 he Parts Unlimited OMA Nationals series 2007 ATV championship was captured by a veteran racer who is also a Parts Unlimited dealer. Andy Lagzdins started racing in the Parts Unlimited OMA Nationals series this year looking for more exposure and recognition after several years of racing in other local and national series. “In the GNCCs I was kind of mired in the top 10-15 range,” he said, “riding as hard as I could and doing well, but just not getting the amount of support or recognition I thought I should be. The OMA was a chance for me to get more exposure and to be more well-known and hopefully increase my level of sponsorship with a lot of different companies.” After winning five of ten races in the series Lagzdins captured the championship that Moose Racing’s Rob Zimmerman has held for the past three years. Lagzdins and his Duncan Dirt First Honda missed one event in the ten race series. He had to sit out the Moose Run with a broken thumb, suffered at the Ohio race after a high speed get off. He held on to finish the Ohio event in fifth place, but the severity of his thumb injury would keep Lagzdins home for the Illinois event. The new champion only had one other off-podium finish all year, with a fifth place at Boyers, Pennsylvania. A solid second place finish behind Zimmerman at the round ten event in Kentucky was enough to end a great season of racing in the OMA Nationals series as points champion. Lagzdins would also collect a $10,000 Parts Unlimited bonus check for his efforts.
Andy Lagzdins runs the Dirt First Racing motorcycle service and parts store in Essex, Maryland. According to Lagzdins, the Parts Unlimited dealership was started in 1991 as a fabrication shop. “I was racing cross country back then, the GNCCs,” he recalled. “I started making these grab bars and skid plates and that kind of stuff for my quad. People were asking me to make them for theirs, and that’s how it all started. That’s what the original company was going to be, a fabrication place kind of like DG or Pro Armor or something that makes aluminum products.” The 5,000 square foot facility now houses a machine shop along with full fabrication and welding capabilities. Two full time parts guys and two full time mechanics, including Andy’s race mechanic Jim Quesinberry, work along with Lagzdins to provide race prep and trail rider support for Japanese and KTM bikes and quads. “We started taking in bikes that needed top ends and other kind of service work,” he recalled. “And that kind of took over the majority of what we did, to the point where we stopped doing really almost all of the fabrication, concentrating on service.”
The service aspect of his dealership receives a direct benefit from Lagzdins’ racing experience. “The brands that I use like Moose gear, Alpinestars, Smith goggles, ITP, all those products are distributed by Parts Unlimited,” he said. “It gives me a really good knowledge of the product.” According to Lagzdins, “people come in the store and I can talk really in depth and answer really any questions people have about the product. It makes it real easy to sell that stuff. Racing experience, hands on. Working on bikes and riding them and racing them. Seeing what holds up and doesn’t.” The easy-going young man always seems happy to talk with anyone who comes up to him at the races. That availability to other racers also helps Lagzdins stay connected with his customers. “I kind of pride myself on just selling what I know works,” he said. “A lot of my customers, I sell parts to, I’m going to see them at the track, so I can’t sell them something that’s going to break. They’re going to come back to me and say why’d you tell me to use this.” According to Lagzdins, “this shop is real big in the local area, the local tracks and the district races. Half the quads in the event are either customers that come in the store or have Dirt First graphics on their bike, or have some level of affiliation with us.” That kind of market penetration is a good example of Lagzdins’ ability to share the knowledge that he and the shop have gained through racing experience. As an honest and knowledgeable professional racer, Lagzdins is well equipped to help others benefit from his years of racing experience and affiliation with Parts Unlimited.
His personality and racing style are also a good fit for the OMA Nationals Series. The event atmosphere is like a big family gathering and Lagzdins fits right in. The courses at an OMA Nationals event are more technical in nature than most of the wide open race events that exist in the off road world today. That technical style is another detail that many racers, including Lagzdins, say they really enjoy about the series. Andy Lagzdins and the Parts Unlimited OMA Nationals series were a good combination in 2007. We look forward to his championship title defense in the 2008 season. Technical race courses and family-friendly race events await competitors at the Parts Unlimited OMA Nationals series for 2008. For more information on Andy Lagzdins and his shop, head over to dirtfirstracing.com. OMA Nationals series information is available at omanationals.com. 
Round seven of the OMA Nationals Series was held near Boyers, PA. Andy Lagzdins powered through the creek crossing but could not collect the leaders. He would have to settle for fifth place in the hard fought battle.
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Andy Lagzdins was on the gas in Pennsylvania. His efforts netted a fifth place finish in the event.
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Andy Lagzdins negotiates some of the tight woods near the Bike Barn in Morrison, Illinois. After nearly fifty miles of racing, Lagzdins emerged victorious with a twenty second margin over Rob Zimmerman.
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