Ever since watching the sport on television at the tender age of 5, Deale native Logan France has wanted to become a professional motocross rider.

This weekend, that dream could come true for the 2014 Southern graduate.

France, 20, who turned professional this year, will attempt to qualify Saturday morning for the 27th annual Budds Creek National. The National, held Saturday afternoon, serves as the next to last round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. The event is being held at Budds Creek Raceway in Mechanicsville, France's home course.

“I have yet to qualify [for a professional race] and I've been injured, but at Budds Creek, my goal is to qualify,” France said. “It would be a dream come true. I've been dreaming about this since I was a little kid.”

Those injuries include a separated AC joint in his shoulder and a torn labrum suffered at the June 25 Tennessee National. He received medical clearance last week to prepare for this week's race.

“I'm almost 100 percent healthy, so that is a big thing,” France said. “It's going to be huge [riding at Budds Creek]. I've ridden this track probably 100 times. I know every little bump and jump — the whole nine yards. It's my hometown track, my hometown race.

“This is my first year being a pro; it's been very crazy. It's been a little bit of both [good and bad] with injuries and work getting in the way, but all in all it's been good.”

The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship is the world's premier motocross race series. The only professional motocross program in the United States sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing (American Motorcyclist Association), it features the world's fastest motocross racers on the most renowned racetracks in the country.

The 12-round series begins mid-May in California and continues throughout the summer with stops in Colorado, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Washington. Professional competition is divided into two classes: the 250 Class for 150-250cc machines and the premier 450 Class for 251-450cc machines. The race format for each class consists of two 30-minutes plus two lap races (“motos”), with the results from each moto combined to determine the overall winner.

France competes with a Yamaha YZ250F.

Professional motocross competitions are conducted on natural-terrain dirt courses that feature a variety of obstacles, including a unique blend of challenging jumps, steep uphills and downhills, bermed corners, fast straightaways and more. Motocross is recognized as one of the most physically demanding sports in the world, as well as the original extreme action sport.

The Budds Creek National begins Saturday with practice and qualifying starting at 8:30 a.m. Motos for both the 450 Class and 250 Class get underway at 1 p.m. as Ken Roczen and Cooper Webb look to clinch their respective championships.