Name/Title
Lynn, LorettaEntry/Object ID
461Description
Loretta Lynn, a country singer-songwriter, was born April 14, 1932, in Butcher Hollow, Ky. Although widely known for her success within the country music landscape, Lynn’s massive impact on the motocross community can be found a little over an hour outside Nashville, Tenn., at her ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn., where the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship is held.
Since 1982, Loretta Lynn’s Ranch has welcomed approximately 60,000 riders. Hosting an average of 36 classes vying for AMA National No. 1 plates each year, the annual event is widely known as the site of the largest amateur motocross event in the world.
“The event has grown because of Loretta and that the facility is unparalleled.” MX Sports Director Tim Cotter said. “Not too many people will allow you to come and put a motorbike track in their front yard, but she did.”
Lynn and her late-husband Oliver “Mooney” Lynn bought the now-famous property in the 1960s. With a focus on opening her ranch to the public, the 6,000 acres of land is now populated by her historic home, campgrounds and the motocross tack.
While visiting the ranch in 1981, AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Dave “Big Dave” Coombs Sr. pitched the idea to hold a motocross event at the ranch, and the proposal was met with open arms by the Lynn family. With the support of Loretta and Mooney Lynn, the event kicked off in 1982.
Displaying her country hospitality, Lynn frequently attended the event each year and made herself available to the people that visited.
With the continued support of Loretta and the Lynn family, motorcyclists have been making the trip to the ranch for four decades, making it a staple of the amateur motocross season.
“It is the glue that holds amateur racing — amateur motocross, in particular — together,” Cotter said. “People have confidence that when they go there, they’re going to be treated fairly. They’re going to have a safe environment. It’s a family-oriented [event]; there’s something for everyone there.”
Although the young riders that populate her ranch each year did not grow up during the peak of her singing career, Loretta Lynn’s name and voice resonate with everyone who visits.
With her song “Coal Miner’s Daughter” ringing out through the ranch’s PA system at 7 a.m. every day, Lynn has contributed to the growth of motocross by hosting the weeklong event where amateur motocross athletes aim to launch their professional careers and claim a spot on the podium. Since the race’s inception, nearly every AMA Pro Supercross and Motocross champion — including Hall of Famers Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael — has navigated the ranch’s track.
The ranch also hosts AMA Grand National Cross Country events along with the annual amateur motocross competitions.
Prior to her involvement in music and motocross, Lynn grew up in poverty while living with her mother, father — a coal miner — and seven siblings in Kentucky.
Lynn did not forget her tough upbringing once she began her career, singing songs such as “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and “You’re Lookin’ at Country.” Reflecting on her roots further, the country singer penned an autobiography in 1976 titled “Coal Miner’s Daughter” — which was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film by the same name four years later.
Growing up on country music, Lynn frequently sang around the house, and in support of her music career, Mooney bought her a guitar. His belief and Lynn’s talent soon produced results when she signed with Zero Records in early 1960. Just seven months after signing her first record deal, Lynn found herself singing at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
Finding her stride in the music industry to the tune of four Grammy Awards and 14 Academy of Country Music Awards, Lynn has sold more than 45 million records worldwide. Writing more than 160 songs, Lynn has tallied 24 No. 1 singles and 11 No. 1 albums on the country charts.
Lynn was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988.
From the hum of music to the thrum of engines, Lynn has put her stamp on the worlds of music and motocross alike.
“Loretta Lynn never dreamed that she would ever be in the same sentence as the American Motorcyclist Association [Motorcycle] Hall of Fame member, but she has done more for motorcycling than nearly anyone, and she didn’t even try,” Cotter said. “She never sat down and said, ‘I want to target this bunch of people.’ This bunch of people targeted her, and she opened her arms and said, ‘Come in. Come into my home and come into my family farm and go do your thing.’”Relationships
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