College student from Cedarburg is up-and-coming motorcycle racer

CEDARBURG -- Nicholas Hansen of Cedarburg is a college student who holds down a job, runs five miles a day and plays basketball, but he also has a need for speed!

"Just going fast. I have always loved going fast, and I couldn't see myself doing anything else," Hansen said.

It's no surprise that Cedarburg High School graduate Hansen is an up-and-coming motorcycle racer, and it's not just his need for speed.

"It's a big family thing, and that's how I got into it. My dad, my mom, my whole family, and it's just something I've done my whole life. My grandma and grandpa go to every single race. My grandma I think is more into it than I am. My uncle Joe has been behind me my whole racing career. He has built me three bikes, so big shout-out to him too!" Hansen said.

Hansen says he believes motorcycle racing will continue to be passed down through future Hansen generations.

There's no question that motorcycle racing has brought the Hansen family closer together.

"On Friday we will sleep in the motor-home or something, and hang out the whole weekend, so it's a big family thing. My dad always says it keeps me out of trouble," Hansen said.

That's important to Hansen's father, Allen, who put the pedal to the metal himself back in the day.

"I started out riding, and I took my older son to the track and I said 'hey, let's try some racing,' and Nicholas was sitting there watching us. It wasn't really fair, so at four years old, I got him on a little bike and got him started. I was racing and trying to have those two race, and it got to be a lot. So I finally realized one day, as I am getting older, I am getting slower and they are getting faster," Allen Hansen said.

Even a father who's raced motorcycles gets nervous watching his son zip around the track.

"As Nicholas always says, when you're on the bike, it's okay, but when you're standing there watching them, it's a little bit nerve-wrecking," Allen Hansen said.

Nick Hansen wants to race with the pros, and earn a living at it, but as a college student with a focus in business management who also holds down a job, young Hansen has a backup plan.

"If I can't make it in racing, I want to stay in the racing community and maybe be a manager of a team, or find racers and just work for a team -- just staying in racing of some sort," Hansen said.

Hansen finished 10th when he went up against the pros at Road America earlier in June.