Chance Hymas Returns!

Pocatello native Chance Hymas bounces back from serious injury to continue pro motocross racing career

Inside a packed stadium, motocross racers line up. A buzzer sounds and several dozen racers shoot out of the gates, engines roaring, as the crowd cheers.

For 19-year-old Chance Hymas, the race is more than just fun. It’s a job, the culmination of years of hard work. It’s also extremely stressful. To stay ahead, racers have to think fast and improvise if their path is cut off.

“I have a handful of things I focus on, like my breathing, hitting my marks,” Hymas said. “Repetition is always good.”

Hymas was born in Pocatello. His parents own Pocatello Powersports, a motorcycle dealership, so he grew up racing dirt bikes with his two older brothers. Around age 12, he started racing motocross. After initial success as an amateur, he transitioned to professional motocross in 2022, signing with the Honda HRC Progressive team. However, the jump to professional racing came with challenges.

“My first (professional) race at the end of 2022, I didn’t really think I would’ve been that far back,” Hymas said.

In June 2023, Hymas tore the ACL in his left leg. After a five-month recovery, he began riding again, but he crashed and tore the same ligament in September, in the first round of the 2024 SuperMotocross series.

He was flown to Nashville, Tennessee, and underwent surgery. Afterward, he required months of physical therapy and moved to Los Angeles to work with a physical therapist.

“I basically lived just outside LA for two and a half months doing therapy down there,” Hymas said, noting he often spent four hours a day, six days a week with his therapist.

Hymas is now healthy and training for the next season. He moved to Florida where he practices alongside the Australian racing brothers Hunter and Jett Lawrence, who also race for Honda HRC.

Hymas said most racers rarely get to see their competitors outside of the race.

“What’s kind of different about our sport is everyone’s pretty secret about what everyone does,” Hymas said.

While racers train constantly, they are typically allotted just three practice rounds on a circuit before they race. One round is untimed. The first and second qualifying rounds are timed and help determine what gate a racer will start from.

“At our level, everyone’s so close in speed and skill that you have to find little bits here and there, 1% advantages,” Hymas said.

With his injury behind him, he is looking forward to racing again.

“From my standpoint, I’ve sacrificed a lot.… I’ve put my whole life into this,” Hymas said.

While he finished fourth in the Motocross 250 class in the 2024 season, he is committed to going further.

“I would love to get a championship under my belt,” Hymas said. “It’s honestly the only thing that’s going to satisfy me.”