Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Fast Fridays Speedway Gold Country Fairgrounds Brant, Headin' Off Hedden By M. SOBER AUBURN, CA, JULY 9 n wha t could e asily be considered as the closes t Scratch main-even t finish of the 2004 Fast Fridays se aso n to date , cu rre nt SRA Unite d St at e s National Spe ed way Ch amp io n Sco tt Bra nt held off Northern California's numbe rone rider, Bobby "The Blaze" Hedden, to take th is night's top prize. When the four Scratch main qualifiers rolled up t o th e line , it wa s To mmy He dd e n w ho veered to the inside and took the pole. Next to him in lane two was Brant. Returning vetera n John Houston drew lane three, and Bobby filled out th e fie ld in grid four. The start was clean, with Bob by taking a slight lead throu gh the first tu r ns an d Brant closing in on t he bo t tom to ma tc h him. T he two stub born ve terans remained seemingty locked together at the hip for the next th ree laps, with neither gaining a significant advantage over the other. In the e bb and flow o f each lap , Bobby was actua lly crossing the start/finish line ahead of Brant after grabbing a wristful of traction as he exited tum four. O n the final lap, and depend ing on whose account you favor, Brant either drifted wide off his line and blocked Bobby's final charge or tried to stuff him into the boards to secure the win. In I either case, Brant did manage to change Bobby's line and st ifle his charge while simultaneously secur ing his own second Scratch main win of the season . Tommy was directly be hind the leaders and finished in thir d place , a few bikelengt hs ahea d of Houston, who rece ntly returned to speed way racing after an eight-year absence . Gr eg Ho oton Jr. t ur ne d in a magnificen t per forma nce , holding off Tommy, Bobby and Bart Bast to win his second Handicap main of th e seas on. Tomm y, wh o started from behin d t he 40- yard st ripe , mad e sh ort wo rk of 20 yarde r J.J. Martynse and the n immediate ly we nt to w o rk o n Ho o to n, w ho was hu gging t he insi de po le fo r de ar life. De sp ite t he con side ra ble pr es sur e lap after lap, Hoot o n didn't give in and maintained the kant spot all the way to the checke red flag. Tommy he ld o n for second, ahead of Bobb y. Bast was fourt h, Chad Fe licia was fifth, and Martynse was sixth. Ne w c o m e r Kenny Ingalls cont inues t o impress. After just three mo nths of speedway expe rience , the 17-year-o ld has moved up from Division Three to Division Two and now has a Division Two main-event win after two earlier ictories . Division Th ree V RESULTS SCR : I. Scott Brant (GM); 2. Bobb y Hed den (GM); 3. Tommy Hedden (Jaw); 4. Joh n Hou ston (Jaw). HDCP: I . Greg Hooto n Jr. (Jaw) ; 2. To mmy Hedd en (Jaw); 3. Bobby Hedd en (GM); 4. Bart Bast (Jaw ); S. Chad Felicia (Jaw). 0 -1: I. Kenny Ingalls (Jaw); 2. Rache lle Kerr (Jaw); 3. Bruce Bast (Wes). 0 -) : I. Kell Kerrigan (Jaw ); 2. Norman Brooks (Jaw); 3. Don Ballard (Jaw). 0 - 1 YT H: I . Jay Ricketts (Jaw); 2. Paul Johnso n (Wes) ; 3. Krystal Cramer (Jaw). 0 ·1 YTH : I . Tom Fuhnnan (Wes) ; 2. Cody Ciciare lli (Tri); 3. Dillon Pet er son (Ha n). 0 -) YT H : I. Ben Essary (Ha n); 2. Jaco b Bracy (We. ); 3. Ambe r Felicia (Wes). Jonathan Theisen was runner-up in the 12Scc Navice class at round 22 of the Sco" USA Matocross Championship Se ries in Milan, Michigan . batt le for seco nd. About halfway into the mote, Powers was leading Broo ks through a left-hand, ba nked tu r n; wh e n Br o o ks we nt to pass Pow e rs, t he ir whee ls touched , sending both racers into a huge ball of tu mbling men , bikes and dirt. Both were uninjure d by the crash, but UJ Powers let it be known that he did pass Brooks 15 - when he landed furthe r down the track than ~ Broo ks. Meanwhile, Bracke n finished the race ~ ~ with his trademark move, doing a heel-clicker ~ over the fame d Milan triple jump be fore the o finish line. ~ Bracke n had similar competition and res ults in t he 12Scc Expert class as well. Bracken , curre ntly runn ing second in the Sco tt USA Championship Motocross Series to defe nding c hamp ion David Me rrill, had a to keep th e throttle in the full ope n position in order to stay ahead of KTM -mounted Michael Boucher and Ho nda racer Shane Horne. Boucher and Ho rne t ied for sec on d ove ra ll, w ith Bou che r taking second place with 3-2 mo to finishes . The first moto wa s a fre e-for-all. w ith Powers, Mike Ehmann and Jere my McBall all in contention for fourth place at some time during the race. A ne w 6S -foot dou b le determ ined t he difference between the top four 12Scc Novices and the rest of the class. Nate Vezina, Jonath an Th eise n, Nic k Williams and Jere my Schmidt were the only ones in the class to successfu lly '" Handicap main-event winner Greg Hooton Jr. (12) leads John Hou ston (11) in the semifinal at Fast Fridays Spee dway in Auburn , Califarnia. Scott USA Motocrass Cha m pio nship Series Round 22: Milan Cycle City Bracken Still Rackin' Them Up By ART MABRY MILAN, MI, JULY 9 o cal ride r Jo sh Bracke n le ads t he 2S0c c Exper t class in t he 20 04 Sc o tt USA Motocross Cham pionsh ip Series at nearly the halfway point in the season-long batt le. Bracken , w ho started his racing caree r at Milan in 1994, is rele ntless in his determination to win the serie s. Bracke n is not new to winning the se ries ; he also wo n t he SScc class Cham pionship shortly afte r he began racing. Friday night, Bracken had his hands full with both Jamie Powe rs and Gregory Brooks , who L were try ing to break Brac ke n's nine -week winning streak at Cycle City. Bracken got off to a grea t start in the first mo te and was slightly ahead o f Powers and Broo ks, but he soon realized that the ir batt le fo r se cond was quickly bec om ing an a ll-out three -way race for the le ad. As the tr io raced th rough a section of rightlleftl rightlle ft, highban ked- berm turns , Powers got out of shape, fo rci ng Bro o ks to slo w do wn to avo id a collision. Bracken wo n the moto, with Broo ks taking second: Powers did not finish. In the secon d mota , Bracken again got off to a grea t start, lea ving Pow e rs and Broo ks t o negotiate the stee p jump. With a short run to the takeoff, much skill and confidence is need ed to clear the crowd-pleasing obstacle. Amazingly . 85cc (7- 11) Advanced racers Aaron Eakin and Eric McDonald (the 2003 SCOll USA Highpoint C ha m pio n) we re a lso abl e to c le a r th e monstrous jump. RESULTS 50 (4 -6) BEG: I. Tre nt Hyatt (Yam) ; 2. C hase Elkins (Yam) J. Adam Toldo (Yam 50 (4-6 ) J'" I. [accb Edison : ). (Cob); 2. D.J. Chnstie (Yam); 3. Everett Buck (Yam). SO (4- 6) NOV: I. Mitchell Harrison (Yam); 2. Jeffrey Ga ines (Yam); 3. Tyler Lafevre (Yam). SO (4 -6) ADV: l. Jacob Ed ison (Yam); 2. Mitchell Harrison (Yam); l. Tanner Ingram (Yam). SO (4-6) 5: I. Jacob Edison (KTM); 2. Jeremy Murphy (KTM); 3. Hunter He rrington (Pol). SO (7 -9) MOD : I . Ryan Pietrowlki (KTM ); 2. Dra ke Tosh (KTM); 3. Tyier Ewa ld (KTM). 65 ( 7-9) : I. An dr ew Ke lle r (Kaw ) ; 2. Br ian Eckert ( Ka w); 3 . Ryan Robinette (Kaw). 85 (7- 11) BEG: I. Casey Fletcher (KTM); 1. l ucas Allen (Hon ): 3. T.J. Ingra m (Yam). 85 (7-11) tNT: I. Mike Mist o pou lo s (Yam) : 2. Greg Raffin (Kaw) ; 3. Bria n Eckert (Kaw). 85 ( 11. 15) INT: I. Marc Tho mpson (Kaw): 2. Josh Hogiln (Kaw); 1. Steven Tacke tt (Yam). 125 BEG: I. Ste phe n Manger (Han); 2. Kent Bragg (Hon ); 3. Ray Man (Y . 125 NOV: I. Nate Vezina (Yam); 1. Jona than Theisen am) (Suz); 3. Nick Williams (Suz). 115 INT: I. Trip Hani ngton (Suz); 1. Nick Gilstorf (Y am): 3. Jacob Watson (Hon ). 125 EX: I. Josh Bracken (Hon ); 2. Michae l Bouche r (KTM); 3. Shane Home (Hon ). lS0 NOV: I. Kyl lee (Yam); 2. Don e Stauffer (KTM); 3. John Andrewt. (Hon) . 25 0 INT: I. Brad Howard (Hon ); 2. Dusty Simpson (Y am); 3. Jeff Aud (Han ). 250 EX: I. Jo sh Bracken (Ha n); 2. Jam ie Powers (Hon ); 3 Gregory Brooks (Yam). 250 4- ST RK NOV: I . Pat Ko mar (Kaw ); 2. Jim Miklo s (Yam); 3. Joh n H. Black (Kaw) . 250 4-ST RK IN T: I . Walter C ho le tte (Ha n); 2. Mark Burns (Suz) ; 3 . N ic k Pie ron (Yam). VET ] 0+ NOV: I. Don Stauffe r (KTM); 2. Donn ie Brek ke (Yam); 3. Gary Henn ing (Ha n). VET 45 +: I. Ric k Setsuda (Yam); 2. Don Stauffer (KTM): J. Charles Rogen (50% ). Racing Enterprises Motorsparts Summer Se ries Round , : Glen Helen Raceway Park Tortelli Tops REM Summer Series Opener By ROCKY HASH SANBERNARDINO, CA, JULY 10 T he open ing round of Racing Ent e rprise s Motorspofts' sixth annua l Summe r Ser ies go t o ff wi t h a ba ng , as ex ci tin g ne w trac k cha nges an d tou gh co mp et itio n made for an excellent day. While not quite as large as Mount St. Helen o n the Nat ional track, a gian t ne w uphill/downhill section was adde d to the already www.cyclenEWs.com challenging co urse . Th is form idab le obstacle saw ride rs climbing all the way to the very top of the hillside right in front of the pits before turning arou nd and taking a high-spee d elevator ride straight to the bottom . Each of the Pro con tests was packed w ith tale nt ed ride rs an d fe atu red int e nse racing. Fresh o ff of a so lid showing at Red Bud the weeke nd bef o re , Te am Suzu ki's Se ba stian CYCLE NEWS • AUGUST 18, 2004 Sl