Hurricane Mills, TN (8/9/2008) - Chad Wienen has had rotten luck this season. The rider of the No. 44 Team Rockstar/ MSR/Suzuki/Yoshimura/Pro Taper Suzuki) suffered two shoulder injuries in successive weeks and was even sidelined for a race. That all changed Saturday at ATV Dirt Days as the Loretta Lynn Ranch as Wienen netted the top spot in qualifying for tomorrow's finals. The race is the season finale for the ITP Tires/Moose Racing AMA/ATVA National Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited. Wienen was nearly two full seconds ahead of his teammate Dustin Wimmer (No. 191 Team MSR/Suzuki/Yoshimura/Pro Taper Suzuki). Pat Brown (No. 199 Factory Yamaha) was third quick, ahead of Doug Gust (No. 55 Team Rockstar/ MSR/Suzuki/Yoshimura/Pro Taper Suzuki), and Josh Creamer (No. 9 Team Monster Energy/Kawasaki).
"This feels really good," said Wienen. "I spent the last few weeks training in the heat and the bike is working great. I won here last year, and the reason I won was consistency. I hope stay consistent tomorrow and win the race.
"This has been just a difficult season," added Wienen. "I came out swinging at the beginning of the year, then I was hit with those two shoulder injuries. That was tough to deal with, but I'm glad to be fully recovered now. A win here would give me great personal joy, but, more importantly, it would be great to give back to my fans. They've stuck with me this season and they've been waiting a long time for a win."
Jasmin Plante (No. 91 Ultimate Yamaha/Toyota Yamaha), Jason Dunkelberger (No. 19 East Coast ATV), Russ Shumaker (No. 68 Team Monster Energy Kawasaki) and Rocco Arno, Jr. (No. 101 Privateer) qualified for the final through the Last Chance Qualifier. Hunter Miller, Brian Ace, Trent Kandel, and Rich Stambach didn't qualify.
ATV Dirt Days continues tonight with a live concert by Krista Marie. The event concludes tomorrow with Pro finals, as well as a full compliment of Pro-Am, Amateur, Youth and Women's Racing.
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