Austin Haas’ birthday wish is the same every year.

He wants to be a professional supercross rider.

And for a few days last month, the 8-year-old from Warrenton got his wish, traveling to San Diego to compete in the 2016 KTM Jr. Supercross Challenge at Petco Park, the home of the San Diego Padres.

Haas has been riding as long as he can remember.

“We always bought him little bikes when he was younger, and it just took off from there,” his father, Scott, said. “A few years ago we asked him if he wanted to race in the Warren County Fair. He entered, and it just snowballed from there.”

Haas has traveled across Missouri and Illinois since then as part of the Mid-America Series.

The family will pack up on a Friday after school and head to the track.

Haas practices Saturday, races Sunday and is home before school Monday morning.

“He has perfect attendance in school, which is important to us,” his mother, Jennifer Haas, said. “We make sure we don’t miss any school when we go to races.”

Haas was one of hundreds of 7- and 8-year-olds to register for the KTM Supercross Challenge, but only 15 are chosen for each city.

Two days before Christmas, the phone rang at the Haas household.

“They asked us if we could be in San Diego in three weeks,” Jennifer said. “And of course we said yes.”

A cross-country flight to San Diego presented a new challenge for a family that makes school the top priority, but with a fortunate break in the school calendar and the Martin Luther King holiday Jan. 18, everything worked out.

“We didn’t miss one day of school,” Jennifer said. “Thank goodness for parent teacher conferences.”

The family flew to San Diego Jan. 14 and checked into their downtown hotel.

“It was really cool,” Haas said. “When we got into our hotel room we could see into the stadium.”

The baseball grass was swapped out for a dirt track, and thousands of fans flocked to the stadium to watch the race.

The day of the race, no detail was spared for the riders and their families.

“The people treated us amazingly,” Jennifer said. “It was top-notch as soon as we got there and we felt like we were a part of the KTM family.”

At times, Haas was unsure if the experience  was a dream.

“He kept asking us to pinch him,” Jennifer remembers. 

Riders were decked out in new gear and participated in a pre-race autograph session, just like the professionals. 

The 15 competitors were led onto the track by the Monster Energy girls, and were greeted by over 30,000 spectators.

“I didn’t really want to look at the crowd,” Haas said. “And when I was on the gates, I was kind of used to it but I was a little nervous because I didn’t know how they ride.”

With his dad by his side as the team mechanic, Haas overcame his nerves and finished fourth overall.

“To take fourth at the end of the night, we were pretty proud of that,” his mother said.

Haas plans on racing in the Mid-America series this spring and summer, and hopes his trip to San Diego was a preview of a professional career one day.

“It’s my birthday wish every year,” he said.