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AMA Maxxis/VP Fuels Western Four-Stroke Nationals Round 8: Racetown 395 MX By DON SCHNEIDER/ WWW.4STROKENATIONALS.COM PHOTOS BY TELEPHOTOXPRESS ADELANTO, CA, JULY 6 'fr' he thumpfest continued for AmerlJ ican Honda/White Brothers Racing-backed Paul "Pit Bull" Carpenter at round eight of the AMA Maxxis/VP Fuels Western Four-Stroke Nationals. So far, the ground-pounding mayhem has had 470 total Premier Pro-Am entries, averaging 59 per round. Taking no prisoners in the field of 33 hard-core competitors, Carpenter stood proud atop the box with his fourth overall victory of the season. The Pit Bull diced for position behind a few early leaders en route to his thundering 1-1 sweep, which was his seventh-straight podium finish aboard the Alan Olsen-prepped CRF450R. At Racetown 395 MX in the high desert, Carpenter stomped to the lead in both motos and earned 50 points on the day. Heading toward his third AMA Four-Stroke National Championship in a row, Carpenter now holds a 42-point advantage over CHM System P-4R/Carmichael Honda's Jason McCormick, 343-301, with two rounds remaining. Another stellar performance was put in by American Honda/White Brothers Racing's Spud Walters, aboard the Rob Madsen-prepped CRF450R. Finishing second overall via a 4-2 tally, this marked Spud's fourth podium to date. Walters remains a steadfast spoiler. At one point in moto two, Walters even carved around Carpenter to nab third, opening many eyes in the process. With his 40 points on the day, he remains third in the series at 289, only 12 points behind McCormick. In this highly exciting thumper National Championship series, riders, managers, spectators and scorekeepers were certainly champing at the bit to find out which rider was going to be third on the box after the checkers waved. The names McCormick, Nathan Woods, Mike Corder, Dustin Nelson, Danny Carlson and off-road sensations Kurt Caselli and Jeremy Chaussee filled the air. When the points were finalized, it was McCormick's 7 -3 score that got the nod. "I am lucky to even ride this weekend," stated a discouraged McCormick, who led 10 of the 14 laps of moto two. "'I was rear-ended while driving in my truck on Wednesday, and my back is all tied up in knots. I'll be looking for the one-month layoff until the next round, for sure." holeshot artist Tony Amaradio early Woods actually tied with McCormick in AMA Championship points, at 34, after his very consistent 5-4 finishes on the Montclair Yamaha/ Yamaha USA YZ450F. After taking over the point position from his Fasst Company teammate Kevin Townsend, who stole the holeshot in moto one, Carlson was on his game, keeping Carpenter honest and finishing fifth overall via 3-8 moto scores. McCormick's teammate Corder, aboard the CHM System P-4R Exhaust, ran third during the first eight laps of moto one and finished sixth overall with a 6-5 tally. Starting around 13th in moto one, the Motoworld Racing.com/Yamaha USA-sponsored Nelson, who has certainly turned in the fastest lap times ever since round five in Milford, California, stormed to the front and pulled off a last-chance pass on Carlson to cross the line in second. In moto two, starting in sixth, he washed out in a silty left-hander while trying to overtake Woods on lap one. After he recovered, he was running 10th on lap three when he caught the top of a double jump and went down again. Like the 1999 AMA Western FourStroke Champion he is, he pulled the bike up, jumped back on and rode to 12th at the checkers to garner seventh overa I J. Making an outstanding debut was Caselli, who was eighth with a 9-7 score. Brandon Morgan, who pulled the last two holeshots in Boise, Idaho, actually started sixth in moto one and second in moto two. He had a small crash in moto one while running behind early leader Townsend. He eventually worked back up to finish 12th. In moto two, Morgan ran behind on. Then McCormick blitzed past both Morgan and Amaradio for the lead, as Morgan followed McCormick for seven of the 14 laps before succumbing to the 100-degree heat. The 4200-foot elevation and the pound of the thumpers in hot pursuit also had to be factors. Rounding out the top lOon the day was Chaussee. with an 11-9 tally. All in all, it was a great way to celebrate the Independence Day weekend. There have been a total of eight riders who have actually graced the podium so far in this series: Carpenter, Walters, McCormick, Ryan Hughes, Corder, Nelson, Woods and Chris Wheeler. Four different overall winners have grabbed the top paying spot: Carpenter, Walters, McCormick and Hughes. eN Ra.etawn 395 MX Adelanto, California Results: July 6, 2003 [Round 8 of 10J O/A: I. Paul Carpenter (Hon); 2. Spud Walters (Hon); 3. Jason McCormick (Hon); 4. Nathan Woods (Yam); 5. Danny Carlson (Hon); 6. Mike Corder (Hon); 7. Dustin Nelson (Yam); 8. Kurt Caselli (KTM); 9. Brandon Morgan (Hon); 10. Jeremy Chaussee (Yam); 11. Chris Barrett (Hon); 12. Robb Flath (Hon); 13. Scott Howe (Yam); 14. Tony Amaradio (Han); 15. Dennis Stapleton (Han); 16. Michel Sandoval (Han); 17. Ty Carson (Han); 18. Kevin Townsend (Han); 19. Beau Judge (Han); 20. Greg Crater (Han). AMA WESTERN FoaR·STROKE NATIONALS SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 8 of 10 rounds); I. Paul Carpenter (343/4 wins); 2. Jason McCormick (301/1 win); 3. Spud Walters (289/1 win); 4. Mike Corder (235); 5. Dustin Nelson (227); 6. Nathan Woods (173); 7. Brandon Morgan (157); 8. Chris Wheeler (148); 9. Robb Flath (107); 10. Ryan Hughes (97/2 wins); 11. Leighton Lillie (76); 12. Greg Crater (71); 13. Danny Carlson (70); 14. Konnrad Kuest (69): 15. Chaun McAlister (66); 16. Sean Collier (64); 17. Casey Johnson (47); 18. Carter Gurnee (43); 19. (TIE) Rusty Holland/Dennis Stapleton (40). Upcoming Rounds: Round 9 - Lakewood, Colorado, Aug. 10 Round 10 - Washougal, Washinglon, Aug.17 (Above) Paul Carpenter (1) captured his fourth overall victory at round eight of the AMA MaxxisNP Fuels Western Four-Stroke Nationals. He how holds a 42-point lead over Jason McCormick, 343-301. (Right) The first holeshot goes to Kevin Townsend (512), with Carpenter (hidden), Mike Corder (969). Jason McCormick (2E). Spud Walters (2). Brandon Morgan (183), Danny Carlson (135) and the rest of the pack in pursuit. eye' e n e _ S • JULY 30,2003 57