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Spring Thunder in the Sand Beach Race Wildwood Convention Center RRP's Ty Wallace (85) holds off fellow Honda thumper pilot John Schneider (708) for the lead in the first 250cc Open A moto at the sixth annual NJHRA Thunder in the Sand Beach race in Wildwood, New Jersey. STORY AND PHOTOS BY JIM P. SANDERSON WILDWOOD, NJ, MAY 31-JUNE 1 he New Jersey Hot Rod Associaif tion held its sixth annual Spring Thunder in the Sand Beach Race, and more than 300 motocross enthusiasts came down to the island of Wildwood at the southern tip of New Jersey to race in the sand, against what has to be the best backdrop ever for a motocross race: the Atlantic Ocean. Nestled between the two largest and most popular piers on the Wildwood Boardwalk was a lA-mile racecourse built entirely on the beach. The NJHRA hosts many events on the beach in Wildwood, including the Spring and Fall Thunder in the Sand Motocross races, as well as Monster and Tough Truck racing competitions and Classic Cars shows. This event saw its largest rider turnout to date, and the event continues to grow each year. Rossini Racing Products Pro riders Ty Wallace and Kevin Crine, along with NJHRA race director Mark "Huff" Hufnagle, designed and built a long and technical racecourse. The event features an open practice day on Friday, one moto of each class run on ~ also earned runner-up on the 250cc A podium with a 3-1 tally. Wallace led the start of the first 125cc A moto, with Jeff Paul, Cook, Chris Chomko and Schneider trailing. After half a lap on the infield section of the rather long course, the top three were unchanged, though Schneider passed Chomko for fourth. Near the end of lap one, Cook caught and passed Paul for the runner-up position. The top five were unchanged at the start of the second lap, but shortly after that Wallace had a spectacular get-off after the long whoop section, going over the bars and planting his face into the sand. Cook inherited the lead, and Paul moved to second. Schneider was third, with Chomko fourth and Joseph Robertson fifth. Wallace was okay but had a tough time getting his small-bore thumper Schneider (708) leads the final 250cc Open A moto, in front of Wallace (85), Brian Carroll (48), Jeremy Cook (360), Jeff Paul (871) - and the Atlantic Ocean. reignited. When he finally got going, he began a fantastic charge back to the front of the pack. Within a lap, Wallace was back up to fifth, and by the last lap he had passed Schneider to take third with less than half a lap to go. Cook got the moto win. Rounding out the top five were Paul, Wallace, Schneider and Chomko. Wallace got another good start and led the pack out of the first turn in the final 125cc A moto. In tow were Paul, Chomko, Schneider and Robertson. Wallace had some more bad luck in the early going, as he stalled his thumper on the infield and dropped Saturday, and the final motos run on Sunday. Wallace topped both the 125cc and 250cc A podiums. He went 3- 1 in the 125cc A class and 1-2 in the 250cc A class. Wallace's teammate Jeremy Cook took runner-up honors in the 125cc A class with a 1-3 score, and John Schneider rounded out the podium with a 4-2 tally. Schneider 70 JUNE 25. 2003' cue I EO n e vv s back to fourth. Paul inherited the lead, Chomko moved to second, and Schneider was' third. Cook passed Robertson for fifth. Wallace mounted another charge and began picking off riders. On lap two, Wallace passed Chomko for third, and then he caught and passed Schneider for second. By lap three, he'd made the pass on Paul to retake the lead. Wallace got the secondmoto win, with Schneider, Cook, Paul and Chomko trailing. Schneider got his Honda thumper to the front of the pack and exited the first turn with the lead in the first 250cc Open A moto, followed by Wallace, Brian Carroll (wearing his famously patriotic American Flag jersey), Paul and Chomko. Near the end of the first lap, Chomko moved up to fourth, and Cook was fifth. On the next lap, the battle for the lead was still being decided; Schneider held the point, but Wallace was very close, only a bike length or two behind. Carroll was a solid third. Cook passed Chomko for fourth. After following Schneider for almost a lap and a half, Wallace made the pass for the point position and quickly pulled away. On the last lap, Carroll closed in on Schneider and made the pass for second. Wallace got the first-moto win, with Carroll, Schneider, Cook and Chomko trailing. Schneider got another good start in the final 250cc Open A moto, but this time he stayed in the point position the entire moto. Trailing off the start were Wallace, Cook, Carroll and Paul. The top five stayed pretty close together for the first lap and remained unchanged, but on the following lap they began to spread out. Carroll closed the gap on Cook and passed him for third. Chomko passed Paul for fifth. Cook came back and repassed Carroll to retake third with half a lap to go. Schneider held on for the win, with Wallace, Cook, Carroll and Chomko trailing. eN WildwHtI Cenveation Center WildwHtl, New Jersey Relults: Mey 31-Ju.. l. ZOD3 85 (7 -9): 1. Brett Forman: 2. Max Henkel; 3. Sean Kelly; 4. Ben Anton: 5. Wyatt Ford. 85 (10ยท11): I. Matt Grant; 2. Charles Sherby; 3. Devon Grisman; 4. Thomas Sherby; 5. Eric Ulmer. 85 (12-13): 1. Teddy Grant; 2. Chris Fonnan; 3. Jordan Mann; 4. Chris Rizzon. 85 (14-15): 1. Tim Rinon; 2. Justin Cifoni; 3. Mike Cox; 4. Vincent Veneziale; 5. Andrew Slowey. S/M.INI: 1. Ted Grant; 2. Tim Rizzon; 3. Danny Callahan; 4. Brandon Taylor; 5. Jordan Mann. 125 A: I. Ty Wallace; 2. Jeremy Cook; 3. John Schneider; 4. Jeff Paul; 5. Chris Chomko. 125 B: I. Stanley Szmyd; 2. Michael Thomas; 3. Greg Roman; 4. Tristan Huey; 5. Carl Bore. 125 C GATE 1: 1. Frank Schaetzke; 2. Jason Chesna: 3. Anthony D. Alessandro; 4. Kevin Poltarak; 5. Kevin McCusker. 125 C GATE 2:.1. Anthony Frascella; 2. Joseph Peluzzo: 3. And~w Slowey; 4. John Dubanowich; 5. Trevor Petroek. 250 A: 1. Ty Wallace; 2. John Schneider; 3. Brian Carroll; 4. Jeremy Cook: 5. Christopher Chomko. 250 B: 1. Robert Novak; 2. Greg Roman; 3. Paul l.zlube; 4. Frank Shumski; 5. Jake Massaro. SCHBY: 1. Teddy Grant; 2. Anthony D. Alessandro: 3. William Hancock; 4. Charles Meiser; 5. Brandon Taylor. CLGBY: 1. Chip Koban; 2. Stanley Szmyd; 3. Robert Novak; 4. Kenneth Rand; 5. Jason Chesna. 25+ A: 1. Brian Carroll; 2. Dian Primiani: 3. John Thomas; 4. Mark Franklin. 25+ B: 1. Steve Weldon; 2. Matthew Lopreato; 3. Mark Barends: 4. Brian Johnson; 5. Stewart Thomas. 30+ A: 1. Brian Carroll; 2. Dian Primiani; 3. Mark Frankian. 30+ B: 1. Fred Anton; 2. Kevin Anton; 3. Paul Laube; 4. Mark Barends; 5. Curtis Baronio. 30+ C: 1. Brian Johnson; 2. Dave Greenwald; 3. William Hess; 4. Steven Wright; 5. Todd Hoffman. 40+: t. Mark Frankian; 2. William Hess; 3. William Ford; 4. Bob Powell; 5. Joseph Dare Sr.