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AMA Fall Classic SeriesFinal By Barbara Williams Photos by Loren Will iams BLOUNIVILLE, TN, OCT. 17 ~ e las t ra ce in a series ca n be a "r ing. When two young lions such as awner, or it can be th e most excitBen Ridd le and M att Wal ker a re involved, yo u can be t it won' t put yo u to sleep. Team Green's Riddle was th e big man at the AMA Fall Classic Series fina l, wi nni ng the 125cc A event ha nds d o wn, w ith The Walk ers - M a tt and Kevin - battling for ru nner-u p . Comi ng ou t wi th th e 250s , Ridd le an d Matt W alker trad ed m oto w ins, w it h t he o ve ra ll vic to ry fo r the d a y going to yo u ng Wa lker. But the se ries cha mpionship was awa rded to Riddle. Kyle Farn ell of New Sm yrna Beach, Flori d a, got th e d ro p o n Riddle in th e 125cc A qualifier for ga te position in the mai n event, and held off Ben u nt il the last. H owev er , neither Farnell nor Ridd le wa s read y for th e last -second slingshot mo ve pulled off by Mo toP lanet's Robbie H orton . H orton had not gate d w ell, and he spent most of the m oto in third , w a tch ing th e fron t tw o and the lin es th ey took. Pa tien tly waiting until just the right mom en t to strike, Horton almost let time ru n ou t before he found an opening. In the last two com ers, Robbie stung bo th Rid dl e and Farnell, taking the lead with a hu ndred yards to go . H o rto n h o pped over th e finish lin e, enjoying the wi n. When the field lined u p for the payoff 125cc A m o to , Ho r to n was n o t amo ng the m. Robb ie had bee n caught in the firs t-turn blender of the first 250cc A moto, injuring his ankle. Ridd le was first u p Mudd y C reek's u p hill starting stra ight to th e firs t turn, leadi ng Matt Walk er , Kevin Wa lker , Jim Neese , Jim C hes te r a nd Jeff G ib so n . Th en Ri dd le set his KX125 on cruise control and took off, lea v in g a ll th e actio n to the rest of th e riders. Th e two W alkers put o n a te rrif ic show for the Muddy Cree k cro wd , complete w ith corn er-stuffing, brake-check ing and bar-banging. At the chec ke red flag, experienc e and craft prevailed over youth and enthusiasm, as Kevin crossed the line a length before M att. N eese peeked o ver yo u ng Walker's sho u ld er in fou rth, with Ch ester on his rear fender . Jeff Gibson held off Ty Hadsell , but at th e e n d, ick Me tcalf, wh o h ad climbed his w ay up fro m a particularly terrible s ta r t, n ipped th e m b oth fo r sixth. Even if Horton had been ab le to take the win, Riddle had built u p suc h a lead th a t he'd s till have taken th e 125cc A championship . In th e fir st 250cc A m ot a , Ridd le headed the field through tu rn one , deftly avoi d ing the pileup tha t mashed Horto n's ankle and too k o ut several o th er front-runners. Th e Kawasaki jockey was h el p e d in h is ge taway b y th e d el a y caused by that massive tan gle, allow ing him t o put a li tt le ex tr a d ista n ce betw een himself and the competition. Matt Walk er and Kevin Walk er came next, w ith Suzuki rider Jason McD onald in fou rth, ow ing to the sudden ex it of everyo ne else in fro nt. By the en d of lap tw o, Gibso n had supplanted McDonald . Wh il e Riddle blasted a lo ng out in Events front, the Wa lkers pu t on a battl e roya l la p a fter lap. With 2 1/2 laps to go, Kevin passed Matt in the tow er sweeper on the outside. Then , as they we re coming out of th e turn, Ma tt ran in to Kevin w he ther on purpose or not - and used Kevi n' s ensu ing bob bl e to retak e second. Meanwhile, Ridd le was stretching out his lead. Th e Walkers flew around th e track, easily as fast now as Ridd le , and pulling away fr o m C hes te r a nd Sh ue. Wit h half a lap to go , Kevin tried th e sa me m ove in the same pl a ce a n d av oided contact th is time. However, his advantage w as fleeting, as M a t t re passed h im in t he w o od s , wh e r e th e r e we ren ' t • (Above) At the last event of the AMA Fall Classic Series, Ben Riddle rails turn one at Muddy Creek Raceway in front of the support vans from his new ride (SUZUki)and his championship ride (Kawasaki). Riddle placed second overall to Mati Walker in the 250cc A event and won the 125cc A race . (Left ) Kevin Walker (859) makes the pass on Mati Walker (40) with about 100 yards to go , before tak ing the wh ite flag In the 125cc A race. Although he was gain ing on w inner Ben Riddle, he waited too late to make his charge. (Below) At the start of the fir st 250cc A mota, Ben Riddle (41) leads Robb ie Horton (59), Kev in Walker (4), Jim Chester (8), Mati Walker (40) and the rest of the fie ld into tum one . Horton's day ended moments later when he was involved in a five-bike melee exiting t he tu rn. enough o ther lines to a llow Kevin to m ak e a safe com eback: At the end , the top fiv e w e re Riddle, Matt W alk er, Kevin Walker , Ch est er and Shue. Wh en the ga te dropped for th e start o f th e seco n d 25 0c c A m oto, Ke v in W a lker' s bik e quit. H e kicked a n d kicked as the field left him in their roost, then d ismou nted and pu shed the YZ400 ba ck to his pits . Shu e h ead ed t h e fie ld . Co mi ng around turn o ne, Farnell tipped ove r (p robably becau se he made conta ct wi th ano ther rider) and sent Riddle th ro ugh th e banner s. Riddle rolled up a sec tio n of banners in hi s rear sp rocke t to take a lo ng fo r d ecorati on, m aking his rear br ake inoperable for the whole mot o. By t h e e n d o f th e fi rst la p , Matt Walker had st olen the lead from Shue. Ches ter and Gibson stepped up to take their chances against yo ung Walk er , but Matt w asn 't stickin g a round . D erek Gerd es a nd Hans Neel follow ed , a nd soo n felt the hot breath of Riddle's KX250 on their nec ks . If they'd known Ben had no brakes, they might have moved o ver for h im in s tead o f m aking h im w ork for the pass. Rid dl e mad e his way u p th rough the pack u nt il, just after halfway, he wa s in fift h . Sla mmi ng dow n off the sta irstep section, Ridd le blasted past Che st er o n th e roug h bottom se ct io n . Th en, o ne turn lat er , he took ca re of Shue in th e tower sweepe r. Dr awing clo se to Matt Walker, Ridd le found he needed his rear brake to d o a n yt hing m o r e than fo llow a t th at speed , so Riddle conten ted himself with following the best and fas test he could, and he finished a close second to Walker . Chester, Shue and Gibson filled ou t the top five in a gnarly kno t. Gerdes was six th, and Farnell made a g reat comeback to finish seven th. Befo re thi s las t race, Ridd le w a s in the lea d by a skin ny two points over Neese. By way of his second overall, Ben go t the nod for th e 1999 AMA Fall Classic cham p io nsh ip . Neese ma intai n ed second overa ll, and G ibson finished a respectabl e third. Riddle banked $1600 as a bonus for winning th e 250cc A crown, p lu s th e MegaSeries purse of $600, for a total of $2200 in 250cc A winnin gs . Ben a lso ea rned $350 in MegaSeri es Pro mon ey for winning the 125cc A ev ent. eN Muddy Creek Raceway Blountville, Tennessee Results: October 17, 1999 125 A; 1. Ben Riddl e (Kaw) : 2. Kevi n Wa lke r (Yam); 3. Ma tt Walke r (H o n) : 4. Jim Neese (Ya m ); 5 . Jim C hest er (Suz): 6. Nick Met calf (Su z) ; 7. Jeff Gi bson (Kaw): 8. Tyson Had sell (Ya m); 9. Matt Shue (Suz) ; 10. Robert Kyle Farnell (Suz). 250 A MOTO 1: 1. Ben Riddl e ( Ka w) : 2. Ma tt Wal ker (Hon); 3. Kevin walker (Yam); 4. Jim Cheste r (Suz ): 5. Matt Sh ue (Suz); 6. Jl"ff G ibson (Ka w ): 7. Jim Neese (Ya m) ; 8. Nick Me tcalf (Su a): 9. David Kratz (Hm.); 10. Derek Gerdes (Ho n) . 250 A M O T O 2: 1. Ma tt Wa lker (Ho n); 2. Ben Riddle {Ka w), 3. Jim Chester (Suz) ; 4. Matt Shue (Suz ); 5. Jeff Gibso n (Kaw); 6. Dere k Ge rd es (Honk 7. Robert Kyle Farnell (Suz ): 8. Jim eese (Ya m); 9. Hans Ned IHo n); 10. Nick Metca lf (Suz) . 250 A O IA : 1. Matt Walker (Hen): 2. Ben Riddle (Ka w ): 3. Jim Ches ter (Suz); 4. Matt Shue (Suz); 5. Je ff G ibson {Kaw}; 6. Jim Nt.eSC (Ya m) ; 7. Derek Gerde s ' (H o n): 8. Nic k Metca lf (Suz); 9. Troy Cris p (H en ): to. Timmy Milligan (Suz). AMA FA LL CLASS IC M X S ERI ES 125« A FINAL PO INTS STANDINGS : 1. Ben Riddl e (127) ; 2. Robb ie Horton (85); 3. Kevin Walker (84:); 4. Je G ibso n (81); 5. ff John Penrod (35); 6. Jim Neese (34); 7. Charlie Degn er (31); 8. Nic ho las We y (30) ; 9. Barry Ca rs te n (30); to . jered Black (30). AMA FA LL CLASSIC MX S ER IES 250« A FIN A L POINTS STANDING S: I. Ben Rid d le ( 36); 2. Jim Neese (121); 3. Jeff Gibso n (98); 4. Todd Downs (56); 5. Jim Chester (39); 6. C lark Stiles (34); 7. Robbi e Ho rto n (33); 8. Davi d Oertel (32); 9. Icred Black (31); 10. Ma lt Wal ke r (30). 41