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Colt Brinkerhoff Wins National Hare & Hound Championship
Johnson Valley OHV Recreation Area

Colt Brinkerhoff
Colt Brinkerhoff holds the Natinal Hare and Hound #1 plate in Kurt Caselli's Jersey

St. George, UT (12/2/2013) - Round 10 was a very anxious round for all of us since they rescheduled the race due to the Government Shutdown… “Thanks a lot Obama”. It was also going to turn out to be the most unforgettable rounds that I’ve been apart of. I was going for my first AMA NHHA ATV A Championship going in with a 16 point gap between past Champion Andy Lagzdins.  Along with that, a great offroad rider and legend KTM’s Kurt Caselli #66 had passed away the weekend before. This round would be dedicated to him by every rider and all of the families that were attending.

I had my friends at Way Sick Designs in St. George Utah add Caselli 66 and a special quote from one of my favorite movies as a kid. It read “There’s hero’s and there’s legends. Hero’s get remembered but legends never die.” When I found out of the news of Kurt’s passing this is the first thing that popped into my mind, its help me cope through this tragedy and I decided to have the jersey framed so I can always remind myself of how a true champion should act. One of my favorite stories about Kurt is when he pushed his KTM a little over a mile after having a mechanical failure to the finish line and still finished on the podium. I didn’t know I was going to encounter something similar for the last round of the National Hare and Hound.

2013 National Hare & Hound ATV A Champion Colt Brinkerhoff
2013 National Hare & Hound ATV A Champion Colt Brinkerhoff

Kurt must have put in a good word with the Lord because it had literally rained for 4 days straight which made the dirt in Lucerne the best it’s ever been! The heavens opened up for us on Sunday with temps reaching the low 50’s and we couldn’t have been happier. I got to the line and noticed that Andy was nowhere in sight, if he didn’t show up I would have the Championship won before we started. He usually shows up with minutes before the race so I wasn’t going to be surprised if he did. He didn’t ever show up but a new contender had, Wes Miller. I grew up watching all of the Huevos ATV Movies and had always wanted to meet him. He was fresh off of a Baja 1000 win and was hungry for another; this would be his first National Hare and Hound race. Wave after wave of dirt bikes were leaving the line as we were waiting for our chance to rip the earth’s back zits off of her! It was finally our time to race, the banner rose as I set into my zombie like state of focus. I could only here the clicking of my kick starter as I let it come back to top dead center. The banner flinched, ignition the Deere had started first kick and I was off to my last holeshot of the season! After we passed our first hill climb I was already in a battle with Wes as he passed me on the left and funneled in front of me. I let him take over the lead as I knew I had the championship wrapped up and I wanted to have a epic race for Kurt.

From there it was a back and forth affair as I would catch up to Wes to show him I was still there, he would push it harder and I would follow suit. There were sections were he had the upper hand and there were some of the faster sections where I had it. I was having an absolute blast hitting the sand sections, berm pimpin and throwing up the #1 for Kurt all the while trying to make a pass. The Deere was in great shape, got to give it up to Fastheads.com and Duncan Racing for building me reliable power all year, 90 hours on the motor and still chuggin! I was behind Wes coming off of a off camber hill that dropped into a fast gravel wash filled with several bigger rocks. Wes went outside I cut inside to try and make a pass stick when disaster struck! A rock had hit my rear chain guide which broke it off from the swingarm but was still attached to my chain. It had ultimately derailed my chain and ended my first place battle with Wes.

I quickly got the chain back on with the chain slider now on top of the chain but it ended up derailing again. Thankfully the other quad rider’s had shown up, Jace Penney didn’t have the tools I needed so I sent him on his way. Aaron and Jim had shown up and offered their tools up to remove the chain guide. I got it removed and took off once again. The fun wasn’t over yet as it derailed a total of 5 more times and had ripped all of the teeth off of my rear sprocket. I was babying it trying to reach the final stretch of the race, the entire time talking to Kurt and asking for his help to get back to the pits. My intention is to always finish races and I wasn’t going to let anything stop me, especially since I dedicated my last round to KC. I crested the last hill before the home stretch and I could see all of the trailers glistening in the back drop, I had almost made it! The chain derailed for the final time, it had gotten stuck in my front sprocket with no hope of getting it out. I felt like Harry Dunn having my tongue stuck to the ski lift, waiting for a cup of warm water. I was laughing at this point because I knew what was about to happen. With what I think was Kurt’s great sense of humor, he had stopped me 2 miles before the finish so he could see if I had the grit to be a true champion. I said, “You’re really going to make me do this aren’t you?” as I let out a laugh. I started pushing and it wasn’t easy, the now epic dirt had turned against me as it was softer than usual making it tough to roll the Deere through it.

I made it about a half mile to a mile when I looked back up at the sky and said “Kurt, I can do this bud but you got to realize that my quad is 200LBS heavier than your bike, I am going to need your help.” As soon as I said that a truck had pulled up along side of me with tools. I tried to free the chain from the swing arm with no luck. Shortly after Jim had came back to me and said there were two quads that were still on the course that could tow me close to the finish and I could push it through the line. Jerry was nice enough to tow me and I did just that. I was pretty emotional from what I had just went through and what I had accomplished. I pushed that for you Kurt and I am the 2013 AMA National Hare and Hound ATV A Champion! I had finished in 2nd to last with only one dirt bike behind me out of all the competitors. Wes Miller would go on to win his first race he had attended with the NHHA. I found out that day that winning isn’t everything and I’m glad that I had such a humbling experience.

It’s been a long road this year but I stayed positive and always pushed towards my dreams, I had persevered! Thank you to everyone that has believed in my effort and supported me in this sport that I love. It would take me a long time to thank everyone involved but you all know who you are. I love each and every one of you!

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Colt Brinkerhoff

Colt Brinkerhoff Sponsors:
 Fasst Co./Flexx Handlebars, Exit Shocks/ARS-FX A Arms, X-Insurance, Maxxis, Tire Blocks, Goldspeed Wheels/GPS Offroad Products, Duncan Racing, Sprocket Specialists, Fastway Stabilizers, Klim Technical Riding Gear, Jett Boots,  EKS Brand Goggles, Laker Custom Plastics, DFR Racing, Precision Nutrition Plus,  Streamline Industries, A’ME Grips, Rath Racing, 763edits.com, Campbell Racing Skid Plates, DT1 Filters, Fastheads.com, Lifestrength, Hinson, Torco Oil, Works Connection, Geralds MC, PitTraffic.com, RPM Axles, Leatt, CV4, Val Brinkerhoff Racing Stables, Rockwell Watches, Red Rock Window Tinting, Yours Footwear, Matrix Racing Products, Vertex Pistons, Rad Manufacturing, Western Designs.

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