THIS 24 HOURS OF GLEN HELEN WAS FOR YOU KYLE & KYLE

From left to right: Chris Siems, Robert Guiterrez, Kyle Moose, Andrew Yarnell, Neo Vargas, Paul Nemec and JD Myerscough prepare for the 24 hours of torture.

BY KYLE MOOSE

Glen Helen Raceway is recognized as one of the most iconic motocross tracks in the world. Unlike any other motocross track in Southern California, Glen Helen offers technical challenges, along with massive hills, that make it intimidating yet so much fun to ride. If you grew up as a motocrosser in Southern California, this place is like a second home. The track plays host to the Day in the Dirt, Last Dog Standing, WORCS races, SRA GP series and the 6 Hours of Glen Helen, 10 Hours of Glen Helen and, the big daddy, the 24 Hours of Glen Helen Endurance series.

The Glen Helen motocross track only makes up a small portion of the full 24-hour loop around the Glen Helen property.

Every year since 1999, Glen Helen has hosted the toughest of all the Glen Helen cross-country races—the 24 Hours of Glen Helen. If you have never experienced being at a 24-hour cross-country race, then you may not understand how tight the relationships can get between teammates as you live through a lifetime time of joy, anxiety, sleep deprivation, exhilaration and exhaustion in just 24 hours. The brutal 24-hour-long race challenges the team riders’ bodies, minds and machines. You have to rely on your teammates to make sure the bike stays competitive and safe all the way to the finish, because endurance racing is all about finishing. 

In 2005 Glen Helen track manager Lori Wilson’s sons, Andrew and Kyle Yarnell, began racing the 24 Hours of Glen Helen together to experience the joy of sharing a race with friends and family. The two kept up the brotherly tradition by gathering up the same group of friends each year to try to finish. Unfortunately, in July of 2014, the two Yarnell brothers suffered a major loss, as their 24-hour GP teammate Kyle Parton was killed in an airplane crash, which took not only Kyle but his brother-in-law Jacob Griffiths and his father-in-law Doug Symiczek. 

Sadly, just one year later, in May 2015, the Yarnell family (Lori, Doug and Andrew) tragically lost Kyle Yarnell to a senseless act of violence. After losing the two Kyles in back-to-back years, the tight-knit group of teammates, who had raced the 24 Hours for 10 years together, decided to break up the old gang and skip the race.  

JUST FOUR DAYS BEFORE THE 2020 EVENT, I RECEIVED A CALL FROM ANDREW YARNELL ASKING IF I WOULD LIKE TO RACE THE EVENT WITH HIM AND HIS TEAM. FOR ME, THE 24 HOURS HAS ALWAYS BEEN SOMETHING SPECIAL, AND GETTING INVITED TO JOIN A TEAM WAS LIKE A BUCKET-LIST ITEM FULFILLED.

It was a special race for everyone involved.

Fast-forward to the 24 Hours of Glen Helen in 2020. Just four days before the event, I received a call from Andrew Yarnell asking if I would like to race the event with him and his team. For me, the 24 Hours has always been something special, and to actually get invited to join a team was a bucket-list item fulfilled. Growing up around Glen Helen Raceway, I was always in awe of the men who would sign up to race for 24 sleep-deprived hours. I was never able to race the 24 Hours, not because I didn’t want to, but because back in 2001, just after graduating from high school, I was diagnosed with cancer. I went through several major surgeries and some heavy cycles of chemotherapy, which broke me down physically and mentally. With tremendous support from my family and friends, and by the pure grace and mercy of God, I survived. I promised myself that I one day I would race the 24 Hours to prove to myself that I could not only race it but finish it. It was 19 years after my cancer trauma that I got the call from Andrew, and I couldn’t say no. Little did I know that Andrew had rounded up the same group of friends he last raced with back in 2015 to saddle up again for the 2020 edition.

This was my first 24 Hours of Glen Helen, and the race was everything I could have imagined and so much more. Our team finished the race safely, and I became friends with a rad group of guys, as well as their families, all while I was checking something off my bucket list. During the 2020 24 Hours of Glen Helen, I discovered how important this race was to my teammates. I felt both humbled and honored to be asked to fill in for the Kyles on the team. When the whole team decided to stay together for the 2021 24 Hours and they asked me to stay on the team, I felt compelled to do something special for the team and the families involved in recreating this great tradition.  

Leading up to the 2021 race, the idea came up about taking Kyle Yarnell’s last race bike, the one he raced in 2014, and stripping it down for a ground-up rebuild and racing his bike in the 2021 race event as a memorial to him. This was a delicate subject, because Lori Wilson, Kyle’s mom, had kept Kyle’s 2008 Yamaha YZ250F in untouched condition since the day he died. We didn’t want to do anything that she would find objectionable. The bike had deep meaning to her. After a few conversations with Andrew about the idea, he was on board and agreed to talk to Doug Yarnell and Lori Wilson about letting this group of guys borrow, rebuild and race Kyle’s YZ250F.

Lori and Doug both agreed to the idea with the caveat that we be gentle with Kyle’s bike, understanding that it meant a lot to the Yarnell family. We also promised to take Doug Yarnell’s Yamaha YZ250 two-stroke and rebuild it alongside Kyle’s YZ250F so that we could use it as a backup team bike in case any issues arose mid-race with Kyle’s bike.

LEADING UP TO THE 2021 RACE, THE IDEA CAME UP ABOUT TAKING KYLE YARNELL’S LAST RACE BIKE,
THE ONE HE RACED IN 2014, AND STRIPPING IT DOWN FOR A GROUND-UP REBUILD AND
RACING HIS BIKE IN THE 2021 RACE EVENT AS A MEMORIAL TO HIM.

Kyle Yarnell’s 2008 YZ250F after it had been completely rebuilt.

The team and bikes were now set for the 2021 24 Hours of Glen Helen. With the days ticking by, it was time for the builds to begin. When framing down two 13-year-old motocross bikes, we found lots of parts that needed replacing. We soon realized that our original build budget was in need of some outside support. We reached out to some amazing companies, such as Works Connection, Langston Motorsports, Hinson Clutch Components, Maxxis Tires, Era Graphics, Nemco MX Services, F&L Race Fuel, Bar 2 Bar MX Services, Baja Designs, ODI and Dirt Bike TV, and we got the builds completed one day before the race.

The Flying Pig.

The team gave me complete control over the bike’s graphic design, so I contacted my good friend Bryan Buchanan at Era Moto Co. and sent him a design concept. Within one proof he had it perfect. Bryan also designed special custom logos for Kyle Yarnell (flying pig logo) and Kyle Parton (helmet with a golf club inside a sprocket) for an extra personal touch. Our team name was “Bro Hymn,” which is a song from the band Pennywise and was the appropriate dynamic for our team.

Robert Guiterrez racing through his night shift.

Kyle Parton’s parents, Mark and Barb Parton, asked to be present at the 24 Hours to help feed the team and pray over us for protection. Mark and Barb had no clue about the bike graphics paying tribute to their son Kyle, and Lori Wilson was also unaware of our design tribute to the Kyles. 

The morning of the race, we unveiled the bikes to both families. This was a special moment for us as a team, and for me, it made all the stress of organizing the bike builds for the final three months worth it. 

As for the race, we had fun—maybe not as much fun as when the two Kyles were with us, but they’ve never really left our thoughts. This one was for you, Kyle and Kyle.

2008 YZ250F WORK LIST: 

—New OEM complete crank
—Complete head rebuild, including new valves
—Vertex Piston kit
—Suspension service, including all linkage bearings and seals
—Frame stripped and polished 

2008 YZ250 TWO-STROKE PARTS LIST:

—Vertex piston kit
—Suspension service, including all linkage bearings and seals
—Frame stripped and vapor blasted