A year ago, instead of loading up his trailer for the opening round of the ATVMX National Championship series, Lehighton native Trevor Borger was being wheeled into surgery.

Two strokes. A hole in his heart that needed patching. Blood thinners and doctors’ orders to take it easy.

The dream of competing on a national stage — one he had been chasing since he first climbed on a three-wheeler at 2½ years old — would have to wait another year.

And Borger didn’t just come back.

He came back swinging.

This past August, the then 37-year-old — he turned 38 in September — stood atop the podium at Briar Cliff Motocross Park in Ohio as the 2025 ATVMX National Champion in the 30+ A Veteran class. He also finished third overall in the 450 A class, competing against riders nearly half his age.

“That probably pushed me even more to come back and win it this year,” Borger said. “I wanted to do it the year before, and it got ripped away from me.”

The championship came down to the final race.

The road to recovery

Borger spent the winter and spring preparing like never before. Early mornings in the gym with friends. Thirty minutes of cardio — rowing machine, treadmill and elliptical — rotating through each to keep his heart rate between 150 and 190. Weight training focused on core strength and endurance, not bulk.

“We don’t lift weights to get big,” Borger explained. “You’re just lifting weights to be toned, because being jacked in motocross really is not an advantage. Muscle weighs too much. You’re just trying to be strong enough to hang on.”

While many competitors logged hours on their quads between races, Borger took a different approach. He focused on dirt bikes and mountain biking.

He doesn’t even own a quad.

Borger races a machine provided by PRP Racing out of Frankfort, New York, managed by 63-year-old David Porter.

“They found out at the end of the year that all I was doing in between was riding a dirt bike and staying in shape,” Borger said. “They’re practicing two or three times a week on quads, and I was like, ‘I don’t even own one, so we’ll just ride the dirt bike.’”

The unorthodox approach came from both necessity and experience. Borger has his own Supercross-style track at his Lehighton home for dirt-bike practice, and friend Carl Wolters owns a nearby motocross track. Add in riding on a neighbor’s wooded property, and Borger had everything he needed to stay race-ready.

“It’s like walking to me,” he said of hopping back on a quad. “You don’t forget how to do it. As long as you still have the stamina to hang on and perform, you’re good.”

A season of sacrifice

The 2025 ATVMX National Championship series featured eight rounds over five months and across multiple states — Georgia, Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Every other Thursday, Borger would leave work, load the trailer and hit the road. Practice on Friday. Racing Saturday and Sunday. Then a late-night drive home, often arriving at 1 or 2 a.m. Monday morning before heading back to work.

“Until you got home and unloaded everything, it was basically Tuesday or Wednesday,” Borger said. “Then Sunday or Monday you started loading stuff back up, and you leave Wednesday night or Thursday morning the following week.”

His wife, Erin, supported him every step of the way. In fact, Erin is also a dirt-bike rider — that’s how the two met. While the couple traveled to competitions, Borger’s parents watched their dogs and handled logistics. Porter supplied the quad and decades of racing knowledge. Friends kept Borger motivated in the gym.

A full support team stood behind him.

As the season progressed, the emotional weight grew heavier. Erin’s mother was battling cancer.

“She wished me good luck every week,” Borger said. “And I told her I’d win the championship for her.”

The championship

showdown

Entering the final round in Ohio, Borger trailed former pro Michael Perkins by just three points.

The math was simple — and brutal.

Borger needed to win the overall to force a tie, then take the championship on a tiebreaker based on individual moto wins.

“He won the first two rounds. I won the next two,” Borger said. “Then the last four went him, me, him, me.”

The final race would decide everything.

Borger got an underwhelming start, coming out of the gate in fifth.

“As soon as the gate drops, you’re going all-out the entire time,” Borger said of moto racing.

When the checkered flag flew, Borger had fought his way to the front.

National champion.

“I broke down, man. I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “We went through a lot.”

A week later, Erin’s mother passed away.

“We knew it was coming, and it felt like she was just hanging on for us to finish the season,” Borger said. “I wanted to win so badly for her.”

Championship recognition

In November, Borger attended the championship banquet in Columbus, Ohio, where his accomplishments were officially recognized.

In addition to his national title in the 30+ A Veteran class and third-place finish in 450 A, Borger also captured the 2025 Motorama Quad All-Star Overall in February at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg — the event’s 47th year.

The ATVMX National Championship series does not award prize money to non-professional classes. Veteran and 450 A riders compete for trophies and the validation that comes with them.

“We only did it for a trophy — just to say we did it,” Borger said.

But for someone who has been riding for more than three decades and racing for nearly 20 years, that trophy represents far more than hardware.

It’s proof that age is just a number when heart and determination back it up.

“I’m a firm believer that if it’s something you love, you might as well keep doing it,” Borger said. “I feel like it keeps you young.”

Even after reaching the pinnacle of his sport — and beating riders young enough to be his kids — Borger keeps perspective.

“I’m sure I could run toward the back of the pack in pro, but I also don’t want to,” he said, noting longer race formats. “That dream has sailed. But I tell everybody this: At my age, with the wisdom I have now and getting hooked up with Dave and the quad he supplied me, a 37-year-old me would’ve beaten 20-year-old me.”

Maybe so.

But the dream Borger actually caught — overcoming health scares, enduring loss and emerging as a national champion at 38 — turned out to be even better.

“I couldn’t do this without Erin, our family, friends and all of my sponsors,” Borger said. “It’s a total group effort, and I’m very thankful for everyone involved.”

The national champion isn’t done yet.

Borger plans to take a break from competition in 2026, before returning to the ATVMX National Championship circuit in 2027.