Racer works toward comeback in sport

"Everybody’s got something to prove, don’t they?" Cooper says as he tears down and regreases his Honda 450 bike in the back room at Red Seven, the Henderson racing shop owned by his friends and sponsors.

EnduroCross places the obstacles found in off-road racing — rocks, logs, water, sand and tires — on an indoor arena track. Cooper is entered in both the pro and veteran races on Saturday, giving him two opportunities to make the main event: 10 laps of a minute each.

"Winning this, especially in front of your hometown, would be amazing," says the 1992 Eldorado High School graduate. "Do I still have it in me? Absolutely."

Cooper began contemplating a comeback after winning the expert class division of the Boulder City Motocross Grand Prix earlier this month. He has raced in three previous EnduroCrosses, but only in Las Vegas, and only for fun. Next year, he plans to race the entire tour — six events across America from July through November.

"I just love to race," he says.

Cooper followed the muddy paths of his dad and godfather, who placed him on a dirt bike as soon as the training wheels came off his bicycle. (Likewise, Cooper says his own son, 16-year-old Zachary, now races.)

The influence of his elders was replaced by that of a teenage friend who would eventually become the most recognizable motorcycle racer in history.

"Yeah, Carey Hart and I grew up riding together," Cooper says with a sense of the question’s inevitability.

Cooper took a different road from Hart, though. More accurately, he went off it. Cooper made off-roading his thing.

"To me, the attraction was going through different mountain ranges, seeing different terrain and going at speeds of more than 100 miles an hour across the desert," Cooper says.

Cooper’s off-roading experience may confer an edge in this weekend’s events, in which Motocross riders also compete.

"You have an advantage to a certain point," he says. "But you have guys who do this every day. When I was doing it every day, it helped out a lot."

As most people know, Hart entered Supercross and freestyle racing and became an international icon, reality-show star and tattoo-parlor magnate. He also married rock star Pink. (The couple just announced they’re having their first child together.)

"He accomplished what he wanted to accomplish and so did I," Cooper says. "I won my championships that I set out to win.

"I’m very happy for Carey."

While recuperating from a race-induced broken elbow in 2003, Cooper saw what he perceived to be a lack of his own future.

"Mentally and physically, racing took a toll," he says. "I had been doing it my whole life."

As Cooper adjusts a valve, the question about Hart’s success still resonates.

"I mean, who wouldn’t want to accomplish what he’s accomplished?" he says. "But you can’t go backwards. You can only go forwards, and I’m happy with where I’m at."

Contact reporter Corey Levitan at clevitan@reviewjournal. com or 702-383-0456.