K&N's Dalton Millican Caps 2012 with Strong Showing at Loretta Lynn's ATVMX 450A Event

The smart money rides on Millican to regain his position at the head of the class in 2013
The smart money rides on Millican to regain his position at the head of the class in 2013
A quote from the 1998 comedy classic, The Big Lebowski, aptly sums up the two-edged nature of motorsports racing – "Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you." In racing sometimes parts inexplicably break, engines indiscriminately misfire, confidence gets too liberally dosed with enthusiasm and the familiar flow of success becomes elusive. Last year Dalton Millican clinched the 450A class National Championship in the AMA ATV National Series after only nine of the 11 scheduled races. Overall he started 18 races last season, and he owned 15 of those with hole-shots. This year, as it’s prone to do, the yin has temporarily swung to yang. Nonetheless, with a racer as skilled as Millican, you can bet dollars for donuts that the pendulum will swing back, and that bear will once more be a regular part of his diet.
Last season Dalton Millican had 18 starts, 15 were hole-shots
Last season Dalton Millican had 18 starts, 15 were hole-shots


"Loretta Lynns is our last race of the year, so it is kind of one of those deals were you are happy it’s the last race, and at the same time, sad that the season is done, when you have a year like I have had," Millican acknowledged. "2012 has been a real eye-opener and a huge learning experience. Moving up to Pro-Am was a big jump in the level of competition."

Millican and his K&N sponsored Nitro Fish ATV capped off the 2012 season on a high-note with strong top-ten finish at the biggest and final event of the year-Loretta Lynn’s Dirt Days. The property owned by the world famous Coal Miner's Daughter, Loretta Lynn, is the oldest race on the ATV national circuit and draws some of the best riders from all corners of the country. Lynn’s Dude Ranch is only 140 miles from Millican’s home in Drummonds, Tennessee, and he considers it his home track, so he was feeling good headed into the weekend. When moto 1 got underway Millican made the first turn mid-pack, he continued to battle heavy competition throughout the race and held on for an 8th place finish.

In the second moto, and his last start of the year, Millican once again found the magic to his great race starts, entering the first turn in the second spot. At the mid-way point of the race though the bear took a big bite out of his performance, Millican made a slight mistake in a corner and lost six positions. He finished the moto in the 9th spot, which gave him a 7th place overall for the weekend.

"Well, 2012 had a few positives one of them being my starts, they were good," Millican remarked. "I don't know what it is, but when I am setting behind that starting gate I am happy. I just love that moment of having the motor on the rev-limiter waiting for the gate to drop. I was also happy with my training program. I usually had faster lap times at the end of the race. That just tells me that part was good."

In regards to his short and long term goals for the rest of this season, and then looking forward towards next year, Millican says, "I am about to get my preseason training started and I have a lot of big changes that I am planning on making, and a lot more testing to do, and that should really help improve my racing for the 2013 season. I am just staying positive and ready to take on and endure whatever I may need to do to be back on top. Now that the race season is over I have a normal job and I am trying to save money, and I’m counting the days until I am setting behind the gate with the motor on the rev-limiter."

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.