Maxxis/Elka’s Joel Hetrick Wins Muddy Creek Overall
Maxxis/Elka/Liquid Wrench/Honda AMA ATV MX Team Report

Blountville, TN (4/28/2016) - Maxxis / Elka / Liquid Wrench / Honda’s Joel Hetrick claimed the overall Pro class win at round three of the 2016 AMA ATV Motocross National Championship at Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville, Tennessee. David Haagsma finished seventh in the Pro class and Grayson Eller clinched fourth place in Open B.

Maxxis / Elka / Liquid Wrench / Honda’s Joel Hetrick earned his first win of the season at Muddy Creek despite recovering from an injury

Hetrick claimed his very first overall Pro win of the season after 1-2 moto finishes. The first moto Hetrick snagged a great start in second place behind David Haagsma. “The Maxxis tires hooked up great and the DASA motor pulled up the hill. We battled for two laps with Haagsma, and when I got around him I pulled a pretty good lead of about six seconds,” said Hetrick.

As the white flag waved signaling the last lap of the race, the excitement amped up and the battle for the lead closed in. “I got on top of a rut and it spun me sideways. I had to do a complete 360 to keep going. They were right beside me, and I just held my insides and held my position for the win,” explained Hetrick.

Joel Hetrick held off the competition to claim the Moto One Win

Second moto Hetrick came out with a fourth place start and put his head down to quickly make some difficult passes, including a close call with Thomas Brown. “I was inches from Brown on the lip of the jump. When we landed he went down, and I went over him, it was pretty scary. I got going again and moved my way back up, but Chad was in first by that time and had a decent lead. I knew I had the overall at that point, so I didn’t want to do anything crazy,” said Hetrick.

Joel Hetrick finished 1-2 to clinch the overall Win at Muddy Creek

Hetrick is still overcoming a knee injury from Daytona Supercross, but taking the win without being 100% just makes it that much sweeter. “I was pumped because it was my first win of the season. I expected it to happen a lot earlier but Daytona was a total bummer for that. Not being 100% was even better because I feel like there is still a lot more improvement to be made. The bike is there, the team is there, I just need to get back into shape,” stated Hetrick.

Maxxis/Elka’s David Haagsma went 5-8 for a seventh place overall Pro finish. Haagsma had a spectacular first moto performance by grabbing the holeshot and even led for a few laps. “I got a great jump off the line with the Maxxis tires and the Sparks engine pulled me to the first corner. I was able to lead for two laps before Hetrick got around me,” said Haagsma, who eventually settled into fifth place.

Maxxis / Elka / Liquid Wrench / Honda’s David Haagsma grabbed the holeshot in Pro Moto One with Joel Hetrick right behind him

The second moto Haagsma faced issues on the holeshot and had to battle back from a nearly dead last start. “It was pretty hard to pass, but I got by a bunch of people and worked my way up to eighth place. It’s not good, but for what I started in it wasn’t too bad,” explained Haagsma.

David Haagsma went 5-8 to finish seventh overall at Muddy Creek

Haagmsa had a solid race day but is still striving for better finishes. “Seventh overall isn’t the best, I just wish I had a better start the second moto. The track was rougher than normal because of the rain Friday. My Maxxis/Elka/Sparks Racing set up worked great,” said Haagmsa.

Maxxis/Elka’s amateur team rider of Grayson Eller competed in three different classes. Eller took fourth in Open B, sixth in 450 B, and sixth in College 16-24. Eller also sits fourth in points in both College and 450 B after his impressive performance at Muddy Creek.

Grayson Eller ran three classes at ATV Round 3 earning fourth in Open B, sixth in 450 B, and sixth in College 16-24

Competing in six moto’s in one weekend is no easy feat, but Eller puts in his work training to make it seem easy. “In the day I just try to stay hydrated. They were spaced out pretty well so it wasn’t too big of a problem,” explained Eller.

The highlight of Eller’s weekend was taking a second place in the first moto of 450 B. “I started out in second and just stayed there. It felt good because I didn’t have to fight my way through. It helped me realize starts are big at that track,” said Eller.

The Maxxis/Elka/Liquid Wrench/Honda team will compete at round four of the AMA ATV Motocross National Championship at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, IN May 7-8.

2016 Race Team Sponsors
Maxxis, Liquid Wrench, Elka, Fly, Scott, SSi Decals, DWT, Hinson, Bel Ray, Sunstar, Works Connection, Sandridge Foods, Impact Solutions, Fourwerx, Alpinestar, DC Designs, Precision Racing Products