Full name Daniel Lee Nelson Current team Retired Weight 90.7 kg (200 lb) | Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Nickname "Thunder" Name Danny Nelson | |
Discipline Bicycle Motocross (BMX) |
Daniel Lee Nelson (born May 3, 1975 in Simi Valley, California, U.S.) was an American professional "Mid & Current School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years are from 1993 to 2003. His nickname is "Thunder".
Contents
- Racing career milestones
- Amateur
- Professional
- BMX product lines
- Notable accolades
- Significant injuries
- Post BMX career
- BMX and general press magazine interviews and articles
- BMX magazine covers
- References
Racing career milestones
Started racing: In 1981 at six years of age at the Teen Center in Van Nuys, California. He was riding with older kids one day and since they appreciated his talent of being "the wheelie king" of the neighborhood at such a young age they suggested he try racing.
Sanctioning body:
Home sanctioning body district(s): American Bicycle Association (ABA) California District 20 (CA-20) (1985); United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA) CA-2 (1986)
First race result: Nelson does not recall how well he did overall but he was leading his first moto but went back up the starting hill which was parallel to the straight. He simply did it automatically and without thinking since it was accidentally ingrained into him during the practice sessions previous to the race to avoid the ride back to the starting hill that would be necessary if he ran the entire track in practice.
First win (local):
First sponsor: Robinson Racing 1981.
First national win:
Turned Professional: December 1992 age 17.
First Professional race result:
First Professional win:
First Junior Pro* race result:
First Junior Pro win:
First Senior Pro** race result:
First Senior Pro win:
Retired: October 2003, just after the NBL Grandnationals. to devote himself to a new business he was partnered in. he made his formal announcement in a speech to the spectators to the ABA Fall Nationals in Del Mar, California on October 26, 2003 stating it was time to move on.
Height & weight at height of her career: Ht:6'4" Wt:200 lbs.
Amateur
Professional
Amateur
National Bicycle Association (NBA)
National Bicycle League (NBL)
American Bicycle Association (ABA)
United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*
Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*
Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*
Other Titles:
Professional
National Bicycle Association (NBA)
National Bicycle League (NBL)
American Bicycle Association (ABA)
United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*
Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*
Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*
Pro Series Championships
BMX product lines
Notable accolades
Significant injuries
Post BMX career
TWBMX: You're #2 in ABA Points; why are you retiring now?
Nelson: "In a perfect world, I would have liked to have finished out the season to see if I could have defended the title, but this other opportunity came up. It's where my future's headed; I couldn't afford to put it on hold or wait around to get to it. I had to do it now."
TWBMX: What opportunity is that?
Nelson: "It's a thrift store deal that I'm working on down in Long Beach. It's a large operation, it's a lot of work, and we've got a long way to go with it, but we've been open five weeks now and things are on track. Now it's just a matter of plugging away and getting it to where we want it to be."
The full, illustrated website version of the interview, originally posted on January 8, 2004, can be seen here.
BMX and general press magazine interviews and articles
BMX magazine covers
Bicycle Motocross News:
Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:
Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:
BMX Plus!:
Total BMX:
Bicycles and Dirt:
Snap BMX Magazine & Transworld BMX:
Twenty BMX:
Moto Mag:
BMX World:
NBA World & NBmxA World (The official NBA/NBmxA publication):
Bicycles Today & BMX Today (The official NBL publication; one name change):
ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (Three incarnations of the official ABA publication):
USBA Racer (The official USBA membership publication):