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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128083
Events
•
Carlsba aceway
dR
In the
second
12Sc c C
moto at
Action
Valley
Motocross
Parkin
Paris,
Tennessee,
E.J. Cox (9)
moves to
the inside
to pass Eric
Mercer (30).
A
ctionValley Motocross Park
Cox rocks the Valley
By David H. Screws
Photo by The P icture Man
PARIS, TN, ocr. 30
Act ion Valley Motocr oss Park, bu ilt by Ker ry
and Ren ae Watkins just east of Paris, Tenn essee ,
is a 1.2 -m ile " tra d it io n a l" m o tocro ss tr ack
ca rve d o u t o f rolling hill s and gentle va lley s,
and it has already gained a reputation for being
no t o n ly fas t b u t a lso dow n right technical.
Styled after the Loretta Lyon's motocross trac k,
thi s "four -race-old " newcomer has attracted the
attention of serio us riders from a ll over Tennessee, M ississippi, Ken tucky an d Missou ri.
Traveling from Collierville, Tennessee, near
Memphis, to the top of the state, E.). Cox, Blake
Cox and Tyler Cox tu rned heads with their over -
all pe rfo rmances at round four of the Acti on
Valley 1999 Series .
Young Kawasaki jockey Tyler Cox went up
against two Ke ntucky la d s, KTM -moun ted
Brady Orr and Kawasaki rider Hunter Inman, in
the 65cc (7-11) class. Tyler ha d h is han d s full
ta ngli ng with the second- pl aced Inma n . Orr
es ta b lish ed an ea rly le ad a nd le ft Cox a n d
Inman to jostle eac h other abo ut in the dust of
his knobbies . Cox fin ished third in moto one ,
while Inman slipped back to fourth.
Moto two found Orr ou t in front again , with
Cox an d Inma n sweating it out for seco nd . This
time, Inman prevailed , and at the checks it was
Orr, Inman and Cox. The trio wo und up in the
same orde r in the 65cc (7-11) class overa ll standings: Orr, Inm an , Cox.
The 85cc jun ior ri d e rs fo u nd th emse lves
infested with Coxes: Blake Cox an d , once aga in,
Tyler Cox, both on Kawasakis, Blake gui ded his
Kawa sa ki to the fro nt of the pack in the early
stages of bot h motos but couldn' t overcome the
co nsi sten t a n d d e termi ned rid ing o f Hoh en wa ld, Tennessee 's Ellio tt Barber. Young Tyler ,
riding in his second class of the afte rnoo n, held
his own but was once again led by Inma n and
Orr, his 65cc-class riva ls. Whe n a U was said and
d one, Blake Cox took seco nd overall an d Tvler
Cox finish ed fifth overall .
•
The sta r of the day in the Cox family was the
Yama ha-mo u nted E.J.Cox, who fou nd him self
dealin g with Eric Mercer, a Hond a honcho from
Perry, Tenn essee. and Yamaha- mounted Adam
Manning from Franklin, Ten nessee. In both the
Schoo lboy class and 12See C class, E.). was challenged by Mercer and Manning. In m oto two of
the 12Scc C showdo wn, E.). looked as if he might
be swa llowed u p by the 19-bi ke pack. Mercer
took the holeshot, and E.). bumped and bu llied
aro und the corner back in fifth or sixth place.
As the field began to sort itself ou t down th e
long str aigh taway, E.j . mad e a ",, de-ope n move
;
pas t two rid ers . Then E.). set a new goa l for himself: Take Mercer . By utilizin g what he'd learned
from his previou s trips aro und the dem and ing
course , E.J. man aged to outmaneuver Mercer in
the curves, outjurnp him ove r th e vario us dou bl es, trip les a nd tnbl e tops, a nd o u tr u n him
a lo ng the st ra igh ta ways. E.) . took both moto
wi ns in th e 125cc C and Schoo lboy classes to
claim first place in each class.
Results
50 (4-6) : 1. Jw;ti n Ldwre ncc (KTM); 2. Loga n Pollard (Co b).
50 (7· 9): 1. Spt"I'lcer Coo k (Cob); 2 Zach Tho mpson (KIM ); 3.
Justin
(I..em).
65 (7· 1)) : 1. Bra d y Orr (KT M); 2. H u n ter Inm a n (Ka w) ; 3.
Tylt.-r COl((Kaw ); 4. l....evi Well! (K1"M ); 5. Ky le Dortch (Kaw l.
85 (7· 11): 1. Elliott Barbt'r (Ka w) ; 2. Blake Co x (Ka w) ; 3.
Hu ntl"r Inman (Suz); 4. Brad y Orr (KIM); 5.Ty!tTCol( (Kaw ).
!:l5(12· 15): 1. Cha se Gamble