. Casey and Charles built and constantly tweak a dirt track situated on the McKibben's 85-acre stretch just outside city limits. Between safety equipment, gas to reach races hundreds of miles away, the costs of customizing bikes and the rigs themselves, Charles said the family has done everything they can to help realize Casey's dream of being a pro rider, a fact his son doesn't take for granted.

"He knows how fortunate he is," Charles said. "He understands that this is a privilege and that not everyone gets to do what he does. I'd give anything to be able to do that kind of stuff with my dad."

Heading into his final race of the season, Casey is looking forward to picking up his three championship cups and taking his final laps as a Class B rider.

But opponents beware: The championships may be decided, but that doesn't mean Casey's taking his hand off the throttle.

"I'm still going out there to win it," he said. "It doesn't matter if I have the points wrapped up or not. Winning as an amateur is one thing, but when it comes to going pro, it's all about getting there as quick as you can every time."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT