Volume 10 // Issue 4 by The Racing Paper

VOLUME 10 ISSUE 4 // 2013 Greiner

JUMP START STATE CHAMPS START NOW!

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X GAMES MIKE McDADE AX RULES IN LOS ANGELES

JOSH LISTON • PR2 SUSPENSION • CAMERON MCKINNEY • GOING OLD SCHOOL 1

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Greiner

The Final 42

WORDS: ROB HARRIS, DAN HATHAWAY, JORDAN ROBERTS PHOTOGRAPHY: MIMI GREINER, ARLENE LANTZER #98 Heavy downpours made the first two days at The Ranch rather grueling, but the sun eventually came out by Thursday to make way for fair weather racing. With the vast variety of racing conditions, top honors ultimately went to the most well-rounded and consistent riders. A little bit of luck never hurts, either. Lantzer #98

PAMX STATE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES KICKS OFF

From Zero

PHOTOGRAPHY: MIMI GREINER, ARLENE LANTZER #98

contributor p.05 sign up p.05 pamx schedule p.06 next exit p.09 flashpoint p.10 front & center p.17 bar-to-bar p.20 fire off p.20 public address p.22 premix p.26 take 5 p.31 inventory p.45 tapped out p.46 golf cart explosions p.49

The PAMX State Championship Series is officially underway after the completion of the first round at Pittsburgh Raceway Park. Flip to page 42 to see who’s already in the running!

Editor / Designer Jordan Roberts Staff Lens aFred, Simon Cudby Staff Pens Jen Kenyon, Chase Stallo Head Honcho Davey Coombs Boss Guy Bryan Stealey Boss Girl Julie Kramer Advertising Tim Crytser Accounts Jerri Headlee Voice of Reason Rita Coombs Contributing Writers Timmy Coombs, Tyler Newcomer Contributing Photographers Mimi Greiner, Lauren Hall, Arlene Lantzer #98, Zak Lowery, Amy Schaaf COVER PHOTO BY ARLENE LANTZER #98 The Racing Paper 122 Vista Del Rio Drive, Morgantown, WV 26508 tel 304.284.0080 | fax 304.284.0081 | theracingpaper.com The riders appearing in this newspaper are, for the most part, skilled amateurs or highly trained individuals with experience racing and operating motorcycles. Please don’t try to imitate them. When you ride a motorcycle or ATV, always wear a helmet, eye protection and the appropriate safety gear. Never ride beyond your capabilities. Use your head, be safe and enjoy the ride. The Racing Paper publishes six issues annually by World Sports Holdings, LLC. Our editorial office is located at 122 Vista Del Rio Drive, Morgantown, WV 26508. Copyright ©2012 Filter Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Nothing in this newspaper may be reprinted in whole or in part without the express written permission of the publisher. Editorial contributions are welcomed, but must be guaranteed exclusive to The Racing Paper. We are not responsible for the return of unsolicited material. Letters cannot all be answered, nor can all service inquiries be answered. We appreciate correspondence sent to our editorial office and will use the most interesting and appropriate letters in the newspaper. Email letters to: jordan@racerxonline.com Advertising: Please call Tim Crytser at 407-748-4663

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We recently began crowdsourcing old-school moto photos, hoping to uncover fond memories and good times from yesteryear. Check out a few that we’ve received so far! Here’s a photo of me at Trailmont, a track I believe was in Bloomfield, Ohio, just up the road from where Tom Carson grew up. I have more of this track, too. I either was 14 or 15 years old riding both the 100 and 250 classes. That old Dt1 was Yamaha’s first conversion kit MXer. It was a handful for a 100-pound runt like me. I’m almost sure it was 1972 and the guy on the Suzuki is Chuck Delenx (not sure of the spelling) from Alliance, Ohio, who owned a Suzuki dealership at the time. The second photo is picking up the pieces. –Dave Martini

Dan Hathaway just started contributing to The Racing Paper this year, but he’s no stranger to motocross journalism. He began as a freelance motojournalist back in 1978 for both Cycling East and Cycle News. In fact, he recently dug up an old Motorama article he wrote in 1979 that mentions a certain Davey Coombs racing in the B Class. Dan has been around the journalism side of motocross for some time, but he began his moto career racing as an amateur in 1975, starting out in the 125 and 250 C Classes. Today, Dan runs Vet B/C and also enjoys the paved side of life on his Triumph Sprint ST 955i. Aside from moto, Dan works full-time as a production planner for Mack Truck and Volvo in Hagerstown, Maryland. He likes to spend his spare time with his girlfriend, Edie, and playing the saxophone. You can check out Dan’s most recent work for The Racing Paper in “The Final 42,” which begins on page 33.

Here’s a cool old school picture of Steve Roman from 1989. -Misty Rocco

Want to write a letter to The Racing Paper? Send it to: jordan@racerxonline.com or TRP Sign Up 122 Vista Del Rio Dr. Morgantown, WV 26508 5

AUGUST - OCTOBER 8/11 8/18

Pittsburgh Raceway Mapleshade

Round 1 of the Fly Racing PA State Championship Round 2 of the Fly Racing PA State Championship

9/1 9/8 9/14 9/15 9/22 9/28 9/29 9/29

Steel City Pleasure Valley Steel City Steel City Pleasure Valley High Point High Point Pittsburgh Raceway

Round 3 of the Fly Racing PA State Championship Round 4 of the Fly Racing PA State Championship Red Bull RE-MX Round 5 of the Fly Racing PA State Championship Round 6 of the Fly Racing PA State Championship Vet National MX Vet National MX and Hare Scramble Round 7 of the Fly Racing PA State Championship

10/6 10/13 10/20

High Point Pittsburgh Raceway Doubling Gap

Round 8 of the Fly Racing PA State Championshi Round 9 of the Fly Racing PA State Championshi Round 10 of the Fly Racing PA State Championshi

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PHOTOGRAPHY: ARLENE LANTZER #98

TO BOTH OF YOU, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO FOR PAMX! 7

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EXIT

WORDS: JORDAN ROBERTS PHOTO: BROWNDOGWILSON

I limped back to West Virginia across three time zones, cursing that race the entire way.

Pit bikes can jack you up just as bad as big bikes if you don’t respect their swagger. That, and I need to bring the take-out moves way earlier in the moto.

I limped back to West Virginia across three time zones, cursing that race the entire way. I’m glad having the time to try to qualify for Loretta’s had never existed, because in the off chance that I did make it, I’d be as useful as a dollar bill in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Instead, I opted to watch the Racer TV’s brand new live feed of Loretta’s from the comfort of my office chair. There were some hiccups along the way, but wasn’t that broadcast awesome? Sources say it’s the first of many to come, and I’m excited to see the project evolve. I mean, they’ve already had to deal with tsunami-like conditions at The Ranch, so I’ve got to imagine the steepest part of the learning curve is in the books.

Team Racer X was composed of Aaron Hansel, GoPro’s Aaron Cooke and myself. I’m not saying I was the fastest on the team, but I was feeling it that day. We spanked everyone in the relay-style race all the way into the three-team final. What, the final? Yeah, I guess the pressure had hit me way harder than the PBR. I was the first rider in the lineup against James Hanson and some little kid that was probably heading to Loretta’s in the next couple of weeks to race Super Mini. I would’ve thrown out the penalty flag for that, but like I said, I was feeling it. I was really feeling it on the second lap when that crappy, silty Washington “dirt” put my front wheel in a chokehold around a fast, right-hand sweeper, taking me down faster than Macho Man Randy Savage if I ever decided to step in the ring. My right leg was immediately slammed in between Earth and that XR 100. Cue in torn ACL flashbacks. I slowly got up, hobbled around, and waited for Hanson and that little kid to come back around so I could make them feel my pain. When it was all said and done, we ended up on the podium in third. I learned some lessons along the way though.

Public service announcement to all of the PAMX kids: Step up your game so that old fast guy Jimmy Evans can’t steal covers from you any more! I mean, Timmy Ferry can’t be that tough to race against any more, right? This is coming from the guy sitting behind the desk, so don’t get too fired up. It’s cool to see Jimmy right up there with established riders such as Carmichael and Ferry, and at the same time, it’s cool to see all of you up-and-comers get faster each and every year. Matt Toth did great for his first year in A class. Jared Lesher keeps pushing the bar in B class. Brock Papi will continue to rip. The list goes on… It was a tough year to really shine down at The Ranch. The adverse conditions made it nearly impossible to be consistent, but what the rain may have ruined can be mended in next year’s heat. The end of the Pro Motocross season is just around the corner, so I’ll see you at the track soon enough. Please bring extra WD-40 in case I run out.

he Washougal round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship brought me a very unique experience. I was able to showcase my riding skills at a professional level. Sure, the bikes may have been XR 100s, and sure, the only riders were professional media members, but it was awesome! Rockstar’s James Hanson held the first annual Crossover MX backed by the Athlete Recovery Fund, GoPro, PBR and probably some other people. I never said I had my sponsor plug down for the podium speech. Speaking of podiums, the Racer X team made it on the box, err, makeshift dirt mound podium.

The riders had to deal with quite a bit of adversity down at The Ranch this year. The rain hit hard or not at all, so consistency was most certainly key. Flip to page 33 to see how Corey Passieu and the rest of the PAMX riders did in both extremes. PHOTO: ARLENE LANTZER #98

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What happens when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re offered an invite to race X Games Moto X in front of the world? Take it! Mike McDade (200) took his arenacross skills to the Staples Center and finished in eighth right behind Wil Hahn (19) in the main event. PHOTO: STEVE COX

This is the view that the rest of the pack got of Daniel Lippman in the 250MX Consolation Race at Unadilla. Lippman inherited the early lead to take the win and proceed to his third Pro Motocross main event of the year. Fellow PAMX regular Steve Roman (inset) jumped up to 450MX for the first time this year. PHOTO: AFRED

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Lantzer #98

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WORDS: JORDAN ROBERTS PHOTOS: ARLENE LANTZER #98, MIMI GREINER

TRP: When’s the last time you made the front page of The Racing Paper? Evans: It’s been a long time, maybe 2005 or 2006, somewhere around there. I think Billy [Ursic] was doing it then. I think Weege [Jason Weigandt] had a big hand in it too, but he was starting to get into a lot more of the broadcasting stuff too. He was getting a lot of the bigger amateur events. How did your Area and Regional Qualifiers go for you this year? Was it business as usual? Nothing too out of the ordinary. The Area Qualifier was at Pleasure Valley. That was the first race I did all year. The Regional was at Budds Creek—excellent track. I’ve raced the track numerous times in the past. I really like it. The track gets really rough. They let the jump faces get a little bit bad for some of the inexperienced or younger riders. They had a tough time with the track, but I had no complaints. I really liked the track. It was super, super rough. People around here, we normally don’t see tracks that rough. Maybe once or twice a year when they race amateur day after the National, but they usually don’t get quite as rough as they do at a Regional. Unadilla got really, really rough like that a few years back too, but our tracks really don’t develop like that for some reason. I don’t know why. Regional went good there. I didn’t win the 25+ class. I finished second overall in that. I won the 35+ class. I had a couple really good battles with Scotty Sheak. The last moto had a really good battle with Scotty Sheak and Keith Johnson. So the qualifiers went really, really well. I didn’t have any problems with them.

Did you do anything special to prepare for the National? To get ready for Loretta’s, I told my dad I’ll never see a track that rough until we actually go to Loretta’s. So prior to going to Loretta’s I made some plans with Alex Martin to go ride at Club MX. It turned out that Alex was actually testing in March when I went down, so I ended up staying with Phil Nicoletti. Him and Alex are usually roommates at Club. All the guys down at Club really took me in and welcomed me with open arms, I would say, and really helped me out for the couple of weeks. I spent almost two weeks there. Not straight through, but I went down and rode three days straight one week and came home and got organized, put a top end in the bike, and went back down and rode another three days down there. It’s just a really good group of people. The track’s just super rough, super rutty. They prepare the track every day, but they don’t necessarily always take away the braking bumps or the ruts. They leave that track really, really rough. It really beats you up, so it’s going to make Loretta’s seem almost easy, running a track that rough. Riding around here, every day I called home it was raining. It seemed like every day around here all it does is rain this season. I also run a lot. I used to bicycle a lot. but I’ve been into running a lot more lately. Aside from running, all I really did was ride to try to get ready for it this year. In years past, I would try to go overboard with training, but not so much this year—just a lot of running and a lot of riding. What was your initial reaction when you found out that you’d be racing against Tim Ferry one

year after racing against Carmichael? Is that cool for you, or does it suck because it’s just another fast guy between you and first place? I’d be lying if you don’t almost want to concede that you’re going to lose to somebody like that, but you never know. There’s a three-moto format at The Ranch. I’ve seen Robbie throw away wins down there. I’ve seen a lot of people in the vet classes. There’s not necessarily a guarantee to go down there and win this, as Tim found out this year running into Robbie down there in the 35+ class. But I don’t have any problem racing any of those guys. They’ve been going down to The Ranch and racing since they were on minibikes and winning championships on minibikes and intermediate classes and schoolboy classes, A classes, whatever. I have no problem with seeing those guys go back to The Ranch. They made their bones, so to speak at The Ranch, so it’s only right that they’d be allowed to come back down there and race. It draws more attention to the vet classes, which doesn’t hurt for me either. So as long as I can go down there and ride strong and race forward and ride good, then it does nothing but help me and the other guys in the vet class. I might not get the win or anything like that but it’s good to race really good guys like that. It definitely legitimizes the classes down there, for sure. You had single-digit finishes in all of your motos except that last one in 25+. What happened in that moto? The track was just really, really soft. Friday morning was like this and Saturday morning as well for my last 25+ moto. They had pushed a lot of the mud they had scraped off the track 17

are so limited as to where you can go. Good practice tracks are far and few between. I like to do Vet Fest at RedBud. I like to do Kawasaki Race of Champions; that’s a really good event at Englishtown. I usually race Muddy Creek once or twice a year. I go to Mini Os at Gatorback. I haven’t been to Lake Whitney or Oak Hill in a few years, but those are good events. I try to race as much as I can. It’s just tough racing around here in some of the vet classes. There’s not a whole bunch of people in them. I haven’t really raced a whole bunch this year, only like five times. I try to ride a bunch though. What’s life like outside the racetrack for you? Not too much, pretty slow. I don’t really do too much—a lot of snowboarding in the wintertime. That’s about it—snowboarding in the wintertime and hanging out with my dog. We don’t do too much.

earlier in the week from the rain back onto the track. So right off the start the track was really, really difficult and really tough. It had just started raining, also. People were getting together and tangling up everywhere. Me and another guy got tangled up and I got punted off the track. He went down. I got pushed off the track right into a flagger stand. I think I might have been able to save it, but right there in Storyland I torpedoed a flagger stand. By the time I got back up and moving, went back and got fresh goggles and everything on, I went a lap down. I still feel like I rode well the last moto. All things considered, I had a pretty respectable lap time going for the last five or six laps there. Just going down and giving up all those spots and giving up a lap initially was too much to overcome, especially down there. That probably wasn’t your most fun moto out there. Which one did you have the most fun in? I felt like I rode the best in that last one. The track was pretty bad, but I felt like I actually charged and rode the best I did all week, even though it was definitely not my best moto. The one moto I finished on the podium obviously was the highlight of the week for me—getting to lead some laps in that. It always feels good to lead down there—not that it’s ever guaranteed. Sometimes you get a holeshot and lead a lap or two. It’s one thing, but to lead like, five or six laps there without having to get a holeshot always makes you feel good. It makes you feel like all the work’s paid off. I rode a lot better than I did last year. Last year I just kind of rode around at The Ranch. I went through the motions and didn’t really ride with a whole bunch of aggression or enthusiasm. This year I raced forward even though some of the motos in the 25+ class, the class was really deep. I might not have the results or finish in the top five like I want but I’m happy with the way I rode, battled and everything like that. There are definitely fast guys going there every year. Out of all the years that you’ve raced down there—you’ve been there quite a few times—which year stands out the most to you? It’s tough to say. The first year I won in 2003 is pretty memorable. Winning in 2006 was really cool because I swept all three motos in the 25+ class. To do that down there is pretty rare. People do it every year. Plessinger did it this year. A couple mini kids did it. Like I said, that stands out as a good year. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. I’ve left there with titles, I’ve left there with top-tens and fifths and sevenths and twenty-fifths and broken bones. Any year you get out of there healthy and uninjured, happy with the way you rode down there and you left it all on the track, then you have nothing to complain about. It was just another good year at The Ranch. Last year I had similar results, but it just wasn’t as good a year. I just didn’t have fun. Other than doing the Loretta’s thing, where else do you like to ride and race? I try to ride as much as I can around here, but the tracks and everything 18

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Where do you normally go snowboarding? Seven Springs. I have a season pass up there. I usually go thirty or forty times in the winter. There’s a big group of kids that pretty much all are motocross riders too, and some of them are vet riders. It’s usually a pretty good group of people that ride up there in the wintertime. Some of the people I ride with on a day-to-day basis don’t necessarily race, either. The only people that really race that I ride with would be Matt Toth. He rides in the A class—or the Durham brothers. Whenever Darryn is home, and I ride with Shane. I usually try to get out to their track once a week or once every couple weeks. It’s usually the best track around. It’s the roughest track. One thing we don’t have around here is rough tracks. You’re a racer through and through. Do you have any advice for the up-andcoming kids? Yeah, work hard. Appreciate everything your parents are doing for you while you got it. Appreciate everything your sponsors are doing for you while you have it. It’s easy to neglect and it’s easy to overlook, but it’s a big deal. I think that would be it. What you put into it is what you get out of it. It took me up until about I was 24, 25 years old and I realized that. Speaking of sponsors, who helped you do your thing down at Loretta’s this year? Definitely my mom and dad. I also have Monster Energy, Kawasaki Team Green, Ryan Holiday, the whole staff over there, everybody from Lisa to Dougie, all the mechanics; everybody just does so much. Traxxas is also a big help, that program. Todd and Erin at Fox. John Kuzo at 100%. Maxima, Dunlop, Pro Action, Cernic’s, Eleven10 Mods, Renegade Race Fuels, Renthal, Twin Air, ICW, RK Excel, Mechanix Wear, Cycra, and last but not least I’d like to thank all the guys at Club MX.

PHOTO: RACER X ARCHIVES

Well, to make a long story short, I whipped them all, one after another...

nly a handful of PAMX riders went to Loretta’s this year. I wasn’t one of them. Now I’m one of you. And like many of you, I was able to watch a couple motos live on NBC. I’m so happy that Aaron Plessinger made us all look good since we were the ones that made him as fast as he was. You don’t get that fast riding by yourself, which is much easier than riding against yourself. I always look back too much when I ride that way. I heard that it wasn’t very hot or humid as it’s been in past years but there were a few very muddy motos, all of which I would have won since I’m such a great mud rider who refuses to take hot laps before my motos to reduce the inevitable arm pump that I’ve suffered from since the beginning of my ball and chain days. I actually wear mine quite often, but I figure I’m the lucky one—much better than wearing that kidney belt looking thing my wife wears. Come to think of it, I never even wore a kidney belt the year I won the 1988 Blackwater 100, which was actually 128 total miles that year. I averaged one hour and five minutes each lap making it a real four-and-a-half race. Much more impressive than the modern GNCC series races—a mere jaunt in the woods in comparison. Well, due to the heavy rains that The Ranch received at the beginning of the week, some motos had to be shortened due to the overly sloppy conditions, but not the ones shown on TV. That was some really cool/ good dozer work. Aaron’s dad, Scott Plessinger, is no stranger to that kind of overly challenging competitive environments. This particular one I’m about to tell you about may be one that he and Scott Summers would much rather forget—or never admit that it happened. Scott Plessinger had taken the GNCC championship with Scott Summers close behind. The banquet was held at the Uniontown Holiday Inn—the one with the big indoor swimming pool and cool ping-pong tables along with a side of bumper pool. No, I didn’t spit at them in the sauna just for sheets and giggles. No, I waited till after the awards ceremony was completely over and the overly-proud crowned champions made their grand appearance into the hotel bar, where they decided that they were also champions of crowd entertainment, first-time drinking, and even feats of strength like arm wrestling. Now I wrestled a little in high school, where I was easily considered the class clown and once won an international beer-drinking contest on a Carnival Cruise that I was permanently banned from ever returning. Even though I totally wiped out all the competition, my mom was devastated and embarrassed about the whole ordeal in which her favorite son got to chug at least $300 worth of free beer, $7 dollars a cup, and then chug a boat record 21-second yard of beer—you have to twist it the whole time, but that was on a cruise ship out in the middle of the ocean. Now we’re on dry land and my mom was not around. After tending to over drink, I started telling the trail riders how lucky they were not to have to race against me in motocross—a much more demanding form of motorcycle racing. Hence the arm wrestling took off like a strip joint where the dancers are only allowed to show their arms, and let’s not forget about the sometimes-hairy armpits. Well mine weren’t shaved either, but Scott Summers’ were. They looked pretty tough standing there looking at me like I’d never kick their butts years later in a 128 mile “walk in the park”—to me—called the Blackwater 100, so I had to bend the rules just a little. You see, since motocross is such a more demanding form of racing, I was a lot more busted up than the other heroes of that night. My seven broken right collarbones, my third-degree separated right should, and my rerouted right ulnar nerve procedure that I had to have done due to a 70 mile an hour get-off at Carlsbad while racing the famous “Super Bikers” race they used to have on ABC Wide World of Sports every year, I suggested that we all wrestle the left-handed to sort of even the odds. They all agreed, which was odd. Well, to make a long story short, I whipped them all, one after another opting not to take breaks between each show of superiority. Okay, maybe one beer each time because they kept giving me them free thinking my body worked that way. They knew they were all in trouble, as I never had to leave the table to go to the bathroom. A guy could fall asleep in one of those things after 1am. Besides, I didn’t want to miss out on any of the free beers that the next guy up would get me to make my left-handed cool down. That ended up being a great night to remember as the weekend was ruined when I totaled my sister’s Honda Prelude on the way home from the banquet the next morning due to “left-handed arm wrestling pump.” Not being able to go to Loretta’s this year because of health issues really made me miss the severe left and right arm pump that I get every moto on the first lap before I make it to the Ten Commandments after every holeshot that I seem to get every moto when I make it to the Nationals. Some things never change. 19

AS TOLD TO: JORDAN ROBERTS PHOTO: MIMI GREINER

with josh The guy next to us was in the swamp, so he was digging a trench trying to get out. It was pretty bad. Loretta’s Preparation It’s really hard with work. I tried to jog in the afternoons if I could. I’d try to get up really early to work out when I could in morning, but also try to jog a little bit and just ride every weekend if possible. I didn’t have that much time to ride during the week. My dad owns a business and I work for him. We start at 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning, and sometimes we’d get out at 3:30, but there’s normally one or two jobs that we’d do somewhere out of town. We were leaving at 4:30 in the morning and getting home at 7:00. I didn’t have much time to train at all. My conditioning wasn’t the best. The bike kind of helped me out. I knew I could run the pace. It wasn’t as hot this year as it was last year, so that helped me out too. I definitely knew I could run the speed and was expecting at least top-twenty. First-Moto Mudders? My College B/C moto wasn’t, but I got a bad start in that first Collegeboy race. I worked my way up a little bit into twenty-sixth or so. My first B moto was pretty muddy. I started, like, twenty-second and come up to about thirteenth or so. I wrecked three times in the first moto, but I think I ended up fourteenth on that one. Best Moto Probably my last moto, which was my 450 B moto on Saturday. The conditions were pretty bad, but I knew where I was, and I knew I was close to the top ten. I really pushed that moto. I didn’t have many mistakes until the end when I stalled my bike, but other than that I had a good moto. 450 B vs. College B/C Well, there were a lot of the same guys. Basically, everyone’s the same speed and everything, but in the Collegeboy motos, every one ended up being a dry moto. 450 B was kind of muddy every moto. I seemed to do a lot better in 450 B. I think it was just because my condi20

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tioning wasn’t the best, but I felt good in the beginning of the Collegeboy motos and then I would start to fall off pace. I was getting a little bit tired just because my conditioning wasn’t that good. Northeast Mud Advantage? For sure. I’ve had mud motos around here, especially High Point. I remember High Point Regional—muddy again. Actually, the qualifier this year at High Point was a mud race too. I ended up in one of the motos—I think the stock class—had a big crash the second moto. I still made it in with my first-moto finish. Best/Worst Loretta’s Experience? I’d have to say just watching the motos was the best experience. It’s a blast. I love just watching because everyone’s so fast. The worst was definitely the mud. Our pits were in the mud, but we made the best of it. The guy next to us was in the swamp, so he was digging a trench trying to get out. It was pretty bad. On the Road With… I went down with my mechanic, Jeff, Saturday night. And then my dad, brother, and my girlfriend came down on Tuesday because my dad had to work. I hung out with them all week. They had a good time there. Rest of the Year We’re thinking about Mini Os. We’re just kind of playing that by ear because I’m going to be starting college in two weeks and try to transfer to WVU. Other than that, just riding a lot of PAMX races in the State Championship Series this fall. We’ll just get as much riding in as we can. Backers My mom and dad, my girlfriend, my mechanic, Jeff Christopher, 24-Sevin Incorporated, J&J Mechanical, T&B, Pro Action, and Eleven10 Mods helped me.

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PHOTO: GREINER

PHOTO: LANTZER #98

“So you’re telling me the Weimer’s are stuck where?” PHOTO: LANTZER #98

The Weimer family before their unforunate accident with Clint’s rear end...

...and Clint used to be a happy guy.

PHOTO: LANTZER #98

Chris and Brad get the Zuke ready for gate time. PHOTO: CERNIC

Jason and Matt get their smiles off before hopping on the bikes. PHOTO: LANTZER #98

Nick likes to keep his bike clean after the holeshot. 22 THE RACING PAPER

Just kidding... They made it in time for staging. PHOTO: LANTZER #98

Vinny and Vince are always ready to kill it.

Bernie at the legendary homeless center.

PHOTO: GREINER

Josh and Robbie living life while the rest of the world trudges on. PHOTO: LANTZER #98

PHOTO: LANTZER #98

Jeff and Josh. One left clean...ish PHOTO: LANTZER #98

Some of TRPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s MVPs. PHOTO: GREINER

Heidi got a tent gig. What more is there to smile about? PHOTO: LANTZER #98

Cody, Trentin and Gimpy try the innocent look. PHOTO: CERNIC

Red Bull gives you wings, or sometimes a parachute. PHOTO: CERNIC

Bobby gets ready to hydro across the pool.

The Dunlop fishing pond.

The Toths get ready for battle. 23

PHOTO: LANTZER #98

DJ tried making some extra money in between motos, but Santa wasn’t buying. PHOTO: LANTZER #98

Connor’s got that $100 haircut.

Timmy and Laurie cruise the pits. PHOTO: CERNIC

PHOTO: LANTZER #98

Jolay gives the halfsie smile while trying to get her friggin’ golf cart in gear. PHOTO: DC

Bernie warms up the Maico for the vintage class. PHOTO: LANTZER #98

The Leshers get ready for business. PHOTO: LANTZER #98

Billy Corgan made Loretta’s?

Jeff sees the clouds coming. 24

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Tim just realized he left the keys in his Zuma.

Would you like your photo in Public Address? • Email jordan@racerxonline.com • Snail Mail TRP Public Address 122 Vista Del Rio Dr. Morgantown, WV 26508

Courtesy Louch

A very simple exercise riders can do to improve both of these skills requires nothing more than a tennis ball and a wall.

uilding the complete athlete for motocross requires the utilization of several disciplines of training. Every rider knows the importance of cardio training and it is certainly the most widely used component of a rider’s program. Strength training is next on the list and most riders are finally starting to see the light when it comes to the benefits of being a strong rider. Mental training and nutrition are next in line and the saying, “You can’t out train a bad diet” has never been truer than when applied to motocross. And every rider who has ever lined up to race knows that being mentally tough is half the battle. But a component of training that I think most riders overlook is that of balance and reaction training. Other forms of motorsports like NASCAR, karting, and Indy have used balance and reaction training as part of their regular training programs for years. Perhaps this is because the “physical” part of those forms of racing is not nearly as important as it is in motocross. Each sport could learn a thing two from the other. Car drivers could stand to be more fit and motocross athletes could stand a bit more reaction and balance training. You would think that motocross would have other forms of motorsports covered when it comes to this form of training due to the very nature of the sport. After all, reaction and balance go hand-in-hand with being able to ride a motorcycle fast. Speeds on a motocross track may not be nearly as fast as in a car racing, but the need for quick reactions and extreme balance are certainly greater. Having good bike control means having good “catches.” You are always reacting and “catching” when riding motocross. You get cross-rutted or hit a kicker and you have to have quick reactions and great balance to “catch” or save the crash. The only way to improve this skill is to speed the brains ability to take in and process information. This is accomplished with balance and reaction speed training in the gym. A very simple exercise riders can do to improve both of these skills requires nothing more than a tennis ball and a wall. Start by standing 5 to 10 feet from the wall with the ball in your right hand. Toss the ball at the wall and catch it with the left hand then quickly throw the ball with the left hand and catch with the right. See how many catches you can make in 30-seconds. As you speed up the toss the brain is forced to process information at a faster rate. To im-

prove, you will have to develop better eye hand coordination through faster reactions. To increase the difficulty of the drill, do some form of high intensity cardio for 45-seconds before you start your tosses. The increased breathing and heart rate add another level of intensity that requires even more brain processing speed through increased focus and concentration. And to make it even more difficult, add imbalance to the equation by standing on a bosu ball or an IndoBoard. Peripheral vision is another sensory component that gets very little attention in Motocross. To make your peripheral vision more acute, use the same drill as above except now watch TV (or stair a single point on the wall) while tossing the ball. This will force you to use your peripheral vision to see the ball without focusing directly on it. Add in the increased cardio and imbalance and you have set up a controlled chaotic environment where you can work on balance, reaction speed, eye hand coordination, peripheral vision, and concentration. All the senses needed to ride a motorcycle fast. Nike has taken sensory training to a new level with the invention of the Nike Strobe Goggle. Simply put, the goggle is a visual disruption system that blocks vision for a short amount of time. By blocking or disrupting vision using a strobe that can be varied in speed, an athlete can develop quicker reaction times and motor skills. The strobe effect improves reaction time by switching between clear and blocked vision, which trains the brain to anticipate what‘s coming when the eyes are blocked. This will make your vision hyper sensitive to seeing things faster given a limited opportunity. Constant visual disruption creates the ability for the body to react faster to the limited time that it sees things. So when the glasses come off, everything moves a little slower as the brains ability to process information has improved. This enhances a rider’s ability to see and react to information quicker when they are on the bike. One of the side benefits of balance and reaction training is that it is fun! Training can be a rigorous pursuit and anything that ads fun and enjoyment to the mix is welcome in my book. So next time you and your buddies are looking for something fun to do, jump on an IndoBoard and start firing tennis balls to each other. Oh the fun you will have!

PHOTO: COURTESY PR2

PHOTO: COURTESY HORN

We sat down with the recent X Games competitor to see what it’s like to compete in the world-renowned event. This is what he had to say.

“I

was invited to X Games in the beginning of June, which is when they first mentioned it to me. I was supposed to wait for an official invitation and I ended up not receiving it until three weeks before the event. I tried to put everything together in a short amount of time and worked on getting the bike there. I actually sent a brand new bike out. I never even broke it in or rode it. I just put the graphics, wheels and what I thought would work for suspension on it. There were a lot of people that came together to help me out. It ended up being pretty organized.

It was invitation-only event and they invited only 24 riders. I think my Arenacross results might’ve gotten me there. After getting there, I was more worried about running a 250f while everyone else was on a 450. I expected it to be an Arenacross track, but it was actually fairly fast paced. I planned out the whole 250f thing thinking I would have an advantage, but it definitely turned around on me. During my first heat race, I just couldn’t get comfortable on the bike. I came back after the first and checked the sag. It was at, like, 92 or something. It wasn’t tracking right. For the LCQ, I was watching everyone crash in the first turn, so I held back—like I have in a couple Arenacross races—and I ended up getting the holeshot. Every single person went down! Bowers got me, but I was watching [Jason] Lawrence and [Zach] Ames behind me. I originally had a goal to get inside the top twelve and I ended up getting eighth in the main, so I’m happy. Going back, I probably would’ve changed my goal to a top five, but I was so unprepared for it. I’ve always watched X Games growing up. To be a part of it was awesome. When I walked into the athlete lounge, guys like Tony Hawk, Bucky Lasek, Dave Mirra—people that I’ve grown up watching—were just hanging out in there. That was probably the coolest part. I hope to do it next year and turn it into something fun to do every year—like a family vacation type thing. It’ll be something cool for my kid to see later on down the road. I never thought I’d be in X Games, ever. I’d like to keep coming back as long as they keep doing Moto X.” 26

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A couple issues ago, we announced Jarek Balkovic’s return to the Jr. MXoN as a rider for Team USA. Balkovic, who had some difficulties last year, returned to take sixth overall in the 125 class at Jinin, Czech Republic. The rest of Team USA delivered as well and were able to take the FIM championship home along with their gold medals. Congrats, boys!

Courtesy Cernic

style check EVENT: LORETTA LYNN’S PHOTOGRAPHY: ARLENE LANTZER #98

CLINT SCHAFFER

ROBERT BERCOSKY

JOSH LISTON

JARED LESHER

Racer TV Live from Loretta’s WORDS: JORDAN ROBERTS For the first time in its 32-year history, spectators were able to watch the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn Ranch live from the comfort of their own home. Racer TV broadcasted the five days of racing via live streaming on www. RacerTV.com. Though Racer TV has been shooting and producing race coverage since 2011, the beginning of the 2013 season marked the first time they’ve attempted to broadcast live. Racer TV began their live streaming efforts in March at River Ranch, Florida, for the first round of the AMSOIL GNCC Series. The first live streaming broadcast went exceptionally well considering the lack of formal training for the small crew. The Racer TV crew picked up valuable experience points on their own road to Loretta’s, producing live shows for both the GNCC and ATV MX series along the way. That experience deemed necessary, as nearly ten thousand viewers relied on their coverage from The Ranch at any given time throughout the week. Viewers also got to enjoy Racer TV’s use of NBC’s live helmet cam—a first for American motocross. Though the live broadcast may not have been perfect, it’s a remarkable stride from where the broadcast was just a year ago.

Saturday, September 28

23rd ANNUAL DC VET NATIONAL MOTOCROSS

Sunday, September 29

1ST ANNUAL DC VET NATIONAL HARE SCRAMBLE

Saturday, October 5

Organized practice (10a-3p). Open to all riders.

Sunday, October 6

PAMX FLY RACING PENNSYLVANIA STATE MX CHAMPIONSHIP PAMX State Champ Points Organized practices are open to all motorcycle riders. No membership required for practice. 27

style check EVENT: PITTSBURGH RACEWAY SC1 PHOTOGRAPHY: MIMI GREINER

TREY GILDEA

DYLAN SLUSSER

TYLER LUFT

Eric Paris Pleasure Valley Raceway Circa 1993

TIMMY CROSBY

Who’s listening to what before the gate drops...

Name

Artist

Album

Dan Reinhart’s Playlist 1 Anywhere For you 2 Baby I Love You 3 Beautiful 4 Can’t Let Go 5 Don’t Stop the Love

Backstreet Boys Jennifer Lopez Amy Grant Mariah Carey 98 Degrees

Backstreet Boys This Is Me... Then Simple Things Emotions 98 Degrees

Jeremy Holbert’s Playlist 1 Endless Love 2 Be With You 3 Find A Way to My Heart 4 I’ll Be There For You 5 Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me

Lionel Richie Enrique Iglesias Phil Collins Backstreet Boys Gloria Estefan

Tuskegee Enrique ...But Seriously Millennium Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me

Andrew “Gloop” Mahey’s Playlist 1 I Love Being in Love with You 2 I Miss You 3 Hold Me in Your Arms 4 Rose 5 The Way to My Heart

Diana Ross Haddaway Rick Astley Bette Midler Mandy Moore

I Love You I Miss You Hold Me in Your Arms Bette of Roses I Wanna Be With You

THE RACING PAPER

craigslist motorcycles

pittsburgh / morgantown Dirt Bike - 49cc “Desert Racer” parts bike - $50 (Prospect, PA)

49cc Dirt Bike. “Desert Racer”. DOES NOT RUN. Made in China. Parts are very difficult to find for this so I’ve given up. It needs a chain and the motor is in pieces. Perfect for someone that’s more mechanically inclined that I am, or maybe someone that has the same bike and needs it for parts. Again, this bike DOES NOT RUN.

KX 250 Tires - $120 (Beaver County)

Off of a KX250 Front tire - Cheng Shin C-755 3.00-21 Back tire - Kenda Millville K771 110/100-18 MC 64M Front tire is like new still has knobies on it. Back tire is a little worn but still in good condition.

shop talk

PHOTO: DURHAM

WORDS: JORDAN ROBERTS

t’s not uncommon to see big entrepreneurial dreams start off small, oftentimes in the sanctity of one’s own home. However, it is uncommon for such a dream to plant roots and grow to a nationally recognized outfit. This is what Butler, Pennsylvania’s Chris Durham was able to accomplish with the small upstart suspension company he eventually named PR2. Durham’s corporate engineering background provides full-time employment and security, but racing PHOTO: DURHAM

motocross has always been a focal point of his and his family’s life. Taking his sons Shane and Darryn and stepson Brad to the races began as a labor of love but evolved into a way to make a living. Durham started the suspension shop in his garage, but his commitment and accomplishments in just a couple years justified the purchase of a separate shop space. Business continued to flourish once PR2 officially opened its offsite location as they expanded their

customer base while sticking to their roots. PR2’s amateur program was and is their core demographic. Local business is an important part of their day-to-day operations, but they also sponsor standout amateur riders including Ryder DiFrancesco, Jett Reynolds, Austin Forkner, Mitchell Harrison, and Ashton Hayes. Continuing working with high-profile amateur riders into their professional careers seems like the next step, but it’s not on the whiteboard yet. “Helping out the amateur riders allows us to grow,” Durham says. “A lot of times these kids get exceptional offers. Sometimes we have to part ways, but it’s always a good parting. We’re happy that they have

an opportunity to move forward— obviously, my son [Darryn]. I’m very happy for him.” PR2 spends quite a bit of time traveling to top amateur nationals and local races to support their riders. Attending the races doesn’t exactly help pay the bills—but paying the bills wasn’t the motivation behind the company to begin with. PR2 SUSPENSION GROUP • 169 HANNAHSTOWN RD. BUTLER, PA 16002 • WWW.PR2RACING.COM (724)360-2745 29

Brought to you by:

PHOTO: COURTESY HORN

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TRAVIS HORN

AS TOLD TO: JORDAN ROBERTS PHOTO: MIMI GREINER

Cameron TRP: What were you hoping for going into Loretta’s? McKinney: I was expecting to get a top-five finish. I just couldn’t get my starts together. I fell a couple of motos and that dropped me back, but I feel like I did pretty well. Where would you normally start off when you got an average start down there? I started out, like, twenty-fifth. That’s the best I started out during the whole week. How much of a surprise was all that rain early in the week? It was really surprising, but we’ve had a lot of rain at Club MX for training, so I was kind of used to it. How long have you been riding and training down there? I’ve been there for a year now. Who are you normally riding with down there? I ride with a lot of people: Max Markolf, Cameron Cannon, Logan Stokes, Zach Osborne, Phil Nicoletti, and a bunch of other guys. Back to the mudders, did you feel like you were pretty prepared to ride in that? I was actually in my last moto down there and my dad said I was running in fourth at one point, but I made a mistake and went back to, like, sixth. Then my bike blew up on the last lap, I think in Super Mini 2. Are there any major differences between Super Mini 1 and 2? I think Super Mini 2 might have had a little bit more competition because some of the older

guys that can’t run Super Mini 1 anymore are in there, so I think Super Mini 2 must have been a little tougher. Other than that, they’re even. Did you have to deal with any other speed bumps besides the blown-up bike? No, not really. Just that moto—it was so muddy that my bike wasn’t getting any air or anything and I lost all my coolant. What would you say was your favorite moto that week? My favorite moto was when I stalled my bike off the gate. I came from forty-first to fifteenth by the end of my second moto. Besides riding at the ranch, what was the best part being down there? Just hanging out and swimming in the creek. Who do you normally hang out with down there? My friends from home who race and a couple other people that train at Club. On the flip side, what was the worst part about Loretta’s this year? The rain was definitely the worst part. Our pits were getting to be really muddy. There was a lot of water around our camp. Did you pretty much have to chill in the motor home for most of the week? No, we did some stuff, but usually before my moto I would just sit in there and chill until my moto came up, then go down and do a warmup. Then I would get ready and head down. Did you do any of those sight laps or did you

just try and save the bike and your goggles? When the track was dry I did my sight laps. We’d bring two sets of goggles to the line. We would bring sight-lap goggles and race goggles so my race goggles wouldn’t be all muddy before I went out. Now that Loretta’s is over, what other plans do you have for this year? Are there any races you’re trying to hit up or any family vacations in the works? I think my next big race will be Mini Os. I’ll be training for that. Are you going to just race Super Mini or will you do more than that? It depends on how much I grow between then. My plans are doing Super Mini 1 and 2 and Schoolboy 1. Next year, are you going to try to stick with Super Mini and then focus on Schoolboy a little bit more? Maybe—I have no idea. If I’m too big for it, I’ll just go with Schoolboy 1 and 2. Who would you like to thank for helping you get down to Loretta’s and everything else this year? I’d like to thank the Lord Jesus Christ for keeping me safe, my grandma and grandpa, my dad, my mom, Club MX training facility for helping me and training me—they definitely helped me with a lot of stuff—Dr. Metzger for helping me with injuries, Scott, DT1 Filters, Privateer Connection, Moravia Motorcycles, Dunlop, Dubya, Torc1, Pit Posse, Moto Concepts, Impulse, Renthal, and Motion Pro. 31

THE RACING PAPER

Thousands of amateur riders attempted to qualify for the 32nd Annual Red Bull AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship, but the Loretta Lynn starting gate only holds 42 riders. Earning a spot behind that starting gate is no easy task, but what really matters is what happens on the other side of it. WORDS: ROB HARRIS, DAN HATHAWAY PHOTOGRAPHY: MIMI GREINER, ARLENE LANTZER #98

TUESDAY

uesday morning at The Ranch marked day one of the 2013 Red Bull AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship. With alternates seeded and practice finished, the gates were droppping and the hunt for national championships was on. While the 250 C class was breaking in the track during the first moto, riders such as Ferry, Reynard, Johnson, Sheak, and Povolny were lining up for Vet 35+. Elizabeth, Pennsylvania’s Jimmy Evans was among fast company and had his work cut out for him. However, the twotime amateur champion was ready to do battle and started the week with a top-five finish. Evans set himself up for a promising overall against other former professional riders. Mini Sr (12-14) was also one to watch, with McMurray’s Brock Papi looking very strong. Papi started his week by just missing the top five with a sixth-place ride in the first moto. Both Evans and Papi had plenty of competition, but then Mother Nature had to add one more element: mud. Riders from the Northeast Region tend to shine a little brighter in these conditions, since it’s a staple of racing in the spring. The riders learn early on to be light on the front wheel and heavy on the foot pegs—experience that pays heavy dividends when a national championship is on the line. By 2:00 p.m., a steady rainfall covered the Tennessee mountains around The Ranch. The track was able to hold up for several hours before heavy thunderstorms rolled in. By 5:00 p.m., racing was suspended for the day and the track crew went to work on the heavily soaked course. Throughout the pits, riders and mechanics cleaned and prepped the bikes for the elements they expected on Wednesday. –Rob Harris

Greiner

Lantzer #98

Greiner

1.) Brad Esper started off with an unfortunate DNF in his first Schoolboy 2 (13-16) B/C moto. 2.) Brock Papi came out swinging with a sixth in his first Mini Sr. (12-14) moto. 3.) Jimmy Evans pulled a fifth in Vet 35+ and an eighth in Junior 25+ during the first day of racing. 4.) Ralph Bentley started his week out with a solid fifth in Vet B/C 30+. 5.) Vinny Luhovey also had his best finish of 12th in Mini Sr. (12-14) on Tuesday. 6.) Angelo Agostinelli and Corey Passieu go at it.

THE RACING PAPER

Lantzer #98

WEDNESDAY

Greiner

ednesday morning dawned with heavy cloud cover and light drizzle over a track that had already received substantial rainfall through the night. As the early morning motos got underway, conditions worsened as a thunderstorm moved in and the precipitation steadily increased. By 9:00 a.m., the decision was made to halt racing until the weather allowed the track crew to push the top layer of muck off the track surface and expose the drier soil underneath. Local radar showed a possible break in the clouds by mid-afternoon, so everyone headed off to find shelter, dry out their boots, and await the call to resume racing. The rain had become intermittent by early afternoon and occasional patches of blue sky could be seen through the clouds. The crew had done a commendable job of reworking the track surface, but the low-lying Storyland section was beyond repair and had to be bypassed. The first moto of the day saw Medina, Ohio’s Clint Schaffer battle to a fourteenth-place finish in Two-Stroke B/C (16+). The Cernic’s-sponsored Honda rider finished just ahead of Tennessee’s Josh Cartwright (fourth overall) and behind Wisconsin’s Andy Kost (sixth overall). Also notable was an eighth-place finish in 250 B for Shelocta’s Jared Lesher aboard his Pro-Action-backed YZ250. He worked his way inside the top ten and just ahead of recent media sensation Jerry Robin. Lesher was also competing in 250 B Limited and carried a sixteenth-place result from the first moto into Thursday. Honda-mounted Josh Liston scored his first of three consistent finishes in 450 B with a fifteenth. Liston and his mechanic, Jeff, made the trip from Masontown and competed in the class alongside Clarksville’s Robert Bercosky, who rode past the checkered flag in thirtieth. Wednesday ended the same as it had begun. The rain returned before the final motos were complete, and the early morning delay pushed the race schedule back by ten motos going into day three. –Dan Hathaway

Greiner

1.) Jared Lesher put together his best 250 B moto in the mud with an eight-place finish. 2.) Clint Schaffer had his best race of the week on Tuesday with a 14th in Two-Stroke B/C (16+). 3.) Jason McConnell suffered from a few DNF’s throughout the week, but managed a 28th in his first 250 A moto. 4.) Cameron Davis scored an 8th in 65 (10-11) Limited, which was his best moto finish at Loretta’s this year.

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AMERICA’S PREMIER OFF-ROAD RACING SERIES

Lantzer #98

THURSDAY

acing resumed at the top of the order on Thursday morning under sunny skies, and Jimmy Evans put in another impressive ride in Vet 35+. In the second moto, Evans locked down third place behind Robbie Reynard and Timmy Ferry. Evans backed up that performance with a sixth in the second Junior 25+ moto. Kawasaki-mounted Ray Niebel secured another fifth-place finish in Masters 50+, matching his result in moto one. The Cernic’s-sponsored rider from Armagh admitted to getting tired late in the motos as a result of not having much time on the bike since the Regional Qualifier. Cody Carlock put his CRF into eleventh place in moto two of 250 C Limited, but lingering clutch problems impacted his results in 450 C. Dairy, Pennsylvania’s Bobby Knupp competed in the same classes as Carlock, scoring nineteenth in 250 C Limited and twenty-sixth in 450 C for the second motos. Pottstown’s Brian Espinoza had a good ride on his Cobra in 51 (7-8) Limited, finishing twelfth in the second moto just behind Evan Ferry (son of retired factory racer Tim). A ninth in moto one put Espinoza in a good position to bring home eighth overall. Brock Papi had a twelfth-place moto finish in Mini Sr. (12-14) Limited. The KTM rider from McMurray greatly improved upon his twenty-fifth in the first moto. Greensburg’s Vinny Luhovey suffered his worst finish of the week—a thirty-ninth—after experiencing problems aboard his Honda 150. Xtreme Powersports-backed Raeslee Weimer was working her way through the pack during the second Women (14+) moto when she crashed hard in a high-speed section of the track just before the Red Bull Hospitality center. She remounted to finish twenty-fifth. Weimer also had bad luck in the first moto, where she was running as high as twelfth before a collision with another rider cost her valuable positions. –Dan Hathaway

Greiner

Lantzer #98

Greiner

Lantzer #98

1.) Cody Carlock secured an 11th in the second 250 C Limited moto. 2.) Bobby Knupp wasn’t far behind Carlock with a 19th. 3.) Ray Niebel went 5-5 in the first two Master 50+ motos. 4.) Jimmy Evans best finishes came in the second moto. He podiumed in Vet 35+ and got sixth in Junior 25+. 5.) Timmy Crosby placed 21st in the second Schoolboy 2 (13-16) B/C moto. 6.) Nate Jackson piloted his KTM to a 14th in his second 51 (4-6) Limited moto.

FRIDAY

o most, Friday means the last work day of the week, payday, and a few days of rest and relaxation. For those at Loretta’s, it’s known as championship Friday—the day it all comes together for the lucky few. Months of hard work, dedication, and devotion all come to a head. The pressure to perform can really bear down; even if a rider had a bad mud moto earlier in the week, you can really turn some heads if you’re able to win the last moto of the week. Jimmy Evans was sitting on a 5-3 in Vet 35+ on championship Friday. Evans was solid all week no matter the conditions. Vet 35+ was the first class to have its final moto, and Evans was able to put in another solid ride in one of the heavier classes at The Ranch. His 5-3-5 was good enough to lock down a fifth overall. Pittsburgh native Ray Nieble was in a similar position as Evans going into the final moto of the week. Ray had 5-5 in Masters 50+ with one moto to go. However, he wasn’t as lucky as Evans. The Kawasaki-mounted rider suffered his worst moto of the week, crossing the checkered flag in twenty-seventh. The last moto took his top-five finish and dropped him outside of the top ten. That’s the nature of Loretta’s, though. Rarely does a rider have any margin for mistakes or mechanicals. This holds true for 50cc all the way up to 50+. –Rob Harris Greiner

Greiner

Lantzer #98

1.) Cody Arlet made it down to Loretta’s, but his trip ended middway through the first moto. 2.) Carlock and Knupp fly side-by-side in 450 C. 3.) Cameron McKinney put together 13th overall in Super Mini 2 (13-16) after a tough week. 4.) Timmy Crosby (middle) was on top of his starts in Schoolboy 1 (12-16) B/C. 5.) Crosby even won the Motorcycle Superstore holeshot award in one of his motos.

THE RACING PAPER

Greiner

SATURDAY

nclement weather made the first two days of racing rather grueling, but afterward the rain seemed as if it would let up for the remainder of the week. Just as everyone was getting used to the sun and unusually cool temperatures, though, the rain struck again. It was the last day of racing, though, so the riders had to put their heads down and put forth their strongest efforts to leave The Ranch with a solid three-moto overall score. As if competing for an amateur national title weren’t enough, NBC was there to produce a live broadcast and send it out to families’ living rooms across the country. The pro motocross announcers—Jeff Emig, Jason Weigandt, and Kelli Stavast—were on hand to feed the viewers play-by-play action as both the 250 A and B motos garnered the crowd’s attention. Names such as Toth, Yohe, Wells, McConnell, Lesher, and Esper scrolled across the NBC ticker during the ninety-minute broadcast. Matt Toth pulled the best third-moto finish—and his best in the class—out of the group with an eleventh in 250 A. Dakota Yohe and Jonathan Wells finished rather close together in the last mud moto, but Yohe’s previous moto scores brought him closer to Matt Toth’s thirteenth overall. Despite each rider’s finish, the pressure was finally off their shoulders. The only pressure they needed on Sunday was the kind that would help them leave behind all that Tennessee mud. –Jordan Roberts

1.) John Wells finished out the week with a 21st in his third 250 A moto, his best for the week. 2.) Mauro Cautela looked poised for a decent Super Mini 2 (1316) overall, but a last-moto DNF hurt. 3.) Vinny Luhovey came back with a 14th in the third moto of Mini Sr. (12-14) 4.) Matt Toth finished on a high note, scoring 11th in the last 250 A moto. 5.) Nick Fratz Orr did too, with a 9th in the third 450 A moto. 6.) Robbie Bercosky locked down a 10th in his last 450 B moto.

Brad Esper knifes through this deep rut at Lorettaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. Every year, this thing gets gnarlier and deeper as the week progresses. PHOTO: MIMI GREINER

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PAMX RIDER RESULTS CLASS

01. Open Pro Sport 01. Open Pro Sport 01. Open Pro Sport 02. 250 A 02. 250 A 02. 250 A 03. 250 B Limited 04. 250 B 04. 250 B 05. 250 C Limited 05. 250 C Limited 05. 250 C Limited 06. 250 C 07. 450 A 07. 450 A 07. 450 A 09. 450 B 09. 450 B 10. 450 C 10. 450 C 11. Two-Stroke B/C (16+) 12. College B/C (16-24) 12. College B/C (16-24) 13. Junior 25+ 13. Junior 25+ 14. Vet B/C 30+ 15. Vet 35+ 17-1. Senior 45+ 17-2. Masters 50+ 18-1. 51 (4-6) Special Lim. 21. 65 (7-9) Limited 21. 65 (7-9) Limited 22. 65 (10-11) Limited 23. 65 (7-11) 26. Mini Sr. (12-14) Limited 26. Mini Sr. (12-14) Limited 27. Mini Sr. (12-14) 27. Mini Sr. (12-14) 28. Super Mini 1 (12-15) 28. Super Mini 1 (12-15) 29. Super Mini 2 (13-16) 29. Super Mini 2 (13-16) 30. Schoolboy 1 (12-16) B/C 31. Schoolboy 2 (13-16) B/C 31. Schoolboy 2 (13-16) B/C 33. Women (14+)

NO.

38 98 21 98 47 21 18 18 27 71 67 92 58 38 90 60 48 43 71 92 52 48 43 58 60 76 58 76 41 94 32 85 49 49 44 42 44 42 26 57 26 57 79 27 79 74

RIDER

NICK FRATZ ORR MATTHEW TOTH JASON MCCONNELL JR MATTHEW TOTH JONATHAN WELLS JASON MCCONNELL JR JARED LESHER JARED LESHER BRAD ESPER CODY CARLOCK ZACK SPARKS BOBBY KNUPP CODY ARLET NICK FRATZ ORR BEN NELKO JEREMY COOK JOSHUA LISTON ROBBIE BERCOSKY CODY CARLOCK BOBBY KNUPP CLINTON SCHAFFER JOSHUA LISTON ROBBIE BERCOSKY JAMES EVANS JEREMY COOK RALPH BENTLEY JAMES EVANS RALPH BENTLEY RAYMOND NIEBEL NATHANAIL JACKSON ANGELO AGOSTINELLI COREY PASSIEU CAMERON DAVIS CAMERON DAVIS BROCK PAPI VINCENT LUHOVEY JR BROCK PAPI VINCENT LUHOVEY JR CAMERON MCKINNEY MAURO CAUTELA CAMERON MCKINNEY MAURO CAUTELA TIMMY CROSBY BRAD ESPER TIMMY CROSBY RAESLEE WEIMER

BRAND CITY

HON HON KTM HON HON KTM YAM YAM SUZ HON KAW KAW HON HON KAW SUZ HON HON HON KAW HON HON HON KAW SUZ SUZ KAW SUZ KAW KTM KTM KTM KTM KTM KTM HON KTM HON KAW KTM KAW KTM KTM SUZ SUZ SUZ

OAKLAND SEWICKLEY MC DONALD SEWICKLEY INDIANA MC DONALD SHELOCTA SHELOCTA BUTLER ELIZABETH BROOKVILLE DERRY PITTSBURGH OAKLAND ALIQUIPPA ELIZABETHVILLE MASONTOWN CLARKSVILLE ELIZBETH DERRY MEDINA MASONTOWN CLARKSVILLE ELIZABETH ELIZABETHVILLE PITTSBURGH ELIZABETH PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH ARMAGH FOMBELL MC DONALD APOLLO APOLLO MC MURRAY GREENSBURG MC MURRAY GREENSBURG WEST PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH WEST PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH CONFLUENCE BUTLER CONFLUENCE OAKLAND

STATE

MD PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA MD PA PA PA PA PA PA OH PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA MD

MOTO SCORES

O/A

32-23-16 22 14-19-DNF 25 DNF-39-DNF 42 19-19-11 13 30-27-21 28 28-32-DNF 39 16-20-7 13 8-31-16 17 24-DNF-DNF 41 19-11-23 18 25-22-22 23 38-19-30 29 DNF-DNS-DNS DNF 38-12-9 17 25-DNF-14 27 30-DNS-DNS 40 15-16-14 12 30-21-10 18 30-34-21 32 35-26-30 34 14-19-29 18 26-26-24 25 DNF-23-18 29 8-6-31 14 DNF-21-DNS 41 5-36-DNS 36 5-3-5 5 31-DNS-DNF 31 5-5-27 13 15-14-16 13 37-29-38 39 6-30-30 22 8-26-26 19 39-41-32 40 25-12-10 14 27-39-35 37 6-29-7 10 12-32-14 15 23-22-17 19 33-36-36 36 17-15-21 13 24-31-DNF 34 17-16-10 13 DNF-17-9 18 28-21-30 27 35-25-21 25

PAMX racing took a little bit of a hiatus after the Spring Series, but the State Championship is back to knock down the door. Check out this select group of photos from the first round at Pittsburgh Raceway Park.

Greiner

PHOTOGRAPHY: ARLENE LANTZER #98 MIMI GREINER

Lantzer #98

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Lantzer #98

Greiner

Lantzer #98

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WORDS: JORDAN ROBERTS PHOTOGRAPHY: AFRED

scott

2014 GOGGLE LINEUP www.Scott-Sports.com

Gosh dang. Who would’ve thought these guys would’ve came out with another top-shelf lineup? They’ve been around before the monoshock. Nobody’s bettered suspension since then, right? Scott has this patented Fit System they’ve been boasting recently. Pin head? Fat head? Who cares. You can adjust the frames to fit your perfectly around your precious face. The only problem is that you might have to wait a little while to get your digits on some.

$TBD

101 underground riders

SHIRTS, YO!

www.101UndergroundRiders.com *foreign These guys are from Europe, and various inclinations can be made about Europeans. Are the days that we completely despise those guys gone? Who knows, but you might be a jerk if you dislike the friendly guys under the American Red Bull KTM awning. Our friend Kokvy (Czech by nationality, beast by nature) sent some shirts over recently. We must say, they’re not metro one bit. Those Euros just might be alright.

$19.99

amsoil

DOMINATOR www.Amsoil.com

Still running a two-stroke? Sweet! Still running weed whacker premix in your 87 octane? Not so sweet. If you want your two-smoker to run crisp, we highly suggest steering clear of any oil you may find in the back of a landscaper’s truck. AMSOIL makes a few different two-cycle premix oils, but Dominator mixes best with rocket fuel. Dump some of this in your leaded fuel can and start shaking it like a salt shaker.

$39.70

/Gal.

cheez-it

ZINGZ

www.Cheez-It.com OMG! Have you tried these? $2.88 a pop at your local Wal-Mart doesn’t seem pricey, but you’d better be a mathematician to calculate total cost when you start shoving these down your throat a mile a minute. There’s some highly illegal and addictive ingredient inside this box. Don’t be surprised when you see every box removed from grocery store shelves by law faster than you can say Four Loko.

$2.88 45

tapped out

WORDS: JORDAN ROBERTS PHOTO: MIMI GREINER

Some of those who were unable to make it down to Loretta Lynn Ranch certainly have a right to be bummed. Who doesn’t want to have the bragging rights of being one of the fastest 42 riders in the nation? On the bright side, by not qualifying for Loretta’s, they avoided the chaos that riders such as Jared Lesher had to sift through.

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