Root River Racing’s RedBud Mtn Dew ATV MX Race Report
Megan Manshack Wins Women's Class Championship

Megan Manshack won both motos at RedBud MX to claim not only the overall win, but also her second consecutive Women’s National Championship. “The first moto, I battled with Aubre [King] for a few laps, but I was able to get out front and hold my pace. The second moto, I got the holeshot and just ran my race. It was a really successful weekend for me. Since I crashed last year, coming back and doing well this year was the most exciting part for me. I wrapped up my second title a race early. I’ll definitely be at Loretta’s, and I’m looking to go for one more win this year,” said Manshack.

Root River Racing’s Sam Rowe landed on the Pro-Am podium for the third consecutive round. Rowe went 4-2 for second overall. “First moto I got third out of the start, and I was okay with that. Then I made a little mistake and Gennusa passed me. I stayed in fourth the rest of the race. Moto two my Root River Racing bike launched out of the gate and I came out in second right behind Nico Cavi. I made a pass into the lead and held that for a few laps,” said Rowe, who eventually fell to second place to give him second overall on the day. Rowe currently sits in fourth place in points, but just barely behind third.

Sam Rowe went 4-2 to finish second overall in the Pro-Am class. Rowe also claimed the Pro Sport win at RedBud MX

In Pro Sport, Rowe clinched the overall win. “The first moto I pulled the holeshot and pulled a gap right away. Then I was able to just put it on cruise control for the rest of the moto. Afterwards, I started experiencing some back pain that has been bothering me since before Unadilla,” said Rowe. For the second moto, Rowe toughed out the pain to salvage a fourth, which still gave him first overall on the weekend.

Rowe is pushing to finish the season strong at the final round. “I’m pretty far down in Pro Sport behind Cam Covil, but I still have a chance to win the championship. I’m just going to go to Loretta’s and do what I can do to win Pro Sport. If I get a little luck it will be great, but if not I will be okay with that. It’s going to be tough, but I missed a round this year so I’m just trying to make the best of my season,” said Rowe.

Dylan Tremellen also competed in Pro-Am and Pro Sport. Tremellen went 5-8 to take sixth overall in Pro-Am.  In Pro Sport, Tremellen took a sixth first moto, but came back to win the second moto. The second moto win earned Tremellen a third place overall. Tremellen now sits fourth place in points in Pro Sport, but just five points away from third going into the final race.

Root River Racing’s Bubba Hicks competed in Production A and 450 A. In Production A, Hicks had a solid weekend going 2-2 for second overall. “First moto I got the holeshot but made a little mistake and ended up finishing second. On the second moto, I was third or fourth out of the holeshot and finished second again. I finally had solid, consistent motos and got a decent finish,” said Hicks.

Bubba Hicks grabbed the holeshot in the Production A Class in Moto 1

Hicks had another good ride in 450 A where he went 7-3 for fifth overall. “I had a bad start in moto one, and by the time I got around traffic, the front of the pack was too far gone. The second moto was good. I pulled the holeshot and led for the first few laps. It ended up being a really good weekend. I’m hoping to finish off the season with a fourth overall in both classes. I just need to go down to Lorretta’s and have a weekend like I had at RedBud, and I should be good,” said Hicks.

Bubba Hicks finished 2-2 to claim second overall in the Production A Class

The number 135 of Haedyn Mickelson also had an impressive ride in the A classes.  In 450 A, “First moto I had a decent start and worked my way up third. I had a good battle going with Parker Wewerka. Second moto I had a worse start, and really had to work my way up through the pack,” said Mickelson. He finished fourth in the second moto to give him third overall.

Haedyn Mickelson rounded out the 450 A class podium in third

According to Mickelson, the first moto of Production A went very well, “I felt super good. I had a great holeshot and battled for first place the entire race. Last lap I actually landed on the guy in first and popped my back tire, so I wasn’t able to get around him, but I managed to hold on to second place. Mickelson ended up finishing sixth in moto two, which earned him fifth place overall.

Going into the final round of the season at Loretta Lynn’s, Mickelson is leading the points of 450 A, and commented “I’m hoping I can get the championship. I know it’s going to be close.”

Tyler Mack took a podium finish in 450 B. “Saturday I had a decent holeshot, and was in third place at the end of the first lap. I finally passed for second in the rollers on the last lap. On Sunday we had some bike issues but I still finished up third for third overall,” said Mack. In Production B, Mack took fourth the first moto, but second moto said, “My ITP tires got a great jump off the gate and I was third heading into the first corner, but I got hung up on the inside berm.” Mack worked his way up from the very back of the pack to finish twelfth, for eleventh overall.
Tommy Vossman earned a top five finish in Open B by going 2-5 in his motos.

“Moto one on Saturday I came out with a pretty decent start in fourth and worked my way up to second. On Sunday I was working on passing for third but my third gear went out,” said Vossman, who still salvaged a fifth place in moto two for fifth place overall. Going into the last race at Loretta Lynn’s Vossman is still training and pushing for good finishes.

Alex Gillette took a top ten finish in 450 B. “I had a horrible start in the first moto, but passed ten people, and worked my way up to sixth. I fought hard and did a lot of passing,” said Gillette. In the second moto, Gillette finished ninth to give him tenth place overall.

Alex Gillette finished fourth in Moto one in the 450 B Class

In Production B, Gillette had an impressive first moto, finishing fourth. However, an incident in moto two would take him out of the running for the finish he was hoping, and he ended up with 18th. Heading into the final round, Gillette says, “We are going to ride a lot and try to get used to hot weather. I’m going to try to get faster and work on my holeshots.” Watch for this Root River Racing rider to come back even stronger at round ten.

In the youth classes, Brandon O Neill had a dominating weekend, taking the win in 90 Shifter. “First moto I pulled the holeshot and led three and half laps. Second moto I ended up passing for second to take the overall win,” said O Neill. In 90 Open Sr., O Neill took fourth overall, and sixth overall in Super Mini.  O Neill is currently second in points in 90 Shifter and says, “I’m looking forward to Loretta’s and finishing off strong in the points.”

The Root River Racing team will compete at the final round of the 2015 Mtn Dew AMA ATV Motocross National Championship, held at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, TN August 8-9th.

2015 Root River Racing Team Sponsors:
Rich Gillette Owner La Crescent Wine & Spirits, Race Team Specialist, RAGE ATV Racing, Motowoz, Pepsi, Rath Racing, FTR Powersports, JB Racing, FLY Racing, Fourwerx, Instituforn, ITP, C&L Powder Coating, 100%, DP Brakes, Yoshimura, Racedaypix, Glann Innovations, Thorson Graphics, Trimble’s Cycle Center, Moto Hose, RPM, Rod’s Powersports, Streamline, Racing for Cancer, Severson Oil Company, DWT, Powermadd, PT Welding, WORKS Connection