Troy Lee Designs / Lucas Oil / Honda rider Jessy Nelson was named Rookie of the Year at the season ending awards banquet last Sunday night.

The young rider from Northern California wasn't even scheduled to join the team in the professional ranks until later in the summer, after the Amateur National Championships at Loretta Lynn's.

However, after some preseason testing, Jessy and the team agreed that he was ready to make the jump. He had some top-five finishes, a bunch of holeshots, and was regularly inside the top ten during the series. And after finishing ninth at the season finale at Lake Elsinore, he found himself in ninth in the point standings, a major accomplishment for a true rookie.

"It's so cool to get this award," said Nelson after accepting his trophy.

"It's been a long summer and I feel like I've learned so much. Even though I haven't raced Supercross, I feel more ready to jump into it now that I've had a full summer racing with all the guys I'll be racing against. You learn so much about how to compete at the pro level. The intensity is crazy and I think the biggest thing you have to adjust to is the depth of talent in the field. At an amateur national there are always a few fast guys. At a pro race there are, like, twenty guys who should be in the top ten. So you have to get starts, you have to be fit and you have to charge every single lap of every moto. If you back off for a second you get passed. It definitely takes some getting used to. I have awesome support with the TLD team and I just can't thank them enough. It's a great home over there."

Jessy will begin his Supercross testing after taking a short break to recover from this summer. The early word from the test track is that he has crazy speed on a Supercross track. Joined by his teammates Cole Seely and Christian Craig, that could make for a great 2013 Supercross series for Troy Lee Designs.

TLD would like to thank all of our team sponsors: Lucas Oil, American Honda, PPG, Red Bull, Adidas, Oakley, Seaspan, Fender®, Dunlop, Renthal, Alpinestars, ODI, McQueen Racing, Hot Wheels, GoPro, Shock Doctor, Pro Circuit, Showa, VQ OrthoCare, Couts Heating & Cooling, Specialized, Kasey Kahne, N-Style, VP Racing Fuels, DubyaUSA, Moto Tassinari, PixelMags, ARC, Braking, Boyesen, Cycra, Mammoth Mountain, DID, Dirt Star, Hinson, Twin Air, Pacific Collision Centers, Sports Care Center, Elrod Racing, and New Era.