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AMA Maxxis/VP Western Four-Stroke Nationals Round 4: Prairie City SVRA By B main. The lion's share of the DON SCHNEIDER cabbage ($250) went to Californian PHOTOS BY ERICK AVERNA Brian Roth. Jack "Corky" Azevedo; his father, SA~O,CA,APR.20 t;;. fter the morning trackside church Jack Sr.; and the staff must have worked a deal out with Mother ~ service for Easter, Paul "Pit Bull" Carpenter from Ithaca, New York, brought his race face and his number-one plate, cleaned off the start pad and hopped aboard the Alan Olsen-prepped Honda CRF450R to compete with 70 premier Pro-Am four-stroke competitors at Sacramento's Prairie City SVRA facility. The final results show White Brothers/American Honda teams perfect on the day, with Carpenter finishing in I-I fashion, nailing his second consecutive overall series win and pocketing $ 1200. "My mechanic and I got the starts pretty wired now, and we are on a roll: smiled the personable hotshoe. "Four in a row, actually." Carpenter's steadfast teammate Brian "Spud" Walters was also all smiles, as he garnered the second overall spot via 3-2 moto finishes. With this feat, Walters moved into third in the championship points race, while Carpenter holds a 17 -point advantage on Vancouver, Washington's Jason McCormick, 157-140. Finishing third was Rusty Holland (2-4), racing a box-stock, out-of-thecrate Honda CRF450R. Holland made his debut in the series after referee Mitch Kirkpatrick kept in constant contact with him during his recent outstanding arenacross season. It was sure nice to see the return of the rider who finished on the podium five times in the 2001 series. CHM System P-4R Exhaust/Magura Hydraulic Clutches/Carmichael Honda-backed McCormick had another impressive day. His 5-3 score garnered fourth, and it was good enough to break the tie for runner-up in the championship race with FMF's Chris Wheeler, who thundered to a hot 4-8 score and nabbed fifth on the day. Motoworld Racing/Yamaha USA's Dustin Nelson, the 1998 AMA Western Four-Stroke Champion (8-5), was Nature, as rain pounded the track Defending series champion Paul Carpenter sweeps the concrete starting pad at the starting gate before the start of molo two • en route to a sweep of both motos at round four of the AMA MaxxislVP Western Four-Stroke Nationals. from Wednesday to Friday beforehand. "This was the best I have ever seen this track prepared in all the years I have been racing here professionalIy: said none other than renowned motocrosser Jeff Emig, on hand with his fellow representatives from the clothing company Shift. Riders who finish 21 st through 40th in the overall each and every weekend are awarded packets full of series-sponsor certificates and products from Maxima, Hansen's Energy Drinks, FMF, Fasst Co., Thor, SixSixOne, DeVol Racing, Big Gun Exhaust, Works Connection, Wiseco, Magura Hydraulic Clutches, Factory R&D, Spy Optics, White Brothers, Universal Products, RG3 Suspension, Pro Valve, and Factory Team 2-Racing, as well as contingencies from Yamaha, Honda and Husqvarna. eN Prairie City SVRl S8ermnelltD, Califomia Results: April 20, 2003 (Raand 4 of 10J the highest-placing Yamaha rider, finishing a respectable sixth overall. '" just kept pushing today, as I could see the gaps closing turn after turn: said Nelson. Yamaha USA/Montclair Yamaha's Nathan Woods ran fifth in moto one but crashed out on lap seven of 16. He soldiered on in moto two with a wrapped knee, finishing 14th and salvaging seven AMA points. Rounding out the top 10 were four more red riders: Mike Corder (11-6), Throttle Monsters' Brandon Morgan (6-11), Allsport Honda's Derek Mahoney (9-9), and Carl's Cyclebacked Robb Floth (10- 12). While running third in moto two behind Carpenter and Walters, Corder suffered a front flat, but he rode it out, taking sixth against all odds. His rim held up, but it won't see another race. AMP/GFI Northern California Racing hosted the event for the very first time since the series' inception in 1996. These promoters demonstrated another way to give back to the premier Pro-Am riders - with a Consolation B main event designed for the riders who didn't make the 40-rider main-event cut. With $2000 in the fund, riders had to sign up and race the qualifiers and the last-chance qualifier in order to qualify for the O/A: I. Paul CZlrpenter (Han); 2. Spud Walters (Han); 3. Rusty Holland (Han); 4. JlIson McCormick (Han); 5. Chris Wheeler (Han); 6. Dustin Nelson (Yam); 7. Mike Corder (Han); 8. Brandon Morgan (Han); 9. Derek Mahoney (Han); 10. Robb Flath (Han); 11. Ray Crumb (Han); 12. Leighton Lillie (Hon): 13. Belliu Baron (Hon); 14. Konnrllld Kuest (Hon); 15. Rory Sullivlln (KTM); 16. Mllirk Tilley (Hon); 17. Scott Howe (Yam); 18. Travis Marks (Han); 19. Sean Collier (Han): 20. Ty Cllrson (Han). AMA WESTERN FOUR·STROKE NATIONALS CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS (Arter 4 or 10 rounds): 1. Peul Carpenter (157); 2. Jason McCormick (140); 3. Spud Walters (138); 4. Chris Wheeler (135); 5. Mike Corder (103); 6. Ryen Hughes (97); 7. Nathan Woods (93); 8. Dustin Nelson (74); 9. Sean Collier (64); 10. Brandon Morgan (62); 11. Casey Johnson (47); 12. Carter Gurnee (43); 13. (TIE) Rusty Holland/Robb Floth (40); 15. (TIE) Thomas Hahn/Ray Crumb/Leighton Lillie (36); 18. Derek Mahoney (35): 19. Danny Carlson (28): 20. Steve Mertens (26). Upcoming Rounds Round 5: Albany Molorsports Park, Albany, OR, May 25 Round 6: Honey Lake MX Park, Milford, CA, June 1 Paul Carpenter (1), Spud Walters (2), Jason McCormick (2E), Mike Corder (969), Rusty Holland (74), Rory Sullivan (372) and the rest of the thumper pilots battle it out in moto two. cue I ... n ... _ 50 • MAV21.2003 55