2006 ITP/ Yamaha QuadCross Series Round 8 - Speedworld MX Park Surprize, AZ September 23, 2006 By: Corry Weller / Weller Racing

Cooler weather was welcomed by all, and the temperature by mid-evening was just about perfect for racing; and there would be some racing to be had on this night with ITP regulars like Nelson, Eichner, Spooner and Chislock present as well as another “part-timer”, Kory Ellis at hand.

The track at Speedworld would be run in the night configuration, which was a shorter track than the day track, but still plenty long enough for some great racing. The track started out groomed well, but became hard packed in a short time and had developed quite a few good sized holes in some important corners, making a good start and line choices pretty important. Fast and high speed as always, there was even a custom “water hazard” in the middle of the course this time – although we are pretty sure it was not created on purpose!

Doug Eichner makes the switch to the Suzuki LT-R450 Quad Racer

The 30 second card went up, the gates went down, and 15 Pro racers hurled themselves into the long straight, with a cluster of riders up front squeezing first into the sharp right hand corner at the end of the start. Emerging from the dust and flying dirt was the familiar site of Dustin Nelson, already throttling ahead of the field and beginning what would be one of the largest leads he’s had all year.

Doug Eichner, apparently feeling pretty comfortable on his new Suzuki, would turn some of his fastest laps for the series behind Nelson, as he and Kory Ellis had an excellent battle and some close racing for 2nd place. Ellis would not be able to get around the veteran racer at the end, however – and had to settle for 3rd place for the first moto.

Cyle Chislock and Jeff Spooner were battling the whole evening, with leads swapping and some wild riding being done by Chislock to catch Spooner. One unlucky rider was almost landed on in the battle between 222 and 56, but got lucky as they stayed on all four wheels.

Nelson’s lead just continued to grow, lap after lap, as he burned up the fast Speedworld racecourse. Not looking like he was about to slow down, he continued his blistering pace until the checkers were thrown – taking 1st place by a huge margin over the rest of the field.

After riding a fast and smooth race, Eichner crossed the finish line is second place, and it was looking like he would be a contender for the podium this round, as his new quad was apparently treating him very well!

Kory Ellis would finish this round in third place, after his race-long battle with Doug Eichner. Behind Ellis, Spooner held off Chislock and took a fourth place finish, while Chislock would round out the top five riders for moto one.

With the ATVA MX National Season wrapped up, Kory Ellis will be attending the remaining rounds of the 2006 ITP Quadcross Season

Hoping they had enough tearoffs, the Pros waited in anticipation as the water truck rumbled off, and the gates finally dropped.

Leading the pack into the sweeping left-hander would be Kory Ellis with a great start, followed closely by Dustin Nelson. What happened next was quite the pile-up in the hairpin second corner, as Eichner and his quad separated from each other after not being able to avoid Spooner, who had managed to get sideways in the track. Eichner landed hard in the track, laying there for just a second before he was up and running for his quad.

Chislock and Spooner had tangled, and the rest of the field had gone by before either of them would join them, with Eichner taking up the race again almost a lap down.

This mess would leave Kory Ellis out in front, taking the lead and setting a good pace for Nelson to catch.

Also up in front was TJ Dietrich, who has already proven he can run with the fastest. The number 70 quad of Brandon Smith was right behind Dietrich, with Sage Baker tailing them both.

Partway through the moto, Nick Hengtgen’s quad locked up through the front whoop section, and he struggled to get his quad off the track before the Pro field came around again. Out of the race, he had a great view from the sidelines as moto 2 continued.

Ellis was out front, but Nelson was right behind him, and it seemed that both riders were taking care to keep speed up, but not spin out in the slick corners. With tear-offs glittering under the bright lights, the race for 1st place was a close one, as Nelson dogged Ellis through the corners, each rider taking their own lines.

John Shafe had moved up and was now riding behind Dietrich in fourth place, as the rest of the field bunched up behind them. Eichner was riding fast and furious, and looking to make up every square foot of track he had lost in that first corner crash. Spooner and Chislock were also having their own race within this race, while they moved up through the field, looking to make up some lost time as well.

Dustin Nelson continues to prove himself as an ATV racer with yet another win against some stiff competition and Nelson continues to lead the Pro Points

After riding behind Ellis for some time, Nelson got his chance to get around him and took it. One second, Ellis was ahead of Nelson – both riders disappeared behind a little hill – the next second Nelson had a 3 second lead on the GNC racer and was only increasing that lead each second that passed. Once Nelson got around Ellis it was clear sailing for him, and he took the checkers in first place with a huge lead, once again.

Riding well and taking the third place win was TJ Dietrich, as he raced a great race in between most of the on-track action. John Shafe would finish just behind him on his home track, as the remainder of the field would roll in under the checkered flag.

WRAP UP
Join us again for Round 9 of the ITP Quadcross – but please note an important change!! Originally scheduled to be run at Gorman in CA, this 9th round has been rescheduled for the back track at Glen Helen, for the same date on Sunday, Oct 8th. Hope to see everyone there for this next exciting round, as the season is winding down and every point counts!

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