AMA ATV Motocross Nationals Round #11 - Loretta Lynn's Hurricane Mills, TN August 13, 2011

As the gate dropped for moto two, it was the Baldwin Motorsports PEP Racing Honda machine of Josh Upperman who shot out of the gate to claim the SSiDecals.com Holeshot Award. Points leader John Natalie and Ballance Racing's Thomas Brown got tangled up in first corner carnage, sending both riders to the back of the pack right away.

Heading into the final moto, Natalie only needed an eighth place finish to capture the championship title, so he played it cool on the first few laps. But, as any true champion would, Natalie dug deep and began picking off riders until he got into the top five, and even then he still kept on it.

Meanwhile, Upperman and Hetrick fought for the lead position in moto two, each keeping two different goals in mind. Hetrick wasn't vying for the championship, although he was looking to score as many points as he could; but his sights were on the AMA Pro Racing ATV Motocross Rookie of the Year Award, which he claimed after going (1-1) for the overall win at Loretta Lynn's. The award didn't come easy to Hetrick though, as Chase Snapp was in high contention until his chain derailed in moto one.

"It's great to win here in the pro class at Loretta's," said Hetrick. "A lot of people came out here to watch us today and I think it's pretty cool that the "rookie" won!" Hetrick added.

Finishing with a (2-4) score for the day, John Natalie captured the 2011 AMA Pro Racing ATV Motocross Championship title by only eight points over Josh Upperman. Jeremy Lawson finished fourth overall to claim third place in the championship standings in front of Thomas Brown and Joel Hetrick, who round out the top five in overall standings.

"There are a lot of people that put their heart and soul into this team and they made it all possible. Can-Am started out with a dream and four years later we finally realized it. We took this DS-450 and we took a championship!" said the 2011 Champion Natalie.

The 2011 AMA ATV Motocross Championship Series presented by DWT wraps up Sunday with Pro-Am and Amateur racing throughout the day. For more information, please visit www.atvmotocross.com.

AMA Pro ATV Top 10 Race Results
1. Joel Hetrick (HON)
2. Josh Upperman (HON)
3. John Natalie (CAN)
4. Jeremy Lawson (SUZ)
5. Thomas Brown (YAM)
6. Travis Moore (HON)
7. Chase Snapp (CAN)
8. Harold Goodman (HON)
9. Joe Byrd (HON)
10.Nick DeNoble (HON)

AMA ATV Motocross Championship Top 10 Pro Point Standings
1. John Natalie (432) 2. Josh Upperman (424) 3. Jeremy Lawson (374) 4. Thomas Brown (339) 5. Joel Hetrick (319) 6. Chase Snapp (315) 7. Chad Wienen (297) 8. Nick DeNoble (277) 9. Travis Moore (268) 10. Joe Byrd (264)

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