17-year-old Utahn now is competing with his idols

Before Landen Powell entered kindergarten he was racing a motorcycle.

Now, still a teenager and not yet out of high school, Powell continues to race his motorcycle.

The difference is Powell is now a licensed Supercross competitor and lines up with the guys he used to — and perhaps still does to a degree — idolize.

"It's crazy," Powell, just 17 years old, said. "I've looked up to those guys as long as I've been riding a motorcycle it seems like. Now, to line up with them like this, it's a dream come true."

Powell's dream has taken him from dirt tracks across the state to Seattle where last week he was part of the AMA Supercross series for the first time. Instead of acting like a nervous teenager competing against seasoned veterans, however, Powell showed well and, though he didn't qualify for the 20-rider main event, he did advance to the top 40.

"I made the night show," Powell said. "That's definitely exciting when I think about it being my first race."

Powell said he had his eyes opened last weekend at Qwest Field in Seattle. The likes of James Stewart and Chad Reed have been competing at the sport's highest level for years, and the South Jordan teenager admits he was a little starstruck.

"It's a million different levels up," Powell said of his transition from racing at venues such as Fillmore and Tooele to arenas with 40,000 to 50,000 screaming fans, like Rice-Eccles Stadium. "They're the top guys in the world of motocross. I've never been so nervous for a race. It's something I've been working for ever since I was a little kid."

Of course, at 17, Powell is still a kid in many ways.

But he has ample experience racing motorcycles.

And now he hopes to transfer his love of the sport into a profession.

He has the backing of a handful of local companies, such as Edge Motorsports and Rockwell Watches in addition to other sponsors. With a top-flight crew behind him, Powell said he hopes to ride his way up the ladder of success and — he hopes — eventually to a level of stardom shared by Reed and Stewart.

"I'm just going to give it everything I've got," Powell said. "Hopefully, I can get into the main event and be up there with the top 20."

Powell has worked with a former star in the sport, Sebastian Tortelli, as a coach to improve his already impressive skills.

With a license to compete in the biggest races the sport has to offer, Powell hopes to make a name for himself.

For now, though, he's just happy to be doing what he loves and relishes the chance to line up in Rice-Eccles on Saturday.

"I was excited last week," he said. "But to be racing right here in my hometown, with all my family and friends here, that's about as exciting as I can get."

E-mail: jeborn@desnews.com