Mat Hoffman was 11 years old when he entered in a contest at Madison Square Garden in 1983. He had learnt to ride BMX on his own and had no other riders to look up to. "When I got to that contest, I said, 'woah, I think I am going higher than everyone else," he recalls. With only one year of experience under his belt, Hoffman won the junior title with more than three minutes over the next-best rider. The following year, he took home the senior title again. He went on to become one of the most respected riders in the world. Today, at age 39, Hoffman continues to win races all over the country. BMX racing began back in 1978 in California. There are two types of racing: street and track. Street racing takes place on dirt or asphalt streets, while track racing happens on indoor or outdoor tracks. There is also a variety of classes for both types of racing. The biggest difference between street and track racing is the length of the race. In street races, the goal is simply to finish each lap before your opponents do. In track races, however, the goal is to show how fast you can go around each curve and jump. The better you are at doing this, the faster you will go round each lap and the closer you will come to winning. There are many different factors that go into deciding how much money you will win or lose during a race.