|
|
Talk
about a family with racing in the blood. Shannon's family has
been involved with motorcycles since the early 1950s. His
father was a professional flat tracker for Harley back in the
late 50s-early 60s. On his mom's side of the family, his uncle
was a cross country woods racer, along with being a member of
the four man USA ISDT team in the late 60s. After retiring from
racing, Shannon's dad opened a motorcycle shop selling strictly
dirtbikes including Husque, Hodaka, Penton, and more.
As soon as Shannon was old enough to ride, at
the ripe ol' age of four, in 1966, he received a QA50 Honda. In
the early 70s, Shannon's dad opened a Suzuki/Kawasaki shop. At
this point, all he was doing was racing, riding, and working at
the shop. His amateur career took off winning AMA, NMA, and GNC
regional, state, and national championships. Starting the
Expert/A class at the age of 14, he still kept winning many big
races. When 17 years of age rolled around, Shannon got his pro
license. Team Green was created about that time and signed him
on in the early 80s. He hit the National circuit gaining a
couple top tens, earning the pro #64, but at this point, he just
didn't have the backing and unfortunately the work ethic that it
took to race at that level. Becoming more involved in his dads
shop, thinking that it would be his one day, meant staying home
and racing the bigger local money races. '89 rolled around with
a little bad luck, Shannon's parents divorced and the shop was
sold in the process. He quit racing and didn't have much to do
with motocross for a while.
A new phase in his life was about to start. He
met someone, Sheila, a
young lady just a year out of high school. He sure didn't know
what he was getting himself into, but he knew he had better
marry her. In 1991, they tied the knot. 2 years later, their
first daughter, MacKenzie was born, and 2 years after having
her, their second girl, Mikaelan was introduced to the world.
During these years, Shannon was missing motocross so he opened
up a parts and accessories shop, promoted a few fairground
races, and built a track of their own. Being around the bikes
made him miss racing and he started racing the vet classes
winning about every race he was in. Younger racers watched him
race with his wonderful techniques and smoothness and started
asking for advice on their riding skills. This is when the idea
came to him to start up his own schools full time. He attended
Gary Bailey schools and Gary Semics schools to see what they
were teaching to put with what he had learned over his career.
Shannon Niday Mx School was opened up full time in 1999 and he
is now happier and more satisfied with his life than ever.
Shannon has been learning and working at
turning his school into the #1 school in the country. He loves
what he does and takes teaching the correct techniques and
safety seriously. For eight years now, he has been training
around 400 kids a year including some of the fastest amateurs in
the country. Plans for the near future include a complete
training facility with lodging, a gym, weight room, and 3-4
tracks to ride on.
|
|