Studying pays off for Premier Class rookie

It was close to 4 p.m. Justin Barcia wouldn't have to get atop his Honda CRF 450cc motorcycle for another 3½ hours, but he was hard at work.

The Premier Class rookie was in his trailer across the street from Sam Boyd Stadium watching film of the guys he would be riding against Saturday night in the Monster Energy Cup. Barcia was looking for anything that could give him an edge on the competition or shave a hundredth of a second off his time, much the same way Kobe Bryant watches film of some NBA newcomer so he can exploit him on the court.

"You're always learning," Barcia said. "It's so competitive out there. The smallest thing can be the difference between winning and losing. If I can find an edge, I'm taking it."

The 20-year-old from Greenville, Fla., was competing on a big bike in his sport's showcase event for the first time, and that film work apparently paid off. Barcia won the $100,000 first prize after posting the top cumulative result in the three-race main event. He finished second in the first and third main events while winning the second 10-lap race.

Barcia was riding hard all day, starting with the afternoon time trials where he had the fourth-fastest lap time (1 minute, 8.903 seconds) among 35 trying to qualify for the evening's 18-man main event.

Once the real racing began, he didn't let up. Barcia finished second to defending champ Ryan Villopoto in the first 10-lap main event race. He started fourth and moved up to second on the fourth lap but didn't catch Villopoto.

In the second 10-lap main, Villopoto crashed early on the opening lap, which cost him any chance of repeating, much less winning $1 million, as was the case a year ago when he swept the three main events. That opened the door for Barcia, who started fourth, moved up to second on the third lap, caught Mike Alessi on the sixth and cruised to victory.

Intimidated? Not in the least.

"I'm a racer," he said. "I don't care who's out there. I'm not trying to be cocky or anything. ... I'm not afraid."

Barcia was in great shape entering the third and final 10-lap main event. He needed only to finish second to win the first prize. He finished second to Eli Tomac and held off Ryan Dungey, his main rival.

Barcia got started when he was 7 and living in upstate New York. Like most racers, he got a nudge into racing from his father, Don, who had raced dirt bikes when he was youngster. By the time he was 12, Barcia was winning amateur races, getting endorsements and beginning to realize that he someday might be able to make a living riding a motorcycle.

"Once you start having some success, you begin to think that anything's possible," Barcia said. "So we moved to Florida to focus on racing, and my mom stayed behind in New York and worked to keep my career going."

Lorraine Barcia spent long, lonely hours working at a catering hall in Washingtonville, N.Y., a couple of thousand miles away from her son and her husband, who by now had left his job as a caretaker at William Paterson College to attend to Justin's racing career.

"Those were tough times," she said. "We weren't rich by any means, and it was hard being away. I wouldn't see them for three months. Finally, I said, 'We can't keep doing this,' so I came down and joined them in Florida."

It's a family endeavor. Don works on the bike. Lorraine handles the finances. Justin? He has to ride fast and win. Since turning pro in 2009, he has won consecutive Supercross Lite titles, has 10 main event wins and has made several million dollars (Lorraine Barcia won't say exactly how much).

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.