SPECIAL TO THE PVT Ryan Pike, 16, made his motorsports debut recently at Death Valley Raceway in Amargosa Valley, driving the No. 18 IMCA modified. The track returns to action Saturday. Advertisement

AMARGOSA VALLEY -- Ryan Pike will be playing soccer for the Pahrump Valley High School boys team this fall, but at the moment, his focus is on going fast and turning left.

A 16-year-old rising senior, Pike made his debut in mid-July as a IMCA modified driver at Death Valley Raceway, a one-third mile dirt oval located just up the road from the LongStreet Inn.

Driving a modified formerly operated by his uncle, Jason Pike, (one of Pahrump Valley Speedway's all-time winning drivers) Ryan finished fourth in the feature. The No. 18 modified is powered by a 600-horsepower engine that generates 7400 rpms, but the young Pike knew what to expect.

"I was a little nervous; I'd never done anything like this before," said Pike, as he sat in the Times office one day last week. "He (Jason) told me to drive fast as I was able to, but to keep it smooth ... and follow him." As it turned out, Ryan finished one place ahead of Jason, who had been unable to avoid some trouble early in the race. "I could have finished higher, but I got a little too high going into (turn) three and coming out of four."

Ryan did come close to winning the trophy dash, but wound up third in the heat won by Jason Pike.

The Pike family has been involved in greater Pahrump-area racing for more than two decades, so Ryan can go not only to Jason for advice, but to his grandparents, Jim and Phyllis Pike, as well. "And, so is Joe Kent. They all tell me not to drive 'over my head.'

"I know I can't be afraid of the power these cars have," said Ryan, "and I also realize that I can't always follow. I have to find my own lines and be smooth."

Ryan Pike also knows his history -- and what his future could be like. "The Busch brothers (Kurt and Kyle) drove at the (Pahrump Valley) speedway ... now look where they're at."

Aaron Pike, his 15-year-old brother and a member of PVHS's junior varsity baseball team last spring, was at the interview. Aaron's current role is to be his brother's pit crew.

Both Pikes will be back at Death Valley Raceway Saturday, when that track, now in its second year of operation, returns to action.