NE EDT Racing Round 4 - Pine Lake Ashtabula, OH July 18-19, 2015

CCR Swaybars / WISECO / JT Racing / Elka's Chuckie Creech also got a great start for himself during the Pro main running right up front with Riley and Houghton heading into the first slippery corner. With Creech finding himself in third place at the early onset of the contest, he knew he had his work cut out for him with the challenge of chasing down Houghton in second place and Riley up front but also with stiff competition behind him in the form of Aaron Medlin and Brian Ace.

Chuckie Creech finished second in the NE EDT Pro Class

Creech caught a break as Medlin experienced a mechanical failure in his rear suspension and subframe rendering his Honda 450R almost unrideable sending him back through the pack. With a little more breathing room now, Creech kept on the gas to distance himself from Houghton and was able to stayed in second place for the remainder of the twenty-lap race to earn another second place finish for the season and remain in the points lead for the championship chase. 

Earnhardt Racing / Turtle Racing Engines / Fox Shox / Hoosier’s Michael Houghton has been consistent so far this season and especially at Pine Lake while getting a good start for the Pro main in second place behind Riley. He too, was up front with Creech and Riley off the holeshot and also had his work cut out battling through the dust to fend for a front position. Early in the race he was forced to battle with Creech who eventually took over the position from him and bumped Houghton back to third place. After this battle, Houghton tried his best but couldn’t gain any ground over the slippery track and was forced to settle for third place at the end of the twenty-lap race. Houghton now sits in fifth place in points heading into the latter half of the season.

Michael Houghton rounded out the top three at Pine Lake in the Pro Class

Fourth and fifth place were battled over by Brian Ace and Daryl Rath who, being his first race in the 2015 NE EDT season as well, was off to a great start. Rath was able to get a good holeshot in fifth place and after Medlin suffered a mechanical failure, he was able to move up to the fourth place position while holding off Ace for the spot. Ace rounded out the top five in the Pro class and with Ace attending the first two rounds earlier in the season he keeps his points chase alive remaining in second place and being only nine points out of first behind Creech.

Daryl Rath ran top five the whole race & crossed the finish in fourth

With the onset of the Pro-Am class and with twenty six racers in the class, an LCQ session was held on Saturday evening to determine which twenty racers would make the main event on Sunday. With a full-gate on Sunday afternoon, the racing action was surely going to be massive!

Two Se7en Motorsports / DASA / Houser Racing / O’Neal’s Brad Riley truly had his Honda 450R dialed in this weekend and pulled another holeshot during the Pro-Am main event, well ahead of Michael Houghton and Chuckie Creech who were again his competition heading into the first corner. With Riley out front from the get-go, he had a clear track ahead of himself and found his way into the corners smoothly and literally left the rest of the pack “in the dust”. Riley propelled himself consistently around the Pine Lake track and with a sizable lead, finished off the fifteen-lapper in no time giving him another win on the weekend.

Brad Riley once again took the holeshot & won the Pro-Am Class

“My bike was pulling fuel here at the end of the race like the last five laps and I wasn’t sure what was going on but I’m pretty sure it’s part of the fuel system. I was just hoping it would hold together for the rest of the race and luckily it did! It was a tough race dealing with the heat and the dust but I made it work out there and I think we were all on a level playing field. My PEP suspension, Houser components and MAXXIS tires all worked really well together and my setup was on point. I’m happy to get a win and I’m excited for the rest of the season,” said Riley on the podium.

Close Encounter Whitetails / RAGE ATV / MAXXIS / WISECO’s Chuckie Creech battled hard once again off from the start of the Pro-Am main with a top three out of the holeshot behind Riley and Houghton. By the end of the first lap, Creech was able to edge out Houghton for the second place spot and begin to charge down Riley who was running away with a big lead. Creech was able to remain clean once around Houghton however he was not able to apply any pressure to Riley before the fifteen-lap race ended. Creech was forced to settle for second place but still remains in the points chase for the championship in second place, eight points out of first place.

Chuckie Creech earned another second place finish in the Pro-Am Class