At 23 years old, Nathan Tiearney has already established himself among the best riders to come from northern Nevada, and his resume only seems destined to improve. After contesting the early rounds of the 2004-2005 National Arenacross Series on the Suzuki-mounted G.P.S. Racing team, Tiearney made the switch to Yamahas halfway through the series with the backing of Swanson Racing. Since then, he’s posted a 17th-place finish in the 125cc main at the Atlanta SX, and is now looking toward a strong finish in the remaining east-coast supercrosses. Following that, he plans to split his summer between the U.S. and Canadian nationals, again with the backing of Swanson Racing. Tiearney spoke a bit about his life at the moment at a recent Carson practice.

Catch us up with what you’ve been doing these last few months.
The last few months I’ve been riding supercross. When I was done with arenacross, I started riding the east-coast supercrosses, and I’ve pretty much been doing that every weekend.

How did the arenacross series go for you?
Points-wise, not too good. I ended up 22nd, and in the beginning I had some bikes break. I did pretty good in some of the races, but in the end for the point series, it wasn’t too good.

Did you have any good races that stood out for you?
Not really. But Atlanta (the second east-coast 125cc SX of the season) was pretty cool. There I was able to qualify and do halfway decent in the main. I ended up going down halfway through the first lap (in the main) with a bunch of people, and that kind of ruined it, but it was good to finish 17th and make the main.

Will you be at the rest of the supercrosses this year?
I’m leaving for Texas on Monday (the 28th) for the race next weekend in Irving. After that, I’ll go to Pontiac, Michigan, and then I’ll be coming home for a little bit to get ready for the outdoors.

What are your goals for the remaining supercrosses?
Just to make mains. I want to get in the show and do the best that I can. A top-ten would be awesome.

I think it’s hard for people to understand how difficult it is just to make the night program for supercross these days. Tell us a little about what it’s like.
First you go through a day qualifier that only takes the top seven. Then you might have to go on to the daytime last chance, which takes just the top two most of the time. Along the way you have to battle with a bunch of privateer guys from all over the place that are super fast, and even when you make the night show, you have to qualify again against all the factory guys. There you have to get in the top nine in the heat race, and it’s all really tough. It’s all in your starts, and you have to be smooth. On every lap there’s always someone right behind you, ready to pass you. It’s just really tough.

What are you expectations for the outdoor nationals this year?
I’m only doing the first two races of the U.S. outdoor series, and the rest of the summer I’ll be traveling with Swanson to do the Canadian nationals. At the west rounds I’ll be riding the Yamaha 250F, and in the east I’ll be riding a 450. I feel I can do really good there if I can stay in good shape and ride well. There’s no reason why I can’t get some top-fives or top-threes, or even end up winning a couple. We’ll see how it goes.

How did your deal with Swanson Racing come together?
About halfway through the arenacross series, Kurt, the Swanson team manager, came up and talked to me, and basically asked me straight up if I’d like to be on his team. Since then, things have just gotten better as we’ve gone to the supercrosses and made plans to go to the outdoors. He was just ready to take better care of me, and give me bikes, and I went for it.

What class will you ride in the U.S. outdoor races?
I’ll be in the 125cc class in the U.S. Our manager has told us we’ll be doing the first two races, and then we might be looking to hit up some more after the Canadian races are over, or during breaks in the Canadian series. Whatever ones we can do, we’ll do.

What is your ultimate goal in motocross?
To be on top. I want to be up there on a factory team, making money, and just doing good in my racing. I think being on a factory team is everybody’s dream, and I hope to do it soon.

Nathan Tiearney is sponsored by Swanson Racing, Scott Goggles, O’Neal, Tag, Bridgestone, FMF, and Shoei.