Sanger principal to join BMX Hall of Fame this weekend

SANGER, Calif. (KFSN) -- By day - Sanger's Randy Stumpfhauser is a school principal.

But this weekend he'll cement his legacy with his first love and career path, entering the BMX hall of fame in Tulsa, Oklahoma alongside his family.

"I started in 1986. I was nine, and there was a track here in Sanger called Apache Land," Stumpfhauser said. "It had just opened and after my first race, I was just hooked,"

Stumpfhauser began to chase his dream of going pro.

"I remember looking at all the pros and top amateurs in the magazines and definitely wanting to compete with them," Stumpfhauser said.

He finally made his mark in 1995 at a national bicycle league race in Columbus, Ohio.

"I remember bringing home the prize money they would put cash in an envelope and I remember having that in my backpack on the plane ride home and being super stoked," Stumpfhauser said.

"Stumpy" or "Stumpdog" as he became known in the sport began to rack up accolades. Like winning the Golden Crank for rookie of the year.

"It got to a point at the end of that year where you start having to look at 'I really have to work hard at this' if I want to compete with the best so getting a training program, working with weights," Stumpfhauser said.

Perhaps his greatest feat, becoming the oldest racer to ever win an ABA No.1 pro title at age 32

But a series of bad crashes in France and Spain got him thinking about life after racing.

"At the time starting a family you know three young kids at home. I had to make a really hard decision," Stumpfhauser said. "I still had an invitation to the Olympic trials but I pulled my hat out of the ring at that point. I didn't want to get hurt and jeopardize my family."

That's when his new career path started.

"It's just something, I liked working with kids and I liked math."

Stumpfhauser would go back to school to get his credential and become a math teacher.

And just like his BMX career, he moved up the ranks.

"God's providence is interesting," Stumpfhauser said. "I never would've thought of being a principal."

Now the principal of King's Corner, a private Christian school in Sanger.

"I was used to working hard during the week and seeing immediate results on the weekend," Stumpfhauser said. "Working with kids isn't really like that. In character, in attitude."

Now the results of his racing efforts are finally realized at the hall of fame.

"No regrets on the track. I gave it my all," Stumpfhauser said. "I always thought my God-given ability to do this was a blessing. I always just gave it my all."