Hurricane Mills, TN
(8/15/2008) - There
was a lot going on during ATV Dirt Days, but
the big headline was Krista Marie’s
break out performance on the Loretta Lynn
stage. While the concert was a huge success,
the story of how Krista was able to even able
perform at all is quite astonishing. Just
a month prior, Marie was involved in a crash
while racing at Muddy Creek in Blountville,
Tenn. She sustained several broken bones,
including a broken femur, and was hospitalized
for over a week. Many told her she wouldn't
be able to heal in time for her show at ATV
Dirt Days, but her love of the sport and deep
will to perform in front of her ATV family
fueled her recovery. She wears No. 99 on the
track and on the stage. She is arguably the
strongest ambassador to the sport of ATV racing.
We caught up with her today to talk about
her amazing year.
You had attended every round until
disaster struck at Muddy Creek. Talk to
us about the crash.
I was riding with a jammed wrist
and made a little mistake on a jump. I landed
wrong and my foot went through my nerf bar
and sent me rolling. I think I broke my
femur when my foot jammed down the first
time, but the quad just chased me down and
attacked me. When the crash was finally
over, I had four broken ribs, four broken
lower vertebrae, my wrist was broken, as
well as my collarbone, and I lacerated my
liver. It was quite an experience and I
don’t want to go through that again!
I was in the hospital for a week and a
half, and now everyone makes fun of me because
of all of the hardware I have in my body
[laughs]. The big joke at the track now
is that I’m “aftermarket”
because of all of the titanium. I’m
not stock anymore [more laughs]!
 |
Krista
Marie Performing at Loretta Lynn's
ATV Race
|
At that point the
concert must have seemed out of the question,
right?
Everybody was telling me that we
had to cancel the concert. They were like,
“What are you going to do, use a walker
to get up on stage?” But, I just told
them to please not cancel it. It would just
be terrible for me if they canceled it.
Then, my management team just told me they
would continue as planned so I just focused
on my therapy and worked out hard. I think
it (the concert) was the reason I was able
to heal so quickly.
I mean, it really helped
with my physical therapy. When you have
a reason to get out of bed in the morning
each day it really helps, you know? The
ATV community is my family and all I could
think about was getting better so I could
get back to them. The doctors were impressed;
they didn’t expect me to bounce back
so quickly, but I just wanted to make that
show so badly.
Your music career
is taking off. If you get singed to a big
record deal are you still going to race
ATVs?
Absolutely. Will I be able to do
it on a full national scale? I doubt that,
but I’ll be hit and miss and choosing
certain events I want race at. I won’t
be able to be as competitive as I’d
like to be. You know, girls like Michele
(Natalie) and Heather (Byrd), they are out
there riding and training everyday and I
won’t be able to do that. But I’ll
still be racing. I’ll never be completely
away from the sport. I love it so much.
It’s a big part of my life. Also,
I want to stay involved and do everything
I can to help it grow.
And who knows? If I decide
to settle down and get married and have
a family I want my kids racing in the motocross
world.
It's obvious that
the ATV community is very dear to you. What
was it like to perform in front of all of
them on Loretta Lynn’s stage?
Well, of course I enjoyed it, but
the pressure was really on with all of the
record labels there. Sony Records, Curb
Records, Lyric Street, which is owned by
Disney were all there. Universal Records
and CMT (country music television) was there
filming. Gibson guitars also came and brought
their special Prevost display motor coach.
It was fun, but I was under a lot of pressure.
It seems like the
concert was a homerun. What has come your
way in the wake of the show?
You know, that was the big intention.
Normally artists in Nashville have what
is called a “showcase” and they
invite all of the labels. Sometimes they
come, sometimes they don’t, it just
depends on if their interests are spiked
and we were able to do that very well. The
thing that we really thought was neat was
that we were able to incorporate the two
worlds: The music world and the ATV motocross
world. Oddly, most of the agents and representatives
that showed up didn’t even know the
race existed. A number of them brought their
families to the race and they were really
taken in by what goes on. They were saying
things like, “Wow, an ATV can actually
jump like that? People train for this stuff?
Oh my goodness!”
 |
Krista
Marie, up and coming Country Singer
|
The series is very
lucky to have an ambassador like you to
help bring the music world and the racing
world together.
Thank you very much. That’s
my whole goal, to bring the two together.
I think the country music world and the
ATV scene are a perfect fit. If you read
the lyrics of today’s country music,
they mirror the scene at the ATV races.
It's all about family and good times, and
enjoying life to the fullest.
Well, can we expect
a repeat performance at the 2009 ATV Dirt
Days?
Hey, I’m all about it! Hopefully
I’ll have a major record deal by then,
and more folks will know who I am and more
folks will know about ATV racing. That’s
all I wish for!
About the ITP/Moose
Racing AMA/ATVA ATV National Motocross
Championship Series Presented by Parts Unlimited:
The AMA ITP/Moose Racing ATV National
Motocross Championship Series Presented
by Parts Unlimited is the nation's premier
amateur and professional ATV motocross series,
and competes at top motocross facilities
nationwide. The 11-round series features
the Nation's best racers, teams and sponsors,
and is America's largest and longest-running
ATV National Motocross series with more
than 20 years of competition. The series
continues to expand and produce top talent
from the amateur ranks, while keeping close
to the grassroots fun that makes people
love to go to the races.
Series sponsors include
title sponsors ITP Tires and Moose Racing,
and presenting sponsor Parts Unlimited.
Premiere and Feature sponsors include Can
Am, Amsoil, ATV Sport Magazine, Quad Magazine,
Moto Tees, Maxxis Tires, and FMF. Associate
sponsors include Fox Shox, Gatorade, HinsonRacing,
Custom Axis, and H-Bomb. Media partners
include ATV Insider and ATVRiders.com. For
more information, please visit www.atvmotocross.com.
