Bradley Morris might still be racing motorcycles if his mother Sheila hadn't put a stop to that activity out of concern for her son's safety. That was six years ago, when he was 10 but already had been riding for seven years.

Mom's ultimatum didn't make Morris happy, obviously, but his father did a week later when a friend called to ask if he'd be interested in buying a trophy kart and Bill Morris "thought it would be a cool thing for me to do because I couldn't race motorcycles anymore."

Morris drove the kart once on a track and once at home in Romoland, California, and then finished third in his first race on the old motocross track at Lake Elsinore, California. He hasn't stopped since. With the help of his parents and grandfather Harley Kruidhof he's driven USAC Midgets and Sprint Cars and made a steady progression up the ladder in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series presented by GEICO.

The 16-year-old debuted in the series with two wins and a third-place finish in the Modified Kart standings in 2010 and had one Modified Kart win and two Limited Buggy victories en route to finishing third and fifth, respectively, in 2011. Last season, in a Pro Lite truck purchased from Casey Currie, Morris won twice and finished third in the standings, three points ahead of Currie. He also had four wins and a second-place finish in Limited Buggy and four wins and a third-place showing in Modified Kart.

This year Morris has moved up to the Pro Buggy class and has three wins in eight rounds, but has struggled a little while sorting out a new truck in Pro Lite and has a second and third to show for eight rounds. A week ago, in Utah, he experienced sudden, dramatic highs and lows in Pro Lite when last-lap bobbles cost him a probable win on Saturday and a runner-up spot on Sunday.

"That was pretty bad," Morris said. "I tried to stay by myself (after the races) but everyone tried to talk to me. I get hard on myself when I don't win. It took me probably until the next day to get over it."

One thing that has helped his outlook since then is the fact the next event on the schedule, July 26-28, is at Glen Helen Raceway Park in Devore, California, where Morris won both Pro Lite races a year ago.

Next year, he said, the plan is to continue competing in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, which he calls the "funest thing I've done so far," and add the West Coast Midget series to his schedule.

Morris said his mother is OK with his off road racing, but isn't too fond of the open-wheel Midgets and Sprint Cars. Maybe that's because the first race she went to she saw her son get pushed into the wall and go down the straightaway end-over-end instead of on four wheels.

BRADLEY MORRIS AT A GLANCE

Age: 16 (27 February 1997)

Lives in: Romoland, California

Marital status: Single

Occupation: Student

Car number: 24 in Pro Lite and Pro Buggy

Type of chassis: Stamper Ford Pro Lite, AlumiCraft Pro Buggy

Engine: Ford for Pro Lite, Honda for Pro Buggy  

Crew Chief: Danny Ebberts

Sponsors: K&N Filters, Kicker Audio, Maxxis Tires

Years in racing: 5

Divisions raced: USAC Midgets and Sprint Cars, VRA Midgets, Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Modified Kart, Limited Buggy, Pro Buggy and Pro Lite

Series points standings: 3 Pro Lite, 2 Limited Buggy, 3 Modified Kart (2012); 3 Modified Kart, 5 Limited Buggy (2011); 3 Modified Kart (2010)