MOTOCROSS
AMA AMATEUR NATIONAL MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP AT LORETTA
JULY 31-AUGUST 4, 2018
LORETTA LYNN RANCH / HURRICANE MILLS, TENNESSEE
P110
behind me the whole time, just
talking to me, talking me through
it. We had a solid strategy.
Came out with the holeshot. I'm
like, 'sick, all right, we can do
it.' I made a mistake around one
of the rollers and almost went
down. I'm like, 'all right, got to
fix that!' Mitchell and Hammaker
got by me in the meantime. They
were just going at it. They were
acting like it was a five-lap sprint
or something because I'm just
chilling and they were like hitting
in the air. I'm like, 'It's a 20-min-
ute moto, guys. Chill out!' They
were just going at it. They ended
up colliding, and sure enough, I
just rolled around and just rode a
smart race and brought it to the
checkers."
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna
rider Jalek Swoll also had a
Hammaker, who hails from
Pennsylvania, suffered from
poor starts the first two motos
then used the far inside gate to
finally get out front early in the
last moto. His 2-3-1 scores were
good for second overall.
Drake's win in the 250 A class
was not so easy, as Yamaha-
backed Tanner Stack of Kansas
and Drake's TLD KTM teammate
Mitchell Falk (CA) joined Ham-
maker in battling with Drake.
Hammaker won the first moto,
Falk the second, with Drake
runner-up and Stack third both
times. It all came down to the
final moto.
"Four of us could win, and
pretty much whoever beat who
in the moto won," said Drake
afterward. "But I was pretty chill.
My trainer Randy [Lawrence] was
(Above) Hayden
"Danger Boy"
Deegan with
parents Marissa
and Brian
Deegan, and
his sister Hailie,
who is currently
in the NASCAR
Development
program in North
Carolina.
(Above left) Jalek
Swoll was the
AMA's outstanding
amateur
competitor with
two B class titles.
(Right) Derek
Drake earned
the AMA's Nicky
Hayden Motocross
Horizon Award
with wins in the
Open Pro Sport
and 250 A classes.
