NMA Grand National Championships
Finals: Ponca City
It might've gotten off to a stormy start, but the racing at Ponca had a whirlwind finish
By J.B. AND SHELLY WATSON
PHOTOS BY J.B. WATSON
PONCA CITY, OK, JULY 28-AUG. 3
CJ7 hunder, lightning, heavy rains and
U 80-mph winds couldn't dampen
the spirits of the tightly knit community of hardcore amateur motocrossers
that converged on this small town of
Ponca City, located almost smack
dab in the middle of the country. Over
2500 riders from around the country,
that qualified to race at Ponca City via
a series of regional qualifiers earlier in
the year, packed into the facility for
the July 28-August 3 event, but many
of the racers, believe it or not, began
showing up as early as Tuesday, July
23! By Sunday, long before the starting gate dropped for the first moto,
the rodeo grounds across the street
were packed with campers and racers
waiting for the MX facility's doors to
open and, while they waited, they got
a heavy dose of excitement on Sunday evening. A storm brought heavy
(Above) Michael LaPaglia (31) grabs
the holeshot at the start of the 250cc
Modified Novice final. LaPaglia ended
up winning, while Jeff Alessi (801)
and Devin Sullivan (80) rounded out
the top three.
(Right) Evan Laughridge (109) won
three out of four Pro classes on the
weekend. Here, he leads the 125cc
Modified Pro class off the line.
Ty Conner (43) and Gene Stull (33)
give chase.
22
AUGUST 28,
2002'
cue
•
•
n
•
_
s
