Loretta Lynn's Area Qualifier
Oak Hill MX Park
Loretta Lynn's Area Qualifier
Riverside Raceway
Hollister Hauls at
Oak Hill LLQ
Maier, Gilmore
Dominate LLQ
By KAT AND THE BECKSTER
ALVORD, TX, APR. 5-6
Montclair Yamaha's Lance Hollister left no
doubt in anyone's mind that he would be a
serious contender at the June Loretta Lynn's
Regional Qualifier when he claimed six mota
wins among the 125cc Stock (12-15), 125cc
Modified (12-15) and 125cc B Stock classes
at Oak Hill MX Park. Hollister also finished a
respectable second overall in the 125cc B
Modified class, behind KTM-mounted Cody
Dickey.
Once again the moto gods threatened
thunderstorms as the District 41 's Loretta
Lynn's Area Qualifier got under way at Oak
Hill, just northwest of Fort Worth. But once
again the clouds split as they approached the
track, attacking both the east and west with
horrible thunderstorms and up to grapefruitsized hail.
Shane Doughty raced at the controls of the
125cc and 250cc Stock and Modified A classes, beating out the competition with seven
wins out of eight motos.
The King racing family was in attendance.
Amanda King qualified in the Women's 80·
105cc (12-15) class; her younger brother
Chance qualified in the 65cc Stock class; her
father, Bart, qualified in the Vet Over 35 class;
and her grandfather Jake qualified in the
Senior Over 45 class.
Saturday's 125cc Stock (12-15) gate
sported 16 riders, led off the start by N1Y/Pro
Privateer/Thor-backed Marshall Smith.
Granbury Motorsports' Taylor Painter emerged
out of the chute in second, but Lance Hollister
was on the move, passing Painter early and
then going after Smith. The front-runners
rubbed elbows as they came out of the back
section and into the off-camber tum, where it
appeared Smith got stuck in the deep rut as
Hollister made an easy pass. Vince Monteleone gated sixth but was able to get around
Justin Little just after the finish line at the top
of lap two, and then he passed Kyle Sauder
before the end of the second lap. Painter challenged Smith for second in the final lap but fell
in the corner at jump number seven, allowing
Monteleone to get around him and take third,
while Hollister led the way to the checkered
flag.
Little got the holeshot in moto two, but
Smith passed him for the lead coming out of
the first turn, with Hollister in tow. Hollister
wasted no time getting past Smith and immediately set a fast pace that no one was able to
keep up with. Smith set up shop in second
and held that position into the final lap before
overpowering into the final turn before the
uphill charge to the checkered flag, thus going
through the banners and giving up the num~
ber-two spot to Painter, who was waiting in the
wings. Smith was able to finish third, followed
by Little and Monteleone.
In the 65cc (7-9) class, Heartbeat Racing's
Ryan Eppers grabbed the first-moto holeshot,
but his lead was short-lived, as Gregory
Gehrer blasted by him out of the first tum to
lead the first iap. Eppers got Gehrer back on
lap two when Gehrer miscued, which also
allowed Ascher Petry to pass into second. TH
Racing/Bryan's Signs/The Mental Fitness
Training lnstitute/Munn Racing-backed Tyler
Heemsbergen had trouble off the start but
redeemed himself by passing three riders on
lap two and another on lap three. By the end
of the mota, Heemsbergen was in third place,
finishing in front of Gehrer and Mason Maahs.
Eppers repeated his start in moto two by
garnering the holeshot and leading the field.
Bryce Dozier gated second, but both Eppers
and Dozier were passed by Heemsbergen on
the first lap. Heemsbergen was on fire as he
led the field to the finish. Eppers was second
and Petry third. Eppers' 1-2 count. however.
was good enough to beat Heemsbergen's 3-1
tally for the overall win.
Oak Hill MX Park
Alvord, Texas
Results: April 5-6, 2003
51 (4-6) STK SHAFT: I. Wake Thurmon (Yom).
51 (4·6) STK: I. C&de Moore (KTM): 2. Drake Dunlop (KTM); 3.
Joy Dearing (Cob); 4. AndrN PIer« (KTM): 5. PIerce L.ow (KTH).
51 (7-8) STK: I. Austin COll (Cob); 2. Reece: Dunlop (KTM): 3.
Tanner Neujahr (Kaw); 4. Riley AMy (Cob); 5. Shown Hurst II (Hus).
65 (7·9) STK: I. Ryan Eppers (KlIw): 2. Tyler HeemllKr Pointer (Kow); 4. Vi~ Monteleone (Kaw): 5. Justin
Little (KTM).
125 MOD (12-15): I. Lance Hollister (Yam); 2. Marshall Smith
(Yom): 3. Vinal Monteleone (KlIw); 4. Tyler Reid (Vam); 5. Taylor
Pointer (Kaw).
125 A PRO SP'T: I. Shane Doughty (!taw); 2. Chose Romero
(KTM); 3. Robbie!: Smith (Yam); 4. ~ Wdchko (Yam).
125 A: I. Shane Doughty (Kaw); 2. Robbie Smith (Yom); 3.
(KT><); 4. Andy Ilowyft (Kawl.
125 B STK: 1. Lance Hollister (Yam); 2. Jesse Moore (Kaw); 3.
Mark e.ackwdl (Yam); 4. Brandon Fulton (K.ow): 5. VInCe It\onteI«Ine
(Kaw).
125 B MOD: I. Cody {)dey (KTM); 2. Lance Hollister (Yam); 3.
J~se Moore (Kaw): 4. Brandon Fulton (Kew): 5. Jonathon Kerr
(Yam).
125 C STK: I. Bloke Cochran (Yam); 2. Rusty Schoono~r
(Yam); 3. Justin UttIt: (KTM); 4. JolOn Brunk (Yom); 5. Lee Mooney
(Yom).
125 C MOD: I. Bleke Cochran (Yom): 2. Rusty Schoonover
(Yom.: 3. T~ Schultz. (Hon); 4. EIben. Simon (Yom): 5. Lee Mooney
(Yam).
2.5O/0PEJ"l A PRO SPT: I. Shane Doughty (Kew); 2. Robbie
Smith (Vam): 3. Chase Romero (KTM).
2SO/~ A: 1. Shane Doughty (Kaw); 2. Andy Bowyer (Kow);
3. Chase Romero (KTM); 4. Robbie Smith (Yam).
250 OPEN B STK: I. Jesse Moore (Kew); 2. Brandon Fulton
(Kaw): 3. Jonathan Kerr (Yom): 4. Jeff 5teIlIart (Yom): 5. Justin Slur·
divan (KTM).
250/OPEN B MOO: I. Jonethan Kerr (Yam): 2. Brandon Fulton
(Ka....): 3. Adam Turner (SUI); 4. Justin Sturdivan (KTM); 5. BriM
Gamer (Yam).
250/0PEN C: I. Aso Phillips (Hon): 2. [)e.egen Ba5s (Hon): 3.
Elbert Simon (Yam); 4. Lance Orso (Hon); 5. Chese Kirk (Hon).
4·STRK 201·650: 1. Jeff Stewart (Yem); 2. Tyler Reid (Yom): 3.
I\se Phillips (Hon): 4. Gary Harrison (YlIm): 5. Toland Shipp (Y/lm).
WMN 80-105 (12·15); I. Am/lnd/l King (Hon).
JR 25+: I. Andy Bowyer (Kaw); 2. Cody Wilks (Yam); 3. David
Hallmark (SUI); 4. Chris TGmlnee (KTM).
VET 30+: I. Bert King (Hon); 2. William Bentley (Yam): 3. Mac
Edmondson (Hon); 4, Kevin UlIImlQa (Yam); 5. Cody WlIks (Yam).
VET 35+: I. Kevin Uzarraga (Yam): 2. Bart King (Hon); 3. Mike
McWilliams (Hon).
SH 40.. : I. Steve McCombi (Kew); 2. MaBhall Turman (Kalil):
3. Ray Bubba Schultz (Hon): 4. Cory Pete Watson (KTM); 5. Mark
Comelia (Hon).
SR 45.. : l. Cory Pete Watson (KTM): 2. Steve McCombs (Kaw);
3. l..ester Knight (Hon): 4. Marshall Turman (Kaw): 5. Jnke King (Kaw).
By JAMES MUNDORF
WINTERSET, lA, APR. 5-6
For many Midwest riders, the road to the
Loretta Lynn's Amateur Nationals started at
the area qualifier at Riverside Raceway just
outside of Winterset. Iowa. Teddy Maier dominated the 125cc and 250cc A classes, while
Cody Gilmore did the same in the 125cc and
250cc B events. The Team Green riders won
every mota they entered.
Saturday morning, track conditions were
good - considering that the day before had
seen rain, hail, sleet and snow. Due to the
frigid temperatures, the track was partially
frozen as practice started, but it thawed out
nicely after a while_
Maier started out his day by grabbing the
holeshot in the first 250cc A moto. Todd Walton
and Adam larda followed. By lap two, Maier
already had a good-sized lead, and Matthew
Whitmarsh had moved up to second after starting fifth. Maier took the win, well ahead of Whit·
marsh. larda got third, followed by Walton. who
had to fight his way back through the pack to
get fourth after a first-lap mistake.
Maier had to work a little harder in mota
two, as Walton grabbed the holeshot, in front
of Tony Wenck. Maier rounded the first tum in
fourth but was charging hard, and by the end
of the first lap he was riding comfortably in the
lead, followed by Walton and Wenck. On lap
three, Whitmarsh passed Wenck for third. On
the last lap, Whitmarsh caught up to secondplaced Walton, while Maier continued to ride
away from everyone for another big win. WlIlton barely held on to second, in front of Whitmarsh, while Zarda made a last-lap charge.
passing Wenck to finish fourth.
Maier continued his dominance in the
125cc A class. He got the moto-one holeshot
and immediately started pulling away. By the
end of lap one, Whitmarsh had pulled into
second. larda took third on lap two, and that's
how they remained at the finish.
In moto two, larda got the holeshot, in
front of Maier, but Maier made a quick pass,
and by the end of lap one he had his usual
large lead. Whitmarsh also made it past larda
into second. On lap two, Maier was way out
front, followed again by Whitmarsh and larda,
and that's how they finished.
In the first mota of the very competitive
Schoolboy class, the race was for second.
Gilmore grabbed the holeshot and immediately took off. Corey Green followed in second,
pressured hard by Jake Erickson. On lap two.
Erickson made the pass for second over a
tabletop, but the two riders continued to battle
as they pulled away from fourth-placed
Michael Vittetoe. Gilmore maintained his large
lead to the finish. and Erickson managed to
hold off the last-lap charge of Green. Vittetoe
ended up fourth, in front of Blake Martinson.
Gilmore had his work cut out for him in
moto two after getting a fifth-place start.
Green got the holeshot and built a small lead,
taking advantage of both Gilmore's and Erickson's poor starts. Green's lead didn't last long,
though, as Gilmore immediately started
charging toward the front. On lap one, he
moved into third. past Vittetoe and Martinson.
At the start of lap two, Gilmore moved into
second, in front of Tony Bissell. By lap three,
he had reeled in Green and taken over the
lead. He held on for the win, in front of Green.
Bissell was barely able to hold on to third, in
front of the hard-charging Erickson, who had
made his way through the pack to get fourth,
in front of Vittetoe.
On day two, riders were greeted with
below-freezing temperatures, a somewhat
frozen track, and a forecast of 10 inches of
snow. Riders tried hard to make the best of the
conditions as they bundled up and struggled
to keep wann between motos.
Gilmore and Maier continued their dominance during the first round of motos. Gilmore
won moto one of both the 125cc and 250cc B
classes. as well as the 125cc Modified (12-15)
class. Maier won the first 250cc A moto by his
usual large margin.
Before the start of the 125cc A moto, the rain
started to fall. It didn't seem to bother Maier,
though, as he cruised to another easy win.
The rain quickly tumed to sleet and then to
heavy snow. Large campers and trailers began
to pull out of the pits and park along the highway so that they wouldn't get stuck. Track
officials managed to finish the first motos just
as conditions started to get really sloppy. As
the snow got worse, the officials were forced
to cancel the second set of matos, and riders
were scored according to their first-mota finishes. It was the second straight year that the
Loretta Lynn's Area Qualifier at Riverside
Raceway was cut short by Mother Nature.
Riverside Raceway
Winters~ Iowa
Results: April 5-6, 2003
Saturday
50 JR: 1. Joseph Gomez Jr.; 2. lucas Mariner; 3. Wade Brom·
mel: 4. Douglas OettIng; 5. Kaleb DekeyreL
a.... ........
Oak Hill MX Park: Lance Hollister
garnered six moto wins among the 125cc
Stock (12-15), 125cc Modified (12-15) and
125cc B Stock classes at the Loretta
Lynn's Area Qualifier in Alvord, Texas.
58
MAY 14. 2003'
cue
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Riverside Raceway: Cody Gilmore won the 125cc B, 250cc B and Schoolboy classes at
the two-day Loretta Lynn's Area Qualifier in Winterset, Iowa.
