Route sponsored BMX pro, Joey Leto, raced at the Music City Nationals in Nashville, TN.
“Nashville is one of my favorite races of the year,” said Leto. “I like the track and locations a lot and it’s always right at the start of summer.”
The racing weekend started on Friday, May 24th and was a long day with some bad weather in the area. There was a small rainstorm at the beginning of racing, but it was enough to get the track wet. The turns on the track had a sealant placed over the top of the asphalt and when they were wet, they became especially slippery. Even with just a small amount of rain, it made the turns slippery and every single Pro moto crashed in the first qualifying race. Leto got caught up in a wreck in his moto just like most racers. After the first few races, it was clear that they had to wait until the track was dry to continue racing.
The racers were on a rain delay for about 2 hours before they could continue racing. Leto’s next few qualifying rounds were good and helped him get a decent gate pick in the semi-final. Even after a bad placement in the first round due to the wreck. He got 4th in the semi and it qualified him a spot into the main.
They raced mains under the lights due to the rain delay. “I like racing under the lights and was happy to end the day with a 2nd place finish in the final,” said Leto.

The weather was much better on Saturday and racing conditions were good. Leto rode well in qualifying rounds again and had an inside gate in the semi. He ended up winning his semi from the gate to the finish line which he have never done before. He took 3rd place in the final on Saturday. “I was happy to get another podium but also felt like I had the speed to win that day, Leto recalled. “I still rode great in the semi and it felt good to be in a position where I truly felt like I was the fastest guy on the gate in the final.”
Sunday was an interesting day for many reasons. It was a UCI race day that counted towards Olympic points. It was the last race for the USA to obtain Olympic points before the Olympic games this summer. Because of this, the Great Britain National Team, and the Netherlands National Team were racing on Sunday. Their legs were fresh because they did not race on Friday or Saturday, and were able to save their energy for the UCI race.
Team Great Britain had the opportunity to surpass the United States in country points and get 2 Olympic spots instead of one Olympic spot based on how the national team finished in the race. There was a race within the race between Great Britain and the United States that determined what country would obtain 2 starting positions at the games.

Leto started the day with a terrible first round placing 7th after a mistake down first straight. “It always sucks starting off the day like that but I was able to bounce back in the second and third moto to make the main event,” he said. One of the riders on the Great Britain National team did not make the main on Sunday preventing them from passing the USA in points.
Leto placed 7th in the final on Sunday. He wasn’t thrilled with that, but he was happy that more USA riders were in the main than GBR riders. This allowed the USA to hold on to that 5th position and secure 2 starting spots at the Olympic Games. Leto didn’t qualify for one of those 2 spots but still enjoyed the process.
“Overall I had a great weekend and as always I am thankful for the support from Route.”