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Lake Whitney Spring National Motocross SOUND OF THUNDER SERIES/CENTRAL STATES REGION " got a great start and led the whole thing." Johnson said. "Chase worked his way though the pack until a couple of corners from the finish. When we dropped down into the gully, I just hit and lost all my momentum. That's when he (Chase) came out on the outside in a line I hadn't tried yet. He passed me by. I got to hand it to the kid - he's hauling butt. By Kat Spann and The Beckster WHITNEY, IX, MAR. 26-28 lahoma speedster Chase Reed as the top winner a t the third annual Spring National, held at Lake Whitney Motocross Park. Reed rac~d to four class championships, finishing on top of the podium in both the Stock and Modified 125cc Schoolboy races, and in the 125cc Modified Intermediate and 125cc Open events. American Suzuki/Cernic/Performance Engineering-sponsored Gene Stull of Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, earned wins in three out of four events, topping both the 85cc Stock and Modified (]4-]6) categories as well as the 85ec Open class. His only loss came in the Supermini class, in which his bike blew up on him. Only two other riders matched Stull's performance with three titles each. Mike Alessi earned the Stock and Modified 65cc (7-11) and 65cc Open wins, while Mike Odom claimed the 12Scc Stock and Modified Novice titles and the 250cc Modified Novice overall. The most emotional reaction to a championship win came from the Daton Beavers camp when the Minibike (12-13) racer came out of his final Stock mota with a 2-1 and then the final Modified mota with a 3-] to take both classes. Rusty Holland was the big winner in the 250cc Pro class, sweeping both motos for the win. Although Holland won the second mota in the 125cc Pro event, it was Team Green/Pro Circuit/Troy Lee Designs-backed Mike Corder's consistent 2-2 that awarded him hi first win since joining the Pro league this past winter. The In termedia te bike action was every bit as exci ting as the Pros, in both the ]25 and 250cc categories. The only rider to stop Reed in his tracks from a total sweep in all five of the 125cc events ~- he entered was Oklahoma's Johnny Marley. Marley's outstanding perfor- . ~ mance in the final ]25cc Stock IntermeC diate class saw him lead from start to 14 finish. IE '1 just wanted to get the holeshot and ride as fast as I could to win," Marley said. "I got squeezed off the start by two riders on the outside and that put me back in ]2th going around the .first corner," said the Central Yamaha/LCSbacked Reed. "I wasn't sure what I did after tha t, as I was just riding wide open. I really thought I might have a chance for the win, but the laps ran out onme. J1 New Mexico's Kevin Johnson locked up second place behind Marley in the ]25cc Stock Intermediate contest. "I got a fairly good jump off the gate and lifted my front wheel off the start and set it down out of the rut, so I Kind of messed up," Johnson said. "I charged into the first turn and passed three or four guys and came out in fifth. From then on, I just charged forward." Reed's first championship win of the event came in the 125cc Stock Schoolboy contest on Saturday. "I came off the gate and my bike bogged down and everybody smoked by me," Reed said. "When I came around the sweeper, ] snuck up behind the leader and got him in (Above) Dylan Lord (30), Colt Humphrey (15), winner Gene Stull (33), Drew Kain (77) and Brad Cole (3n) battle early in the 80cc Stock (14-16) class at the Lake Whitney Spring National. (Right) Chase Reed (155) chases down Beau Boynton (34) in the 125cc Open class. Johnny Marley (90) and Matt Johnson (7) pursue. the first comer, and then (Bobby) Bonds all of a sudden came out of nowhere on the inside and alrnost hit me, so I had to smooth out even farther to the righ t. Then Justin Smith fell in front of me and I hit him. That put me in about 15th, but I was able to pass about five riders on the outside line and work my way up from there." The second title for Reed came in the 125cc Open class. After running qualifying heats, both Johnny Marley and Aaron Lindsey had single points going into the final event. Lindsey, however, ended up in a Waco hospital after a terrible spill down the mountain on Friday left him with a serious neck injury. '1 knew I had to get the win in front· of Marley to take the title in this one," Reed said. Kevin Johnson finished second. 1f The third championship win for Reed came in the final race of the 12Scc Modified Intermediate. "Actually; once again, 1 didn't get that good of a start," said Reed. "1 don't know what's up with my starts in the main motos. I got out there in fifth or sixth, and 1 saw everyone was crowding down to the inside, so I followed Johnny on the outside and stayed in the main line and got around all four of the riders except for Johnny, who was at the front. I was following him and we both made a couple of mistakes. Then he dug down to the inside and railed the outside a little out of control, but it worked out for me. After that, I just kept my head and rode my own race." "Chase is going really fast," Marley said. "He's riding really good. I got a good start with the holeshot. We had made some adjustments to my suspension and it messed me all up. I still rode good, but it could have been better." "I finally got a really good holeshot for the first time," said Reed following his fourth win in the ]25cc Schoolboy Modified class. "Billy (Laninovich) was on the outside of me and I kind of squeezed him off of the inside in the second comer. After that, I pulled a bit of a lead and then settled into my race, trying not to make any mistakes." "I started second, behind Chase, and just couldn't stay smooth," said Billy Laninovich. "Then Bobby Bonds passed me. They both really rode good." It was a tough race for Bonds. "I broke my ankle about two months ago and it's still really sore," Bonds related from the podium. "I got a pretty horrible start, about midpack. U I could get a better start, it would make things a Lot easier." Gene Stull made his presence known in the 85cc Open race on Saturday. "I knew I had to win," Stull said. "Bryan Johnson dislocated his shoulder earlier, so that took him out of contention, so I had to beat Colt Humphrey for the overall. I passed a couple of guys