Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Missouri State Motocross Series Round 7: MXP F~nger Lakes Park Like Swimming Upstream, Samons Takes the Win By VICKIE WINDMILLER COLUMBIA, MO, JULY 20 Someone once said, "Life consists of what a man is thinking of all day... " If that's true, then life is all about motocross, because that was the only thing on the minds of hundreds of riders on July 20 in Columbia, Missouri, site of round seven of the Missouri State Motocross Series. The weather was warm, and the motors were hotter, as they revved at the race line, ready to start the day. The 125cc Beginner class was first up on the line, as 21 riders took their positions behind the metal gate. Kansas City, Kansas, rider Jeremy Silvey pushed his Yamaha to the front of the pack, leading John Wallace, Stephan Samons and Allen Harrah through the whoops section and up the track's back hill. It only took until the second lap, however, for Wallace to make his pass and take charge of the field, putting some distance between himself and the other riders. Harrah held his line until bike troubles forced him trackside on the fourth lap. Samons wasn't satisfied with the third~place position, so he made his way to second place, putting pressure on the leader on the third lap. Wallace never even had time to contemplate a strategy, as he had to hold Samons at bay. On the white-flag lap, Samons made his move as he and Wallace were side by side. After making his pass, Samons rode away without any worry of being passed back. Wallace held on to the secondplace position, with Jeremy Silvey, Chad Johnson and Clay McCalmon rounding out the top five. Although he didn't take the holeshot in the second mota, Harrah was not about to let a 20th-place finish in the first moto be the defining moment of his day. Charging out behind Wailace, Harrah took command of the track early in the race and had no worries for the rest of the mota. Wallace took Harrah's pass personaily and fell back to fourth in the field. The rest of the race became the "Silvey and Samons show," as the two battled back and forth in seemingly every corner of the track. Samons finaily outrode his worthy opponent on the last lap of the race, giving him the overail top spot for the day. Silvey finished with a pair of thirds, giving him the second· overall spot on the day. Wallace, McCalmon and Johnson rounded out the remaining top spots. In the 250cc Beginner class, the action was just as exciting. St. Joseph, Missouri's Jeff Miller shot off the starting line. leading the small but hungry group of riders to the first technical turns of the track. Yamaha rider David Hurshman had a hard time being patient, so he made his way to Miller's back tire, forcing Miller to give up the lead and make do with second. Miller found his second lap to be the most difficult lap of his day, as he crashed hard, leaving him no place to go but out of the race. Kenny Jentzsch from Clever, Missouri, may not have had such a great start, but everyone knows it's where you finish that counts. As each lap ticked away, Jentzsch made his methodical climb toward the front, finally taking over first place on the last lap. His come-from-behind finish forced Hurshman to second, leaving Nathan Blystone, Jimmie Brown and Allen Springs rounding out the remaining top spots. The second moto of the 250cc Beginner class saw the return of Miller, who was eager to make his day better. Again, Jentzsch fought for first place on every lap until finaily taking the checkers ahead of the field. Miller held on to the top spot until more trouble came his way on the last lap, handing ail but two positions over to other riders. Blystone turned another man's trashed moto into treasure by charging into second place for the race and the day. Hurshman, Brown and Grady Ashton finished out the rest of the top five. MXP Finger Lakes Park Columbia. Missouri Results: July 20, 2003 (Round 71 SO (4-6): 1. Michael Wright (Pol): 2. Cody Powell (KTM); 3. Dl!:an Gall (Pol); 4. "ustin Bl1JCkshaw (KTM)j 5. Dakota Heflin (Pol). SO (7-8): I. Korl!:Y Tl!:son (Lem); 2. Shay Fischer (Cob); 3. Jonathan O~iner (Pol); 4. William McQuillen (Pol); 5. [)@yIn Gaddy (!.em). 50 OPEN: 1. Korey Tescn (Lem); 2. Jonathan Greiner (Pol); 3. Oevln Gaddy (lem); 4. Jesse Frillier (Pol); 5. Cody Powell (KTM). 65 (6·8): 1. Riley Wolfl!: (KTM); 2. Korey Tl!:son (Kalil}; 3. lach Collier (Yam); 4. Shlly Fischer (KlIw); 5. AusUn Scott (KTM}. 65 (9.11): 1. Tyler Rickey (Kaw); 2. Keeton Gorton (KTM); 3. Gregory Gehrer (KGw); 4. Kyle Daniels (Kaw); 5. JOshUIl Wilcockscn (Kaw), 65 OPEN: 1. Dt!vin R~d (Kaw); 2. Joshua Wilcockson (Kaw); 3. Jam~ lambert. (Sw); 4. Riley Wolfe (KTM); 5. Joey Rivera (KTM). 85 (8-11); I. Todd Bloxham (Suz.); 2. Devin Reed (Kaw); 3. Troy SaPP (Hon); 4. Kl!:eton Gorton (KTM); 5. Tyescn Humphrey (,,",). 85 (12.13): 1. Cody Clark (Suz.): 2. Jason Hussey (Kllw); 3. Jared Snider (Suz); 4. Will Barnard (Hon); 5. Austin Richards (Kaw). M,XP Finger Lakes Park: Allen Harrah (187) improved from his 20th-place finish in the first 12Scc Beginner moto by taking charge of the second mota at round seven of the Missouri State Motocross Series. 62 AUGUST 27, 2003' e y e I e 85 (14-16): 1. Ad.llm Gulley (Suz); 2. Aaron Gulley (Suz); 3. 4. Shawn Koch (Kaw); 5. JUItin Ward (Yam). S/M1f"1l 80·105: I. Jason Hussey (Kaw): 2. Adam Gulley (Suz); 3. Cody Oarlt (Suz): 4. Aaron Gulley (Suz); 5. Austin Richards (Kaw). 125 BEG: I. St.ephanSamons (Hon): 2. Jemny Silvey (Yam): 3. John Wallace (Yam): 4. Clay McCalmon (Kaw); 5. Chad Johnson (Yam). 125 NOV: 1. Justin Cagney (Yam): 2. ll.Icas StoIfus (Sw:); 3. Justin Williams (Yam): 4. Nathan Hud50n (Hon): 5. Jordan Feigenbaum (Yam). 125 INT: I. Ryan Wahlbefg (Yam); 2.. Jack Lambert. (Yam): 3. Brendan Grgurich (Yarn); 4. Trent Mermis (Yam); 5. Josh PIrtle (Kaw). 125 EX: I. Brian Stone (Kaw): 2. David Fryl!: (Yam): 3. Ben Heibel (Suzl; 4. JeIfCrutcher (KTM); 5. Adam Young (Yam). 250 BEG: I. Kenny Jentzsch (Hon): 2. Nathan Blystone (Suz): 3. David Hurshman (Yam); 4. Jimmie Brown (Kew): 5. Grady Ashton (Yam). 250 NOV; I. Nathan Hudson (Hon): 2. Jordan Fl!:igl!:nbaum (Yam): 3. Gr~g Albertson (Yam): 4. Mikl!: Huttl!:nlocker (SUz.): 5. Gllren Grl!:en (Hon). 250 INT: I. JI!:d Shalll (Hon); 2. Josh Pirtle (Kaw); 3. Corey Smith (Suz): 4. Bf"I!:ndan Grgurich (Yam); 5. Josh Thuman (Hen). G~ Jungl!: (Kew); n eVIls 250 EX: I. Brian Slone (Kaw); 2. David Frye (Yam): 3. Josh Mast (KTM); 4. Cart Hansen (Hon): 5. Ryan Howe (Yam). B/BK OPEN: 1. Ryan Wohlberg (Yam): 2. Trent "'mnili (Yam); 3. Tim Wilson (Suz): 4. Corey Smith (Soz); 5. Nick ~ (Yam). WMN: 1. Kristin Hampton (Hon): 2. Erin Harby (Kaw): 3. Heather Hines (Soz): 4. Kayla 1'\c:Carthy (Hon): 5. ADi. GIDsK:ock (Yam). SCHBY (11-15): 1. TanncrMocn (Hon): 2. CodyCIa.rlt (Sw): 3. Aaron Gulley (Suz); 4. Matt Munsterman (Kaw); 5. Travi. Crocks (Hon). 25... PRO/AM; I. Cart Hlmsen (Hon): 2. Shawn Wright (Hon): 3. Jed Sharp (Hen); 4. Chris Shellenberger (Hon): 5. Brian Somtson (Kaw). 30. NOV: I. Chris St. Gemme (Yam); 2. Christopher Ruble (Yam); 3. Allen Haynes (Yam): 4. Craig Boustead (Yam): 5. Robin Roberts (Yam). 30. INT; I. Jl!tCk Lambert (Yam): 2. Brian Shrout (Yam): 3. Jack Jones (Yam); 4. Paul Whitl!: (Hon). 35. AM: 1. Roger Van Mder (Suz); 2. Jaek Lambert (Yam): 3. Gene Hines (Sw); 4. Paul White (Hon): 5. Robert Helfery (Yam). 40. AM: I. Roger Van Meter (Suz): 2. Dennis Pollard (Kaw): 3. Mikl!: Forkn6 (Kaw): 4. Jason Blystone (Sol); 5. Scott Zimmerman (Hon). Canadian Speedway National Niagara Motorcycle Speedway All Weiland Good for Legault By IAN C. BLAIR WELLAND, ONTARIO, CANADA, JULY 26 The phrase "wicked fast" accurately describes the silky-smooth quarter-mile of Niagara Motorcycle Speedway in Weiland, Ontario. Add 25 methanol-burning speedway bikes and the best riders from Canada and the eastern United States, all gunning for the 2003 Canadian National Speedway title, and you've got the makings of a first·c1ass night of racing. Hosted by the Weiland County Motorcycle Club, the 2003 Canadian National was the model of a well-organized championship event. A packed house (which included Stan Bradbury, the father of Canadian speedway), television coverage by COGECO-TV, and riders from Ontario, Quebec, New York, Pennsyl· vania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Maryland all combined to put a real charge of electricity into the atmosphere. The Canadian National - which was also round three of the 2003 East Coast Speedway Series - featured a unique six-round format developed by the Canadian Speedway Racing Association. Riders were seeded in the first round so that each heat contained a Division One rider as well as several Division Two rid· ers. The first round set up the program for the rest of the evening by allowing each rider to find his own level of racing ability. A rider's results in the first round determined where he rode in round two, and, in turn, a rider's results in round two determined where he rode in round three, and so on. Results were based on total points scored over the night, meaning that the winner of the National title wouldn't necessarily be the winner of the main event. As the action got under way, it was clear that the local riders had a home-court edge handling the high speeds of the Weiland track. Veterans John Kehoe and Jeff Orosz were standouts, consistently finding the smoothest, fastest lines around the D-shaped Weiland strip. The young guns of Canadian speedway Kyle Legault, Drew Kehoe (John's son), Nick Fafard, Aaron Hesmer and Joe Heye - were also charging hard to win early heats. Yet even as they dominated the early rounds, the top locals soon found themselves as supporting players within the evening's main drama: the developing rivalry between Legault and New York's Craig Estelle. At Paris, Ontario, the night before the National, Legault and Estelle electrified the crowd with a main~event head·to~head battle, which was won by Estelle. At the National, Estelle and Legault met several times in the early rounds, and their duels set the standard for highspeed, hair's-breadth racing. Every championship program has a "dream heat," and at Weiland. it came in heat 20, comprised of John Kehoe, Orosz, Estelle, Legault and Heye. Everyone knew something had to give, and as Estelle and Orosz battled for the holeshot going into the apex of tums one and two, they got too close for comfort. Orosz, on the pipe, straightened up slightly, and he and Estelle both executed synchronized 60-mph lowside slides into the bales. Both riders were uninjured and were sent back to the 10-yard line for the restart. Incredibly, Estelle fought back from this handicap to take second, behind Legault. Niagara Motorcycle Speedway: "Fast" Fred Legault (left) shares In his son Kyle's win at the 2003 Canadian Speedway National in Weiland, Ontario. The elder Legault tied for 11 th overall.

• Cover