2005 FMF Extreme Dirt Track Round #3 - Pine Lake
Ashtabula, OH - The most popular stop in the six race series is Ashtabula, and it showed with a record attendance of over 450 entries:eek:, which shows that Extreme Dirt Track racing is alive and well even though the series doesn't receive the coverage from the press that the other forms of ATV Racing receives.
Unlike the other locations, Ashtabula doesn't have lights, so the races are only held during the day and the event is spread out over weekend with qualifiers on Saturday and the Main events on Sunday. Also, the track remains old school when it comes to scoring because it is the only event that I know of that doesn't use software for scoring and everything remains hand written, but there must be something to be said for the track owner and his crew because regardless, the riders and spectators flock to the event every year, and when all the racing is over, normally it is rumored that it will be the last year of racing at Pine Lake, but every year it remains on the schedule.
Saturday was a perfect day for racing and with over 450 entries, it would have been difficult to fit every into one day of racing, so the day was spent narrowing the field down to 20 riders per class for Sunday's Main Event.
Unfortunately, the weather today didn’t cooperate as line of rain moved in before they could even start the first race, and after postponing the event for the rain a couple of hours, it was decided that the racing would be cancelled and the results from Saturday along with the times would be used to determine the finishing order for each class, which was a huge disappointment, but no one can control the weather and unlike MX and XC the racing can’t go on unless the track is dry.
As of now, unofficially Keith Little will take the win followed by Darin Ogden, Harold Goodman, and Tim Farr, which could make things really interesting at it will close the gap amongst the top 4 riders and brings the 2004 Champion, Keith Little(Lonestar Racing/Yamaha) into a tie for the lead with Harold Goodman each with 76 points and Tim drops back to 3rd place with only 7 points seperating him from the leaders with Darin Ogden remaining in the battle with for the Championship with 61 points as the intensity level rises as these four riders battle for the Championship, which will keep the remaining three races of the series exciting as they battle for points, and just like last year, the winner most likely won't be declared till the finish of the race in Texas with only a few points seperating the leaders.
Unofficial Pro Points Standings
1. Harold Goodman - 76Points
2. Keith Little - 76 Points
3. Tim Farr - 69 Points
4. Darin Ogden - 61 Points
Of course, ATVriders.com had several journalists at the track to capture all the action, so look for a complete race report within a few days. Also, I we are on results and I will be providing any updated information that I receive throughout today.
**Side Note**
Please put Randy Hoy, Production C, in your prayers because this morning, his friends woke up to find him having a seizure and was rushed to the hospital for treatment and testing. Mike(HB Racing) called to inform me that he will most likely remain in the hospital for a few days.
