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AMA ATV Motocross Nationals
Round #11 - Loretta Lynn's
Hurricane
Mills, TN
August 13, 2011
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AMA ATV MX Nationals
- Loretta Lynn's- Pro ATV Race Report
::Continued::
In the first moto, Can-Am/Motoworks’ John
Natalie, Jr. was determined to keep the pro points
lead in order take the championship. Natalie came
off the line in fourth and made his way around
Joe Byrd after a few laps to take over third.
Once Chase Snapp dropped back, Natalie inherited
the number two spot and began to chase down Joel
Hetrick. Natalie got close, but ran out of time
before he was able to make a move for the lead
and would settle for second, knowing all he had
to do was finish ahead of Upperman to keep a good
points lead.
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With only 10 points separating #13 John
Natalie & #20 Josh Upperman heading
into the final round, there was plenty of
excitement in the air about who would be
on top after the final two motos of the
season, so at the end of the moto one parade
lap, Natalie & Upperman shook hands
after getting a chance to check out the
#1 plate up for grabs, but afterwards, it
was all business, and Natalie was up to
the challenge as he charged his way past
Upperman on his way to a second place finish
right behind #88 Joel Hetrick. Along the
way, Natalie also scored the fast laptime
of moto with a time of 01:35.455, and extended
his points lead to 12 points heading into
the final moto of the season. |
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| The
unthinkable happened in the beginning of
Moto 2 when #13 John Natatalie went down
hard, which sent him back to last place
with Upperman leading the pack |
The second moto was more than intense as Natalie
came off the line as he ended up connecting with
Joel Hetrick and went down hard. Natalie got back
up and took off in last place. Natalie needed
to finish in at least eighth place in order to
secure the championship and had a tough fight
ahead of him in order to accomplish that.
The Ironman was not about to let the championship
slip away and gave it everything he had and worked
his way through traffic to finish in fourth, giving
him third overall on the podium and the 2011 AMA
ATV Motocross Pro Championship.
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| The
"Ironman" John Natalie didn't
waste much time charging his way back up
through the pack & by the 6th lap, Natalie
was already back up into the Top 5, which
was more than enough to secure his 2nd career
AMA Pro ATV MX Championship |
“It’s been a long road and we finally
made it and took the championship! It feels great
to come out here and take it in the last round
of the season. It’s just an incredible feeling
right now. I have to thank everyone at Can-Am
and Motoworks and everyone who has been there
for us this season and stuck behind us; it brings
tears to my eyes!” said Natalie from the
podium.
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DWT's #13 John Natalie charged his way past
#48 Chase Snapp in the final lap to claim
the 4th spot & 3rd overall, which also
secured the 2011 AMA Pro ATV MX Championship,
so Natalie did a parade lap after the checkered
flag |
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AMA
Pro ATV Motocross Podium (left to right)
John
Natalie Jr (3rd),
Joel Hetrick (1st),
Josh Upperman (2nd)
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