2005 Extreme Dirt Track ATV Racing - RD#4 - Elizabeth City - ATV Race Coverage

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Elizabeth City, NC - Extreme Dirt Track Racing headed almost as far as East as you could possibly go, to the Dixie Land Track located only a short drive from the Atlantic Ocean. With this in mind, I decided it was finally time for a family vacation, so we left on Wednesday for the several hundred mile trip South East to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Just one year ago, my traveling to the races was temporarily interrupted for a few weeks while I stayed home with my wife expecting our first child, which added another chapter to our lives together. A year later, I am heading to the Elizabeth City Race as a family, and instead of only being concerned about what I needed to bring for the trip, I needed to worry about packing a stroller, diapers, and toys. I became so focused on the family trip to the shore that I left one very important thing at home, my camera bag. Three hundred miles from home, I realized what I forgot to pack, but there was no turning back, so I headed to Walmart to start plan B... because attending a race without a camera would be like showing up to race and leaving the ATV at home.

With a new camera and a kit lens, my vacation was underway with the family for a few days before heading to the track on Saturday. I spent a few days traveling along the Outer Banks checking various beaches and awesome lighthouses along the North Carolina shore.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is just one of 5 Lighthouses along the North Carolina shore

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It was an experience watching my girl exploring the sand and everything else she found in it. The tough part was keeping them in her hands and out of her mouth, as she quickly found out sand doesn’t taste all that good.

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The few days at the beach with the family was over as quickly as it started, and it was time to head west to Elizabeth City to capture all the action, which is why you are reading this report in the first place because the Foley beach vacation probably wouldn't have caught your attention.

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When we arrived at the track, the parking seemed packed, but I later found out that attendance was slightly down from last year with just under 300 entries, which I wouldn’t doubt is due to the insane gas prices of 2.65/gallon for the cheap stuff.

After several beautiful days before the race, the clouds rolled in on Saturday with rain showers breaking out just to the north, but fortunately the rain stayed away and the clouds offered some relief from the sun with temps remaining in the low 80’s throughout the day.

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ATV Racin Extra’s, David Screws, was busy making some gearing adjustments to Justin’s machine before the Main as he was looking to either take the win or blow it up trying, and unfortunately, he blew it up, or close enough to take him out of the race with Joel Hetrick going on to take his third win of the season.

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The biggest scare of the amateur racing action occurred when Mandy Brodil went end over end during her first race. It left her with a large contusion on her leg and a swollen knee with possible ligament and tendon damage, which ruined her chances of winning the Championship this year and most likely ended her season.

She was taken to the local hospital for evaluation and fortunately this was her home track.

Candace Lee would go on to win her third race of the season with Andrea Pritchard finishing in second followed by Donna Jetter. With Mandy missing the Main, Candace looks to have the Championship wrapped up if she wins at Paducah.

If anyone has any updated information on Mandy, please keep us updated.

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The Dixieland Speedway utilized the oval dirt track with some infield action that contained some breaking bumps/jumps. The track really chewed up the tires with some running different compound tires on the inside than the outside for better traction.

The track crew kept the track moist enough, so dust and traction wasn't an issue, but there were some complaints about the layout of the track by some of the riders because of the pitch of the bumps.

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The Amateur racing action was intense all weekend, but nothing beats watching the youth of the sport tearing it up. Justin Laney was doing exactly that as he reeled in Levi Johnson, who held the early lead until Justin and eventually Gavin Wright would both make the pass. Justin pulled away from everyone with his lightning fast Suzuki, which was surprisingly for sale.

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Back in the Pro Pits, #12 Keith Little had his Motocross YFZ450 up for sale, as the MX season is over, so if you want the best of the best, for $12,000 you could have this YFZ. If interested, send me a pm, and I will pass you information to Keith Little.

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Keith Little relaxed during the day signing autographs for those that came by his trailer, but unfortunately Curtis Sparks wasn't in attendance and probably won't be at the remaining two races to attend to a family health issue. Out of respect for Curtis, I won't release the specific details at this time.

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Curtis Sparks may not have been at the race, but the infamous Paul Turner received a call from Wayne Hinson to attend the next two events to help #5 Shane Hitt in the pits, in hopes of getting his season turned around.

At the least, Paul Turner would keep things lively in the pits and provide atleast a few laughs:D

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ATVA President, Doug Morris, and Rath Racing's, Daryl Rath spent some time chatting in the pits.

It is amazing how many riders are running atleast one of Rath's products on their machine at the Extreme Dirt Track races. His years of experience and development has earned the respect of his fellow Pro racers and amateurs as they look to him for their sway bars and various other products.

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Of all the forms of ATV racing, it didn't take long to realize that ATV setup was more important in DT than either XC or MX if you wanted to win. Even the best rider wouldn't be able to overcome an improperly setup machine, and with every track different than the other, and constantly changing conditions as the day continued, it seemed the pits remained extremely active all day making minor adjustments.

Pro#9 Lee Reineccius overseeing some adjustment to his YFZ450

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The Baldwin crew were kept busy most of the day working on #4 Tim Farr's Honda

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Tim's Honda was equipped with an experimental exhaust header from White Brothers, which is one step that manufacturers take before releasing a new exhaust system to the public.

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#22 Brad Covington's YFZ450 was ready to go as he was hoping to earn himself a spot on the podium as he did two years ago this weekend at his home track in Greenbrier, AR. Last year, Brad just missed the podium at Elizabeth City finishing 4th behind Darin Ogden, which was his best finish of the season. This year, Brad's best finish was at Greenbrier in the season opener with a 5th place finish, so if history was going to repeat itself, this was going to be his weekend.

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#112 Adam Anderson's crew were busy working on his YFZ450 as they prepared it for his first Pro race after finishing in 2nd Place at Ashtabula he decided to get his feet wet in the Pro Class and continue his run in the Pro Am Unlimited Class where he is currently in 4th place with #67 Daryl Rath leading the Class.

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It was finally time for Pro and Pro Am Practice, and Houston Lowder was the first one to staging with his #71 Yamaha YFZ450. Houston won the Open A Championship last season and finished 3rd in Production A. This year, he has decided to focus his attention on the Pro Am Unlimited Class and is currently 3rd in Points behind Daryl Rath and Mitch Reynolds.

After a disappointing 17th place finish in Pro Am Production at the season opener, Houston decided to signup for both classes at his home state track.

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While the Pros waited in staging they took the time to talk. Kieth Little and Lee Reineccius were sharing a few friendly words.

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#137 Mitch Reynolds finished out the MX season on top winning his first Production A Class race, which moved him past Nate Sharrow in points to finish in 4th, and his DT season has been just as successful as this young rider quickly moves through the ranks.

He won the opening Pro Am Unlimited race on his home track in Greenbrier, AR over Daryl Rath, but he hasn't been able to beat Daryl since and dropped into the runner up position behind him in the points chase. If running in one Pro Am Class wasn't enough, he also has been running the stacked Pro Am Production class with the likes of Tim Farr, Keith Little, Darin Ogden, Brad Covington, and many other top Pro riders, but he has held his own finishing 3rd at Ashtabula and is currently 4th in points.

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#32 Glenn Bailey was back in action after giving up racing to run his family business after his father's death last year, but with the National in his backyard, the temptation was too much and he was once again back for atleast one race this season after winning the Pro Am Open Championship in 2003.

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I later saw Glenn out on the track praciting on a KFX400, but he never actually competed in any Main event and ended up with a DNS in the Pro Am Unlimited after running into reported engine problems, but I never was able to confirm this information.

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#45 Nathan Dallas Won the Pro Am Open Class last season over Daryl Rath by consistently finishing in the top three overall, and this year with the help of Legacy, he is running the Pro Class with his best finish at Birch Creek with a 9th Place

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#79 Shane Smith only raced one race in 2004 at Paducah where he finished 7th in the Pro Am Production, but after his 6th place finish at Ashtabula, he decided to make the long trip from Chillicothe, MO with the help of Krank It racing who provided him the Honda to race for the weekend.

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Unfortunately, Shane never made the Main after having his bell rung when he high sided it through the sweeper. It left him straggering a little along the sidelines, which prompted Darin Ogden to check on him and make sure he was still mentally with us.

Shane went to the hospital to get checked out and then returned to the track to watch some of the night racing, but I am sure he will be back at the next round near his home and hopefully have some better luck.

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#708 Harold Goodman remained in the points lead after a controversial ending to the weekend of racing at Ashtabula when the Mains were rained out for the second straight year, which gave reigning Champion, #12 Keith Little the Win and moved him into a tie in points with Goodman.

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#12 Keith Little looked like he was flying around the track during practice in hopes of securing another win and a chance of winning the Championship again in 2005.

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#4 Tim Farr's chances at the Championship took a turn for the worse after being scored 4th at Ashtabula, which dropped him back to 3rd in points with every race counting, but with three races left anything could happen

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#2 Darin Ogden had a fire in his eye when I saw him, and his mom told me he was looking for his first Pro Win. By watching him during practice, you could tell he was on top of his game.

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#22 Brad Covington was another one hoping for something big at Elizabeth City, NC after meeting up with his friend in Kentucky to make the long trip together to save some money on fuel and expenses. But by the way he was staying on the gas, he wasn't worried about conserving any fuel on the track.

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ATV Sport Test Rider & Rath Racing Team Rider, #85 Cody Anderson has decided to follow DT Races with Daryl Rath running in both the Pro and Pro Am Unlimited which he finished 15th and 10th at the last round.

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North Carolina's Brad Riley was looking to break the top 10 this weekend with his Turtle racing engine.

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Another North Carolina resident, Chuckie Creech, was back in action after finishing 4th in Pro Am Unlimited at Birch Creek.

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The Pro Am field was filled with North Carolina residents. Nearly half the racers in both classes were from the state, including Robby Cooke who signed up for Pro Am Production aboard his Yamaha.

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The practice is broke up into sessions, limiting the number of riders on the track at once, and giving riders a chance to make modification in between sessions to improve their lap times.

Tim Farr and his crew had an assortment of tires to pick from at trackside, and Mark Baldwin made some minor adjustments to his Honda TRX450 between sessions.

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Darin Ogden explained to his Father & Pit Chief, Floyd Ogden, how his Honda was handling the course, which is one of the best things about racing, how it brings friends and family together for atleast a few weekends a year

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After Mark Baldwin made his adjustments to Tim's Quad, he was back out on the track.

Tim gives me the look over as screams his Honda past me down the straight away.

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Keith Little also made a few adjustments and was back out for a few more runs before the end of practice.

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With the end of practice, you couldn't help but notice Zachary Stanley with his War Helmet.

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Only a short time after practice, it was time for the Pro Am Production and Pro Am Unlimited heats to run to determine the starting order for the Main.

Pro Am Production Heat 1

#22 Brad Covington put his Yamaha out front early with #12 Keith Little in hot pursuit and #2 Darin Ogden rounding out the top three after the 1st lap.

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Little would go on to Pass Covington and take over the lead.

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Keith Little pulled away from Covington to take the Pro Am Production Heat 1 Win

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Brad Covington was able to hold off the charge of Darin Ogden to finish in 2nd Place with Ogden finishing in 3rd, which was enough to start on the front row in the Main.

Heat 1 Results
1. Keith Little
2. Brad Covington
3. Darin Ogden
4. Scott Morris
5. Eric Jennings
6. Kelsey Stamm
7. Zachary Stanley

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Pro Am Production Heat 2

The start of second heat had #137 Mitch Reynolds grabbing the holeshot with #4 Tim Farr and #143 Danny McGraw on his rear bumper for most of the 1st lap. #71 Houston Lowder joined in on the action as the lap continued.

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It wouldn't take long for Farr to make his move on Reynolds and make the pass to take over the lead.

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Houston Lowder would move in behind Farr with Reynolds dropping back to 3rd

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Tim Farr was able to receive some relief from the hard charging Lowder after he made a mistake which caused him to drop back off the rear of Farr.

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Mitch Reynolds would go on to finsh in 2nd place with Houston Lowder settling into 3rd.

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#143 Danny McGraw would finish in 4th place ahead of Eric Jennings.

Heat 2 Results
1. Tim Farr
2. Mitch Reynolds
3. Houston Lowder
4. Danny McGraw
5. Eric Jennings
6. Jason Steadman
7. Robby Cooke
8. Chuckie Creech

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Pro Am Unlimited Heat 1

#71 Houston Lowder was back at it again in the Unlimited Class by grabbing the Holeshot over #88 Brian Sallaz

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Lowder would never look back and lead the race from start to finish with #25 Chuckie Creech finishing out in second place and Sallaz dropping back to third.

Heat 1 Results
1. Houston Lowder
2. Chuckie Creech
3. Brian Sallaz
4. Zachary Stanley
5. Kevin Bures
6. Glenn Bailey

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Pro Am Unlimited Heat 2

Similiar to the Heat One, Daryl Rath would grab the Holeshot over Mitch Reynolds and mantain the lead from start to finish.

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#67 Daryl Rath looked at home on his TRX450R, making the switch to Honda this season after racing for Polaris the past few years since the release of the predator. With Polaris changing its focus to XC racing, it left Daryl with a ride this season, but it didn't slow him down one bit.

Doug Crossways' newest teammate, Cody Anderson, also put in a great ride working his way up to 3rd behind Mitch Reynolds as Danny McGraw dropped back to fifth after running in third most of the race.

Heat 2 Results
1. Daryl Rath
2. Mitch Reynolds
3. Cody Anderson
4. Adam Anderson
5. Danny McGraw
6. Doug Crossway

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Finally it was time for the three Pro Heats, but with only 19 entries, there wouldn't be anyone eliminated, so they would only be racing for gate pick selection in the Pro Main.

Pro Heat 1 Lineup
Kelsey Stamm
Cody Anderson
Keith Little
Shane Hitt
Jerry Lauder
Nathan Dallas

#5 Shane Hitt along with the rest of the Pros heated up their tires before heading to the line to get them sticky for as much traction as possible.

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#87 Cody Anderson, #12 Keith Little, and #45 Nathan Dallas stared down the starting tree waiting for the green light. Keith Little got off to an early start, which caused the Pros to head back to the starting line with Little losing his spot on the Front row and starting back in the penalty row for the restart.

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The Restart went to the favor of #5 Shane Hitt with him getting the jump over #45 Nathan Dallas

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Unfortunately for Shane Hitt, his lead would come to an end half way through lap two when his Suzuki would drift to a stop while he watched the rest of the class race past him. Nathan Dallas would take over the lead while Keith Little would make a dramatic charge through the field. He made it behind Nathan Dallas in only a couple of laps.

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Keith Little was applying the pressure to Nathan Dallas for several laps with Cody Anderson maintaining the third spot ahead of Kelsey Stamm.

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Shane Hitt looked over his Suzuki trying to find what brought his race to an end, and he would eventually discover that a CDI failure ended his race, which meant he would have to start on the back row for the Main.

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In the final lap and last turn before the straight away to the checkered flag, Keith Little would make his move and catch Nathan Dallas off guard, which would give Keith Little the Win after a dramatic charge from the back of the pack in six short laps.

Pro Heat 1 Results
1. Keith Little
2. Nathan Dallas
3. Cody Anderson
4. Kelsey Stamm
5. Jerry Lauder
6. Shane Hitt

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Pro Heat 2 Lineup
Tim Farr
A. Anderson
Brad Riley
Darin Ogden
Lee Reineccius

There were only five riders in this Heat after #79 Shane Smith went to hospital after his wreck in practice and another rider signed up for the class by mistake.

The Start had #2 Darin Ogden putting his FTZ powered Honda TRX450R out front ahead of #4 Tim Farr followed by #112 Adam Anderson, #27 Brad Riley, and #9 Lee Reineccius.

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Darin Ogden would lead the Heat from start to finish to earn himself atleast a top three pick for the Main.

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Tim Farr would go on to finish in 2nd place after applying some pressure to Ogden early in the race

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Brad Riley would make the last lap pass on Adam Anderson to take over the 3rd spot.

Heat 2 Results
1. Darin Ogden
2. Tim Farr
3. Brad Riley
4. Adam Anderson
5. Lee Reineccius

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Pro Heat 3 Lineup
Harold Goodman
Chuck Creech
Daryl Rath
Brad Covington
Eric Jennings
Scott Morris

Brad Covington would once again today put his YFZ450 out front early with the Holeshot with #43 Scott Morris out running #67 Daryl Rath to take over the 2nd spot behind Covington.

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#38 Eric Jennings was back to last place struggling to keep his practice quad planted after his Race YFZ blew its engine early in the weekend.

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Brad Covington remained unchallenged for the lead with him taking the final heat win.

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#43 Scott Morris with his new DASA, Dan Lamey, engine would finish in 2nd Place behind Covington.

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#67 Daryl Rath would finish out the Heat in 3rd place.

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#708 Harold Goodman would finished in 4th place after only making a last lap pass on Chuckie Creech to pick up one position, which wouldn't be enough to keep him off the second row for the start of the Main.

Heat 3 Results
1. Brad Covington
2. Scott Morris
3. Daryl Rath
4. Harold Goodman
5. Chuck Creech
6. Eric Jennings

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Pro Am Production Main

With the end of the final Pro Heat race, the sun began to dissapear behind the trees as day turned to night with the Pro Am Production and Unlimited Main Events set to start shortly after dark.

The Pro Am Production riders headed to staging to prepare for the start with Tim Farr abscent from the lineup even after winning his Heat, so he could focus his attention on the Pro Main.

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#43 Scott Morris smoked his tires to get them ready for the start while he waited for his turn to pick his gate position.

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With 14 Pro Am Production riders on the line, the start of the race got underway without a hitch with Covington and Ogden getting the early jump off the line.

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Ogden would claim the lead position over Covington heading into turn one.

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Keith Little would pull his YFZ450 in behind Covington in third before his machine would shutdown and force him out of the race with only a few hours to correct the problem before the Pro Main, which prompted him to push his YFZ to his pits immediately after realizing that no one was coming to tow him back to the pits.

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Brad Covington received some breathing room with Little out of the race as he tried to keep within striking distance of Ogden out front, but Ogden wasn't touchable as he pulled away to take the win

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#71 Houston Lowder would go on to finish 3rd behind Covington in only his second race in the Pro Am Production Class.

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Brad Riley would go on to finish in 4th place ahead of Mitch Reynolds to tie his season best finish that he earned at Birch Creek just over a month ago.

Pro Am Production Main Results
1 Darin R. Ogden
2 Brad Covington
3 Houston Lowder
4 Brad Riley
5 Mitch Reynolds
6 Danny Mcgraw
7 Scott Morris
8 Zachary Stanley
9 Chuckie C. Creech
10 Jason D. Steadman
11 Eric Jennings
12 Kelsey L. Stamm
13 Robby C. Cooke
14 Keith B. Little
DNS Timothy Farr

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Pro Am Unlimited Main

The Pro Am Unlimited Start had #137 Mitch Reynolds and #88 Brian Sallaz battling for the Holeshot.

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Mitch Reynolds wins the battle and takes over the lead with both #71 Houston Lowder and #25 Chuckie Creech moving past Sallaz into the top three postions.

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Lowder wasted no time in making his move on Reynolds and taking over the lead with Reynolds dropping back to second place.

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Both Creech and Sallaz would begin to fade back with #67 Daryl Rath and #143 starting their charge through the pack.

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Rath worked his way up to 3rd place behind Mitchell with McGraw taking over the 4th spot aeahd of Zachary Stanley.

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Houston Lowder was able to hold onto the lead and claim his first win of the season.

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Mitch Reynolds was able to hold off Daryl Rath to finish in 2nd place, and close the gap between him and Rath to only 8 points for the Unlimited Class Championship.

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Danny McGraw would take the 4th spot, which moved him into a tie for 5th place in points with Chris Gary.

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Zachary Stanley once again finished 5th in the Unlimted Class moving him up to 8th in points.

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Adam Anderson applied the pressure to Cody Anderson but wasn't able to make the pass and finished in 7th place, but remains in 4th place in points.

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This wouldn't be Doug Crossway's night with his YFZ450 smoking for most of the race, but it held together for him to finish the race in 9th place.

Pro Am Unlimited Main Results
1 Houston Lowder
2 Mitch Reynolds
3 Daryl Rath
4 Danny Mcgraw
5 Zachary Stanley
6 Cody M. Anderson
7 Adam Anderson
8 Brian F. Sallaz
9 Doug Crossway
10 Kevin Bures
11 Chuckie C. Creech
DNS Glenn Bailey

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Pro Main

#2 Darin Ogden was at the front of the line for staging after he recorded the fastest time in 6 lap heat races, which earned him the first gate pick.

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Nathan Dallas almost had his Heat race won until Keith Little made the last minute pass to take the win, but his 2nd place finish would still be enough to place him on the front row.

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Harold "The Bee" Goodman would be starting on the second row and would have his work cut out form him to hold onto his Pro Class Points lead.

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Keith Little would be one of the last pros to linup at staging after blowing the engine during the Pro Am Production race, but he didn't realize that his YFZ450 was still leaking oil that quickly began to puddle under it during Staging.

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It was finally time for the Pros to make there way to the starting line to prepare for their parade lap before the start of the race.

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Smitty signals to the riders to kill the engines and informs Keith Little that his YFZ450 was leaking oil.

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Keith Little was informed that he would need to remove his ATV from the line and repair his oil leak before returning to the line.

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Little's YFZ was pushed off the track to the staging area, so his mechanic could begin searching for the cause of the oil leak.

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Keith Little walked over to his friend Shane Hitt during the playing of the National Anthem with Tim Farr and Scott Morris standing by their machines.

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After the Anthem, the riders were released for their parade lap, and Keith Little wasn't the only one with problems as Adam Anderson was forced pop start his YFZ.

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With everyone back on the line, Keith Little's machine still wasn't ready, so he requested a two minute delay.

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With Two Minutes quickly becoming one minute, It wasn't looking good for Keith Little's machine to be ready by the start of the race.

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A huge crowd gathered around Little's machine hoping to offer some help in getting his machine running before the start, but it wasn't meant to be as the Tree Lite up and the riders began to rev their engines waiting for the green light as Keith looked on hopelessly with his tie for the Points Lead and Championship hopes quickly fading.

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The race was underway, but Nathan Dallas jumped the line before the light turned green, which would force the race to be restarted, and there was hope that Keith Little would make it to the line in time for the restart.

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With the crowd cheering, Keith Little mounted his YFZ450 and headed to the front row for the restart, but he was ordered by Smitty to head to the penalty row with Nathan Dallas for not making it to the line for the initial start, but atleast there was hope he would be able to make another come back from the back row to maintain his points lead.

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The restart was off without a hitch and Darin Ogden and Daryl Rath held a slight lead down the stretch to the sweeping turn.

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Darin Ogden would claim the Holeshot aboard his FTZ Honda TRX450R

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Tim Farr would claim the 2nd spot ahead of Brad Covington and remained within striking distance of Ogden in the lead.

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Scott Morris was once again off to one of his best starts of the season with his new DASA TeamRacersEdge.com (http://www.TeamRacersEdge.com) Engine and was holding onto the 4th spot ahead of "The Bee" Goodman.

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Daryl Rath would start out in 6th place, but would be passed by Brad Riley and drop back to 7th with Shane Hitt, Chuckie Creech, and Keith Little working their way into the top 10, but Little's YFZ450 was already smoking with approx. 20 laps to go, so it wasn't looking good.

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The Top 6 would remain the same for the 1st half of the race with Keith Little working his way up to 7th before his engine finally failed in the 5th lap, which left him as a spectator for the remainder of the race.

Shane Hitt took over the 7th spot behind Daryl Rath with Little out of the race, while Creech, Dallas, and Jennings rounded out the top 10.

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Darin Ogden slowly began to pull away from Tim Farr in second place and held a five second buffer between him and Farr with the race half over.

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The five second gap wasn't enough to ease Debbie Ogden's nerves as she watched her son round the track looking to earn his first Pro Win.

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Brad Covington maintained his 3rd place position, but dropped back several seconds behind Farr in second place as he looked to earn his first podium appearance of the season.

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With the top three seperated, the real battle for position was between Scott Morris and Harold Goodman as they blazed around the track within inches of each other with Morris holding off Goodman's charge and maintaining his 4th place position.

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Darin Ogden would remain unchallenged for the lead after the 1st lap, and would go on to win the race with a 7 second buffer between him and Tim Farr in second place.

The win, was a dream come true to for the Ogden family, and they couldn't believe it finally happened.

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Tim Farr would take the checkered flag with the second place finish, which could be enough to put him in sole position of the points lead depending on whether Goodman would be able to pass Morris.

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Brad Covington crossed the finish line by locking up his rear brakes and power sliding his YFZ through the checkered flag after running his best race of the season and earning the final podium spot.

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Harold Goodman gave it everything he had in his attempt to pass Scott Morris, but it wasn't meant to be, and Scott was able to hold onto the 4th spot to earn his best finish of the season, which was a major improvement over his previous best 9th place finish at Ashtabula.

With Goodman finishing 5th and Keith Little's engine failure early in the race, Tim Farr was able to take over the Points lead for the first time this season by two points over Harold Goodman with Darin Ogden leaping up into 3rd place and only 3 points out of the lead with his Win. Keith Little's day wouldn't be a total loss as he earned 4 points, but he still dropped 14 points out of the lead with only two races to go, which severely reduced the possibility of a repeat championship.

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Rob Riley was also able to maintain his 6th place position in front of Daryl Rath with very little changes in positions in the top ten.

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There was an intense battle between Lee Reineccius, Cody Anderson, Eric Jennings, and Adam Anderson for the 11th place position with them swapping positions back and forth through out the race, but in the end Reineccius was able to claim the 11th spot behind Nathan Dallas.

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Keith Little pushes his YFZ450 off the track after doing everything possible to earn as many points as possible.

Pro Main Results
1 Darin R. Ogden Dillonvale, OH
2 Timothy Farr Massillon, OH
3 Brad Covington Batesville, AR
4 Scott Morris Reidsville, NC
5 Harold L. Goodman Romulus, MI
6 Brad Riley High Point, NC
7 Daryl Rath Hutchinson, MN
8 Shane Hitt Buckhannon, WV
9 Chuckie C. Creech Rocky Mount, NC
10 Nathan G. Dallas Charlotte, NC
11 Lee J. Reineccius Stanchfield, MN
12 Cody M. Anderson Waconia, MN
13 Eric Jennings Bloomingburg, NY
14 Adam Anderson Trenton, MO
15 Kelsey L. Stamm Archbold, OH
16 Jerry L. Lauder Collinsville, IL
17 Keith B. Little Russellville, AL
DNS Shane Smith Chillicothe, MO

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Darin Ogden's Honda 450R steamed from overheating as it set on the winner's circle.

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Each of the Podium finishers took a moment to describe to the fans their experience during the race and thank the many sponsors that have helped them make it to this point.

Then it was finally time for them to celebrate their finishes with a champagne celebration

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After the three chased each other around spraying down one another with the champagne, Darin Ogden poured his remaining champagne over his winning quad.

[Admin]

Darin's friend told him if he would win today that he would carry him off the track, and he did exactly that, which wraps up this Elizabeth Race Coverage.

I was thankful that I could be on hand to watch Darin win his first Pro Race, and I was given a great boost from all those that approached me throughout the day and acknowledge that they visit ATVriders.com daily to find out the latest news, which makes the countless hours and late nights afterwork that I spend working on this coverage and the site worthwhile.

I wish that I could get the coverage finished sooner, and I hope to have the oppurtunity next year with more companies and members stepping up to support ATVriders.com, so I will finally be able to leave my fulltime day job of 6 years and devote all my time to making ATVriders.com an even better site for all of those that share the same passion that I have for ATVs.

Thanks again to all of those that take the time to read through my race reports, and I will now focus on finishing the Loretta Lynn's Race Coverage.

Feel free to share your thoughts and feelings about the report or your experience at the Elizabeth City race.

[snapdragon_49]

Hey Harlen,

I have to say you do such an awesome job with this web site.. Floyd and I were talking just last night, about how much work this has to be for you., We all appreciate the time and effort everyone here at ATV RIDERS puts into the race coverage. I'm so glad you were there to see Darin win his first PRO class race, you brought us good luck !!! It has been a long time coming.

Sometimes I have wondered if it would ever happen, but Floyd and Darin never gave up, and thats the important part !!!!

The pictures as usual are fantastic.. This site is so cool !!! pssssssssssssssst Tell your wife thanks for sharing you with us. I know she gives up a lot of her time with you so this site can be possible.. Much appreciation.. Debbie

[Elka83]

great coverage. Very nice pictures too.

[iceracer65]

great pix and great coverage as usuall!!

cant wait to see the amatuer report!

will you be in paducah?

[smorris]

It was good meeting you at the track. Great coverage!
Hope to see ya at the next two nationals, and thanks!

[Admin]

Originally posted by smorris
It was good meeting you at the track. Great coverage!
Hope to see ya at the next two nationals, and thanks!

I wish that I could go to the next two Nationals, but I will be racing myself in the GNCC Nationals in North Carolina and New York. With only so many weekend's in a year, many of the Nationals overlap, so I can't attend them all.

Don't worry, I have people lined up to cover both events, so besure to check back for the coverage.

I am behind on my Loretta Lynn's Coverage, so I need to get back to it, but I will post a photo gallery of my remaining amateur photos from the weekend by tomorrow night.

[p@iNn3ck]

Awesome report and pics..... just goes to show, its the man, not the equipment!:devil: And I thought I could go on blaming the rebel.... ;)

Congrats Darin (and family)!

[cody anderson]

Hey HArlen, are you going to Kentucky?

Do you have that one picture that you took of me right before my helmet hit the ground? I was getting ready for the Pro main...

Thanks!

[tt racer]

I know Darin personally and he deserves this win so much! The Ogden family has been doing this along time. They work as a family at all the nationals and would talk to anybody anytime. Ive watched Darin race for several years at local tracks and nationals and in my opinion he is the most natural tt oval racer you will find. Congrats Darin, this is only the start for you!:)

[QuadJunkies]

Thank you HArlen for briging us all such AWESOME coverage!!

Also, my best goes out to Mandi, I hope she heals up soon .

[400exrider0004]

very nice job on the report

[yoshimurakfx400]

awsome coverage