Motorcycling is often times a family sport. If you walk through the pits at any motocross track around the country, and ask any rider how they got into riding dirt bikes, they will likely tell you it was because of their dad.

A second-generation motorcyclist, Ryan Penhall grew up around two-wheels, as his dad Bruce was once a successful Speedway racer, winning two world championships in 1981 and 1982. “My dad is a great guy,” Ryan said. “He’s one of the most down-to-earth human beings I’ve ever met, and I’m so honored to call him dad. He’s my best friend.” In keeping with the family tradition, Ryan got his first bike from his parents when he was young, and he has never looked back. “I was four-years-old when I got my PW50,” Ryan remembered. “We’d go out to the desert with all our friends. It was a lot of fun, and it always got our families together.”

Even away from the track, Ryan and his family are close. When he isn’t on his bike, he works at the family business, Conner Concrete Cutting, which was named in honor of his younger brother Connor who passed away three years ago. If you ask Ryan, though, his true passion, and when he feels the most relaxed, is when he’s away from work with his dirt bike beneath him. And after a few years away from racing, Ryan is making a comeback to the off-road world, competing in the competitive District 37 AMA Big 6 Grand Prix series.

Unfortunately, though, a practice crash will force him to miss the next round of the series with a separated shoulder. With a little downtime on his hands, we stopped by his family’s shop to get some insight into his past, present, and future.