Grassroots Racing: Fair Motocross

There may not be a deeper root in the motocross industry than the hundreds of motocross events taking places at state and county fairground across the country. As the summer season makes its exit and parents are making a mad dash for last-minute school supplies, riders all over the country are firing up their dirt bikes and quads for one last mad dash of their own. These die-hard racers will be entering their local fair race in hopes of podium glory. For them, it’s not about “national” fame, no siree, it’s the potential for victory that draws them in.

Groomed turns? Nah! (Photo by Kelley)

One can’t help but think about those Errol Morris Miller High Life commercials when you think of county fair motocross. In honor of the fair motocross racer, I’ve made up my own commercial.

“Ahh, what’s the fantastic stench burning my inner nasal cavity? I thought so … race gas! It goes well with a side of mud, motorized aerobatics and a chorus line of thunderous four-strokes. Here’s to motocross racers everywhere, especially those who aren’t overpaid and whining because their goggles are dirty. Get a grip, buck up and pin it. Just look at him, the county fair racer, he’s confident but does not boast. Ignore the duct taped fender, because this modern-day daredevil knows his way around a tool box and doesn’t pay someone to change his four-wheeler’s oil. It doesn’t matter if he’s a 40-something has-been reliving a dream or a ‘young gun’ emulating his favorite extreme athlete, we salute him. You are the very definition of a grassroots competitor.”

I’ll leave you with this Errol Morris Drink Responsibly ad for obvious reasons. Respect age restrictions and if you’re going to indulge and down a few…do it responsibly and AFTER you’re done racing. Common sense people!

Amateur AMA ATV MX Racer: Most Wins In 2010

While all the attention is on – and deservedly so – Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Josh Creamer and his first career ITP Tires Moose Racing AMA ATV MX Championship, there were several other AMA ATV MX class champions in 2010. You know, those “other classes” that don’t earn that true professional status. While Creamer’s six overall wins (and 10 podium finishes) are impressive, he wasn’t the rider with the most class victories this year. Nope! In fact, several riders put up double digit win totals in 2010. Some even won two titles.

The rider with the most overalls in 2010 was C-class racer Dylan Tremellen of Conestoga, Penn. Aboard his Honda, Tremellen won a total of 17 races and won two titles (Production C and 4-Stroke C). He was perfect in the 4-Stroke C class where he attended eight races and won them all. That was good enough for the title and also let him skip that class at Loretta’s and try the Production B ranks (he finished 17th). He was almost as brilliant in the Production C class, posting eight wins in the nine races he competed in. His level of success also allowed him to move up to the Open B class at the Tennessee finale (He earned 11th).

I’m glad to see him move up and try the more challenging classes and I can’t wait to see his results in the B classes in 2010, especially under better conditions (not a muddy, wet Loretta’s). Congrats Dylan and I like your website. If you keep winning like this, you’ll need a bigger one!

Dylan Tremellen won two different C class titles in 2010. (Image courtesy Dylan Tremellen)

Other riders who posted 10 plus wins (sometimes in multiple classes) in 2010 were:

• 90 Production (8-15)/90 Automatic Sr. (12-15): Chase Horton, 14
• 70 CVT (6-11)/50 CVT (6-8): D.J. Bassani, 13
• Pro-Am Production/Pro-Am Unlimited: Joel Hetrick, 12
• 4-Stroke A/Junior 25/Veteran 30+ A/B: Josh Strominski, 12
• 450B/4-Stroke B: Chase Henry, 11
• Super-Mini (13-15)/90 Modified (8-15)]: Samuel Rowe, 11
• Women’s class: Heather Byrd, 10 (lone rider with at least 10 wins in one class)

Congrats to all the 2010 AMA ATV MX Champions.

Please let me know if I forgot any rider who notched at least 1o wins this year (combined; in one or more classes).

Pastrana Fulfills Quad Rider’s Dream

I read an online story from Dan DeFrancesco that ran in the Poughkeepsie Journal about Travis Pastrana surprising a young ATV and dirt bike rider/fan named Brett Lisikatos of Wappingers Falls, N.Y. The story says Pastrana surprised Lisikatos, who suffers from a rare form of cancer is an off-road enthusiast, with a personal meeting, a tour of his “compound” and even let him jump a quad into his famous foam pit. How cool is that?!

(Website shot courtesy Travis Pastrana)

The whole meeting was part of ESPN SportsCenter’s My Wish series, which covers sports-related Make-A-Wish requests from kids with life-threatening illnesses. It was a great story and a dream come true for Lisikatos. If you missed it, you can watch it here.

I’ve always thought Pastrana was a little crazy and his video stunts and freestyle tricks prove it, but this ESPN video showed me another side — one I’m not familar with — that shows he’s a caring man and a truly genuine individual. I’m glad this industry has a guy like him. I’d still like Pastrana to try competing in the ATV MX Nationals, but that’s another story. I also want to give Kudos to ESPN for understanding the draw of off-road riding and not simply ignoring it because it’s not a traditional stick-and-ball-type sport.

Visit Travis Pastrana’s website.

Perfection Ends At Unadilla For Amateur ATV MX Racers

Three amateur ATV motocross racers saw their perfect season’s come to end at Round 9 of the 2010 ITP Tires Moose Racing AMA ATV MX Championship series held at Unadilla Raceway in New York. Heading into the ninth stop on the 2010 ATV MX Nationals schedule, only three riders who have raced at every round had remained undefeated for the season. That all changed at Unadilla.

Courtesy ATVmotocross.com

Two-time reigning Women’s Class champion Heather Byrd brought her eight-race win streak in 2010 to Unadilla hoping to continue it. In fact, dating back to 2008, Byrd had won 28 consecutive “Pro-Am” Women’s class races. That’s an impressive stat for any racer! She owns a 59-point lead with two rounds remaining in 2010. However, her “main competitor” Michelle Natalie, who has been in this class since at least 2003, scored her first Women’s class overall of the year and of her career.

In the Schoolboy Jr. (13-15) class, Brent Sellers of Willis, Texas, had won the first eight races before earning a seventh at Unadilla. He finished second in the same class in 2009. Current second-place points holder Cole Medlin, who leads the Schoolboy (14-17) class in points, earned his first win of the year and trails Sellers by 75 points heading into Red Bud.

DJ Bassani, who won the 2009 50 Limited Jr. (4-6) class, saw his eight-race win streak in the 50cc CVT (6-8) ranks end, too, but for a different reason. With the amateur title already wrapped up, Bassani chose to skip the the 50cc CVT class and enter the more challenging 90 Automatic (8-11) class. His second-place ride (to Jordan Digby) in that class proved he has a lot of talent and could threaten for that class crown next year. He’s also currently second in the points – behind Travis Wotring – in the 70cc CVT (6-11) class. Note: Dale Raven, who has four class podiums in 2010, won the 50 CVT class at Unadilla.

Active Win Streaks:

Class, rider, win streak (2 or more)

• Open A: Cory Acker, two
• 450C: Bren Marra, two
• 4-Stroke C: Dylan Tremellen, seven (Note: Did not race first two rounds in ’10)
• Super-Mini (13-15): Nicholas Gennusa, four
• 90 Production (8-15): Chase Horton, six
• 90 Automatic Sr. (12-15): Horton, two
• 70 Modified (6-11): Cole Sepesi, seven
• 50 Sr. (6-8): Eli Hopkins, four
• 70 CVT (6-11): Travis Wotring, two

For more AMA ATV MX results, visit http://www.escoremx.com

Creamer Wins Third Straight AMA ATV MX Event

Josh Creamer (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) won for the third straight time on the 2010 ITP TIres Moose Racing AMA ATV MX Championship series presented by Parts Unlimited. Creamer followed up his Round 6 double moto sweep win in Minnesota with another overall at Muddy Creek in Blountville, Tenn. Creamer’s trip to the top stair was less dominant at Round 8, where he didn’t win either moto and was dead last at one point in Moto 1, but it still earned him valuable championship points. He also held the lead in Moto 2, but lost it to teammate and two-time champion Dustin Wimmer. However, a classic charge from 13th to second in the first moto led to Ceamer’s 2-2 race score and was good enough for first, ahead of Can-Am’s Chad Wienen’s 1-3 moto tallies.

Dustin WImmer and Josh Creamer (Yoshimura supplied)

“It feels pretty awesome to win three in a row,” Creamer said in a Rockstar Makita Suzuki press release. “It went well for me this weekend, and I didn’t have the best of luck after a rough practice earlier in the week, but we still pulled it out and I’m really happy right now.”

Wienen recorded his best race and finish of the season, according to his total points (45), but missed his first win of the year and first since Round 7 of 2009. Even so, Wienen earned one more point than Creamer for the weekend, 45 to 44. Wimmer, who earned the $100 ATVRiders.com Fastest Qualifier award, notched 39 points. That puts the reigning champion 20 points behind Creamer with four rounds remaining on the schedule.

Biggest Movers 1: In Moto 1, Wimmer landed on John Natalie Jr., according to ATVMotocross.com, but recovered to finish seventh. More importantly, he won the second moto and even passed Creamer in Moto 2 to regain the lead and make a statement. It said, “I want this one!” His podium finish is pretty amazing really. Wienen and Creamer both deserve credit for their own efforts in Moto 1. Wienen came from sixth place in Moto 1 to win it. He posted his fastest lap on Lap 10 of 13. Creamer gaining more than 10 spots in a moto speaks volumes to how much he has improved.

Natalie may have not finished Moto 1 after mechanical failure in the whoops (and having Wimmer land on him), but he more than made up for that with a fourth-place ride in the second moto.

Biggest Movers 2: The only reason Josh Upperman is in this section is due to his dropping from leading Moto 1 and falling to fourth. That minor drop, combined with his fifth in Moto 2 hurt his shot at the podium. After a great Round 5, Nick DeNoble hasn’t done as well. At Round 7, his 14th (last) in the second moto kept him out of the top 10 and from challenging for an even higher position. A 14th at Round 6 resulted in a similar finish. Fortunately for DeNoble, he’s young and has the speed to fight in the top 5.

AMA ATV MX Pro Top 10 – Muddy Creek

1. Josh Creamer (Suz) 2-2
2. Chad Wienen (Can) 1-3
3. Dustin Wimmer (Suz) 7-1
4. Josh Upperman (Hon) 4-5
5. Jeremy Laweson (Suz) 3-7
6. Thomas Brown (Yam) 5-6
7. Jeremie Warnia (Can) 6-8
8. John Natalie Jr (Can) 14-4
9. Cody Gibson (Suz) 9-9
10. Cody Grant (Suz) 11-10

AMA ATV MX Pro Class Top 10 Points

Rank, rider, (points/wins)

1. Josh Creamer (313/5)
2. Dustin Wimmer (293/1)
3. Chad Wienen (237)
4. John Natalie Jr (234)
5. Josh Upperman (227/1)
6. Thomas Brown (206)
7. Jeremy Lawson (167)
8. Patrick Brown (157)
9. Jeremie Warnia (151)
10. Nick A. Denoble (146)

The series travels next to Pleasure Valley Raceway for Round 8 July 3-4, in Armagh, Pa.

For more information, log on to www.atvmotocross.com.

ATV Racing Amateurs Earn Press

While searching for other ATV, quad racing and industry news, I stumbled upon a few newspaper articles that talk about the passion and the lives of some quad racers and their families. Thanks to the Internet, it’s possible for guys like me (often from far-away states) to read about kids and other racers with names I recognized but knew nothing about. I enjoy reading these personality type stories because it lets me connect with racers who are often the lesser known rider in their sport.

It’s good to read about the “average guy’s” worries, training and life outside racing. This grass roots approach is fantastic way to gain exposure for yourself and your sport. I remember when I first moved to Alexandria, Minn., and a story about a young ATV MX racer ran on the front page of the sports section. I thought, wow, this is my kind of town. I can’t honestly remember any other motorsports coverage since then (other than the local car racing scene), but I’m OK with that. I think it’s often up to the parents and racers to get “noticed” by their local media outlets.

Here are a few examples of ATV racing coverage I’ve found:

• A story on Chris Schaeffer and her racing sons, Kevin (Sprint Cars) and Matt (AMA Extreme Dirt Track) (Pittsburgh, Pa., area)
• From the Paper of Montgomery County in Crawfordsville, Ind., comes a story by its Sports Editor John Groth on GNCC Junior B class racer Zac Wathen.
• From the Binghamton, N.Y. site – pressconnects.com – there’s a story on ATV ice racers.
• Jim Nelson of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier wrote about 12-year-old ATV racer Grant Daniels.
• The Scott County Times also has a recent article on ATV mud racing and some of its racers.

GNCC Racing: Bithell Wins Yadkin Valley Stomp

Come-from-behind wins have become common place in the XC1 ATV Pro class in the Grand National Cross Country series (GNCC). Only this late charge came from veteran pro Chris Bithell (Can-Am) not reigning champion Chris Borich. At the Yadkin Valley Stomp in North Carolina, Bithell (Irwin, Pa.) charged from eighth place (after Lap 1) to first (by the final lap) to post his first GNCC afternoon overall win since Round 11 in 2008. The GNCC press release said Bithell came from “dead last” and had to pass every pro, and several XC2 Pro-Am class racers along the way, in order to notch the victory. Even then, his win happened only after a time adjustment had to be made due to some XC2 riders inadvertently cutting the course.

Chris Bithell posted his first win of 2010 at Round 6 in N.C. (GNCCracing/Shan Moore)

GNCCRacing.com reported that Bithell’s quad didn’t start at the beginning of the race and he was left behind to play catch up. “I was thinking at first that I was just going to try to stay strong and hope to finish top 10, but then I started passing people,” Bithell said in the GNCC Racing press release. “It was tough passing out there but I really started working hard in the tight sections. When it comes to the woods, if you can just scoot through there a hair-bit faster you can make up time on these guys, and that’s what I did.”

Bithell’s win continued his roller-coaster 2010 season. He opened the year with a fourth-place ride in Florida. He has two other top-five finishes in the class, but also has two finishes outside the top 10. In some ways, earning an overall (especially after almost 2-year drought) has to feel good for the Warnert Racing/Can-Am rider.

Taylor Kiser (Ballance Racing/Yamaha) again finished second after leading during the race. It was Kiser’s fourth, second-place ride of the year. He now trails Borich by just 18 points heading into Round 7. Kiser spoke with Shan Moore of GNCCRacing.com and seemed happy with both his consistency and about gaining a few points on Borich, who took third in Yadkinville.

“I was kind of pacing myself, trying to stay out front and be as smooth as I could and Bithell just came up on me and made a good, clean pass,” said Kiser in the GNCCRacing.com release. “The consistency is a good thing, but not getting the win hurts.”

Borich had his worst race of the year, but still managed to earn a trip to the podium (his 14th consecutive time on the box, dating back to Round 6 of 2009). That in itself is pretty impressive and despite all the troubles Borich said he had at The Stomp.

GNCC Biggest Movers 1: Bithell gets the top nod as the biggest mover. Anytime you’re behind your entire class and riders from another class, yet come out ahead of everyone that’s saying something. Plus, he was the only Pro class racer to post 29-minute lap times during the final two laps!

Borich clearly deserves mention here, too, for his ability to go from at least sixth place after Lap 2 to a spot on the podium. The only shocker is he wasn’t able to come all the way back and win his fourth straight race (I almost expect him to do it every round. Sure it’s unfair, but he’s that good).

Adam McGill (Warnert/Can-Am) also showed poise as he pushed hard to earn yet another top five spot – he earned fourth place – and stay close to the points leaders. Aside from Borich and Kiser, he’s the only other pro with more than 100 points (111 to be exact).

Biggest Movers 2: In the pro ranks, Bryan Cook (FRE/KTM) was tucked in second place after Lap 1, but finished the race three spots back in the fifth spot. He was still in third by the end of the third lap, but lost two spots on the final lap as McGill and Borich each passed him. The FRE/KTM  team report said, “A mistake by Cook near the end of the final lap allowed McGill and Borich through.”

Donald Ockerman (Yamaha) put in a good ride and led the first two laps before dropping to sixth place during lap three. After that, he couldn’t gain any ground on the five pros and a few Pro-Am guys ahead of him and had to settle for sixth. “Things went good for me off the start,” said Ockerman in the GNCCracing.com release. “But then some of the XC2 guys cut the course and got in front of us and it stirred up a lot of dust, which kind of messed things up for me.”Despite the disappointing finish, Ockerman left North Carolina with an extra $250 by winning the Motorcycleusa.com holeshot.

I had to put the pack of Pro-Am class riders on here for their accidental course cutting. Those seven racers not only hampered the pros who were leading the race (Ockerman, Cook), it also, arguably, altered the outcome of the race. Had that not happened, Ockerman might have won the race or taken a podium spot. Also, was a two-minute penalty the right punishment for the accidental cutting? Remember last year when a similar thing happened with McGill, Kiser and Ockerman at the inaugural Lafayette GNCC? My question is when should a rider be penalized by time and when should they be penalized by lap/position?

FRE/KTM racer Josh Kirland on the Yadkin Valley Stomp podium. (Courtesy FRE/KTM)

Here’s how the GNCCracing.com release said it happened: “…but then somewhere in the first two or three miles of the opening lap, [Josh] Kirkland and six more of the XC2 division riders missed a marker and took one of the morning trails, which cut off nearly a half mile of course, putting them in front of the XC1 class. Kirkland ended up physically in the lead at the end of the race [for the XC2 class], but he and the other six were docked two minutes for the incident. When the final results were adjusted for the time penalties, Kirkland still ended up with the win, followed by HMF Honda’s Brian Wolf in second and Yamaha’s Walker Fowler in third…”

Kirkland shared his thoughts in the GNCCracing.com release, saying, “I got off to a good start, and I don’t really know what happened or where I did it, but I knew I was running alone, I didn’t hear any bikes, and then on the second lap my pit crew told me I cut a corner. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do, so I just kept pushing and it ended up I had enough time to still take the win.”

2010 GNCC Rulebook:

H.   ON TRACK REGULATIONS:

1. Riders must remain on the marked course. The marked course is within 25 feet of race arrows.  However, riders must stay within the confines of the following markers: double arrows posted on both sides of the trail, ribbons, signs, stakes, hay bales, barrels, motocross track, grass track, etc..
2. Riders encountering a traffic jam or bottleneck may go more than 25 feet off the course to get around the bottleneck only. However, the rider must re-enter the course as soon as possible, and upon approaching this section the next lap, must ride the original arrowed section if the track is clear. If the original marking devices are knocked down, the rider must stay on the original marked course. A “bottleneck” is a section of the track that becomes impassable for any reason, with the exception of check points.
3. Riders may not cut to the inside of a white pole corner marker.
4. If a rider leaves the course for any reason he must re-enter where he left.

K.   RACE FINISHES:

8. Penalties will be assessed at the discretion of the Race Director based on the severity of the offense, and may include one or more of the following:  position(s), lap(s), time adjustment, disqualification, suspension, loss of championship points, loss of prize money, fine, probation, etc.

Other Yadkin Valley Stomp Notes:

• The other Bithell: College A (16-21) racer Jamie Bithell also put in a good race in North Carolina. He was in fourth place after lap one, but climbed into the lead by Lap 3 and held on for his second win of the year. He’s now one point ahead of KTM racer Aarol Bright, who finished fourth in Yadkinville.
• Ladies First: The Women’s class just keeps getting better. In six races, four different riders have posted wins. This time it was Kristen Atwell on her Yamaha. She was in second after the third lap, but used a last lap pass to get around class points leader Traci Cecco (Yamaha) and notch her first win in 2010. The other winners this year have been Cecco (2), Angel Atwell (2) and Lexie Coulter. Five points separate Kristen Atwell – who, with 106 points, is currently in fourth place – from Cecco, who has 111 points. “This is by far my favorite track,” said Kristen Atwell in the GNCCracing.com release. “I got my first podium here, my first overall last year and this overall. This track just seems to roll for me and I like the tight stuff.”
• Golding Boy: Looks like Kyle Golding may have finally found the right class. After not competing in the first round, the South Carolina native has entered his KYMCO quad in both the 4×4 Lites class and Sport (15+) class this year. He has also ran the 250C a.m. class on a KYMCO two-wheeler and recorded a 20th and a DNF. It appears he’s finally found a home as he posted back-to-back third-place rides in the Lites ranks on his KYMCO ATV. At Round 6 he finally had his break-through race as he won The Stomp with a last-lap pass for the win. His win also stopped 4×4 Lites points leader, Kevin Trantham’s five-race win streak. Sure, Trantham didn’t complete the last lap, but it still counts in the results.
• Shad-Rappin’: Jay Shadron (Honda) won his second consecutive Schoolboy (13-15) event after finishing second four straight races in the first four rounds. His consistency has paid off. The Mt. Pleasant, Pa., rider is now one point behind class points leader Kevin McKeown, who finished second at The Stomp.
• WWCND: What Would Chuck Norris Do? He’d win the Yadkin Valley Stomp GNCC. Norris (Aiken, S.C.) won his second race of the year in the 20+ C division. He’s only raced in three total 20+ events (and one a.m. Sport 15+) or he may be a lot closer to the points leader. KTM racer Chad Kilburn, who took third, still has a 54-point lead over second place and leads Norris by 59.
• Over The Hill Gang: The Senior A (40+) class sure is interesting this year. Eighteen points separate first place from fourth place. However, only two riders have won this year. Mike Husband won Round 6 and has posted two straight wins to take over the points lead. Tom Wright was leading after five rounds, but missed The Stomp and now sits third in points. Ed Atwell’s second straight second-place ride put him in second place for the year. Shawn Javens is in fourth with 95 points and posted his best ride of the year – third – in N.C.
• Biggest GNCC Class Award: For Round 6, the 36+ C class has the most entries with 27 racers. Mark Walker won the race and recorded his third class overall of the 2010 season. However, even with three wins, he trails class points leader Jerry Dunaway (Kentucky) by 31 points. Dunaway started the year off hot by winning the Florida round and then making the class podium the next three rounds. Since Round 4, however, he’s finished 13th at the last two events.
• 6-and-Oh!: The quest to go perfect or undefeated for the entire season is a extremely tough. It looks like at least two more riders fell off this list and only four remain. Only these riders have a shot at perfection. In the U2 class, Clifton Beasley. The Can-Am racer actually has won 12 straight events (And 20 out of 21), dating back to 2008. Utility Senior racer Forrest Whorton is perfect this year, but didn’t win a single event last year. Braden Henthorn in the Schoolboy (13-15) A-B division only has three total wins all of last year and already has six in 2010. Cheyanne Shadron, who competed in the Schoolboy (13-15) ranks and took third in 2009, has owned the Women’s Novice (15+) class thus far.

GNCC Side Notes:

• Rachel Fluharty said she has resigned from her position with MX Sports/Racer Productions and will go back to school to pursue a Masters Degree. I wish her the best.
• Please send prayers and well wishes to Amy McConnell (Glenn’s wife), longtime GNCC photographer and former ATV Sport freelancer. After undergoing a medical procedure, McConnell said she’s had some complications and hopes to be back at the GNCC races soon.

Up next for the GNCC series is Round 7 — the Moose Racing Mountain Ridge GNCC — May 22- 23, in Somerset, Pennsylvania.

Cedar Run OHV trail at Harlan County Lake

With the grand opening come and gone the new trail system is now fully open. Me and my team had a rare opportunity to help fund, organize and participate in the grand opening (May 1, 2010) of this expanded trail system. The trail now encompasses 470 acres of US Army Corp. of Engineer ground just south of Harlan County Lake in south central Nebraska. The two nearby towns Alma and Republican City should see an increase in tourism that will boost the local economy. Businesses large and small donated “seed” money to get the project off the ground. Major donors were people, organizations, and businesses that donated $200 or more to the project.

Our part in the big event consisted of organizing and running a “scavenger hunt” for all that attended. It was a lot of work but turned to be a fun weekend with good weather.

[Read more]

AMA ATV MX Championships: Creamer Wins at Birch Creek

Josh Creamer showed why the Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki race team was wise to sign him, as he won his second straight Pro class overall in the ITP Tires/Moose Racing AMA ATV MX Championships series. Creamer, who took over the class points lead, also benefited from his teammate Dustin Wimmer’s second-moto seat problem to earn the win. Creamer’s 2-1 moto finishes at RV Outlet/Keystone Raptor Birch Creek ATV National in Virginia, beat Wimmer’s 1-5 score. However, Wimmer is just two points back and probably could have won the race had he not encountered the seat issue in the second moto. “In the second moto, I got off to a good start and then my seat fell off on the third lap and there just wasn’t too much I could do besides try to hang on,” Wimmer explained in a MX Sports press release.

Creamer said he was thrilled by the win, despite not winning the race to the first turn in either moto. “We didn’t get holeshots this weekend, I was actually getting too much traction leaving the gate so I was struggling keeping the power under control,” Creamer said in an MX Sports press release. “We worked our way through the pack both motos and ended up winning. Even if we don’t get holeshots we can still work our way up through. Everything on the bike was working good. I could get the bike wherever I wanted. It was hard to pass on the track so I had to stick it in there and have to make the passes happen. The second moto, we got a little bit of lead at the end of the race and that sealed the win.”

Reigning Champion Dustin Wimmer surely was pleased with his first moto results and relieved to finish where he did in Moto 2. Wimmer led every lap in Moto 1 and acknowledge the friendly competition with Creamer, saying, “I had a good first moto,” Wimmer said. “My teammate and I battled it out a little bit.”

Josh Creamer went 2-1 to earn his second consecutive AMA ATV Pro MX overall. (Courtesy of MX Sports)

Moto 2 started out great for the champ. He grabbed the MotorcycleUSA.com $250 holeshot and then led the first four laps (according to eScore) before his seat fell off. Once his seat came off, Wimmer dropped to fourth on the next lap and as far as seventh place during the race. He recovered to place in the top five and earn the No. 2 spot on the podium. “I had to stand a lot and my legs were giving out and I had to let people go by so I didn’t crash. I just tried to suck it up and get as many points as I could,” he added in the release.

Yamaha’s Thomas Brown put in his best Pro race of his young career (he took fourth overall at the opener and Round 2 in 2009). Had he finished higher in the first moto (he went from fifth to fourth during that race) or held on to the lead in Moto 2, he may have taken the second stair. Brown led laps seven and eight in Moto two before being passed by Creamer and then John Natalie Jr. Regardless of what could have been, Brown was more than pleased with the end result. “I’m super pumped about my finish,” Brown said in the MX Sports release. “We got two great starts, the second one we came out third. We led several laps in the second moto. It got us on the podium and I’m happy just to be there. Every race is getting better and better.”

The second moto was said to be one of the most exciting all year as four different riders led the second moto (Wimmer, Josh Upperman, Brown and Creamer). We can only hope the remainder of the 2010 season stays as competitive and closely contested as Moto 2 in Virginia.

Biggest MX Movers 1: Several riders deserve acknowledgment for the way they raced in Virginia. John Natalie Jr. (Warnert Can-Am) followed up his sixth-place ride in Moto 1 with an impressive second-place run in Moto 2 to snag fourth overall and earn 37 points (his most this year). Very similar to the first moto, Natalie started Moto 2 in seventh, but charged the entire race and climbed into second place (where he finished) by lap 10.

The eScore results clearly show Warnert Can-Am’s Chad Wienen’s Moto 2 effort was quit impressive. After lap 4, he was in 15th, but by the end of the event he was in seventh. His moto scores of 5-7, were good for sixth overall. Had he not dropped from third to fifth in Moto 1, he may have moved up even more.

Jeremy Lawson also gets a kudos from me for never giving up. The Walsh racer’s combined moto scores of 7-4 was good for fifth place. He gained two spots in Moto 1 and moved from sixth to fourth in Moto 2 to earn the fifth-place finish, which was his best of 2010.

Biggest MX Movers 2: Joe Byrd and Josh Upperman (Baldwin Motorsports) have to be disappointed with their Virginia results. Byrd, who finished a season-worst 18th at Birch Creek, saw Creamer gain 37 points over him after Round 3 and dropped two spots from sixth place to eighth place and trails Creamer by a whopping 60 points.

Upperman was putting in a good ride at Birch Creek before his day ended short in Moto 2. He followed up his third-place ride in Moto 1 with a unlucky 17th place in Moto 2. And as stated above, the Louisville, Ohio, rider actually led the second moto before trouble struck. Luckily for Upperman, he garnered 24 points and still sits in sixth place just nine points behind Chad Wienen, who is in third.

Harold Goodman also suffered a little in Virginia. After racing to the MotorcycleUSA.com holeshot award in Moto 1, Goodman fell to sixth place by the end of the first lap. He ended up in 11th with a 14-11 moto score.

Consistency has been hurting French racer Jeremie Warnia. After finishing in eight in Moto 1, the Can-Am-mounted racer took 18th in Moto 2. Even with the last-place ride in the second moto, Warnia scored 17 total points and still sits in 10th overall after three rounds. If this guy starts putting together two decent motos, he’ll be pushing for a top five finish (at the very least).

Perfection Tracker

These eight amateur racers (down from 17 after Round 2), still remain perfect in 2010 in their class and have the early class points lead. They are:

* 4-Stroke A – Chase Henry, Petersburg, Va.

* Women – Heather Byrd, Union City, Tenn.

* Women C – Kelsey Dyer, Quincy, Ill.

* Schoolboy Sr. (14-17) – Dallas Tapscott, Scottsville, Va.

* Schoolboy Jr. (13-15) – Brent Sellers, Willis, Texas

* 90 CVT (8-15) – Tyler Mack, New Ulm, Minn.

* 50 CVT (6-8) – D.J. Bassani, Sussex, N.J.

* 50 Limited Jr. (4-6) – Ethan Ahlm, Cumming, Ga.

Round 4 is slated for May 15-16, at Sunset Ridge MX in Walnut, Ill.

Round 3 AMA ATV MX Pro Class Results

AMA ATV MX Pro Class Points (Top 10)

For more information, log on to www.atvmotocross.com.

'ATV-24/7' Teaser Released on Vimeo

If you’re into ATV racing, specifically the ITP Tires/Moose Racing AMA ATV Championships presented by Parts Unlimited, then you have to check out “ATV-24/7,” the new ATV racing reality TV show.

Carey Bohn, executive producer sent me the first “ATV-24/7″ teaser and thought I should share it with you. The teaser serves as  a way to gauge viewer feedback and interest, but to also showcase some of of the footage you’ll see from the new fast-paced TV program.

Bohn said although this teaser shows many aggressive and intense situations, “ATV-24/7″ will also have a softer side, because show producers want to acknowledge ATV racing’s family makeup and its grassroots heritage. There will be shots of John Natalie holding his baby girl, scenes showing the racers interacting to capture their friendship and, of course, the family side of this sport.

Let me know your thoughts on this teaser. Thanks.

ATV-24/7 teaser from ATV-24/7 on Vimeo.

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