Todays Cycle Coverage

By David L. Patton Jr.
Photos by Michael Davis/Moto Lenz
Photography
Michael Willard was again the dominant rider
of the 2011 Action Sports Indoor Motocross
Championships, presented by the Hatfield
McCoy Trails. Willard won three out of four
Pro main events in Huntington, West Virginia,
but the weekend’s most exciting racing was
the main event he didn’t win.
In Friday’s Open Pro main, Steven Mages,
hungry for his first Pro main win, tried a
risky move inside Willard’s KTM Canada/
Moose Racing/ FMF-backed SX250F, and the
two riders collided hard. The bikes were
tangled up, and as Mages tried to clutch it to
get going again, his bike jammed into
Willard. Michael responded by pushing
Mages’ bike, and then he pulled Mages’ bike
to the ground. Mages nevertheless got the
Gateway Cycles/ Trentman Racing Kawasaki
KX 450F under way in time to hold on to the
lead, and he snagged his first win.
“Man, I am so tired of getting second,”
Mages said. “I have come so close to
winning one of these, and Willard missed his
line a little in the turn and I drove it in there.”
Willard who had pushed Mages out in the
same turn earlier in the 250 Pro main, had a
different view of the impact.
“Dude, he hit me so hard!” Willard
exclaimed. “I don’t have a problem with a
block-pass, but he just took me out.”
Huntington fans were also excited about the
return of Tiffany Reed, arguably Ohio’s
greatest woman racer. After many years
away from racing, Reed returned to action at
the end of last season. She rolled into
Huntington and displayed speed and talent
despite a lack of seat time, battling for wins
in many different classes.
After the Pro-class qualifiers set the field for
the mains, the 250 class got things rolling.
Steven Mages launched the Gateway Cycles/
Trentman Racing-backed KX250F into the
lead at the start the 250 Pro main, as Chase
Kilbarger and Michael Willard battled over
second. Willard showed Kilbarger his front wheel
a couple of times on the first lap before making
his move in the nine whoops that made up the
tricky rhythm section. Willard began to carve
into Mages’ lead, and on the fifth lap, he tagged
Mages’ rear wheel in the turn after the triple.
“It is hard to find a place to pass,” Willard
recounted. “I was just following him for a while.”
Mages made a mistake a few laps later, on the
step-up double before the whoops, when he
didn’t clear the lip of the jump on the down side
and got kicked.
“I got bucked going into the rhythm section,”
Mages explained, “and it threw me in the
middle. Willard got inside me in the turn before
the triple and bumped me out. He was riding
harder than I was, and I knew it was coming.”
Willard cruised to the win.
“It’s tacky,” Willard said of the course, “but there
isn’t any berms forming. It makes it hard to get
around someone. I finally got close enough to
run it in there to get by.”
Willard used the far inside line to reach the first
turn in the lead in the Open Pro main, with
Mages’ 450 on his rear wheel. Kilbarger held
down third, and an early error by fourth-placed
Dylan Walker locked Kilbarger into third. Willard,
a two-time Canadian National Motocross
Champion, tried to check out, but Mages stayed
close until lap six, when he nearly tossed it
away in the rhythm section. Mages recovered,
and with the main winding down, and Willard
trying to work hi way through lappers, Mages
closed in.
“Willard was opening the door a lot, but I wasn’t
close enough to do anything about it,” Mages
said.
With a couple of laps left, Mages took his shot.
“I got close to him when I jumped the end of
the rhythm section,” Mages said. “In the turn
before the finish-line triple, his front end washed
a little and he opened up a little, and I pushed
my way in and he fell down. Michael got mad,
but I was able to get going. I didn’t even know I
was in the lead.”
Kilbarger and Walker were right on Mages’ rear
wheel, but he held on, and two laps later he had
the win.
“It feels really good to finally get an arenacross
win,” he admitted. “I have a bunch of seconds,
and consistency is good, but I really wanted to
win this one.”
Kilbarger claimed a tired second place, ahead of
Walker.
“I haven’t been feeling too good,” Kilbarger
confessed, “and tonight’s two 15-lap mains has
really taken it out of me.”
Willard would later be disqualified for his
retaliation while tangled up with Mages.
On Saturday, with Steven Mages on his way to
another racing commitment, Michael Willard took
out his anger on the rest of the Pro riders, blasting
his way to the front in both the 250 and Open
classes on his PR2 Suspension/ Eleven 10 Mods/
Von Zipper-sponsored KTM. Willard’s unstoppable
march to the front left the field fighting for second
place, but the tension and short tempers after four
days of indoor racing led to an interesting night.
In the 250 Pro main, Kilbarger was hoping to
nurse his ailing Honda home to another runner-up
finish.
“It is missing real bad,” he said of his bike. “We
tried changing everything we could, but it may be
the fuel pump.”
Willard grabbed the holeshot, with Kilbarger and
Walker banging bars for second. Walker held the
inside line out of the first turn, and he tried to pull
clear of Kilbarger. The duo were even going down
the short chute, and then Kyle Hughes tried to
split them going into the 180 before the
grandstand jumps. Hughes was squeezed on both
sides and crashed hard. Walker held the inside
line, and he powered away from Kilbarger.
Kilbarger was struggling with his bike as it began
to cut out, and Brandon Smith got by after the
rhythm section. After the triple, Kilbarger block-
passed his way back into third, but a few
laps later he missed his line in the 180 and
Smith cleaned him out. Kilbarger got back
up and waited on the inside of the short
chute, and when Smith came back around,
Kilbarger rode right beside Smith and
blocked him from turning in. Kilbarger also
waited for Smith on the next lap and went
outside on the chute and tried to cut Smith
off, going into the grandstand section.
Finally Kilbarger obeyed the blue flag and
pulled over. As he pulled into the pits,
Kilbarger got into a heated argument with
a group of Smith’s family and friends.
“He [Smith] has to learn what’s going to
happen when you knock someone down,”
Kilbarger fumed. “That wasn't a block-pass.”
After the race, Kilbarger also got to spend
some quality time listening to the race
referee. While everyone watched the battle
for third, Willard claimed the win on the
Canada KTM-backed SX 250F. Walker took
second. Tucker Snyder took advantage of
Kilbarger’s interference and then a late fall
to edge Brandon Smith for third, while Kyle
Hughes rebounded for fifth.
For Willard, it was another smooth win.
“I got a good start and built on it from
there,” he said. “The track is a little better
tonight. It went well.”
As she works her way back into racing,
Harmon Motorsports-backed Tiffany Reed
decided to race the Open C class as well.
“I am just trying to stay on two wheels,”
she said.
A crash on Friday didn’t detune Reed.
“That 450 isn’t very forgiving if you make a
mistake,” she noted.
In the Open C contest, Reed found herself
near the front.
“I came out of the first turn in the lead,”
Reed recounted, “but after four laps or so,
I slid out in the turn before the grandstand
section, and [Austin] Gormon was right
behind me. He pushed me out wide, and
from the right-hand side, I couldn’t triple
out, and he got by. I spent the rest of the
main trying to play catch-up. I didn’t
handle the pressure very well tonight, but
overall I am happy with my riding.”
The final race of the weekend was the
Open Pro contest, and Willard pulled off
another great start, with Dylan Walker in
tow. They left the rest of the field behind, as
Kyle Hughes battled Kilbarger until Chase’s
Honda finally died and would not restart.
Hughes pulled away from Brandon Smith and
Tucker Snyder and finished on the podium.
After the bar-banging action from the last two
Pro mains, this race quickly sorted itself out,
and Willard finished things off with a win.
Walker, on the KTM North America/ Cernics/
FMF-backed SX 250F, rode to a well-deserved
second place, ahead of Hughes.
“This is only my second year of riding Pro,”
Walker said. “This is a great finish for me.”
Brandon Smith outran Snyder for fourth.
“I rode pretty well, but I am still mad about
Mages’ knocking me down,” Willard said after
his third Pro win. “[But] it was still a good
weekend.”
1. P.J. Holliday (Kaw); 2. Willen Christian
(Kaw); 3. Carmon Essman (KTM); 4. Zachary
McLellan (Kaw); 5. Dylan Davidson (KTM).
1. Gavin Shadle (Suz); 2. Willen Christian
(Kaw); 3. Ty Van Sickle (Suz); 4. Garrett
Holliday (Hon); 5. Blake Gibbs (Yam).
1. Brandon Landis (KTM); 2. Corey Noel
(Suz); 3. Jeremy Webb (Kaw); 4. Tyler Gibbs
(Yam).
1. Taylor Perry (Kaw); 2. Wade Jenkins
(Hon); 3. Brandon Landis (KTM); 4. P.J.
Holliday (Hon); 5. Collin Webb (Hon).
1. Taylor Perry (Kaw); 2. Brandon Blanton
(Hon); 3. Cameron Farmer (Yam); 4. Derrick
Bonds (Kaw); 5. Christian Davis (Kaw).
1. Taylor Perry (Kaw); 2. Andrew Sanders
(Suz); 3. Cameron Farmer (Yam); 4. Aaron
Bias (Yam); 5. Aaron Childers (Kaw).
1. Braxton Brown (Yam); 2. Mark Blevins
(Cob); 3. Zander Pemperton (Yam).
1. Wyatt Cooper (Cob); 2. Jamison Paugh
(Cob); 3. Braxton Brown (Yam); 4. Dylan
Stanley (KTM); 5. Lakota Grace (Yam).
1. Banks Hovey (Cob); 2. Gavin Cooper
(Cob); 3. Mark Blevins (Cob); 4. Tristan Fry
(KTM); 5. Jake Adkins (KTM).
1. Gavin Shadle (KTM); 2. Blake Gibbs (KTM);
3. Gavin Cooper (KTM); 4. Ethan Lemaster
(KTM); 5. Damon Porter (Kaw).
1. Blake Gibbs (KTM); 2. Ethan Lemaster
(KTM); 3. Carson Essman (KTM); 4. Chase
Sansom (Suz); 5. Hunter Tolliver (Yam).
1. Colby McCutcheon (Hon); 2. Justin Wallace
(Yam).
1. Tas Shubert (Hon); 2. Cameron Farmer
(Yam); 3. Mark McDavid (Yam).
1. Justin Cooper (Hon); 2. Corey Bryant
(Hon); 3. Philip Combs (Yam); 4. Jeffrey
Gogel (Hon); 5. Blake Kerstetter (Hon).
1. Jacob Chappel (Hon); 2. Tyler McClellan
(Kaw); 3. Derrick Bonds (Kaw); 4. Tristan
Schmidt (KTM); 5. Cole Spangler (Yam).
1. Michael Willard (KTM); 2. Steven Mages
(Kaw); 3. Chase Kilbarger (Hon); 4. Dylan
Walker (KTM); 5. Kyle Hughes (Kaw).
1. Justin Fisher (KTM); 2. Andrew Sanders
(Suz); 3. Colby McCutcheon (Hon); 4. Tas
Shubert (Hon); 5. Aaron Bias (Yam).
1. Jeffrey Gogel (Hon); 2. Danny Staley
(Hon); 3. Jamie Harless (Suz); 4.Tyler
McClellan (Kaw); 5. Jeremy Wilmoth (Hon).
1. Justin Cooper (Hon); 2. Tiffany Reed (Hon);
3. Michael Leach (Kaw); 4. David Jude (Hon);
5. Jonathan Williamson (Kaw).
1. Steven Mages (Kaw); 2. Chase Kilbarger
(Hon); 3. Dylan Walker (KTM); 4. Brandon
Smith (Yam); 5. Tucker Snyder.
1. Caden Florence (KTM); 2. Gavin Shadle
(Suz); 3. Garrett Holliday (Hon); 4. Ty Van
Sickle (Suz); 5. Hunter Lavy (Kaw).
1. Brandon Landis (KTM); 2. Bailey Adkins
(Kaw); 3. Tyler Gibbs (Yam); 4. Corey Noel
(Suz); 5. River Mullins (Yam).
1. Taylor Perry (Kaw); 2. Wade Jenkins (Hon);
3. Brandon Landis (KTM); 4. Collin Webb
(Hon); 5. Tyler Gibbs (Yam).
1. Tiffany Reed (Hon); 2. Kristin Thaxton
(Hon); 3. Kristin Sparks (Yam).
1. Dalton Young (Hon); 2. Brandon Dawson
(Hon); 3. Wade Jenkins (Hon); 4. Collin Webb
(Hon); 5. Bon Robertson (Hon).
1. Colby McCutcheon (Hon); 2. Brandon
Blanton (Hon); 3. Danny Staley (Hon); 4.
Jamie Harless (Hon); 5. Nathan Bobo (Kaw).
1. Taylor Perry (Kaw); 2. Cory Neely (Yam); 3.
Mason Pelphrey (Yam); 4. Derrick Bonds
(Kaw); 5. Cameron Farmer (Yam).
1. Kyle Strickland (Hon); 2. Justin Fisher
(KTM).
1. Taylor Perry (Kaw); 2. Andrew Sanders
(Suz); 3. Aaron Bias (Yam); 4. Jason Russell
(Kaw); 5. Mason Pelphrey (Yam).
1. “Superman” Carpenter (Suz); 2. Kyle
Strickland (Hon); 3. T.L. Pierce (Suz); 4. Kirk
McConnell (Yam).
1. Mark Blevins (Cob); 2. Braxton Brown
(Yam); 3. Collin Corey (Yam); 4. Alex
Adkins(Hon); 5. Lakota Grace (Yam).
1. Wyatt Cooper (Cob); 2. Dayton Young
(Cob); 3. Jamison Paugh (Cob); 4. Braxton
Brown (Yam); 5. Dylan Stanley (KTM).
1. Gavin Cooper (Cob); 2. Wyatt Abele (KTM);
3. Tristan Fry (KTM); 4. Jake Adkins (KTM); 5.
Collin Corey (KTM).
1. Gavin Shadle (KTM); 2. Blake Gibbs (KTM);
3. Ethan Lemaster (KTM): 4. Damon Porter
(Kaw); 5. Gavin Cooper (KTM).
1. Caden Florence (KTM); 2. Gavin Shadle
(KTM); 3. Ethan Lemaster (KTM); 4. Blake
Gibbs (KTM); 5. Chase Sansom (Suz).
1. Caden Florence (KTM); 2. P.J. Holliday
(Kaw); 3. Willen Christian (Kaw); 4. Zachary
McLellan (Kaw); 5. Mason Hughes (Kaw).
1. Timmy Evans (Yam); 2. Garrett George
(Yam).
1. Nick Hughes (Kaw); 2. Mason Pelphrey
(Yam); 3. Sean Mosher (Hon); 4. Jesse Van
Vleet (Kaw); 5. Mark McDavid (Yam).
1. Derrick Bonds (Kaw); 2. Lucas Wagoner
(Kaw); 3. Blake Kerstetter (Hon); 4. Cole
Spangler (Yam); 5. Jacob Chappel (Hon).
1. Justin Cooper (Hon); 2. Austin Gorman
(Kaw); 3. Wayne Strope (Yam); 4. Gatlin Mills
(Yam); 5. Jonathan Brager (Yam).
1. Corey Bryant (Hon); 2. Cody Gool (Hon); 3.
Cody Baldwin (Hon); 4. Dustin Crump (Kaw);
5. Chris Gorman (Kaw).
1. Michael Willard (KTM); 2. Dylan Walker
(KTM); 3. Tucker Snyder (Hon); 4. Brandon
Smith (Yam); 5. Kyle Hughes (Kaw).
1. Cory Neely (Kaw); 2. Nick Hughes (Kaw);
3. Andrew Sanders (Suz); 4. Justin Fisher
(KTM); 5. Aaron Bias (Yam).
1. Justin Cooper (Hon); 2. Jonathan
Williamson (Kaw); 3. Jamie Harless (Hon); 4.
Garrett George (Yam); 5. Tanner Basham
(Kaw).
Smith (Yam); 5. Tucker Snyder (Hon).
1. Danny Staley (Hon); 2. Caleb Cyrus (Kaw);
3. Kody Young (Kaw); 4. Tyler McComas
(Hon); 5. Austin Cooper (Hon).
1. Danny Staley (Hon); 2. Jamie Harless
(Hon); 3. Jeff Young (Yam); 4. Timmy Evans
(Yam); 5. Shawn Mills (Hon).
1. Austin Gorman (Kaw); 2. Tiffany Reed
(Hon); 3. Jeff Young (Yam); 4. Wayne Strope
(Yam); 5. Cody Baldwin (Hon).
1. Kyle Strickland (Hon); 2. Justin Fisher
(KTM); 3. Marc Barnes (Hon).
1. Michael Willard (KTM); 2. Dylan Walker
(KTM); 3. Kyle Hughes (Kaw); 4. Brandon
By Brent Densford
Photos by Chris
Thompson/ClickThompson.com
The last time the World Championship ICE
Racing Series rolled into Hampton, Virginia,
was in December of 2005, so the series’
return to this venue was much anticipated.
The weather was perfect for ice racing – not
too cold and not too warm. The racers came
out in packs, as did the spectators, who
came to see a great night of action-packed
ice racing.
In the Manufacturers World Cup Bikes
contest, the field was strong. The return of
Maryland’s Sam Bergman was great, as she
was up to speed with some new tires and the
knowledge and experience garnered from her
first attempt in Reading, Pennsylvania. Also
on hand after his wreck in Roanoke, Virginia,
just two nights before was J.R. James, and
he was determined to stay on the bike and
make a run at the prize on this Saturday
night. The big surprise of the evening was
that “Awesome Austin” Greenland would not
be starting, due to severe illness; he was
sidelined from competition after coming off
his first podium finish on Thursday night in
1. Tiffany Reed (Hon); 2. Kristin Sparks (Yam).
1. Kyle Strickland (Hon); 2. Chad Trador
(Hon); 3. T.L. Pierce (Suz).
Roanoke.
In the first round of heat races, the winners
were “Jammin’ Jared” Mees from Clio,
Michigan; Adam Beldyga from Chesaning,
Michigan; and Kevin “The Viking” Anderson
from Cambridge, Minnesota. Anderson laid
down the quick time for the night, setting
himself up for a front-row main-event starting
position.
The second round of heats were won by
“Captain Kirk” Cheney from Hastings, Michigan;
Beldyga; and Mees. This put both Mees and
Beldyga on the front row of the main, with
perfect heats.
The points were tallied up and the grid for the
last-chance qualifier was determined. From the
inside out, the front row was comprised of
“Freight Train” Tom McGrane from Gapp,
Pennsylvania; “Sideways Sammy” Wiggins from
Pomeroy, Pennsylvania; “Flyin’ Bryan” McKenna
from Boston, Massachusetts; and John Long
from Coatesville, Pennsylvania. On the inside
on the back row was J.R. James from
Simpsonville, South Carolina. Next to him was
Samantha Bergman from Phoenix, Maryland,
and next to her was Derek Hersh from
Paradise, Pennsylvania. Everyone was hungry
to make the main, so this was going to be a
great LCQ, featuring a few racers who have
never made an ICE main event and some mainevent regulars.
Four states were
represented in the
eight spots in the
Manufacturers
Cup Bike main
event, with
Michiganders
taking three spots
on the front row.
On the pole was
none other than
defending World
Champion
“Jammin’ Jared”
Mees. Next to him
was Beldyga, and
then Anderson
and Cheney. The back row had McGrane,
McKenna, Long and Wiggins. Mees declined
the Motion Pro Challenge, and so did
everyone else until it got back to the seventh
starting position, occupied by John Long.
This was John Long’s first ICE main event,
but it won’t be the last for this hard-charging
rookie!
Once the tapes went up, Mees and Cheney
got to turn one first together, but with the
inside advantage, Mees pulled out ahead of
When the tape went up, McGrane got the
Cheney on the back straight. Beldyga tucked
holeshot, followed by McKenna. Wiggins was
in behind them, with Anderson, Wiggins,
right there in third, with Long beating on his
McGrane, McKenna and Long following.
back door. Long knew he couldn’t make any
The order stayed the same as they all tried
mistakes in the fourth and final transferring
position, because Bergman was right on his tale! to set one another up for passes, until lap
By lap three, Long had gotten past Wiggins for five, when Anderson started to make a latethird, which opened the door for Bergman to try race charge, passing Beldyga for third. On
lap seven, Wiggins muscled his way by
to make the pass for fourth and make her first
Beldyga for fourth.
main event – but Wiggins quickly closed the
door, making Bergman lose momentum. Finally, Mees was untouchable at this point.
she was passed by Hersh for fifth. When it was Anderson made a last-lap pass for second,
over, it would be McGrane, McKenna, Long and over Cheney, and McGrane “freight-trained”
past both Wiggins and Beldyga for fourth
Wiggins going to the back row of the main.
Fifth through seventh were Hersh, Bergman and with an impressive pass on the last turn. It
was a great race, with lots of action-packed
James, respectively.
passes and excitement.
The Unlimited Outlaw Quads contest
featured some new faces as well as some
faces we haven’t seen in quite a while. The
big story of the day was that Team Race Prep
Technologies had gotten the Harley-Davidson
“Thunder Quad” to a local Harley shop to
diagnose the problems it suffered on Thursday
night in Roanoke. All hope had disappeared on
Thursday night, but by Saturday morning that
hope had been restored, as the problem was
not terminal, as feared; in fact, the problem
had been fixed – which meant Wiggins would
ride again to try to make up some of the
points he’d lost in Roanoke.
In the first round of heats, the winners were
Anthony Demeo from Little Falls, New Jersey;
Steve “Sprint Car” Palmer from Des Moines,
Iowa, who also set Quick Time; Zach “The
Maniac” Thomas from Burlington, Iowa; and
four-time and defending World Champion
“Dangerous Daniel” Bergquist from Burlington,
Iowa.
In round two, the heat winners were Drew
Bergquist from Burlington, Iowa; Mandy “The
Wild Child” Brodil from nearby Poplar Branch,
North Carolina; her father, Jeff Brodil, from
Grandy, North Carolina; and Thomas, winning
his second heat of the night, which put him on
the pole for the main event.
on the outside.
When the gates went up, Mandy got the
holeshot. Being as this was her homecoming
and she had groups of fans in the nearcapacity arena, the place went nuts! She never
looked back and took the win with ease.
However, behind her, the battle for second was
heating up, as Wiggins put the bumper to
Drew Bergquist, moving him out of the way to
take second away from him and leaving him in
third, followed by Jeff Brodil, who took the
final transfer position. Quam came close but
couldn’t close the deal and finished in fifth,
followed by Cauley in sixth, Remer in seventh
and Blystone in eighth.
With the main-event grid now set, they lined
up, and the front row was filled with parity.
The pole sitter was Zach Thomas, on his
Honda 450. Next to him was Steve Palmer, on
his Yamaha Banshee. In the third slot was
Daniel Bergquist, on the 1000cc Suzuki GSX-R
hybrid monster quad, and on the outside was
Anthony Demeo, on his Kawasaki. The back
row was comprised of Mandy Brodil, Wiggins,
Drew Bergquist (who took the Motion Pro
Challenge), and Jeff Brodil on the outside.
Once the tapes went up, it was all-out warfare
on the ice! Mandy, coming from the second
row, got a great start, following holeshot artist
Thomas and Palmer into turn one. Behind her
was fellow ICE Champion Daniel Bergquist and
two-time main-event winner this year Sammy
Wiggins.
With all the points added up, it was apparent
that the last-chance qualifier was going to be a
bear, with three of the top five in the points
standings on the front row and with some
hungry newcomers and hard chargers following
on the back row. Mandy Brodil was starting on
the pole, and next to her was Drew Bergquist,
with Sammy Wiggins next and Jeff Brodil on
the outside. Behind Mandy was Jake Cauley
from Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Next to
Cauley was “Stuntman Ken” Remer from
By lap four, Mandy had passed Palmer for
Burlington, Wisconsin, and next to him was
second and was running down Thomas like he
“Nitro Shane” Quam from Gladstone, Illinois.
Mark Blystone from Indiana, Pennsylvania, was was standing still. It was evident that the
“Wild Child” was definitely the fastest quad
racer on the ice on this night. On lap five of
six, she tried to make the pass for the lead
going into turn three, but Thomas slammed
the door with a legal move, leaving Mandy no
place to go other than into the pole marker.
Mandy gathered it up for the last lap, setting
Zach up perfectly coming out of turn four for
another photo finish at the line, but she
missed taking the victory by less than a foot!
Thomas won his second race in a row, and
his third of the season. Following Thomas and
Mandy Brodil were Steve Palmer, Daniel
Bergquist, Sammy Wiggins, Drew Bergquist,
Jeff Brodil and Anthony Demeo. The action
was intense and the crowd was there until
the bitter end!
The support of Mack Lester of Carts Unlimited
is much appreciated, and the Hampton
Coliseum did a wonderful job of preparing the
venue and local racers for such a fun and
exciting night. The next week would see the
always-crazy Bloomington round. For more
info, please log onto www.icespeedway.com!
1. Jared Mees (Hon); 2. Sammy Wiggins
(Hon); 3. John Long (Suz).
1. Tom McGrane (Kaw); 2. Bryan McKenna
(Hon); 3. John Long (Suz); 4. Sammy
Wiggins (Hon); 5. Derek Hersh (Kaw); 6. Sam
Bergman (Hon); 7. J.R. James (Yam).
1. Jared Mees (Hon); 2. Kevin Anderson
(Hon); 3. Kirk Cheney (Hon); 4. Tom
McGrane (Kaw); 5. Sammy Wiggins (Hon); 6.
Adam Beldyga (Hon); 7. Bryan McKenna
(Hon); 8. John Long – Motion Pro Challenge.
1. Anthony Demeo; 2. Jake Cauley; 3. Ken
Remer; 4. Bob Colgan.
1. Steve Palmer; 2. Mark Blystone; 3. Chuck
Calvert; 4. Jason Fisher.
1. Zach Thomas; 2. Sammy Wiggins; 3.
Mandy Brodil; 4. Jeff Brodil.
1. Daniel Bergquist; 2. Shane Quam; 3. Drew
Bergquist.
1. Drew Bergquist; 2. Sammy Wiggins; 3.
Shane Quam; 4. Mark Blystone.
1. Jared Mees (Hon); 2. Sammy Wiggins
(Hon); 3. Sam Bergman (Hon); 4. J.R. James
(Yam).
1. Adam Beldyga (Hon); 2. Kirk Cheney
(Hon); 3. John Long (Suz); 4. Derek Hersh
(Kaw).
1. Kevin Anderson (Hon); 2. Tom McGrane
(Kaw); 3. Bryan McKenna (Hon).
1. Kirk Cheney (Hon); 2. Kevin Anderson
(Hon); 3. Derek Hersh (Kaw); 4. J.R. James
(Yam).
1. Adam Beldyga (Hon); 2. Tom McGrane
(Kaw); 3. Bryan McKenna (Hon); 4. Sam
Bergman (Hon).
1. Mandy Brodil; 2. Daniel Bergquist; 3.
Chuck Calvert; 4. Bob Colgan.
1. Jeff Brodil; 2. Steve Palmer; 3. Jason
Fisher; 4. Anthony Demeo.
1. Zach Thomas; 2. Ken Remer; 3. Jake
Cauley.
1. Mandy Brodil; 2. Sammy Wiggins; 3. Drew
Bergquist; 4. Jeff Brodil; 5. Shane Quam; 6.
Jake Cauley; 7. Ken Remer; 8. Mark Blystone.
1. Zach Thomas; 2. Mandy Brodil; 3. Steve
Palmer; 4. Daniel Bergquist; 5. Sammy
Wiggins; 6. Drew Bergquist – Motion Pro
Challenge; 7. Jeff Brodil; 8. Anthony Demeo.
Courtesy of Feld Entertainment
Another dominating performance by Monster
Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto in Daytona,
combined with the misfortune suffered by
San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart, has led
to a 23-point lead for Villopoto.
Stewart appeared to be on the way to his
fourth win of the season, but he suffered a
frightening crash while enjoying a substantial
lead. As the former two-time champion
attempted to re-enter the race, Villopoto took
advantage of Stewarts’ woes, moving into
the lead and pulling away for his second
straight win and his season-leading fourth
victory of the season.
“From the start of the race, I knew I wanted
to ride my own pace,” said Villopoto. “No
matter what happened, I wanted to be
consistent and not make mistakes. James
was riding fast right away, so I just had to
wait to see if he would make a mistake.
“It’s really good to gain a lot of points, but
I’m not going to relax,” added Villopoto. “I
know that if I keep working at it, I will only
be putting myself in a better position as the
championship goes down to Las Vegas. I
want to keep going after wins, so I won't be
slacking off at all because of the 23 points.”
As for Stewart, he showed the fans at the
speedway one of the greatest displays of
determination in the series’ history. A brutal
crash on lap four stunned the Yamaha racer
and sent his YZ450F over a huge jump without
him.
He was way ahead at the time and accelerating
hard through a rhythm section when he
misjudged a jump, pitching the front wheel
down and slamming into the ground with
incredible force. After doing a somersault, the
YZ continued ahead, leaping the next jump by
itself before landing on a tuff block and
stopping, upside down.
Stewart limped to the bike, remounted in last
place and well behind the rest of the field, and
clawed his way back to an incredible top-10
finish, in the process setting one of the fastest
race laps – a spectacular one-minute-and-17.9second lap – and ended up passing half the
field and finishing ninth. By sheer force of will,
Stewart thus maintained second in the points
standings, behind Villopoto.
Villopoto was followed onto the podium by
TwoTwo Motorsports/ Bel-Ray Racing’s Chad
Reed in second and Rockstar/ Makita Suzuki’s
Ryan Dungey in third. Reed’s third straight
podium effort brings him to within one point
of Stewart for second in the standings, while
Dungey’s fourth consecutive finish of third or
better has moved him into fourth, within 10
points of both Stewart and Reed.
In the Supercross Lites class, Monster Energy/
Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett became
the third different winner in as many races in
the Eastern Regional Supercross Lites-class
championship. The second-year rider grabbed
the holeshot and led from wire to wire for his
first win for the Pro Circuit team.
“Winning my first heat race was really big for
my confidence,” said Baggett. “I have been
working on my starts, because I haven't really
been known for being a good starter. I knew
that it would be important, because the start
was short. We’ve been putting in the hard
work, and it feels great to finally see it pay off.”
the points lead.
Meanwhile, Wilson suffered from his worst
outing of the season, experiencing a bad start
and several bouts of misfortune en route to an
eighth-place finish. DNA Shred Stix/ Star
Racing Yamaha’s Ryan Sipes rounded out the
podium.
Barcia’s lead over Baggett, who assumed the
runner-up position in the standings after his
win, stands at four points, while Wilson sits in
third, an additional five points behind.
Last year in Indianapolis, Villopoto captured a
hard-fought victory after a troublesome
evening forced him into the LCQ to qualify for
the main event. In the Supercross Lites action,
eventual Eastern Regional champion
Christophe Pourcel took the win.
1. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw); 2. Chad Reed (Hon);
3. Ryan Dungey (Suz); 4. Andrew Short (KTM);
5. Davi Millsaps (Yam); 6. Justin Brayton
(Yam); 7. Kevin Windham (Hon); 8. Ken Roczen
(KTM); 9. James Stewart (Yam); 10. Mike
Alessi (KTM).
1. Ryan Villopoto (196); 2. James Stewart
(173); 3. Chad Reed (172); 4. Ryan Dungey
(165); 5. Trey Canard (154); 6. Andrew Short
(128); 7. Brett Metcalfe (107); 8. Justin
Brayton (105); 9. Davi Millsaps (104); 10.
Kevin Windham (89).
“I won’t be happy until I have the points lead,
so we just need to keep plugging away at it,”
exclaimed Baggett. “I know I am capable of
being there every weekend. I think I have my
starts figured out, and it can only get better
from here.”
After the wins by GEICO Honda’s Justin Barcia
and Monster Energy/ Pro Circuit/ Kawasaki’s
Dean Wilson that opened the championship,
Baggett’s triumph has led to a three-rider
battle atop the standings. At Daytona, Barcia
kept his podium streak intact, finishing second
to Baggett – despite a pair of broken bones in
his wrist – and moving into sole possession of
1. Blake Baggett (Kaw); 2. Justin Barcia (Hon);
3. Ryan Sipes (Yam); 4. Blake Wharton (Hon);
5. P.J. Larsen (KTM); 6. Jason Anderson (Suz);
7. Malcolm Stewart (Suz); 8. Dean Wilson
(Kaw); 9. Matt Lemoine (Kaw); 10. Les Smith
(Hon).
1. Justin Barcia (69); 2. Blake Baggett (65); 3.
Dean Wilson (60); 4. Ryan Sipes (54 ); 5. Blake
Wharton (51 ); 6. Jason Anderson (41 ); 7.
Matt Lemoine (35); 8. Malcolm Stewart (34 );
9. P.J. Larsen (33);10. Lance Vincent (33).
Courtesy of Feld Entertainment
The recent dominance of Babbitt’s Monster
Energy/ TiLUBE Kawasaki presented by
Maxxis rider Tyler Bowers of Danville,
Kentucky, continued on Saturday night at the
BI-LO Center as he raced to his sixth straight
AMA Arenacross Series victory. In the
Arenacross Lites main event, Jimmy Weinert
Racing Honda’s Tyler Bright of Sumter, South
Carolina, grabbed his first win of the 2011
season.
When the gates dropped for the Arenacrossclass main event, TUF Honda’s Jeff Gibson of
Blacklick, Ohio, grabbed the early lead and
was looking to regain the momentum he had
in the early portion of the season. However,
Babbitt’s Monster Energy/ TiLUBE Kawasaki’s
Chad Johnson of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, took
over the top spot from Gibson after just a
handful of laps and sought to gap the field.
Behind him, Bowers moved past Gibson as
well, and then set his sights on his teammate.
It wasn’t long before Bowers caught Johnson
and overtook him for the lead and,
eventually, the win.
Johnson stayed strong in second, recording
his fourth consecutive runner-up finish in a
dominant month for the Babbitt’s team. By
virtue of his second-place effort, Johnson also
moved into a tie for second in the Arenacrossclass championship with Gibson, who fell to
fourth by the conclusion of the main event.
Rounding out the podium with his best result
of the season was Foremost Insurance/
Spinechillers/ HondaofFairfield.com’s Zach
Ames of Prospect, Ohio.
Bowers’ advantage over Gibson and Johnson
in the championship is now at 38 points.
After a three-week break, the Arenacross
Lites Eastern Regional Championship returned
to action in Greenville. Series veteran Bright
took advantage of the opportunity to
compete in front of his hometown crowd and
put in an impressive effort, grabbing his first win
of the season. He later moved on to post a
commendable 13th-place finish in the
Arenacross main event, almost immediately after
having run 18 laps in intense Arenacross Lites
action.
Following Bright onto the podium was Foremost
Insurance/ Spinechillers/ HondaofFairfield.com’s
Patrick Massie of Washington Court, Ohio, in
second, giving the Spinechillers Racing team a
memorable night. Five Star Cycle KTM’s Kenneth
Henry of Ashtabula, Ohio, rounded out the
podium in third.
Massie’s runner-up effort helped increase his
lead in the Arenacross Lites Eastern Regional
Championship standings to 29 points over Hot
Rod MX Racing Honda’s Austin Coon of Spencer,
West Virginia.
The AMA Arenacross Series continues next
weekend at the Mid-America Center in Council
Bluffs, Iowa, beginning at 7 p.m. CT.
1. Tyler Bowers (Kaw); 2. Chad Johnson (Kaw);
3. Zach Ames (Hon); 4. Jeff Gibson (Hon); 5.
Nathan Skaggs (Hon); 6. Cory Green (Suz); 7.
Gray Davenport (Kaw); 8. Willy Browning (Hon);
9. Kevin Johnson (Yam); 10. Travis Sewell (Suz).
1. Tyler Bright (Hon); 2. Patrick Massie (Hon); 3.
Kenneth Henry (KTM); 4. Austin Coon (Hon); 5.
Chris Osborne (Yam); 6. Jake Locks (Kaw); 7.
Tanner Young (Yam); 8. Austin Primavera (Suz);
9. Nicholas Lane (Suz); 10. Clay Elliott (Suz).
1. Tyler Bowers (302); 2. (TIE) Jeff Gibson
(264)/ Chad Johnson (264); 4. Gray Davenport
(203); 5. Zach Ames (199); 6. Nathan Skaggs
(177); 7. Kelly Smith (171); 8. Cole Siebler
(153); 9. Kevin Johnson (152); 10. Cory Green
(145).
1. Patrick Massie (125); 2. Austin Coon (96); 3.
Adam Gulley (95); 4. Steve Mages (86); 5. Tyler
Sehr (65); 6. Kyle Goerke (63); 7. (TIE) Austin
Primavera (56)/ Kenneth Henry (56); 9. Scott
Zont (47); 10. Kyle White (38).
By Sandy Carter
Photos by Sandy Carter and Brent Chandler
On this day, Seven Creeks Ranch was the
perfect site for round nine of the 2011 Pirelli/
Answer/ Maxxis/ Pro Taper-sponsored MidSouth Cross Country Series. Some 318 riders
ran the tight, 9 ½-mile woods trail that was
perfection for racing. Promoter Chris Sumner
had worked hard to make sure this was the
best MSXC race so far. He accomplished his
goal, exceeding all expectations. The race
date had to be delayed a week due to harsh
winter weather that had buried the course in
a foot of snow the week before, but it proved
to be worth the wait.
At this point in the series, six points separate
Dustin Gibson of Van Leer, Tennessee, and his
fellow KTM rider Shane O’Banion of Mount
Sterling, Kentucky. These two are locked in a
battle for first overall this season. A lot can
happen in the remaining four races, and these
two riders will not settle for second place if they
can help it. Gibson, the 2010 overall winner, is
defending his title, but O’Banion has come on
strong this season and is currently sitting in first
place in the points standings.
On this day, luck was with O’Banion. He was
the AA winner and the overall winner, but it
was a hard-fought battle for the last couple of
laps, as Gibson consistently gained the ground
necessary to attempt a pass on the final lap.
The trees of Seven Creek Ranch have a little
less bark on them after that last lap, as
Gibson and O’Banion, dueling for first, did a
bob-and-weave all along the last miles of the
trail. O’Banion was missing a bark buster and
had a flat tire as he and Gibson were scanned
through the score-machine tent. Threehundredths of a second was the blip in time
that gave the win to O’Banion and second to
Gibson.
All the AA riders did six laps, and O’Banion
was cruising the 57 miles with a comfortable
lead for most of the race’s two hours. Then
he felt Gibson closing in, whittling away at his
considerable lead. He rolled back on the
throttle and opened his KTM up, but Gibson
got around O’Banion on the last lap, and then
they traded the lead spot back and forth
several times. O’Banion slipped around Gibson
and narrowly led by a tire tread into the tent,
taking this victory by the skin of his teeth.
Gibson had fought as hard for this race as he
could, and it was just a matter of luck
(coupled with Gibson’s considerable skill as a
rider, of course) that gave him second place
on this day.
Gibson has been part of the MSXC family for
many years and is well known in racing circles
around the Mid-South. He and his wife, Amber,
have a new addition to their family: Baby Girl
Gibson came into the world on the Tuesday
after the race, and all are doing well. Welcome
to the world, baby girl Racie! Perhaps in just a
couple of years, something is going to change
in the Pee Wee kids’ races!
The Heavy A class saw another close race at
the course on Seven Creeks. Eight riders were
at the start, but Zach Nash of Vincennes,
Indiana, pulled into the lead early, eventually
taking the win.
The riders in the Golden Masters’ class
collectively average more than 40 years of
riding. This group of riders has been riding
longer than most of the riders in the A and B
classes have been alive! Paul Michaels, a
Golden Master from Petersboro, Kentucky, has
been riding for most of his 58 years, and this
year he has dominated the Golden Masters
class.
“The course was perfect!” Michaels enthused.
“The day was a great 72 degrees, after several
weeks of hard, freezing weather, and it was my
first time back since December.”
Michaels rode his own race and finished first,
maintaining his points lead in the Golden Masters
Over 55 class. As people have said, it is the real
last-chance qualifier in racing.
Vet B rider P.J. Shortt, a longtime MSXC rider,
has hit the trails hard this season after being
missing in action for a couple of years. At Seven
Creeks, he earned a respectable fifth with a
2011 class standing of 10.
1. Shane O’Banion (KTM); 2. Dustin Gibson
(KTM); 3. Tyson Ezell (KTM); 4. Damon Prince
(Suz).
1. Zac Nash (KTM); 2. Loupie Lambruno
(KTM); 3. Ryan Lenth (KTM); 4. Dexter Colvin
(Yam); 5. Beau Nicewinter (KTM).
1. Dillon Phelps (KTM); 2. Jordan Johns; 3.
Jase Martin (Hus); 4. John Hix (KTM); 5.
Austin Shroyer (KTM).
1. Jeff Cowan (Yam); 2. Scott Kirchoff (Yam);
3. Ryan Morphew (KTM); 4. Brandon Woffard
(KTM); 5. Mark Jones (Yam).
1.Gregg Elrod (Hus); 2. Timmy P’Poole (Kaw);
3. David Dunnuck (KTM); 4. Kenny
Moore(Yam); 5. Jeff Griffin (KTM).
1. Eric Gill (KTM); 2. Mark Guy (Yam); 3. Kent
Stanley (KTM); 4. Doug Lenth (KTM).
1. Blake Ricketts (Yam); 2. James Dicuss
(KTM); 3. Mike More (Yam); 4. Chris Mayfield
(KTM); 5. Blake Diesser (Yam).
“Yeah, I felt good Sunday; the dirt and the
weather were perfect!” Shortt said. “Because of
family responsibilities, I have only been racing
on and off – enough to keep my powder dry –
for the last five or six years. My schedule has
changed a bit, and I obtained a new sponsor
this season, so I decided to hit every race
possible in the MSXC. The B-class boys don’t
let up! If you’re a little off your game, it’s really
tough to trophy, so it was nice to finish up in
the top of my class Sunday. I overheard many
people complaining about the creek section
after the race, but I felt that it truly separated
the men from the boys. I wouldn’t have
changed it. Thanks to Mid-South Motoplex and
Milam Builders for making my race effort
possible.”
The season is fast coming to a close, and there
are only four races left. The courses left to run
are proof that the best is yet to come!
1. Taylor Downs (Yam); 2. Tyler Harris (KTM);
3. Jake Froman (KTM); 4. Lee Yarboro (KTM);
5. Ezra Hickerson (Suz).
1. Drexel Payne (Yam); 2. Nick Bryant (Hon);
3. Matt Calhoon (Kaw); 4. Braxton Dallas
(Yam); 5. Richard Modlin (Kaw).
1. Austin Toon (KTM); 2. Justin Riley (Yam);
3. Brandon Rinch (KTM); 4. Kurt Moore
(KTM); 5. Caid Griffin (KTM).
1. Dale Duke (KTM); 2. Kevin McClain (KTM);
3. Brian Peck (KTM); 4. Dustin Arant (KTM);
5. P.J. Shortt (Suz).
1. Gregg Rumery (Yam); 2. Todd Elrod (KTM);
3. Chance Blackwell (KTM); 4. Kelley
McDonald (KTM); 5. John McMahon (Kaw).
1. Robert Kirchner (KTM); 2. Robert Ellis
(KTM); 3. Jim Sorrels (KTM); 4. Gary
Copeland (KTM); 5. Alan Staples (Hon).
1. Gregg Tucker (KTM); 2. Dillon Pirtle (Yam);
3. Dan Newcomb (Kaw).
1. Paul Michaels(KTM); 2. Tom Carter (KTM);
3. Robert Berg Sr. (KTM); 4. Don Rye (Hon);
5. Clyde Modlin (KTM).
1. Shane Free (Yam); 2. Lee Sumner (KTM);
3. Jacob Oliver (Kaw); 4. Zachary Downs
(KTM); 5. Daniel Arant (Hon).
1. Dalton Cross (KTM); 2. Jesse Sorrels (Hon);
3. Gabe Garrett (KTM); 4. Anthony Ferguson
(Suz); 5. Reggie Wulff (Yam).
1. Logan P’Poole (KTM); 2. Bronson Childs
(Kaw); 3. Austin Brasher (Hon); 4. Rex
Nuhring (Yam); 5. Cory Daily (Yam).
1. Brad Jaggers (KTM); 2. Jason Hoskins
(Yam); 3. Cody Dile (KTM); 4. Jeffrey Barnett
(Hon); 5. Dwane Lane (Hon).
1. Heath Robinson (Yam); 2. Kevin Murphy
(Suz); 3. Chris Webb (Yam); 4. Kent
McReynolds (Yam); 5. Jody Tittle (Hon).
1. John Duke (Kaw); 2. Larry Smith (Kaw); 3.
Junior Griffith (Kaw); 4. Brian Hayes (KTM); 5.
Rich Suss (Hon).
1. Clinton Clark (Yam); 2. Thomas Higdon
(Yam); 3. Jeff Curtis (KTM); 4. David Williams
(KTM); 5. Kerry Wolfe (KTM).
1. Thomas Young (Hon); 2. Matthew Lynn
(KTM); 3. Ethan Sutter (Kaw); 4. Franklin
Hughes (KTM); 5. Randy Hughes (Hon).
1. Jake Reynolds (Kaw); 2. Alex Dile (Hon); 3.
Thomas Crank Jr. (Hon); 4. Michael Moreland
(KTM).
Story and Photos by Gary Crider
Track and weather conditions were ideal at
Dirt Farm Off-Road Park, site of the fourth
and final round of the South Georgia Winter
MX Series. Talk Radio 600 WBOB personality
Jon Vedas was in the tower to call the race
action, and EMG Racing’s Craig Johnson was
on hand to organize the sign-up and scoring
logistics. (The event’s results, as well as the
series’ overall standings, were ready just
minutes after the day’s final moto! Thanks,
Craig!)
Piloting the lone two-stroke in his classes,
Myles Heath carved out perfect scores in both
the Lites C and Motocross C divisions.
Meanwhile, Florida resident David Hagins
gassed his Honda to a pair of runaway moto
wins in the 16-29 class. Also noteworthy were
the efforts of the half-dozen or so members of
Coach Hammer’s MX Team: Three class wins
and four series overall championships were
credited to Coach Hammer for the day.
Brunswick, Georgia’s Heath led both Lites C
motos from start to finish, while Jake Boney (22) edged Ethan Sims (3-3) for the runner-up
honors. Coming into this round, Boney held the
series lead by a one-point margin over Logan
Dixon. However, Dixon failed to show up for
this final showdown, handing Boney an easy
series victory. Team Hammer’s Austin Rue (54) was fourth on the day and second overall in
the series.
The Beach Blvd/ Six Six One/ Scott-backed
Heath returned to win both Motocross C
motos, after shaking off early challenges from
Sims. Nine Racing’s Boney nailed down a pair
of second-place finishes, over series winner
Josh Morgan (4-3). Sims recovered from a
second-moto spill to claim fourth overall, via
his 3-5 score.
Ethan Stanfield and Michael Jacobsen battled
closely throughout the day in the Lites
Beginner division. Stanfield had the edge and
emerged with a perfect score. Jacobsen
suffered a spill while leading moto one and had
to settle for an eventual 5-2 tally and third
overall. Brett Johnson had an exciting first
moto, in which he garnered the holeshot, only
to crash back to sixth position. Johnson soon
worked his way back up to third and then,
near the end of the final lap, he slipped past
Austin Jarriel to finish in second position.
Johnson’s eventual 2-3 score earned the silver.
Series victor Jarriel posted a 3-4 score, netting
fourth overall for the day.
The Veteran C contest was a spirited one, in
which Honda riders Josh Morgan and Dennis
Kinlaw took turns at the lead in both motos.
Series champion Morgan was first at the flag
both times, over Kinlaw.
Drew Anderson led both 85cc (9-13) motos
from start to finish, while Alan Hamm moved
up each time to finish with a 2-2 score. Series
winner Nick Sweat was third on the day, via his
4-3 finishes.
The 65cc (7-9) and (10-11) classes were run
together. Keaton Eason and Justin Maloy were
entered in separate divisions, but they raced
as if they were gunning for the same gold. The
At the start of the first 85cc (12-15) moto,
Maloy-Eason duo raced closely throughout
Justin Hendrix dropped his bike in the first
both motos. Moto one was particularly fierce,
turn. Hendrix remounted to post an eventual 3as they swapped the lead back and forth
1 score, which was good enough for the gold,
several times. The score sheets, however,
in a points tie over Anderson (2-2) and Sweat
revealed none of the drama, indicating only
(1-3).
that Eason took both 7-9 division wins, while
Dillon Smith dominated the Supermini contest,
Maloy did likewise in the 10-11 class.
posting a pair of runaway moto wins, over
Eason returned to win the 65cc Beginner class,
Hendrix and Hamm.
ahead of fellow Hammer MX Team member
Fearless Motorsports’ Caleb Rentz nailed down
Wesley Freeland.
the holeshot and won the opening 50cc (7-9)
In the 50cc Beginner class, Harley Case
moto, ahead of Ian Haskins. Moto two was an
absconded with the holeshot in both motos,
entirely different story, as Rentz crashed at the
but he soon faded, as Cole Wooten moved to
start. Rentz got back under way in eighth
the front to win both motos, over Chance
position but soon began moving up through
Wiggins (2-2) and Cade Morgan (4-3). Korey
the pack. On the final lap, Rentz was in
Wildes (3-4) was fourth, while Case had to
second spot and was closing the gap on race
settle for 5-5 finishes and fifth overall. Wiggins
leader Clements. It was a close finish, but
was the series winner in this class.
Clements held on for the moto win. However,
Rentz’s 1-2 tally was the top score, over
Clements (3-1) and Haskins (2-4).
Rentz was on fire on this day, and he also won
the 50cc Open division, via his 2-1 finishes,
over Braeden Kenan (3-2) and series winner
Wesley Freeland (1-4).
1. Ethan Stanfield (Kaw); 2. Brett Johnson
(Suz); 3. Michael Jacobsen (Hon); 4. Austin
Jerriel (Suz); 5. Joseph Cumbess (Hon).
1. Myles Heath (Yam); 2. Jake Boney (Kaw);
3. Ethan Sims (Suz); 4. Austin Rue (Yam); 5.
Trey Thomas (Yam).
1. Cole Wooten (KTM); 2. Chance Wiggins
(Cob); 3. Cade Morgan (Cob); 4. Korey Wildes
(Cob); 5. Harley Case (KTM).
1. Michael Jacobsen (Hon); 2. Robert
Mencner (Yam).
1. Braeden Kenan (KTM); 2. Harley Case
(KTM); 3. Kyle Smith (KTM); 4. Korey Wildes
(Cob).
1. Myles Heath (Yam); 2. Jake Boney (Kaw);
3. Josh Morgan (Hon); 4. Ethan Sims (Suz);
5. David Benjamin (Suz).
1. Caleb Rentz (Cob); 2. Karson Clements
(Cob); 3. Ian Haskins (KTM); 4. Chance
Wiggins (Cob).
1. Morgan Johnson (Yam).
1. Caleb Rentz (Cob); 2. Braeden Kenan
(KTM); 3. Wesley Freeland (KTM); 4. Karson
Clements (Cob); 5. Kyle Smith (KTM).
1. David Hagins (Hon); 2. Buddy Wiggins
(Hon); 3. Henry Brown (Hon); 4. Kaleb
McDonald (Kaw).
1. Dennis Kinlaw (Hon).
1. Keaton Eason (KTM); 2. Wesley Freeland
(KTM); 3. Fisher Zabarac (Kaw).
1. Josh Morgan (Hon); 2. Dennis Kinlaw
(Hon).
1. Keaton Eason (KTM); 2. Fisher Zabarac
(Kaw).
1. Ryan Bond (Yam); 2. Justin Beck (Yam).
1. Justin Maloy (Kaw).
1. Justin Maloy (Kaw).
1. Austin Anderson (Kaw).
1. Blane Carrigg (Suz); 2. Aubrey Vaughn
(Kaw); 3. Morgan Johnson (Yam).
1. Drew Anderson (Kaw); 2. Alan Hamm
(Yam); 3. Nick Sweat (Kaw); 4. Jared Wiggins
(Kaw).
1. Justin Hendrix (Kaw); 2. Drew Anderson
(Kaw); 3. Nick Sweat (Kaw); 4. Jared Wiggins
(Kaw); 5. Alan Hamm (Yam).
1. Dillon Smith (Kaw); 2. Justin Hendrix
(Kaw); 3. Alan Hamm (Yam).
1. Austin Rue (Yam); 2. Mason Middlebrook
(Kaw).
riders got their fair share of seat time as they
covered seemingly every inch of trail space in
the Spangler Hills OHV Area.
Getting the jump early and the first to the end
of the bomb run was none other then the
reigning NHHA Champion, JCR Honda’s Kendall
By Ryan Sanders and Chris Blais
Norman. Leading up and through check one,
Kendall looked good, while in his dust Caselli
Round two of the AMA/ Kenda National Hare
tried feverishly to keep up. Somewhere around
and Hound Championship Series has come
mile marker 11, however, Norman went down
and gone, and Kurt Caselli has brought
himself right back into the game with his first and Caselli took over.
With a four-minute lead at the end of loop one,
win of the season. The battle for the
remaining spots behind him was the true race the FMF/ KTM-mounted Caselli poured on the
gas and gapped some of the fastest riders in
to watch, however. Caselli stole the show at
round two and literally looked like he was just the country. David Pearson and Destry Abbott
eventually got around Norman to round out the
cruising to the end of the race.
podium, but the race was all Caselli’s, as the
leader finished nearly seven minutes ahead of
Purvines Honda pilot Pearson, in second.
Abbott rode his Monster Energy Kawasaki to a
respectable third overall, making it two
podiums in a row for the seasoned racer.
“It feels good to get up here on the podium,”
Abbott told George Antill on the NHHA podium
after the race. “I need these to have a shot at
the podium, but I think Kurt rode harder than
any of us today. He really deserves this win.”
Norman held on for fourth place, and Off Road
Support’s Jacob Argubright finished in fifth.
More than 370 riders took to the start line for
the Four Aces’ annual Moose Run event, and
with three loops to race, totaling 90 miles, the
In the Vet Pro class, David Fry and Dan
Capparelli left off right where they started at
round one, as the two battled it out through
the finish. This time, however, Fry would have
the edge and hold off the round-one winner,
Capparelli. With one win apiece, they are now
tied atop the Vet Pro-class standings at 55
points each. Paul Shafer road well yet again to
take third place and the final spot on the Vet
Pro podium, and Zach Dodson and Steve
Roberts rounded out the top five in the class.
Senior racer Paul Krause finished a respectable
sixth in the Vet Pro class, keeping himself in
the hunt with eight rounds remaining. Absent
at round two was Chilly White, who was sick
and had to stay home, though he hopes to
make up some points at round three in El
Centro, California.
The women took to the course with fury, and
although they were only required to go two
loops, they battled up until the end. Sarah
Kritsch and Shayla Fulfer jumped out into the
early lead, trading positions all the way
through the alternate gas area, where Fulfer,
not needing to stop, took over the lead. OffRoad Support’s Kritsch followed closely in
second but couldn’t pull it together before the
pits and loop two. With a two-minute gap,
Fulfer and her Blais Racing Services KTM 250
XCF were gone before Kritsch could stop for
her pit.
One mile into loop two, Fulfer found herself
stuck on one of the toughest hillclimbs of the
day; she found herself paddling to stay
upright. Kritsch saw her chance and powered
past Fulfer, who was working to pick up her
bike. With a fire lit beneath her, Fulfer
remounted the bike and followed Kritsch
through the desert and home into the finish.
Taking first and second place overall for the
two-loopers, Kritsch and Fulfer finished onetwo, just as they had done at round one, and
after two rounds of racing, it’s evident that this
season will not see an easy victory for either of
these two woman. Past Women’s champion
Anna Cody held on for third place on the day,
followed by Kelly Barbosa and Olivia Rich.
On the ATV side of things, Andy Lagzdins
became the first rider to dethrone the champ,
as Kyle Penner was beaten for the first time
this season. Taking the win ahead of Bill
Markel, who will surely be in the running down
in El Centro, Lagzdins took away a win that
could have meant a perfect season for Penner.
At third-overall quad and second in the A class,
Penner was understandably disappointed, and
he stated that he knows what is necessary to
win in El Centro. With the abundance of fourwheeled races south of the High Desert, there
is a potential to have well over 40 riders lined
up come the first Sunday in March, and Penner
knows that he wants to be back on top at
round three.
It wasn’t all about the Pros, however, as a
whole list of prizes were awarded to racers at
round two. The FMF banners were easily visible
atop the hill at the end of the bomb run, and
two lucky riders were the first to reach them on
both the B and C lines. Both Thomas Gross and
Colton Jones will be attending round three with
brand-new exhaust systems, courtesy of FMF.
Also taking home prizes from BRP are the first
overall B, first overall C, and first overall Over
60 racers. Austin Aube and Colton Jones will
both be awarded a new BRP chain guide, while
Dale Parriott, Sarah Kritsch and David Fry have
each earned $50 off at www.brpmoto.com.
Kenda Kash was also awarded, and Ryan
Kudla was the first Pro to cross the finish line
with $50 cash in his pocket, as the set of
Kendas he mounted the day before helped to
earn him a little return on his investment.
Other Kenda Kash winners were Blais Racing
Services’ Kevin DeJongh, Vector Powersports’
Steve Roberts, and Russell Landfield.
For round three, the NHHA will head to the
southernmost stop on the circuit. El Centro,
California, and the Superstition mountain
range will play host as AMA’s District 38 pulls
out all the stops for its annual National Hare
and Hound hosted by RoadRunner Off-Road
Racing.
Check out www.NationalHareandHound.com
for updates on prizes and the ATV class giveaways that are to come, as the one-loopers at
round three will get to race 60 miles. Ivan
Ramirez missed the top 20 by only a few
spots, but the Baja Ace says that this will be
his round, and anything is possible as the
racing continues to heat up!
1. Clay Davies (Bet).
1. Skyler R. Howes (Yam); 2. Levi Hutchings
(Yam); 3. Travis Livingston (Kaw); 4. Nicholas
Hamill (KTM); 5. Michael Allen (Yam).
1. David Fry; 2. Dan Capparelli (Kaw); 3. Zach
Dodson (Hon); 4. Chad Rager (Yam); 5.
Travis M. Flateau (Hon).
1. Steve Roberts (Yam); 2. Ken Maw (KTM);
3. Donald Matheney III (KTM); 4. Michael
Thompson (KTM); 5. Ron D. Zobell (Yam).
1. Jake Vainio (KTM); 2. Mark Weirich (Yam);
3. Paul Krause (KTM); 4. Mark Lundgreen
(KTM); 5. Todd M. Colley (Hon).
1. Paul Shafer (Yam); 2. Nicholas Balderas
(Hbg); 3. Ricardo B. Barbosa (KTM); 4. Brian
Nasif (KTM); 5. Greg Sigwing (Yam).
1. Michael Whitcomb (KTM); 2. Steve Williams
(Hon); 3. Dave Byrd (KTM); 4. Craig Prentice
(KTM); 5. Christian R. Bristol (Hon).
1. Kurt Caselli (KTM); 2. David Pearson (Hon);
3. Destry Abbott (Kaw); 4. Kendall Norman
(Hon); 5. Jacob Argubright (Kaw); 6. Carl
Maassberg (Kaw); 7. Colton Udall (Hon); 8.
Justin Morrow (Kaw); 9. Quinn Cody (Hon);
10. Robert Underwood (Kaw); 11. Skyler R.
Howes (Yam); 12. Brett Saunders (Kaw); 13.
Powers Irving (Yam); 14. Levi Hutchings
(Yam); 15. Ryan Kudla (Kaw); 16. David Fry;
17. Dan Capparelli (Kaw); 18. Travis
Livingston (Kaw); 19. Nicholas Hamill (KTM);
20. Clay Davies (Bet).
1. Kurt Caselli (KTM); 2. David Pearson (Hon);
3. Destry Abbott (Kaw); 4. Kendall Norman
(Hon); 5. Jacob Argubright (Kaw); 6. Justin
Morrow (Kaw); 7. Quinn Cody (Hon); 8.
Robert Underwood (Kaw); 9. Brett Saunders
(Kaw); 10. Ryan Kudla (Kaw).
1. Carl Maassberg (Kaw); 2. Colton Udall
(Hon); 3. Powers Irving (Yam); 4. Daniel L.
Madsen (KTM); 5. Trevor Watson (KTM).
1. Mark Raiche (Yam); 2. Phil Gorgone; 3.
Scott Anderson (Yam); 4. Robert Koch (Yam);
5. Dean Manuel (Yam).
1. Cordis D. Brooks (KTM);
1. Sarah Kritsch (KTM); 2. Shayla Fulfer
(KTM); 3. Anna Cody (Hon); 4. Olivia Rich
(Hon).
1. Austin H. Aube (Yam); 2. Hyes Hershey; 3.
Trevor Snapp (Yam); 4. Patrick Turner (Hon).
1.Brenden Throckmorton (KTM); 2. Brandon
G. Cable (KTM); 3. Garrett Burnett (Kaw); 4.
Harry Lyles (KTM); 5. Bryan Burch (KTM).
1. Kyle King (KTM).
1. Sanjay Shanbhag (KTM); 2. Samuel Fuller
(Hon); 3. Trevor Hoffman (Yam); 4. Nicolas
Garvin (KTM); 5. Brian Stevens (Suz).
1. Dennis Maurer (Hon); 2. Nils Davis (Hon);
3. Allen Morales (KTM); 4. Michael Stevens
(Kaw); 5. Jes Hulbert (Hon).
1. Chris Mahoney (KTM); 2. Jason Mahoney
(Hus); 3. Gary Brown (Yam).
1. Todd Manner (Yam); 2. Jason Piper (Hon);
3. Wayne Ellis (Yam); 4. Dave Harlan (KTM);
5. Greg Iesberts (KTM).
1. Alan Holtrop.
1. Gary Shafer (Yam); 2. Kenneth Greenfield
(KTM); 3. Rick Samuelson (KTM); 4. Scott
Johansson (KTM).
1. Daniel Barnett (Yam); 2. Jim Byrd; 3.
James Howard (KTM).
1. Jamie Trulove (Hon).
1. Colton Jones (Suz); 2, Nick Castillo; 3.
Timothy McFarland (Yam); 4. Matthew Reed
(Hon); 5. Dustin Oblonsky (Hus).
1. Brandon Crow (KTM); 2. Donelle Mitchell
(Hon); 3. Casey Petersen (Suz); 4. Jacob
Dechellis (Suz); 5. Trent Bain.
1. Max Brunson (Yam); 2. Jeremy Henninger;
3. Austin Newman (Yam); 4. John Miller
(Yam).
1. Ryan Liebelt (Hon); 2. Asaf Iny (KTM); 3.
Daniel O’Leary (KTM).
1. Robert Orendain (KTM); 2. Douglas
Perucca (Hon); 3. Kevin McClelland (Hus).
1. Richard B. Zeigler (KTM).
1. Brian Mathews (Kaw); 2. Jerry Oman
(Hus); 3. Patrick Gonzalez (Hon); 4. Donn
Nay; 5. Jerrold Cline (Hus).
1. Timothy Brady (KTM).
1. Alyssa Barger; 2. Vivian Shoemaker (Kaw).
1. Dale Parriott (KTM); 2. Terry Flynn (Hon);
3. Steve Stacey (Yam); 4. Ronald Kenyon
(KTM); 5. Kerry Chartier (Yam).
1. Rick Nuss (Hon); 2. Don Rager (Yam).
1. Ron Irby; 2. Keith Jones; 3. Ken Bunting
(Yam); 4. Rick Overby (Kaw); 4. Victor E.
Romero (KTM).
1. Ronald Hetherington (Hon); 2. Don Voyer
(KTM); 3. Bill Staley (KTM).
1. Joe Luther (Hon); 2. Andrew Duchscher; 3.
Ryan Romero (Kaw).
1. Corey Freeman (Yam); 2. Jonathan
Fultcoryn (Suz).
1. Andy Lagzdins (Hon); 2. Kyle Penner
(Hon); 3. Shawn Bigney (Suz); 4. Robin
Fawcett (Hon); 5. Aaron Hopson (Suz).
1. Bill Markel (Yam).
My start was way right, and I settled in behind
Destry Abbott about halfway down the bomb
run. I did get a first-kick start, so my jump off
the line was good, but I just had to go further
than he did and ultimately got stuck in his dust.
Kendall Norman and David Pearson led off the
By Jacob Argubright and Sarah Kritsch
start, but they were way to the left and didn’t
Photos by Ryan Sanders
go through the banners like Destry and I did; I
felt like that, too, might have been a huge
advantage for them.
Des and I settled into a sand wash about four
Round two of the National Hare and Hound
miles in, and as I looked up to my right, we
Series was this past weekend, and after a
great start to the 2011 season, I was eager to were being passed by about 10 guys who were
not in the wash but up on a trail. When I
have another shot at the podium. Things
aren’t going to be easy this year in the NHHA looked forward, Des was trying to find a way
Series, as we have about six guys who could out, and he literally launched a branch right at
easily run up front on any day, and as I would my face. I ended up swallowing part of the
learn at round two, I was going to have to be branch and actually choking in the middle of
on top of my game to be up there with them. the race. It was really scary, but I just went
with it and rinsed my mouth out after what
The start was a little bit overgrown, and I
seemed like two miles of barely breathing. It
really couldn’t pick a good line on Saturday.
was a total bust, but in the overall scheme of
We decided to just select a line that was as
far from the rest of the fast guys as possible. things, my day could have ended in that wash,
so I guess I am happy that I was able to keep
I won’t be doing that again!
going.
From there, I just settled into a groove and
followed Carl Maassberg for about 10 miles. I
got around him going into the alternate pits,
but he quickly passed me back, as he didn’t
need to stop. Ed and my dad could tell that
something was wrong, but I wasn’t going to let
him get ahead, so I didn’t even talk at the alt
gas. With 30 miles of wide-open trails to go, I
needed to get around him as quickly as
possible. I did so, and sort of settled into fifth
overall before the end of loop one.
In the pits, I was able to eat a couple of energy
blocks, and that really made the sick feeling
My line ended up being pretty good, but the
from the bush go away. Unfortunately, after
overgrowth of bushes really made my overall
throwing up early on loop one, I really had no
speed suffer. I worked it in pretty good before energy at that point.
the race and packed my line down, hoping to
get a good, solid start, and from there it was
just up to me and the bike to get to the front
before the banners.
Loop two was a great mix. I knew I was in
fifth, and I could see dust ahead across the
valley, but I really had no idea who was in
front of me. Right off the bat, we had a big
uphill, and from the back side I could barely
see the red bike off in the distance.
Unfortunately, Kendall was on his game, so I
just couldn’t reel him in after my loop-one
mishap. They said that Kurt Caselli rode really
well and gapped second by about seven
minutes; he is really going to be the one to
watch this year. I know that I can keep up
with him and the rest of the guys, because I
have beaten each of them at different races
last year – even Kurt one time at a Euro
Scramble – so I just need to keep myself in
the best shape possible.
I ended the day in fifth, which, although
disappointing, is actually pretty good
considering that we have some of the fastest
racers in the county here each and every
weekend.
My game plan will be a little bit different in El
Centro. It will be a lot faster, so I am sure we
will be doing some high-speed testing. Jason
Johnson and I are going to continue to work on
cardio and strength training. It was a fluke to
ingest the branch this past weekend, but it just
goes to show you that any minor deviation from
the regular routine is enough to allow the frontrunners to slip away.
My bike ran great, and everyone in the pits
worked hard to make sure that I had everything
I needed to finish at the front of the pack. I am
grateful for all of the support we have this year,
and I’m looking forward to the rest of the
season. I am fourth in the points right now, but
I know that I can make up some ground as this
season wears on.
As always, thanks to all of my awesome
sponsors: Kawasaki of Simi Valley, Off-Road
Support, Answer Racing, UFO Plastics, Jett
Boots, Omega, BRP, TBT Racing, Kal-Gard, Pro
Moto Billet, Fastway Performance, IMS, FMF, and
Brian Elliot at Allianceoffroad.com.
At round two, we unveiled the newest member
to team Off-Road Support. As the three-time
reigning District 37 Women’s Champion, Sarah
Kritsch will be a great asset to the team. She
has won the first two NHHA events this season,
and she plans to make 2011 her first year of
racing the full National circuit. Her race report
follows.
See you in the desert!
-Jacob
Jacob911.com
This year was my fourth year competing at the
Four Aces National Hare and Hound. My brother
Ryan and I arrived at the National no Saturday
afternoon. I was able to sign up and practice the
bomb. After riding for a bit, I headed over to my
new sponsor for the National Hare and Hound
Series, Off-Road Support. They looked over my
bike and made a few changes, and I was ready
for Sunday’s race. I am very excited to be riding
for Off-Road Support and I appreciate their
support.
Sunday morning, I practiced the bomb some
more and lined up for the start. I felt like I had a
good line, but I knew it would be dusty. With
the Women’s class full of fast ladies, I knew
the start would be very important.
When the banner dropped, I got a one-kick
start and I was off! I remember passing Anna
Cody and Shayla Fulfer a few miles after the
start. I kept pushing, trying to pass as many
people as I could, because I knew the other
ladies would be close.
I came into the alternate pit in first and got
gas. I wasn’t really sure if I needed the extra
gas, but after hitting reserve at DMC, I
thought it would be better to just stop. While
I was pitting, Shayla ended up passing me,
putting her in first. I did my best to try to
catch up to her, but she was riding really well
and I made a few mistakes.
Shayla came into pits about a minute or so
ahead of me, with several riders between us.
By Sandy Carter
With assistance from Zac Nash, Shane
O’Banion and Damon Prince
Photos by Rich Thurman
The rain had stopped the night before in the
middle of Tennessee, making the ground
spongy but still very rideable at Hazard Hill, a
favorite stop on the Pirelli/ Answer/ Maxxis/
Pro Taper-sponsored Mid-South Cross
Country Series circuit. Three hundred riders
gathered at the top of the hill that formed
the pit area, and the morning riders prepped
and headed off for the starting line. That’s
when the weather went to the dogs, and the
racers were left in a rut.
Mid-South races have a 10 a.m. start time for
the AA and all other classes. At about 9:30, a
cold, hard rain began falling – a serious down
pour that soaked the start and all who were
on the line.
The AA class had five riders on the start: Zac
I stopped to pit and was out fast, thanks to
the Dirt Diggers. Right out of the pits, there
was a technical uphill, and when I got to the
top, I saw Shayla stuck on the next uphill.
Luckily, I was able to make it up the hill, and I
kept on moving.
The rest of the race went really well, with no
crashes, and my bike ran great. I ended up
finishing first in class and first overall for the
two-loopers.
I would like to thank Off-Road Support,
Moose Racing, IMS, FMF, Scott, Dirt Diggers
MC, and my brother Ryan, who takes time
away from work and his wife (thanks, Bekah!)
to support me at the races.
Nash, moving up from the Heavy A ranks; his
fellow KTM riders Shane O’Banion and Dustin
Gibson; Kawasaki jockey Michael Williams; and
Suzuki pilot and Damon Prince. Only two of
them did five laps; two did four, and one did
not finish. By then, the course had turned into
a rain-soaked quagmire that sucked the bikes
down to the bottom of ruts, holding them fast,
between rocks and roots, the bikes’ engines
screaming to get out. Engines and pistons gave
up before most riders were ready to do so. But
in the end, Zac Nash won his first Overall and
placed first in the AA class, proving that
perseverance pays off.
Performance Supercycle, KTM, Moose,
Motorex, Pirelli, Smith, IMS, GDR Suspension,
and PG Graphics are backing Zac in this year’s
racing effort. His trainer is Troy Ross. Nash
has not disappointed any of his supporters,
as he continues to gain strength and build his
confidence with each race he enters. Zac
Nash is one to watch.
“The race this weekend was a mudder!” Nash
said. “I wrapped the Heavy A championship
at the race the week before [at Seven Creeks
in Cadiz, Kentucky] and was looking forward
to my first race in the AA class. I entered the
woods in third place off the start, behind
Shane O’Banion and Dustin Gibson. I tried to
stay with them on the first lap, and in the
process I pulled a lead on the rest of the AA
class. I felt good, and focused on maintaining
a good pace and keeping the wheels rolling. I
managed not to get stuck the entire race and
consistently kept putting laps in. When I
crossed the finish line on the last lap, I
managed to have worked my way into the
lead. My first race in the AA class was a
success! Dustin and Shane’s bikes blew up.
They were about two or three minutes ahead
when they broke, but I was consistent and
there in the end.”
Damon Prince finished all five laps for second
overall – his best effort this season. Shane
O’Banion did finish the race, completing four
laps for third place. Dustin Gibson did four laps
before he finally had to pull off due to a
mechanical failure, logging fourth. Hometown
boy Michael Williams pulled a DNF and finished
no complete laps. Considering the conditions,
maybe Williams was lucky to still have a working
Kawasaki at the end of the day.
Prince, from Lexington, Tennessee, is a recent
graduate of Murray State in Kentucky. He’s no
stranger to Hazard Hill, and he was very
satisfied that he stayed in the race and finished
with a second in the AA class.
“It rained for about 30 or 40 minutes before the
race started,” Prince said. “Thank goodness it
stopped about 10:45 and let us get the race in
without another drop, or at least that I saw. I
just got off the start and tried to just race the
track, because I knew it was going to be bad. I
mainly tried to be consistent and pick good lines
all day. On the fourth lap, my bike started
making noises like it was getting hot, so I
stopped and dad filled it up with water. I guess
it all turned out to be a pretty good plan for my
best-ever Mid-South finish, in second overall.”
O’Banion gave it a valiant effort, but in the
end, the failure was the machine’s, not man’s.
A recent graduate of Western Kentucky
University, O’Banion has been consistent this
season and is the points leader of the AA
class.
“It was nice up on Hazard Hill until about 10
a.m.,” O’Banion said, “and that’s when the
rain began to fall. It rained for exactly an hour
on top of an already saturated course, so
needless to say, it was a little muddy. I got
the holeshot and rode hard for about 100 feet
and decided that this wasn’t such a good
idea, due to the conditions, so I simply just
rode a lap and let the trail wear in.
“Me and Dustin really charged hard the whole
race just to keep upright and the wheels
rolling,” O’Banion continued. “On the next-tolast lap, both our bikes started acting up and
losing power. Dustin pulled out of the race and
didn’t even attempt the final lap, but I did. I
was trying to be as easy as I could on the last
lap, just riding it hard enough to make it around
one last time. At about two miles to go, the bike
quit. I just sat there a few minutes and then got
the idea to run the water out of my Camelbak
onto the cylinder to try and cool the motor. I
then bump-started the bike down a hill and
made it about another quarter of a mile before
it quit again. Even though it was a really bad
day, it could have been worse, and I still got
10th and kept the points lead.”
1. Zac Nash (KTM); 2. Damon Prince (Suz); 3.
Brandon Ferguson (Yam); 4. Ryan Morphew
(KTM); 5. Beau Nicewinter (KTM); 6. Dexter
Colvin (Yam); 7. Eric Gill (KTM); 8. Chase
Peeler (KTM); 9. Mark Jones (Yam); 10.
Shane O’Banion (KTM).
1. Zac Nash (KTM); 2. Damon Prince (Suz); 3.
Shane O’Banion (KTM); 4. Dustin Gibson
(Suz).
1. Brandon Ferguson (Yam); 2. Beau
Nicewinter (KTM); 3. Dexter Colvin (Yam).
1. Dillon Phelps (KTM); 2. Jenner Turner
(KTM); 3. Jase Martin (Hus).
1. Ryan Morphew (KTM); 2. Mark Jones
(Yam); 3. Jeff Cowan (Yam); 4. Jeff Green
(KTM); 5. Carlos Humphrey (KTM).
1. Timmy P’Poole (Kaw); 2. Gregg Elrod
(Hus); 3. Eddie Crain (Kaw); 4. Robert Adkins
(KTM); 5. Kenny Moore (Yam).
1. Eric Gill (KTM); 2. Mark Wood (Hon); 3.
Mark Guy (Yam); 4. John Glaus (Yam).
1. Mike Moore (Yam); 2. James Dicus (KTM);
3. Adam Elliott (Yam); 4. Blake Diesser (Yam);
5. Blake Ricketts (Yam).
1. Zac Greenwell (KTM); 2. Jake Froman
(KTM); 3. Tanner McCoy (KTM); 4. Lee
Yarboro (KTM); 5. Ezra Hickerson (Suz).
1. Drexel Payne (Yam); 2. Dirk Richards
(Kaw); 3. Blake Redferrin (KTM); 4. Braxton
Dallas (Yam); 5. Nick Bryant (Hon).
1. Chase Peeler (KTM); 2. Austin Toone
(KTM); 3. Brandon Rinsch (KTM); 4. Justin
Riley (Yam); 5. Kurt Moore (KTM).
1. Brian Peck (KTM); 2. P.J. Shortt (Suz); 3.
Stephan Bynum (Kaw); 4. Dustin Arant
(KTM); 5. Kevin McClain (KTM).
1. Gregg Rumery (Yam); 2. Chance Blackwell
(KTM); 3. Todd Elrod (KTM); 4. Dennis Holden
(KTM); 5. John McMahon (Kaw).
1. Robert Ellis (KTM); 2. Jim Sorrels (KTM); 3.
Alan Staples (Yam); 4. Jeffrey Frizzell (Yam);
5. Ron Nelson (KTM).
1. Gregg Tucker (KTM); 2. Dillon Pirtle (Yam);
3. Bob Pullman (Hus); 4. Chris Sumner (Hon);
5. Jed Goad (KTM).
1. Paul Michaels (KTM); 2. Don Rye (KTM); 3.
Robert Berg Sr. (KTM).
1. Shane Free (Yam); 2. Lee Sumner (KTM);
3. Jacob Oliver (Kaw); 4. Zachary Downs
(KTM); 5. Daniel Arant (Hon).
1. Dalton Cross (KTM); 2. Ryan Dile (KTM); 3.
Lee Sumner (KTM); 4. Johnny Rye (Yam); 5.
Daniel Burke (KTM).
1. Rex Nuhring (Yam); 2. Ryan Watson
(KTM); 3. Logan P’Poole (KTM); 4. Ben Ellis
(KTM); 5. Bronson Childs (Kaw).
1. Justin Miller (KTM); 2. Cody Dile (KTM); 3.
Jeffrey Barnett (Kaw); 4. Landon Hogue
(Hon); 5. Matthew Davis (KTM).
1. Heath Robinson (Yam); 2. Kent McReynolds
(Yam); 3. John Trolla (KTM); 4. Kevin Murphy
(Suz); 5. Chris Webb (Kaw).
1. John Duke (Kaw); 2. Thomas Sorrells
(Suz); 3. Mathew Plaster (KTM); 4. John
Fowler (Suz); 5. D.B. Allen (Kaw).
1. Clinton Clark (Yam); 2. Rickey Doores; 3.
Jeff Curtis (KTM); 4. Kerry Wolfe (KTM); 5.
Thomas Higdon (Yam).
1. Thomas Young (Hon); 2. Matthew Lynn
(KTM); 3. Franklin Hughes (KTM); 4. Ethan
Suiter (Kaw).
1. Brent Parker ( Kaw); 2. Colton Ward (Kaw);
3. Patrick Uebellhor (Hon); 4. Michael
Moreland (KTM).
Story and Photos by Dan McGee
Gray skies, cool temperatures, and an early
morning rain that set up the dirt greeted
northern Nevada motocross racers as they
started their season. The event was staged by
the Reno chapter of the Over The Hill Gang
and sanctioned by the Sierra Motocross
Racing Association. There was a good
turnout, with 376 entries spending the day
racing hard on the sandy, fast track that had a
new layout. For many, it was time to clear out
the cobwebs from the winter, while others
were returning to the sport.
When the final 250/450 Pro moto began, Seth
Johnson held the point, with Christian Huber
giving chase. After a couple of laps, Huber
took the point and then began to gap the field
as he stormed off to the victory.
“I’m just a little out of shape at the moment,”
Huber said after taking the checkered flag,
“so halfway through, I got a little bit of arm
pump going, and I just kind of pushed
through it. He [Johnson] got the hole shot on
me, but I got past him on the second lap. The
track is nice and wet – really grippy – but it’s
rough as heck, and I love the rough stuff!”
Huber added that this was the first time he’s
ridden in the past few months and he had
some getting in shape to do.
The last Over 30 Pro moto began as a duel
between brothers-in-law Scott Stillmock, who
got the early lead, and Rich Thorwaldson. Lap
after lap, they tore around the track, but things
went wrong late in the moto when they
encountered slower riders. Thorwaldson was
going faster than Stillmock but saw an opening
and went for it. Unfortunately, there was
contact and Stillmock went down. While
Thorwaldson won the race, the incident took
the luster off the victory. Later, Stillmock said he
was all right but would be sore the next day.
The other pro winner was Coty Loudenburg, in
the 125/250 class.
One of the final motos of the day was in the
250/450 Intermediate class, which ran with the
Over 40 Intermediates. After getting the
holeshot, Preston Joy, a Fernley college student,
made it a sweep for this class with a victory,
even though he was briefly challenged in the
first laps by Sparks, Nevada, rider Anthony
Walsh.
“It was fun,” he said. “In the last motos, I just
holeshotted them. He [Walsh] was pretty close,
and we started battling. Then I just pulled him
a little bit. The track was rough, and I like it
when it’s rough, as that’s when I excel.”
Another rider returning to the sport was
Normajean Jean-Blanchette, who used to
dominate the women’s classes in years past.
Even after two years away from racing, she
served notice that her speed is still there.
While Jean-Blanchette ran away with the
Women’s race, there was a family duel for
second, as sisters Shami Potratz and Shalie
Thorwaldson dueled and wound up taking
second and third, respectively, ahead of their
niece Hope Stillmock.
After taking the checkered flag, JeanBlanchette said: “It’s my first race in two
years. It feels great to be back on the bike
again, but I’ve got a lot of working to do.”
In the Pee Wee divisions, Lux Turner won the
Beginner class, while Casey Carmichael scored a
double by taking both the Junior and Open races.
With so much hard racing, several riders went
down, and a few needed the medic’s attention.
However, no one had to be transported to the
hospital.
As the dust settled, OTHG president Layne
Kolbet reflected on the day’s racing.
“It went great, and it was awesome today,”
Kolbet said. “Went smooth, no hiccups, no
ambulance rides – went good. The season looks
promising and it looks better than last year.”
1. Lux Turner; 2. Greg Bradshaw; 3. Dametre
Proutsos; 4. Chris Slobogin; 5. Trystin Tucker.
1. Casey Carmichael; 2. Andy Fahey; 3. Ben
Knoblock; 4. Jeremy Torres; 5. Ayden
Katzenmeyer.
1. Casey Carmichael; 2. Jeremy Torres.
1. Julian Corridori; 2. Jaron Thompson; 3. Zac
Bradshaw; 4. Bryce Tremaine; 5. Tristan
Mathisen.
One of the crazier incidents happened during 1. Kurtis Gray; 2. Tyler Guan; 3. Danny Hillyer;
the start of the final 85 Beginner moto.
4. Trevor Tellez; 5. Andy Fahey.
Contact put Cody Estes on the ground, with
his leg caught on the back wheel of Steffen
1. Hunter Miller; 2. Mikey Hillyer; 3. Alex
Laudenslager’s (16L) bike. Fortunately, neither Katzenbach.
rider was hurt in the incident and both were
able to continue.
1. Hunter Miller; 2. Mikey Hillyer; 3. Kurtis Gray;
4. Danny Hillyer; 5. Hunter Lewis.
1. Shane Paterson; 2. Evyn Smith; 3. Andrew
Williams; 4. Jordan Beck; 5. Cody Force.
1. Chad Heishman; 2. Auggie Roefer; 3. Austin
Johnson; 4. Danny Manning; 5. Garrett Hueftle.
1. Austin Walton.
1. Austin Walton; 2. Chad Heishman; 3. Mason
Olsen; 4. Jacob Baldwin; 5. Austin Johnson.
1. Caleb Duster; 2. Tyler May; 3. Brett
Thompson; 4. Hunter Doyle; 5. Devin Force.
1. Zach Clauser; 2. Corey Riddle; 3. Cody
Carter; 4. Blake Hopkins; 5. Austin Rodgers.
1. Billy Adam; 2. Robert Tanner; 3. James
Gonzales; 4. Coal Dils; 5. Ryan Lee.
1. Dean Mannschreck; 2. Nick Garcia-Sillis; 3.
Chris Paras; 4. Jesse Sanchez.
1. Coty Loudenburg; 2. Dylan Bauer.
1. Coal Dils; 2. James Gonzales; 3. Nick GarciaSillis; 4. Jesse Sanchez.
1. James Estes; 2. Brett Thompson; 3. Tyler
May; 4. Dav Tucker; 5. Caleb Duster.
1. Jesse Ferris; 2. Clint Winship; 3. Michael
Combs; 4. Tyler Artrup; 5. Jacob McCombs.
1. Mitchell Bellamy; 2. Anthony Walsh; 3.
Preston Joy; 4. Alex Ficco; 5. Brandon
Acquistapace.
1. Christian Huber; 2. Seth Johnson; 3. Butch
Stillmock; 4. Scott Stillmock.
1. Normajean Jean-Blanchette, 2. Shami
Potratz, 3. Shalie Thorwaldson, 4. Hope
Stillmock, 5. Katy Samuels.
1. Preston Joy; 2. Alex Ficco; 3. Billy Adams;
4. Dean Mannschreck; 5. Coal Dils.
1. Kyle Habberstad; 2. Justin Edland; 3. Sam
Richardson.
Story and Photos by Rodney Rutherford
1. Jesse Ferris; 2. Dennis Buckmeyer; 3.
Bubba Mason; 4. Brett Fay; 5. Pat Olson.
1. Mitchell Bellamy; 2. Preston Joy; 3.
Brandon Acquistapace; 4. Cody Acquistapace;
5. Mikey Chick.
1. Bruce Hildebrand; 2. Travis Hilbish; 3.
Shalie Thorwaldson; 4. Mark Held; 5. John
Paras.
1. Shaun Carmichael; 2. Kirk Sego; 3.
Jeremiah Brown; 4. Patrick Griffith; 5. George
Forbes.
1. Kyle Wyant; 2. Bryan Hammond.
1. Rich Thorwaldson; 2. Scott Stillmock; 3.
Butch Stillmock; 4. Pete Cannizzaro.
1. Chris Duran; 2. Jon Keller; 3. Mike Fillmore;
4. John O’Neill; 5. Scott Jones.
1. Larry Brown; 2. David Mothershead; 3.
Chris Dyer; 4. James Lamonte; 5. Harry
Trainor.
1. Marcus Gentry; 2. Tony Fagundes; 3. Tim
Dyer; 4. Carl Lucas.
1. Larry Brown.
The sun lit up Pala
Raceway for the fifth and
final round of the California
Gold Cup Motocross Series,
presented by Kal-Gard.
After a chilly fourth round
at Competitive Edge
Motocross in Hesperia,
California, the warmth was
well received. Racer entries
topped the 350 mark, and the standard
manufacturer contingencies from Cobra,
Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Polini, Suzuki and
Yamaha were offered. This last round was a
double-points day, giving racers a chance to
rocket up the points board to vie for that
coveted Gold Cup.
At round three, Motolife.com’s Serge Astaykin
dug deep in the 450 Pro class, grabbing the
overall win. At this final round, he had Joey
Olson launching ahead of him in moto one and
Elia Zenetti blocking his way to the front.
Gaining momentum as the race progressed,
Astaykin pushed his way into the lead near the
halfway mark and stayed there for the win.
Meanwhile, Austin Haught had worked his way
from fourth to second. Olson had to settle for
third.
Russian ripper Astaykin smoked the pack in
moto two and kept the bike out of the dirt for
the second-moto win, Olsen made a pass on
Haught for second, and this time Haught settled
for third. Astaykin is currently riding out of San
Bernardino, California, with an eye on
contesting the 2011 AMA Nationals on the big
bikes.
Lebard & Underwood’s Mitch Van De Mortel
trucked into the last round holding on to a fourpoint gap over Hunter Rollins in the 450
Intermediate class. Swiftly assuming control,
Van De Mortel flew into the lead in moto one,
over Rollins. Then, Rollins succumbed to AllAmerican KTM’s Cody Baker, who took over
Several states and countries were represented second. Van De Mortel got the win, with Baker
second, and Rollins third and needing a win in
in every round, and each round featured
moto two to overtake Van De Mortel.
outstanding performances, such as that of
Southern Californian Blake Green, who ripped
to a few victories at rounds two and three. At
round four, Arizona racer Austin Burns and
Wyoming’s Zane Johnson put on a show. Nick
Sanchez put in strong showings, winning the
450 Pro class at round one and placing third
at round two; unfortunately, he was involved
in a serious crash at round three and then
another one at round four, ending what could
have been a successful run. Justin Bogle
blitzed the pack at round two, winning both
Pro classes.
In moto two, the dominoes fell, as Herz
appeared to be mired in the pack, with Carrillo
taking another third, while Herz came in eighth.
Carrillo ended up third overall and Herz fifth
overall, resulting in a tie for the 250
Intermediate title. In the Schoolboy war, Herz
finished third to Carrillo’s fourth overall, but
Carrillo carried enough cushion into round five
to take his second series title, and Herz finished
second for the series.
In moto two, the two title contenders
repeated their finishes: Van De Mortel was
first and Rollins was third, so Van De Mortel
wrapped up the title, with Rollins eight points
behind in second.
Rollins did not go home empty-handed,
though, as he grabbed the 450 Four-Stroke
series title.
Brady Kiesel has come a long way from his
mini days. Sporting his bright fluorescent
helmet, he has always been a front-runner. His
Gold Cup performances were stellar at round
three, with a win in the Schoolboy (Through
17) class and a third in the 250 Intermediate
class. He repeated that effort at round five,
upping the third in the 250 Intermediates to a
win. The real battle in these two classes was
for the series titles. James Herz had eight
points over Chris Carrillo in the 250
Intermediates, and he held the lead early in
moto one, but Kiesel passed him. Herz still
held down second, to Carrillo’s third, and he
Precision Wheel Services’ Shelby Ward showed
appeared to be on track for the series win.
up with a 23-point split over the tough Gina
Alvarez, and 28 points over Bryanna Marcotte.
Marcotte had to sit out round two due to an
injury, which may have turned out to be the
difference in the championship, as Marcotte
then rode to overall wins at rounds three and
four. Ward, the 2010 CGC 125-250 Women’s
champion, knew she had to ride smoothly and
finish to top the series once again. Ward
finished second to Norwegian racer Marie
Pettersen, who was dominant in moto one, as
she tore to the lead and the win.
In the Over 40 class, Michael Robbins and Mike
Antles signed up for the day tied in points.
Robbins placed ahead of Antles three of four
times in the previous rounds. Antles won at
round two, and those points helped him greatly
in the hunt for the class title. Talking to Factory
Effex/ Twin Air’s Antles before the first moto, he
was all smiles and ready to romp in his quest
for the title.
Antles led the first outing, over Tim Hickerson
and Robbins. On lap two, the trio was tightly
clustered, each one of them trying to pull away
from the other. On the last lap of the six-lap
moto, Antles and Robbins dropped Hickerson
behind as their battle heated up. Robbins
surged close to Antles, yo-yoing, but he was
unable to secure a go-by, finishing just a few
bikelengths behind Antles at the checkers.
Sarah Troxel dug in for moto two, railing the
corners and flying off the jumps into the
chop, only to gas through and race on, but
she knifed in a corner and lost her wheels.
After Troxel went down, Marcotte and Ward
had a donnybrook for first, and Marcotte
temporarily took the lead. Pettersen had
gotten a slow start, but she moved into the
lead at the midway point and stayed there for
the win, though not before Troxel served
notice that she is back, after getting back up
and firing back into second for good. Having a
problem, Ward finished fifth; regardless, Ward Always a gamer, Hickerson warred with Antles
early in moto two, as Robbins rode just behind
was the queen of the day, boxing up her
them. Hickerson got the lead but folded his
second CGC Women’s title in a row!
front wheel on the left-hand corner after the
checkers, going down. Now in the lead, Antles
just had to finish ahead of Chaparral’s Robbins –
which he did, for the overall victory, and the
series title.
Antles also won the Over 45 title.
Dylan Merrian seemed destined for a sure 250
Novice title after decisively winning moto one,
but he suffered a hard crash while leading moto
two. Courageously, he remounted when he was
able and finished the race, ending up fourth
overall in the series points. Meanwhile, in
stepped Austin Meyers, nipping Ryder Geer by
three points for the title.
Meyers also won the 450 Novice CGC title.
Ethan Reyes fought off the competition for a
title in the Pee Wee (7-8) class. His nemesis,
Trevor Finch, got his revenge by taking the title
in the Super Pee Wee class.
Suzuki-mounted Miles McDonald left a red
mark on the competition in the final
standings, winning the Supermini (Through
13), 85 Open, and 85 (Through 11) classes.
Zachary Norton won four of five races,
capturing the 85/150 (14-16) title, and adding
another Gold Cup to his booty with a title in
the Supermini (Through 16) class.
(Kaw).
1. Brock Bennett (Cob); 2. Ryan Di Francesco
(Cob); 3. Hunter Ganwood (Cob); 4. Anthony
Castro (Cob); 5. Slade Varola (Cob).
1. Desmond Spears (KTM); 2. Tanner
Bjorklund (Yam); 3. Tyler Felix (KTM); 4. Kyle
Doyle (Yam); 5. Justin Sherwood (Suz).
1. Andrew Hertzler (KTM); 2. Dilan Schwartz
(Cob); 3. Ethan Reyes (Cob); 4. Trevor Finch
(Cob); 5. Preston Kilroy (KTM).
1. Eric Snow (Hon); 2. Cameron McLaughlin
(Hon); 3. Genette Vage (Hon); 4. Kenneth
Illman (Hon); 5. Raymond Rojas (Hon).
1. Dilan Schwartz (Cob); 2. Preston Kilroy
(KTM); 3. Trevor Finch (Cob); 4. Ethan Reyes
(Cob); 5. Andrew Hertzler (KTM).
1. Marie Pettersen (Yam); 2. Sarah Troxel
(Hon); 3. Shelby Ward (Kaw); 4. Bryanna
Marcotte (Suz); 5. Genette Vage (Hon).
1. Matix Soto (KTM): 2. Nolan Colborn (KTM);
3. Austin Dooley (KTM); 4. Hunter Mulvain
(Kaw); 5. Dylan Gaszak (KTM).
1. Brady Kiesel (KTM); 2. Jessie Huntley
(Kaw); 3. James Herz (Kaw); 4. Chris Carrillo
(Hon); 5. Daniel Meynet (Kaw).
1. Chris Nunes (KTM); 2. Preston Kilroy (KTM).
1. Dane Davies (Yam); 2. Caleb Dykhoff
(Yam); 3. Jake Bigbee (Hon); 4. Ryan
Boardman (Yam); 5. Joseph Estrada (Yam).
1. Carson Mumford (KTM); 2. Ciaran Naran
(KTM); 3. Conner Mullennix (KTM); 4. Michael
Sandoval (KTM); 5. Ezra Lewis (KTM).
1. Carson Mumford (KTM); 2. Ciaran Naran
(KTM); 3. Conner Mullennix (KTM); 4. Gavin
Leachman (KTM); 5. Michael Sandoval (KTM).
1. Jeff Oxelmark (KTM); 2. Cole Puckett
(Yam); 3. Rowdy Soland (Kaw); 4. Ben Miller
(Yam); 5. Matt Jones (Kaw).
1. Tyler Weyman (Kaw); 2. Miles McDonald
(Suz); 3. Cade Autenrieth (Suz); 4. Ian Smith
(Yam); 5. Chase Felong (Yam).
1. Tristan Miller (Suz); 2. Jeremy Byrne
(Yam); 3. Tanner Scogin (Suz); 4. Joseph
Marroquin (Yam); 5. Zachary Bierbower (Yam).
1. Zachary Norton (Yam); 2. Giovanni Martini
(Yam); 3. Zach Moistner (Hon).
1. Tristan Miller (Suz); 2. Joseph Marroquin
(Yam); 3. Ian Smith (Yam); 4. Miles McDonald
(Suz); 5. Zachary Bierbower (Yam).
1. Tyler Weyman (Kaw); 2. Chase Felong
(Yam); 3. Miles McDonald (Suz); 4. Rylas
Uddberg (KTM); 5. Cade Autenrieth (Suz).
1. Jantz Grodzicki (Suz); 2. Giovanni Martini
(Yam); 3. Zachary Norton (Yam); 4. Billy Deile
1. Kordel Caro (Hon); 2. Austin Myers (Yam);
3. Ryder Geer (Yam); 4. Lorenzo Borgi (Hon);
5. Tanner Bjorklund (Yam).
1. Brady Kiesel (KTM); 2. Colton Aeck (Suz);
3. Chris Carrillo (Hon); 4. Joe Reynolds
(Kaw); 5. James Herz (Kaw).
1. Brandon Scharer (Suz); 2. Corey Freeman
(KTM); 3. Billy Ruft (KTM); 4. Magnus
Markestad (Hon).
1. Adam Call (Yam); 2. Chris Bartley (Yam); 3.
Jordan Reynolds (Suz); 4. Lorenzo Borgi
(Hon); 5. Cory Conner (Suz).
1. Bryce Stewart (Suz); 2. Shawn Rhinehart
(Suz); 3. Cody Rye (Kaw); 4. Zachary Cobb
(Yam); 5. Hayden Kronquist (Hon).
1. Austin Myers (Yam); 2. Chad Panek (Kaw);
3. Matt Pastor (Yam); 4. Jacob Johnson
(Kaw); 5. Dillon Davies (Yam).
1. Mitch Van De Mortel (Yam); 2. Hunter
Rollins (Kaw); 3. Cody Baker (KTM); 4. Brady
Fugate (Yam); 5. Chris Bartley (Yam).
1. Cody Baker (KTM); 2. Hunter Rollins
(Kaw); 3. Thomas Haug Skarsbo (Kaw); 4.
Christopher Palmer.
1. Serge Astaykin (Kaw); 2. Joey Olson (Yam);
3. Austin Haught (Hon); 4. Hayden Kronquist
(Hon); 5. Elia Zinetti (Hon).
1. Pierre Oxelmark; 2. Matt Bateman; 3. Ryan
Doty; 4. Curt Heintzman.
1. Mike Antles (Yam); 2. Michael Robbins
(Hon); 3. Tim Hickerson (Kaw).
1. Mike Antles (Yam); 2. Dennis Davies
(Yam); 3. Samuel Groce (Hon).
By Jamey Blunt
Photos by Janice Blunt
Sandwiched between rainstorms, a perfect 78degree day greeted the racers of the
Southern California Flat Track Association who
were in attendance of the 2010 awards
banquet at the Perris Raceway facility.
An open practice was held from 9 a.m. until
noon, which made everyone happy. At 1
o’clock, “Fast Freddie” Edwards served up his
now-famous carne asada, and a long line
formed as attendees were ready to get in on
Among the highlights of the class championships
that action.
By 2 p.m., with EZ-Ups now scattered around was Monica Gil’s taking the hard-fought
the picnic area, Donna Edwards kicked off the championship in the Youth 85cc class.
distribution of awards for the series
champions.
First up were two special SCFTA jackets
presented to Mr. Ed’s Ed Steffen for his
countless hours of dedicated service to the
Flat Track community. The second jacket was
presented to starter Rudy Gil for the countless
hours he puts in at the track. Rudy takes all
the grief from frustrated racers with his usual
smile and just seems to get better with every
race.
Jim Wood Sr. was another standout, as he won
the Vet Over 50 class and scored second in
points for the 250cc Two-Stroke Expert class as
well.
Cycle World’s Mark Cernicky (the poet of the
motorcycle industry) topped the Men’s FourStroke division and backed that up with a
second place in the rough-and-tumble Open
Pro class as well.
At 5 foot 2, Lenny “Mr. Consistency” Rodriguez
may not win every round, but when all the
points were tallied, he topped the Classic
Vintage 500-750cc class, which was what he
was after.
The famous Bush brothers made themselves a
little more famous: Robert was the fastest of
the large Vet Over 35 class, and David put in
solid rides throughout the season to capture
the coveted Open Pro top honor!
The good sport of the day was Dennis “Blind”
Kanegae, who won the Super Senior Over 60
class and the “Stevie Wonder” award. Dennis
ran into enough racers that the Perris Valley
medical facility added another EMT just for him.
Dennis is now seeking sponsorship from Larry
H. Parker and LensCrafters and promises to
have new glasses for the new season.
A raffle was held immediately following the
awards, with 32 prizes from barbecues to MP3
players up for the taking. The big winner, as
usual, was the Southland Racing camp, as
Laura Wood netted a total of six prizes to the
Bush camp’s four.
1. Monica Gil.
1. Nick Ottele.
1. Nick Gil; 2. Corey Bauman; 3. Marc Pape.
1. Harly Legowski; 2. David Reinhard.
1. David Bush; 2. Mark Cernicky; 3. Jeff Evans.
1. Carl Whitt; 2. Michael Fritz; 3. Monte
Roberts.
1. Joe Steffen; 2. Jim Wood.
1. Mark Cernicky; 2. Billy Katkov.
1. Jim Steet; 2. Keith Speir.
1. Robert Bush; 2. Marc Pape; 3. Jim Rosa.
1. Keith Speir; 2. Bill Wright.
1. Jim Wood; 2. Jim Ottele; 3. Joe Steffen.
1. Dennis Kanegae; 2. David Molitor; 3. Allen
Gridler.
1. Lenny Rodriguez; 2. Jeff Apple; 3. Joe Pape.
1. Jim Ottele.
Ladera Ranch, CA
Phone: 949-533-6715
email:[email protected]