All Terrain Vehicle Cross Country Series Round #12- Caddo Point Cross-Country Greenville, Texas November 12, 2006

By: David Culpepper

This is the final round of 2006 for ATVCCS. What better place than Caddo Point to wrap up the season. This year Caddo Point hosted the 12 Hours of ATV America and we will be racing the same course they used for the 12 hours. The main track is 6.3 miles long with a complete MX track and the famous “Upside Down Bleacher” obstacle for the A riders to test there skill on. The Pee Wee track is 1.0 mile long and is a faster than average course for the young guys and gals. The weather could not have been any better with highs in the mid 60s and lows in the low 40s. There was a little breeze blowing to help keep the dust out of racers eyes. The dirt at Caddo Point consist mostly of hard black dirt.

Broc Watkins

The Pee Wee 6 riders started off their race with a sharp right hand turn and the points leader Wesley Pruitt got tangled up with Jace Hardin as they were both jockeying for position in the first turn. Jaces machine flipped over and riders behind had to maneuver around the down rider while Pruitts machine shot off course and ran into a fence. Pruitt was shaken up and did not continue with the race. Later it was reported that the young racer was ok. Jace got back on his machine and attempted to finish the race but after his fourth lap the right rear wheel fell off. After close inspection it was determined the bolts had been damaged in the first turn crash and finally broke afterwards. Meanwhile up front was Gage Smith followed by Kenzi Potteiger, Cissie Strutton, and McKinley Lee. At the end of 9 laps the riders all managed to stay in the same positions they started off in. The Pee Wee 8 riders were the next to race and Britney Cox took the holeshot and lead the race from start to finish. Cody Price worked his way forward from a fourth place start to a second place finish. Megan Daniel recovered from a fifth place start to finishing third and Braeden Hardin winded up in fourth. We had a couple new riders in this class this weekend and they were Alex Dimberg and Austin Irwin and they finished the race in fifth and sixth respectively. The Pee Wee 10 race was won by the class points leader and now class champion Nathan Clague. Runner up went to Wyatt Day followed by Broc Watkins.

Pee Wee 10 Champ. Nathan Clague		Jace Hardin waving the Checkerd

The Lady Open class was lead by Lexie Coulter who was setting a blistering pace for the rest of the riders in her class. By the end of the 4 lap race she’d pulled out a lead of 3 minutes and 43 seconds over Heather Best who finished second. Heather also had her competitors covered as she was another 3 minutes and 18 seconds ahead of Becca Stanly who finished third. For a close fourth it was Crystal Perry followed by Porscha Knowlton. Ashley Robinson and Morgan Nichols rounded out the class. New blood in the 50+ class this weekend. Jeff Porter and Jeff Blackwood decided to get their feet wet this weekend. On the start it was Porter who blasted off to the early lead followed by Blackwood and the rest of the class. The current points leader in this class Dennis Wilson got a terrible start and found himself in unfamiliar territory. As the race progressed Wilson worked his way forward with David Maholick in tow. Porter went on to win in dominate fashion while Blackwood, Wilson, and Maholick all stayed within 20 seconds of each other. They all finished second, third and fourth respectively. Mike Nolan was fifth and Butch Troquille was sixth. Sarah Sellers the class champion in the Lady 30+ class returned to her winning ways here at Caddo Point. Amy Lee finished second followed by Lynne Whitehead. Mrs. Whitehead just joined our series one race ago and is already finding the form required to be successful in this sport. Annette Price finished fourth followed by Dorothy Rogers and Mandy Jenkins. The showdown in the Youth Beginner class is between Lacey Tincher and Jarod Roberts. Tincher started the season off strong and got off to a early points lead but Roberts has been chipping away the points all year long. Travis Brown got the early lead and was never really challenged for the win. Tincher got off to a bad start and came through scoring after the first lap in fourth place while Roberts completed the first lap in second place. Kyle Potteiger was putting a lot of pressure on Roberts and on the third lap made the pass for second place. The pace Roberts was on was to much for Tincher to match and Roberts took home third today and the championship in the series by just one point over Tincher. Tori Oliver rounded out the top five today in class.

Local Rider Cody Miller

The Pro class Sunday morning was 9 riders strong. With class positions locked up in other classes we saw a few riders getting their feet wet in the Pro Class. Local riders and some MX racers also joined the field this weekend. Most eyes were on the Miller brothers, Cody and Hunter, who had to be favorites with this race being in their backyard. Cody and Hunter are both equally as fast and are both recovering from injuries sustained while competing in Motocross this year. On the start Josh Hahne blasted off the line fast to take the holeshot. The Miller brothers were back in the pack. Shortly after the start the riders entered the MX track and it was here that both Cody and Hunter passed several riders in the field. Before the first lap was completed Hahne could be seen in his pits working on problems he encountered with his machine in the trees. Through the scoring chute after lap one was Cody Miller closely followed by Hunter Miller who was closely followed by current points leader Shawn Hess. Scott Dunn who normally races MX was in fourth followed by Spencer Dickerson, who is a past Arkansas Hare Scramble champion, followed by Garrett Oliver, who is the 2006 Junior class champion in ATVCCS. For the next four laps things stayed the same except for Cody developed a flat on his left rear tire. When he stopped to switch wheels Hunter took over the lead and Hess moved into second. On the next lap Cody pulled in again to switch wheels again. Come to find out he’d put a wheel on that was a lot taller than the original wheel and it was giving him problems with handling. Cody had enough of a lead so that he maintained third place through all of this but it allowed Hunter and Shawn to check out. By the end of the race Cody made up some time but not enough to catch Shawn or Hunter. So first, second and third was Hunter Miller, Shawn Hess, and Cody Miller. Spencer Dickerson held off Garrett Oliver for fourth. Oliver and Dickerson ran very close for the entire race. You could see Oliver gain some on the MX track and Dickerson take it right back in the woods. Scott Dunn was running solid in fourth until machine failure took him out of the race on lap four.

Hunter Miller		Garrett Oliver

Austin Aldridge

The Open class showdown is between Austin Aldridge and Kyle Porter. Porter got off to a great start only to have machine failure on the first lap. With Porter out, all Aldridge had to do was finish the race to win the championship. Oops, I forgot to mention Lexie Coulter pulled the holeshot over all the riders in this class. Aldridge completed the first lap in sixth place and quickly found himself in second place by the end of lap two. Jeremy Latham took over the lead after Porter dropped out, Aldridge was in second, followed by Coulter, Carlock, and Heintschel. Fourth lap saw Aldridge in the lead followed by Latham, Carlock, Coulter, and Heintschel. Later in the race Latham dropped out due to mechanical problems. And at the finish it was Aldridge with the win and the championship, followed by Carlock, Coulter, Brian Firth, and Kevin Smith. Chase Honeycutt took the win in the Junior class and Gaylon Knowlton in the 30+ class. Gaylon also won the championship in this class.

Austen Gustine

Larry Gustine took the win and championship in the 40+ class. At Caddo Point this weekend his mission was to stay out in front and not allow his son, Austen to catch him. Well stay out front Larry did, but Austen was in the zone and was able to catch and pass is father for the overall in the B Program. It took the whole race for Austen to catch dad but he did. Back in second place in the Open B class was Dan King, who didn’t even have to ride today to win the class championship. Finishing third was Micah Ames followed by Anthony Perry and Josh Carlson. All of these riders will advance to the A Program for 2007. In the 4-ST class it was a Marty and Marty show, that is Marty Buchanan and Marty Stone. Both of these riders hooked up at the start of the race and never separated. Third place went to Spencer Westin who had one heck of cheering section pulling for him. Fourth was Taylor Pierce and fifth Paul Young. Gary Davis won the 45+ class followed by Scott Robinson, Sonny Amos, and Ken Watkins. In the Youth class Clint Yount who took the win by riding wire to wire in the lead. On Saturday Clint lost a gear in the bottom end and his father had to burn the midnight oil to split the cases and get his machine up and running by race time on Sunday. Cody Ames finished second and nailed down the championship while Nicholas Kristek finished third followed by Jeremy Best and Tyler Davis. The UTE class witnessed Mike Kowis get a holeshot. Probably will never here the end of this but the holeshot was only short lived as Willie Towns took the point from Kowis and never looked back. Mike Rogers was third followed by David Lee, and Gabe Jones.

Mike Kowis		Dan King

This concludes another successful season of racing for ATVCCS and we look forward to a bigger and better season for 2007. Thanks to all the sponsors of ATVCCS: Fly Racing, Longview Cycle and Ski, The Tire Ball Company, H & W Honda/Yamaha, Thumper Racing and Can-Am.

www.atvccs.com
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