Justin Sullivan raced ATV four-wheelers growing up, but gave up riding when his daughter Lyla was born nearly 15 years ago.
Lyla initially wasn’t interested in following in her father’s footsteps as an ATV racer, but her brother Owen, who is two years younger, began racing four years ago. After a couple years of watching Owen, Lyla was intrigued.
“Watching him do it all the years, I just decided, ‘Why not?’” said Lyla, now a freshman at Columbus North.
This year, Owen and Lyla took their talents to the national level, racing in the Grand National Cross Country circuit. Owen finished second in 250cc ATV 12-15-year-old division, and Lyla took third in the schoolgirl (13-15) division.
“For their first year of doing nationals, they did really good,” Justin said. “It’s a different animal than what we’re used to here in Indiana.”
Owen, a seventh-grader at Central Middle School, has raced in the state’s IXCR circuit the past four years. The 12-year-old finished second and third in the 8-12 division and finished seventh in this year’s 12-15 standings.
Lyla won an IXCR races at Pleasant Ridge in Madison and an Extreme event in Maumee and finished second in two GNCC and three IXCR races. She finished third in the IXCR, despite battling issues with her ATV’s clutch in some races.
“It was good just knowing how many problems I’ve had this year,” Lyla said. “We figured out what the problem was. I’ve been pretty unlucky, but we’ve figured out a lot of stuff for next year. So I was happy I got that done.”
Lyla and Owen practice on their 2013 Yamaha Raptor 250s on a 2 1/2-mile course behind their parents’ house and their neighboring great-grandfather’s house, which features about 120 acres, in southwestern Bartholomew County near Ogilville.
“They surprise me every day when they get out there and the things they can ride and do on them,” said their mother, Kylie Sullivan. “I could never do that.”
Justin has even gotten back into ATV racing and has competed in some adult events where their kids have raced.
“I wanted to do it when they were younger, but Lyla decided she didn’t want to,” Justin said. “Then, whenever Owen was finally old enough, we started.”
Owen, who plans to play golf at Central, wants to get in XC2 class when he is older. He hopes to win the championship in Supermini and finish in the top five overall in IXCR and win the 250 class in GNCC in 2022.
Lyla, who played basketball in elementary and middle school before focusing on ARV racing, eventually wants to make WXC women’s pro circuit. Her goals for next year include winning the IXCR girls championship in Supermini and the GNCC Schoolgirl 250 class.
The Sullivans, both of which are honor roll students, have traveled to Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania this year to compete on the GNCC circuit. They plan to return to that circuit when the 2022 season begins in the spring.
“It’s cool and fun,” Owen said.
Lyla added, “The drives can be boring, but it’s all worth it once we get there.”
