Joey Leto competed at the USA BMX Stars and Stripes Nationals from July 5th – 6th. The races were held at Waterford Oaks BMX in Michigan.
The Waterford Oaks track is unique and also has some history behind it. It is the oldest BMX track in the nation along with Sarasota BMX which both opened in 1974. The track layout hasn’t changed much since it first opened. It is an old school style track with tight turns and a flat starting gate.
Leto traveled to Michigan the week before the race to practice on the track. “I felt good on the track by the end of the practice, and by the time race day came I felt well prepared,” he recalled.

Friday
On Friday, Leto had good motos. He placed 2nd, 1st, and 1st in the three qualifying rounds giving him 1st gate pick in the semi-final. He won the semi-final and was feeling confident going into the main. “I felt I could win the race if I didn’t make a mistake based on how the qualifying rounds went,” Leto said.
Unfortunately in the main, he had a bad start and finished the day 5th. “I don’t feel like the result matched the speed that I brought that day, and was hungry to improve that result going into day 2.”

Saturday
Leto felt well prepared on Saturday just like he had felt on Friday. He had even better qualifying rounds on Saturday. He won every race leading up to the main and was in a similar position. “I felt dominant on the track and felt like I had the speed to win again,” Leto recalled. “I had the first gate pick in the final and was right where I wanted to be.”
On Saturday, he finished the day in 4th place. “It felt good to feel as fast as I did on the weekend and despite the results not being as good as I wanted, I still got 2 more scores to improve my points for the overall points series. As always, I appreciate the support from Route Transportation and know that I will win soon with their help.”
