Ford Brothers Racing Enjoys Banner Day at 3 Palms as Bryce and Cody Ford Both Shine on Texas Soil
Friday, April 8, 2022 | 9:00 AM
Ford Brothers Racing Enjoys Banner Day at 3 Palms as Bryce and Cody Ford Both Shine on Texas Soil
(Conroe, Texas. April 3, 2022) – ATV Motocross does not typically feature a decisive home field advantage like other sports, but every so often, racing on home turf can prove to be a legitimate advantage in our sport as well. Each of the last two seasons, the Texas ATV National at 3 Palms Action Sports Park saw both Bryce and Cody Ford put on some of their best performances of their respective professional careers. Bryce, the youngest of the two Ford brothers, has already racked up a laundry list of accomplishments at the Houston-area venue alone. He’s earned a top qualifier award, multiple holeshots, led laps, and finished on the Pro Class podium multiple times at 3 Palms – all while being a teenager competing against the fastest ATV racers in the world. But Bryce wasn’t the only one feeling the good vibes and homefield advantage on Texas soil, older brother, Cody, has put in impressive top ten efforts every trip to 3 Palms – including an incredible 7th place overall finish at this event last season to cap an impressive weekend for Ford Brother Racing. The pride of Springtown, Texas, would look to, once again, use racing on home turf to their advantage as the 2022 ATV Motocross National Championship was now officially in full swing.
Texas has been an early season stop on the ATV Motocross National Championship tour for years now, with this year’s stop being the second event of the 2022 ATV Motocross National Championship season. The anticipation was high for the season opener at the 8th annual Daytona ATV Supercross, but the world’s best would have to endure inclement weather, tough track conditions, and standing water as they kicked off the new season. Ultimately, the challenges seemed to affect all riders in one way or another, but the Ford Brothers Racing team made it out of Daytona in one piece and with two healthy riders. Bryce Ford would leave the opener with a strong 4th place finish and Cody with a solid 11th. That being said, it’s safe to say both riders were chomping at the bit for the gate to drop at Round 2.
Expectations for third year pro, Bryce Ford, are higher than ever for this 2022 season. A buzz has surrounded the youngster for years now, and there’s always additional hype for this event as he seems to bring his best to Conroe, Texas, home of 3 Palms Action Sports Park and not far from his own hometown! The 19-year-old came out swinging right away in the morning qualifying sessions, posting the quickest time at one point before ultimately finishing qualifying in the 3rdfastest spot. In Moto 1, Bryce came out firing on all cylinders riding a Cowboys-themed Yamaha YFZ450R for the special occasion! Some in the media were predicting a Bryce Ford holeshot and laps led at his “home” track, and that’s exactly what he did! He grabbed the holeshot and started to set sail on the pack of AMA ATV Pro Class racers. Young Bryce Ford led the opening moto until the midway point. The only racer that could match the youngster’s speed was former two-time series champion, Joel Hetrick, who eventually made the pass and that’s where the two would finish at moto’s end.
Going into the second and final moto of the day, Bryce was in great position for an overall podium following his runner-up finishing in the opening moto. All Bryce would need to do is ride smart, and that just was he did. Bryce started in the fifth spot and smartly chipped away little by little at the riders in front of him. At the race’s midway point, the #4 was still in fifth place but he used the last handful of laps to first move up into fourth and eventually third by the time the checkered flag flew. Nineteen going on twenty-nine, Bryce Ford looked like a true veteran in this one! His 2-3 moto scores earned him an extremely impressive second overall finish at 3 Palms! After the first two rounds of racing, Bryce sits 2nd in the AMA ATV Pro Class points standings!
Bryce Ford enjoys a champagne celebration and sets his plans to keep working towards an overall as he stated on the podium, “ Super excited to be up here making progress to catching Joel and Chad so we can get three bikes going at it and I’m going to keep working.”
Cody Ford, the eldest of the two Ford brothers, is famously known as “The Foreman” because the guy never quits! In 2019, during his rookie season as a professional, Cody became the first rookie to earning a spot on the Pro Class podium in nearly a decade. Ever since then, Cody has been pushing to compete at the front of the pack once again – and though he hasn’t grabbed another podium yet, Cody Ford just keeps getting better and better just as a foreman would! At the 3 Palms event in 2021, Cody Ford grabbed a strong seventh place overall finish and then used that to kick-start a top-ten streak that spanned nine consecutive races through the entire rest of the season. Cody Ford was his best self down the stretch last season, and he would aim to pick up right where he left off here in 2022!
A theme that Cody Ford has seemed to develop throughout his professional career is he gets better each and every time he hits the racetrack, and that was on full display this past weekend at 3 Palms. Cody was building all day and it ultimate made for a stellar performance, all while donning a Texas Longhorns themed machine I might add! The rider of the #5 started the day by qualifying eleventh in the first session and tenth in the second session before racing up inside the top ten in Pro Moto 1, and finally ending the day with a stellar ride from around tenth all the way up to 7th by moto’s end – completing a stellar day in impressive fashion. Cody Ford’s 10-7 moto scores earned him a strong 7th place overall finish at 3 Palms! He now sits tied for ninth in the series point standings after two rounds of racing in the 2022 season.
"Great weekend in Texas. [Bryce Ford] with 2nd and [Cody Ford] with 7th.” The Ford Brothers Racing team kept it short and sweet while posting to their official social media accounts following a hard (but very successful) weekend of racing. "[Bryce Ford] felt great to get a holeshot and lead the race…[Both boys are] making progress.”
Things didn’t go exactly as expected at Daytona’s season opener, but the entire team rebounded in a major way at 3 Palms! Furthermore, to enjoy success on Texas’ home soil made the weekend one that the Ford family and all their supporters will never forget. The Ford Brothers Racing team will look to carry this momentum into Rd 3, as the series looks to make its’ return to Aonia Pass MX in Washington Georgia, in just two short weeks’ time. See you in “The Peach State” on the weekend of April 16/17!