| ATVA
ITP Moose Racing
National Motocross Series
Round #8 - Muddy Creek
May 27-28, 2006
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| ATVA
Motocross Nationals
Round #8 - Links |
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Blountville, TN(5/28/2006) – Two
weeks ago, the weather was cold and rainy in Michigan
for the Red Bud National, but this weekend at Muddy Creek
it is the exact opposite as it is hot and humid with temperatures
spiking above 90 degrees, which makes this Memorial weekend
truly feel like official start of summer.
For 2006, the Victory Sports crew reversed the direction
of the track and added a base of wood chips to help
control the dust, and with showers on Thursday and Friday,
the track has been in great condition all weekend, which
has provided a plentiful amount of intense racing action.
The Muddy Creek event attracted plenty of local media
attention, and the track has been swarmed with television
crews all weekend, which has helped in attracting a
huge crowd of spectators out to watch all the racing
action, and boy did they get to witness a real show
especially in the first Pro Moto.
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Tennessee’s
own Justin Bush(left) and Greg Meeks(Right) signed
up to compete in the Pro Class this weekend. Justin’s
weapon of choice was the brand new Suzuki LT-R450,
and Greg Meeks practiced on both a TRX450 and
YFZ450, but decided to go with the Yamaha for
the Pro Main.
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Pro Moto One
For the first time this year, the Pro gate wasn’t
completely full as only 16 Pro riders showed up to race
with Jason Luburgh, Tavis Cain, Josh Creamer, and Rocco
Arno Jr all sitting out this Memorial Day weekend, which
provided the perfect opportunity for local Tennessee
Pro Racers, Justin Bush and Greg Meeks to have a chance
to race in the Pro Class.
With the fenced lined with race fans, the starting
gate dropped for Moto One, and the battle was on between
Harold Goodman and Keith Little for the Holeshot closely
followed by Travis Spader and Jeremy Lawson. In the
chaos of the first turn, Greg Meeks would collide into
the rear end of Pat Brown, and John Natalie Jr bounced
off of Jason Dunkelberger with his tire ripping out
some electrical connectors on Dunk’s Suzuki in
the process, which left him pushing his Suzuki over
the hill while the rest of the Pro class disappeared
over the bank and out of sight.
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Lonestar
Racing's Keith Little leading the way followed
by Harold Goodman & Travis Spader |
By the end of the first lap, Keith Little maintained
the lead followed by Travis Spader, Harold Goodman,
and Jeremy Lawson as the trio formed a train. Suzuki’s
Jeremiah Jones and Doug Gust were in hot pursuit of
the lead pack with Joe Byrd and John Natalie Jr right
behind them as they bounced off of each other sending
Natalie Jr off the track, but he managed to get right
back into the action behind Byrd with Joe Haavisto rounding
out the top ten.
By the second lap, Keith Little remained out front
with Goodman moving into second place followed by Jones
with Spader dropping back to fourth and feeling the
pressure from Lawson and Natalie Jr as he moved his
way up through the pack passing both Gust and Byrd as
riders were changing positions almost in every turn,
which left the fans clinging to the fences to see who
would make the next move, and it would be Jeremiah Jones
as he sliced his way past Little and took over the lead
by the third lap. John Natalie Jr was now pressuring
Little for the second spot followed by Goodman.
It wouldn’t take long for Natalie Jr to make
the pass and take over second while Jeremiah Jones pulled
a several second lead over Natalie Jr. Harold Goodman
would also make the pass on Little while clinging to
the inside of a downhill turn moving him back into the
top three while Gust and Byrd battled for the fifth
spot along with Jeremy Lawson and Joe Haavisto battling
right behind them for seventh. Dustin Wimmer and Pat
Brown were also running strong and rounded out the top
ten.
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#2
Jeremiah Jones was on fire as he pulled away from
his teammate #55 DougGust running in the runners
up spot |
#13
John Natalie Jr & #7 Joe Byrd were going at
it like cats and dogs for most of the first Moto |
With the race well past the half way point, Jeremiah
Jones continued to ride flawlessly, and seemed to put
it in cruise control as he developed a huge lead over
Natalie Jr who was now battling with the hard charging
“Digger” Doug Gust. The heat and humidity
began to take its toll on Natalie Jr, which allowed
Gust to take over the runners up spot without much of
a fight, but could Natalie Jr hold onto the third spot
till the checkered.
Meanwhile, Travis Spaders early charge had ended as
his Yamaha was sputtering as he went around the track,
which dropped him to the rear of the pack along with
Trent Kandel. Tennessee’s Greg Meeks was also
having his own troubles as he was sitting at the finish
line waiting for the checkered while Jason Dunkelberger
was now a lap down after his first turn electrical issues.
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| Jeremiah
Jones & Doug Gust finished back to back for
an impressive first Moto performance for the pair |
After twelve laps of bar to bar racing amongst many
of the riders, the checkered flag was finally out, and
Jeremiah Jones was the first one to cross the finish
line all by himself, and several seconds later, his
teammate, Doug Gust crossed the finish line in second
place. In the final laps of the race, Joe Byrd worked
his way past Natalie Jr to take third with Natalie Jr
maintaining fourth over Harold Goodman, which set the
stage for the second Moto.
In between Pro Motos, the Pros were extremely busy
as thousands of fans flocked the trailers seeking to
meet their favorite riders and get a piece of history
with an autograph or two. Also, the mobile medical unit
was a hot spot as they auctioned off donated items from
many of the Pros and companies involved in the series,
which was gave race fans a chance to really own a piece
of racing history and help out a great cause in the
progress, and the auction was a huge success for the
mobile medical unit.
Pro Moto Two
With almost completely clear skies, the sun was beating
down on the track all day, and it gradually sucked all
the moisture out of the track, which meant the second
Moto was not only going to be hot, but also a bit dusty.
The start of the second Moto had Harold Goodman once
again launching off the line with his Curtis Sparks
Engine, and this time, he was able to hold onto the
lead and claim the Holeshot with Jeremiah Jones and
Joe Byrd running right beside him around the first turn.
Unlike the first Moto, the first turn was fairly uneventful
with only Kory Ellis becoming blinded by the roost on
the outside and running into a trackside mound of dirt,
which almost sent him into the fence and back to last
place.
By the end of the first lap, Jeremiah Jones had already
worked his way past Goodman and took over the lead,
and it wouldn’t take long before Doug Gust, John
Natalie Jr, and Joe Byrd would also pass Goodman, and
the race was on for the Podium for these top finishers
in the first Moto with Jones leading the way. Jeremy
Lawson was also off to great second Moto, and he too
would pass Goodman and round out the top five. Unfortunately
Joe Haavisto and Travis Spader weren’t having
as good of luck as the pair collided while going through
the whoops, which left there ATVs locked together and
dropping them to the rear of the pack.
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| #2
Jeremiah Jones didn't waste anytime take over
the lead in the second Moto, and he was flying
high once again. |
Walsh
Race Craft's Jeremy Lawson was on a mission in
the second Moto as Dustin Wimmer applied some
pressure. |
For the first half of the race, the front runners would
remain unchanged with Jeremiah Jones just completely
running away from Doug Gust in second place, and John
Natalie Jr and Joe Byrd were all over each other for
several laps, but Natalie Jr was able to maintain the
third spot until they headed into a rhythm section when
Byrd came into the turn hard and knocked Natalie Jr
off the track and onto his lid, which dropped him out
of Podium contingency as he would return to the race
back in ninth place behind Kory Ellis who was on a roll
and charging his way through the pack after his start
mishap.
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| Joe
Byrd finished in 3rd Overall for his 7th Podium
finish this season, which extended his points
lead over John Natalie Jr in second place to 10
points pending the Appeals ruling from Birch Creek. |
Unlike the first Moto, there wasn’t much action
up front as the top five riders all had atleast several
second separating them from each other with Jones, Gust,
Byrd, Lawson, and Wimmer riding all by themselves. The
main battle now was for the sixth spot with Pat Brown
and Harold Goodman going at it for several laps with
Brown maintaining the lead. John Natalie Jr worked his
way past Ellis and move into eighth with Keith Little
rounding out the top ten.
With the hillside filled with screaming fans, Jeremiah
Jones crossed the finish line to claim the second Moto
win and his third Overall win of the year with Doug
Gust joining him on the Podium in second overall followed
by the current points leader, Joe Byrd. The Pro Rookie,
Jeremy Lawson, rode his best race of the season, and
finished fourth in the second Moto, which was enough
to net him a career best fourth overall position. Dustin
Wimmer rode a relentless second Moto and finished in
fifth place after struggling in the first, which left
him with an eighth overall finish.
Wrap-Up
Round 8 of the ATVA Motocross Nationals marked the first
time this year that Team Suzuki / Yoshimura’s
Jeremiah Jones and Doug Gust finished one and two, and
it moves the pair closer to Honda’s Joe Byrd and
John Natalie Jr battling out front for the points lead,
and things could get really interesting if Jones and
Gust finish out front in the next few rounds because
there is still plenty of time left for this pair to
make a run at the Championship with six rounds remaining.
The next stop will be at the famous Steel City facility,
which is just East of Pittsburg, PA. Racers will receive
an extra week to prepare for the Father’s Day
Weekend of racing scheduled for June 17-18, and ATVriders.com
will be there to bring you all the racing action.
| ATVA
MX Nationals - Top 10 Pro Point Standings |
| Position |
Rider Name |
Machine |
Total
Points |
| 1. |
Joe Byrd |
Honda |
197 |
| 2. |
John Natalie Jr |
Honda |
187 |
| 3. |
Doug Gust |
Suzuki |
165 |
| 4. |
Jeremiah Jones |
Suzuki |
143 |
| 5. |
Joe Haavisto |
Honda |
113 |
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6. |
Dustin Wimmer |
Honda |
107 |
| 7. |
Keith Little |
Honda |
106 |
| 8. |
Kory Ellis |
Yamaha |
77 |
| 9. |
Travis Spader |
Yamaha |
76 |
| 10. |
Jason Dunkelberger |
Suzuki |
76 |
***Points
Standings Remain Under Protest from Birch Creek*** |
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