At an age when most kids are happily eating paste and finger painting, Larry Pegram was already racing motorcycles and dreaming of championship titles. Larry was practically born to race, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather before him by taking to the track at just five years of age. Larry quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with on the dirt track circuit, winning against far older and more experienced racers. After gaining more experience of his own, Larry turned raw talent into serious contention. He was just 15 when he broke the long-held record for the most national wins as an amateur.

It was inevitable that Larry would become a pro dirt tracker at young age, but he had to wait until he was 16 to qualify. By that time, despite numerous wins on the clay (including coming close to earning the Grand National Championship), Larry found himself being called to the next level by the high-speed allure of roadracing.

Larry was still a teenager when he made his roadracing debut at the legendary Daytona 200. A crash in his first practice couldn't deter him from putting his all into that initial race, and Larry ended up finishing a very respectable 20^th. Needless to say, he was hooked.

After that first season, Larry began finishing higher and really attracting some serious attention as one of the rookies to watch. The sponsors began lining up behind the young, fearless kid. Larry's future looked very bright indeed, until a terrible highside in Phoenix almost ended what would have been a brief, but dazzling, career.

Larry managed to recover from his injuries, but he suffered some serious setbacks. He found it difficult to recapture the momentum of his teen years, struggling with rehabbing a broken hip and the problem of finding the right combination of backing and equipment. Despite the difficulties, however, Larry was able to improve and advance his racing career - including earning big wins in Superbike and 600 Supersport races.

Now, Larry has teamed with Ducati North America to form a racing team for the 2007 AMA Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Series. With Ducati stepping out of the AMA Superbike class, this will be an especially compelling partnership. Larry will be onboard the only factory-supported Ducati in the series this year, racing Ducati Corse built 749R motorcycles.

Here, Larry discusses that new collaboration with Ducati, his confidence in the continued partnership with LeoVince USA and overcoming adversity to achieve success.

QUESTION: Tell us a bit about your background in racing.

ANSWER: Well, it's in my blood. My grandpa raced, my dad raced so it was natural for me to start riding and racing at an early age. I started riding at three and racing when I was just five. My first bike was an Indian 50. It was really funny, I couldn't touch the ground with my butt on the seat, and so I had to ride sitting on the bar. My first race bike was a Honda MR50. I started with hare scrambles and motocross.

Q: Did you know at that early age that you were going to be a professional racer?

A: Oh yeah, I knew. From the time I was a little kid, I knew I wanted to be a pro dirt tracker, which I was. I wanted to be a Grand National Champion. Never made it that far, but I was 15 when I got the record of the most ever national wins as an amateur. I turned pro at 16 and raced for two more years before I started roadracing.

Q: What was it that sparked your interest in roadracing?

A: I think it was my friendship with Bubba Shobert that got me interested in roadracing. Watching him and other dirt trackers like Freddie Spencer who were winning at roadracing was inspiring. I wanted to be a world champ. My first roadrace was the 1992 Daytona 200 on a superbike. In fact, the first time I was ever on a street bike was at that Daytona practice, where I ended up crashing in the first turn of my first lap on cold tires. But I managed to make the race.

Another incentive for me was the fact that $8,000 was up for grabs from a sponsor for the top dirt tracker to finish the Daytona 200. I had just started roadracing, but I wanted the money. I ended up finishing 20^th, but another dirt tracker took 19^th. I got $6,000.

We ended up buying that bike and I raced two more times that year. I finished 17^th at Laguna Seca first my time there. In my third roadrace, I finished as top rookie. Honda wanted to hire me full time after that, but I wanted to still make money racing dirt track too. So I couldn't come on full time for them, but everyone thought I was going to do really well. Then I had my first bad crash in 1993, and seriously injured my hip. That cut my season short and really changed things for me. I think if I hadn't had that crash, I would've gone to Europe to race World Superbike. Physically, I was never the same after that, until I had surgery two years ago. I've recovered from the surgery and I now feel like this is the first year I've been physically in good shape and I also have a good bike. Everything's coming together now.

Q: How did you start racing with LeoVince Exhausts?

A: When Pegram Racing was title sponsor of the Hotbodies team in '05, we had LeoVince sponsorship. I loved the product and definitely wanted to keep the sponsorship going. LeoVince stepped up their program in 2006; they really wanted to get the name out there more, so they came on as my title sponsor. I was happy to have them and glad to continue to run a LeoVince exhaust - I was going to use it regardless!

Q: How did the '06 season go?

A: Well, not too bad. Not as great as we hoped, but we were the top finishing non-factory bike in Superbike, finishing the season 10^th place in points. For the money we had and the program we had, we did as well as we could.

Q: This is your second season with LeoVince/Pegram Racing and there have been a lot of changes from last year. First, why did you decide to go it alone, without a teammate?

A: We're running a Ducati this year and they're much more expensive to run than Hondas - with replacement parts, etc. Plus, Ducati just wanted one rider to concentrate on this year, like they did with Eric [Bostrom] in '04. They can dedicate more attention and resources to one rider rather than spreading the budget between two.

Q: Why did you decide to ride for Ducati? How did that partnership come about?

A: It was mutual. They offered me a chance to get back on factory level equipment. I saw it as an opportunity to get the best stuff they had to offer.

Q: Why the decision to ride a 749 and race in Formula Xtreme?

A: It was their choice to do that this year and it made sense after AMA gave them a displacement advantage in Formula Extreme, which really makes the playing field equal. They wouldn't give Ducati anything like that in Superbike.

Q: How do you like the 749? It must be pretty different from the 1000cc Superbikes you've ridden for the past two years.

A: I love the bike. I've ridden for Ducati in the past so I'm familiar with the twins; I did a total of four and a half seasons for Ducati. The 749 does feel less powerful than the superbikes, but I'm really happy with it.

Q: What about the class? There've been a lot of changes in Formula Xtreme.

A: I think the class is better than it's ever been. We have two factory Hondas, two Kawasakis and a Suzuki. There's a lot of factory support. And the class is deeper than it's ever been talent wise. We have experienced racers like Josh Hayes, Anthony Gobert, Ben Attard...they're no spring chickens. All that means good racing for the fans - there are five or six guys who can win instead of one.

Q: Do you miss Superbike?

A: Not yet. I might as the season goes on.. I hoping that next year the AMA makes the [new Ducati] 1098 legal for Superbike. I rode it once and I really liked it.

Q: Is there pressure being the only factory-supported Ducati racer in this year's AMA roadracing series?

A: Not really, well maybe a little. We're more visible, but it's good to keep the name out there for the Ducati fans.

Q: What are your goals for the season?

A: Win.

Good luck Larry, we'll be rooting for you! And we'll certainly hear you on the track as you roar by on that Ducati 749 with the unmistakable music of the V-Twin growl and your LeoVince exhaust!

Fans who want more info about Larry's team, his racing history and current stats should visit www.PegramRacing.com.