Frid’Eh Update #36 | Parker Eales | Presented by Fox Racing Canada
By Billy Rainford
Hello and welcome to Week #36 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update this week presented by Fox Racing Canada.
It another travel day and I’m right now pulled over in a Tim Hortons parking lot in the small town or Marmora, Ontario, along the route to Ottawa on Highway 7. If you’re from the area east of Toronto, I’m sure you can picture this place in your head right now.
It’s been the worst trip through Toronto on the 401 that I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been driving through here for many, many years. It looks like they’re finally adding an HOV lane, at least on the eastern side of TO. It will be great when it’s done but it made the entrance to the city even worse than usual.
I tried going north on the 427 to the 407 Toll Road, and that would have been great, but I always try to limit my use of this route. So, after a short stint on the free-flowing road, I headed back south to the 401 east of Toronto, thinking it would be fine at that point. Wrong.
Anyway, we’re heading into the final weekend of racing in our Rockstar Triple Crown Tour MX Nationals and there’ s a lot we could talk about. However, I need to keep driving…the Vancouver Canucks are in a Game 7 situation tonight, don’t you know?!
Anyway, I’ll post something from the hotel later to keep us talking about what this weekend means and what it looks like.
This week belongs to #36 Parker Eales from BC. He’s putting together a very solid 2020 season and hopes to end up in the top 10 in 450 points.
Here’s what he had to say when we got in touch with him this week:
Direct Motocross: Hello, Parker. I don’t know if we’ve done this with you before, so let’s take it back to the beginning. How did you get started racing motocross?
Parker Eales: Hey, Billy, how’s it going!? Thanks for doing this. I don’t think we have yet. I got into motocross like a lot of other guys probably have. My dad got me a CRF50 for my 5th birthday.
What was your first number and how did you choose it?
For some reason I chose #26. I don’t think there was any reason why I did but I seemed to like it. I wanted a 3-digit number shortly after that, so I decided to run #526.
You’re 21 so who did you come up through the ranks battling out there in BC?
I didn’t do a whole lot of racing until I was around 16, so I didn’t have a group of guys that I came up through the ranks with, but the last couple of years I’ve definitely had some fun battles with my good buddies, Kyle Springman, Dylan Delaplace, Kyle Maskall, Wyatt Waddell, Casey Keast and Tyler Gibbs, to name a few!
You guys have one of the most modern looking set ups in the pits. How did the whole Holeshot Motorsports team come together for you?
Our set up is definitely pretty legit. I couldn’t be more happy to be a part of it. One of the owners of Holeshot Motorsports, Larry Visco, had talked about getting a rig for local racing and the nationals at the end of last year. We had a couple conversations about it a bit earlier this year, then about a month before round 1, he made it happen for us. The rig made it across the border and we got to work getting it wrapped and ready for the season!
You weren’t in the top 100 in 2019. What happened?
In 2018 I only ended up racing the first 3 rounds of the outdoor series. I never ended up scoring enough points to earn a national number for the following year. I was back to the original 526. Haha.
And now you’re #36 and seem to be making steady progress toward a top 10 number. What have you been doing to make such big improvements?
I definitely had a better program on and off the bike this year, which has helped me a lot. I work construction 7-5, Monday to Friday, other than when I’m racing in the summer, but this year I had a bit more time off here and there which definitely allowed me to get some more riding and training in with out being burnt out all the time. I think that was one of the biggest things for me this year.
How has your 2020 season been going?
My season has been going pretty well, in my eyes. I’ve been quite happy with it so far. I’ve definitely learned a lot this year hovering around the top 10, which has been really cool for me. I’m pretty stoked on it all!
I kept a close eye on that 4-man battle you were in at Sand Del Lee. How was that fight from your point of view, fun or stressful?
That battle was actually super fun! We were all going at it for a while, which was sweet. It got a bit stressful the last 2 laps because we were all so close but other than that it was a lot of fun.
What have you guys been doing during the weekdays between events?
We have been pretty busy the whole time, there’s a fun group of us that we have been riding and training with which has been sweet. We’ve been travelling around a bit and checking some different places out. Tryna keep things fun no matter what we are doing.
Who is the biggest character in that group you’ve got there?
Man, we have a group of characters that we have been travelling with all summer. It’s almost impossible to pick someone out! Everyone’s a really good time. My teammate Gibby (Tyler Gibbs) is quite the character though, in many ways.
Have you ever ventured south of the border to race? Is that a future goal?
I’ve raced a little bit of the P.R.O. series in Washington but that’s about it. Before Covid happened I was in the process of getting my AMA license. My plan was to race a few nationals before our outdoor series started and then a couple on our off weekends, but unfortunately that didn’t end up happening. I’d really like to do that one day and also I’ve wanted to look into doing some Supercross too. My teammate, Tyler Gibbs, seemed to do well at it last year and opened some eyes for a lot of other guys like myself!
What will you consider a success when this season is done?
I’d be pumped to end up in the top 10 in points. That was my goal before the season started, so hopefully we can get in there!
Will you guys all stay and do the Supercross races too?
I don’t think myself or Tyler Gibbs will be doing the Supercross races at Gopher Dunes. We both really want to stay and do it but it’s time for us to head back to B.C. and start working again and getting some money saved for next season!
What kind of music are you guys listening to in that pit?
We have been hanging with our good friends over at the Carlson Racing Team for a while this summer, and Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles seems to be on repeat throughout our trailers. It’s a good summer mood.
OK, thanks for taking the time with us. Good luck and who would you like to thank?
No problem! I’d really like to thank everyone over at Holeshot Motorsports for their support all year, Frazer Excavation, Fusion Graphix, Fox, 100%, Mobius, Matrix Concepts, EVO, RMR Suspension.
So, like I said, these travel days are tough to get much posted up here, so that interview with Parker will have to do it until I get situated at the hotel this evening.
Have a great Labour Day weekend, everyone.
