For a man who has already won so much in life, Shaun Palmer remains incredibly driven to succeed. But that might be because the former snowboard, ski, and mountain bike champ still has some unfinished business in motocross. Although Palmer, 36, already has a main event appearance in a 125cc supercross to his credit, he is now focused on a pursuit that injuries and commitments have kept him from for years: a full-on run at the AMA outdoor national series.

Palmer came to Fernley, Nevada this weekend for the first round of the MX West Spring Series and confirmed that he would be competing in the full 125cc national series this year. Palmer looked strong on his way to wins in the 125cc and 250cc Pro classes, and then spoke a little bit about how he’s approaching this new challenge.

I’ve been hearing that you’re considering another run at the AMA nationals this summer.
Every one of them. I’m going to do it this time.

What are your plans to prepare for the nationals?
I’m just going to train my ass off.

How did you feel on the bike today?
I felt a little fatigued, but I just pushed as hard as I could. You’ve got to ride with heart, you know? You’ve got to want it bad. I didn’t feel that strong, but I pushed myself, trying to push through the fatigue to ride as fast as I could while still being in control.

What is your ultimate goal in motocross?
The ultimate goal is to win. That’s with everything I’ve entered in my whole life. I love to win. But if that will happen, I don’t know. We’ll have to see on that. It’s a big dream and a huge goal (to win at the nationals,) but that’s how I’ve always set goals my whole life, and that’s why I succeed in all of the sports that I do. It’s because I want to win. When I line up with Alessi and Ryan Hughes and those guys, maybe I’ll win, maybe I’ll get 20th. I’ve never raced motocross that much, so I don’t know where I’ll be. But when I line up, I know I’ll be lined up to win.

How does the highest level of motocross compare to the highest levels of the other sports you’ve succeeded at like snowboarding and mountain biking?
Motocross is twice as hard as anything else. Mentally, physically, everything, it’s just twice as hard. But that’s why I love it. It’s the biggest challenge in my life.

So motocross is your only focus for 2005?
100 percent motocross, that’s it. I won’t be distracted with other kinds of sports or business or any stuff like that. I’ve got three months to get ready for the outdoors.

Thank you for the interview, Shaun.
Sure. I’ll see you at Carson (Ed. note: the spring series resumes next weekend in Carson City, Nevada.)