Kid Dynamite: Justin Cooper

On August 12, 2017, at Unadilla, Justin Cooper, lined up on the starting gate for the first Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross National of his career. After placing 12^th in the opening moto, Cooper bounced back to score a remarkable runner-up finish in moto two. Truth be told, nobody really saw it coming. Fifth Overall on the day, the native of Cold Harbour Springs, New York, was then duly awarded with a ride on the Star Racing Yamaha organisation for 2018 and beyond. And ever since, things have gone quite well for a racer who entered the professional fray without a lot of hype and circumstance. After hitting the podium in the 2019 AMA Supercross 250SX East on six occasions, the Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha teamster slotted in at an excellent second Overall in the title struggle. From there, it was on to the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Series, where he won the opening motos at Hangtown, Pala and Thunder Valley. Second Overall to Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo (who also won the first three Overalls of the new season), Justin Cooper is right there ready, willing and able to win huge races. It’s been quite a while since such a young professional came out of the box to strike fear into the hearts of the established guard. On the Friday (before Round 4 at High Point) Eric Johnson spoke with this year’s new sensation, Justin Cooper…

EJ: Okay, Justin, since all you guys have this weekend off, what are you going to do with yourself this Saturday and Sunday?
JC: With this weekend off, I’m probably just going to hit the beach. There’s nothing else going on so I’m going to try and relax a little bit.

Nice to have a break, huh?
Yeah, it is and it isn’t. I’d prefer maybe four, five or six rounds before we had a break. It’s kind of like we’re still starting off right now. I mean, we’re only three rounds in. When you’re in race mode, it’s nice to have a short week and go right back into racing. I’m feeling good, so why not just keep the ball rolling? That said, it’s nice to have an off weekend to have a little fun, I guess.

Yes, as you just alluded to, things are going quite well for you in the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.
Yeah, I was definitely nervous before the season started but everything is pretty much going according to plan. I’m still working a few things out but I think we’re just going to get better as the series goes on. I’m feeling strong every time I line up and that’s a good thing. I just want to keep it going as it is.

You’ve won the first moto at Hangtown, Pala, and Thunder Valley, but went 4-4-2, respectively, in the second motos at these events. Thoughts?
Yeah, it seems like every time I put myself in a good position after the first moto and then the second moto comes around and I’m either buried, or like with what happened last Saturday (at Thunder Valley), we got out front and ended up crashing, or as I like to call it a little off-track excursion. It was a shame but I’ll just learn from it. We’ll just keep moving forward and keep going after that Overall.

Yeah, but with the way you’ve been going, that Overall and second moto win are both likely to come real soon, eh?
Yeah, it’s just frustrating because I’m obviously looking for that win. I’ve been so close at the first three rounds. It’s nothing to get worked up about. It’s still awesome. It’s a long series and I’m just going to keep plugging away and it’ll be here before I know it.

You placed an excellent second Overall in points in the 2019 AMA 250SX East Championship. Did supercross and all the podium finishes you posted up help you when the Outdoor season kicked off at Hangtown?
It was different because I didn’t have both series last year. It was kind of different to end the supercross and then go right into the outdoors. I wouldn’t say it helped me, but it was definitely a solid year for me in supercross and there’s something positive to build off of there. We were doing all the work for the outdoors in between supercross races towards the end of the series. We definitely didn’t come in underprepared for outdoors.

Unless I have it wrong, and I don’t think I do, it’s been a fair amount of time since a young first- or second-year rider has raced so well and generated so many positive and encouraging results. Anybody said anything to you about all that?
That’s what I’ve been hearing and I like hearing it. I like to be unique. It’s definitely not a bad thing to come on like this. The plan is to just keep it going. There’s not a time where I go out there not looking to win. That’s going to be the plan. I feel like I deserve to be up on top and that’s what we’re working so hard to get. No reason to back down to anyone.

To your way of seeing things, just what has made you excel thus far in the outdoor series?
Honestly, I just kind of just gel with the outdoors. I’m very smooth as a rider and I can gel with the tracks pretty nicely, find smooth lines and just ride around smoothly. Once I’m in my comfort zone and riding the way I want to, it’s pretty easy for me to go even faster from there on. I think staying around the track helps a lot; it helps me get faster as a rider.

When you’re out there among the madness of a 250MX moto, how has the competition looked to you?
It’s stacked. Getting good starts definitely helps – it’s tough to come through the pack. Everyone riding really good and everyone is training really hard, so there is not a lot of separation. When you do get out front, you have to take advantage and try to separate yourself from the pack. Yeah, you can’t really take a down a notch or be comfortable in the lead because they’re always charging and coming at you all of the time. It’s tough. It’s pretty much a 35-minute sprint every time I’m out there.

Right on, Justin. So far, so good. I’m assuming all of this has been pretty fulfilling for you.
Yeah, it is a good feeling. I’m kind of just living in the moment as each race goes and kind of surprising myself every time I’m out. My confidence is definitely going up each time I go out and I’ve been getting good feedback from the team; everything is coming along nicely. I think we’re going to start prevailing when it really matters in the series.

Can you win this thing come the Ironman National in late August?
Oh, yeah. We know we can win it and that’s been on our minds. We’re not trying to think about it too much because we know it takes 24 good motos. The bad days are going to come, but we’re going to have to salvage what we can on those days. Hopefully, we can just keep putting ourselves in a good position off the start. That’s been working really good for us.

Since this interview, Justin Cooper has claimed his first Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross National Overall win of his career. Cooper went 2-2 for first Overall at Round 6 (Florida).
He now sits second Overall in the points standings – 18 points behind Adam Cianciarulo and 17 points in front of third place Dylan Ferrandis.