Faith fuels Supercross rider Trey Canard after horrific crash


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SALT LAKE CITY — Trey Canard experienced the worst nightmare of every professional motorcycle rider.

It happened on Jan. 21, 2012 during a Monster Energy Supercross stop in Los Angeles.

While entering the second turn of the race some material from one of the blocks bordering the track became attached to his foot peg. He didn’t want to do a triple jump with the material stuck to his bike so he chose to double the triple. The decision resulted in a horrific crash. Ryan Morais was racing behind Canard and landed on top of him in midair. Both riders ended up in the hospital.

“You have flashbacks and certain things that remind you of that night you had such a life-changing event,” Canard says.

Faith fuels Supercross rider Trey Canard after horrific crash

The crash left him with three fractured vertebrae and damage to his spinal cord. He avoided paralysis, but the injuries were severe enough that they could have ended his racing career at age 21.

Walking away from the sport he loved wasn’t an option for Canard, however. He was determined to compete again. Doctors told him it would take a year before he would ride again, but he worked diligently during the rehabilitation process to make it back on the track earlier than that.

“It took a good seven, eight months to be back on the motorcycle,” said Canard, who will compete in the Monster Energy Supercross at Rice-Eccles Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday night. “I think mentally — more than anything — it was more difficult to be back in races and be competitive again.”

The accident wasn’t the first time he experienced adversity in his life.

Canard's father Roy was a motorcycle fanatic. He passed that passion for motorcycle racing on to his son. Trey started racing at the age of 3 and signed his first racing contract at age 9. He developed his skills on the family track near their home in Western Oklahoma. Roy owned a racing shop and spent many hours working on the track or working at Trey’s races. When Trey was 12 years old his father was working on the track when a terrible accident occurred. Roy was discovered underneath the front-loader he was operating.

He died as a result of the accident.

His father’s memory continues to inspire Trey to compete at the highest level. He races with his father’s No. 41. Trey also credits his faith for helping him overcome the adversity he has faced in his life.

“I’ve got to give God all the credit and all the glory for that,” he says. “I’m just thankful that he’s allowed me to continue to live and get to do these cool things.”

His life was the inspiration for a short documentary and he enjoys sharing his faith as he travels around the country for various Supercross events. He’s not only back racing but is competing at a high level. He is currently sixth in the 2013 points standings and reached the podium earlier this month, finishing third in Houston. He now looks back on his horrific injury as a blessing.

“Last year was one of the best years of my life,” he says. “I can really look back and see where I’ve been taken and guided in this life. To come back to racing is like a second chance.”

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Jeremiah Jensen

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