Ty Glass received the fastest birthday present of any of his friends.

The 10-year-old Newton County resident celebrated a decade of life Friday by trying out a brand new Kawasaki 85. His parents Matt and Brandi bought their son the bike not just because he wanted a bigger, faster motorcycle but also because it will come in handy as he goes up against 39 of the fastest riders in the world.

At the young age of 10, Ty is such an expert on the motorcycle that he has qualified to compete against some of the fastest in his age group in the world.

Ty will compete in the 29th Annual AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships at Loretta Lynn's Ranch July 29 - Aug. 4 in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.

It will be the biggest event Ty has ever raced in throughout his three years of motocross. He started at the age of 6 when his parents took him to a race at Durhamtown in Union Point.

Ty had previously spent some time on a dirt bike at his pasture at home when his father noticed he was faster than many of his peers.

"I noticed he was faster than a lot of other kids so I entered him and he won his first race," said Ty's father Matt Glass.

Ty was also ready to compete in the sport he had been enjoying with his friends at home.

"I was just riding around the yard and I had fun and we went to the race," Ty said. "I had a lot of fun, and I have liked it ever since."

As Ty sat on his bike awaiting the start of his very first race, it was a far cry from how he feels now heading into what are routine starts.

"When he came back he said, ‘Daddy, I was so nervous when we were getting ready to start I almost got sick. But that was more fun than baseball, soccer, football and every other sport put together,'" Matt Glass said.

The nervousness was caused by the fear of crashing, which Ty quickly got over. The youngster was forced to get accustomed to the danger of the sport as he was preparing for the races at Loretta Lynn's Ranch last year.

He was training with professional motocross racers outside of Forsyth when he crashed into one, breaking his tibia and collarbone.

"It's a super physically demanding sport," Matt Glass said. "But as long as he wants to do it, we'll keep doing it. If he wants to quit, we'll quit."

The crashes didn't stop Tyler, who looks forward to catching air on some of the track's various jumps at every race.

"(I like Motocross better because) it's more action," Ty said. "You get to hit jumps."

He said he usually gets up about 20 feet, one of the characteristics that lead him to be a top racer in his age class.

Ty has a collection of approximately 20 trophies from his victories, all displayed in his room, with one coming up four-feet high, about to his chest.

Up until the big race, Ty will remain training daily near Forsyth with former professional Matt Walker.

The professional tutelage will help as former racers in the Amateur National Motocross Championships featured such legendary riders as James Stewart, Ricky Carmichael, Travis Pastrana and Jeremy McGrath.

Ty is hoping his name will one day be mentioned with those riders, as the home-schooled student makes a career of motocross.

"I want to do it until I'm about 39," Ty said.