Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMA USA MegaS eries Round 9: Muddy Creek Raceway Neese Makes 'em Cry Uncle that had grum bled all da y j ust ove r the rid ge marched th roug h the va lley'. W ind , slas hi ng ra in and ha il m is sed eN their cha nce to ru in race day. Muddy Cre Raceway ek Blountville, Tennessee R esults: May Z8, ZOOO [Round 91 BLOUNTVILLE, TN, MAY 28 riad PowerSports -backed J immy Neese of Greensboro, North Caroli na, delivered the goods for his spo nsor . at Muddy Creek Racewa y, site of round eigh t of th e AMA USA MegaSeries, by landing victories in th ree Pro cla sses. Neese 's ra c ing caree r has sho w n a dramatic uptum in recent m onths , pro ducing winning results to satisfy him self and t o showcase Triad . For h is performan c e , N ee se po ck eted h i s share of the gu aranteed $3000 Victory Sports Pro purse and raked in Yamaha co ntingency bucks. Chi lly rain covered the north eas t Tennessee regi on and threatened to dam pen Saturday's practice and Sun day 's race . In fact, dur ing the night on Satur day , a storm dumped million s of gallons of water on the already-moist Mu dd y Creek track , m ak in g Su nday m o rn ing practice ple nty soupy . However, j ust over 625 riders came to race no m att er what the weather woul d be . With h is sponsor on hand for the da y , N eese p erform ed b r ill i antl y in c apturing the overall 12 5cc A , 25 0cc A and Over 25 A wins. T ho ugh Neese didn't wi n eve ry m oto , his battles with Su zu k i of G ast o n i a ' s J im Ch es t e r mad e it hard to w atc h other races within th e classes . Neese, Chester, Leigh LaReser vee and Oklahoma's Chase Reed provided th e action in th e 125 cc A co ntest, with N ees e w i n n ing th e o pe ni ng h and . Ch est er was occu pied wi th Reed fo r much of the m oto and ended up thi rd . LaReservee jumped to the front on th e sec ond ro u nd bu t g o t swarme d b y Ch est er, Reed and Neese. The South A fr ic an rider salvaged a top -five finish, while Ch ester went on to take th e win . Neese's run ner- up trump ed Chester's 3- 1 p lac ings fo r the overall win , and Reed's 2 -3 gave hi m th ird ove rall. Jim's Hond a o f Ki ngsport/Pro A ct i o n / M o t o Pl a n et ' s H a n s Ne el absconded with the first- mote 250cc A ho leshot and led for almost two laps, cov ere d b y Reed and Nees e , with Che ster close by . Finishing up lap two , Reed saw his chance to grab th e lead in Muddy Creek 's wo ods section and wasted no time. Neel wa s on th e gas and succe ssfully held off a det ermined Neese for second to Reed 's moto w in. Neese was more than ready for the second 250cc A ro und, heading the field up th e hill to tum one and dis ap pearing for a stunning win. Nee l on ce agai n fig ured in the top -thr ee stru ggle, ta ki ng on Chester in a tu g of war for seco nd . A t t h e ch ec k ered f lag , the 50 (4-6): 1. Dakota Matthews (Cob) : 2. Grant Ransdell (KTM) : 3. Heath Harrison (Cob) ; 4. Chris Good win (Cob ); 5. William Mack Dickson (Cob). 50 (7 -8) : 1. Bradley Bun ch (Co b ): 2. Ian T rett el (Cob) : 3 . M ich Zl el M c A rthu r ( Co b ) ; 4 . Gar ret Tot h (Co b) ; 5 . Bra ndon Ham ilton (Cob). 50 H O N : 1. D am o n Go ln (Hon); 2. J alen Shuffl er (Hon) ; 3. J o rdan Matu se vich ( Ho n ) ; 4 . Brett J oh n son ( Hon); 5 . Luk e Hodge (Hen) . 50 S HA FT : J . M i c hael Sha n e Hal l ( Yam ) ; 2 . T revor Barr ett (Yam ); 3. Clayton Rapp (Vam ): 4 . Austin Sm ith (Vam) : 5. Jesse Turner (Yam) . 65 (7 - 9 ) 0 - 1: J. Zacha ry Alv ea r ( KT M) : 2 . D .J . Ell i s (KTM): 3. Luk e Griffis (KTM): 4 . Ryan Brum field (KTM): 5. Tyl er Bright (KTM) . 65 ( 7- 9 ) D -2 : J. A us t i n St ro upe (K aw) ; 2 . Ian T rette l ( KT M ); 3 . Ca me ron Sto ne (KTM) : 4. Arthur Cofield (Kaw): 5. Domi nic Izzi (KTM) . 6 5 (1 0- 11 ) : 1. Kyle Keylon (KTM): 2 . 2ach Osborne ( KTM): 3. Tyler Newton (KTM): 4. Willy T ot h ( KT M ) : 5 . M atth ew Mashburn (Kaw) . 80 D : 1. Br ad l ey Bya rs (Suz) : 2 . Chri s K ing (S uz ) : 3 . A dam Hauther (K aw); 4. David Burdett (Kaw ); 5. Jo sh Walk er (Kaw). 8 0 (7 - 11 ) : 1. Ja k e Gri ffi s (Hon): 2. 2ach Osborne (Suz): 3. Ju stin Sipes (Kaw) ; 4. .Jase Lewis (Hon) ; 5. Jonathan Camp (Yam) . 80 ( 12 - 1 3) : J. Br y an Jo hn so n Jr. ( Suz) ; 2 . Chris Osborne (Suz): 3. Bill y Harper III (SU%) : 4 . J onath an Ryan (SU%) : 5. Brandon Belch er (Suz). Muddy Creek Raceway: Chase Reed (155) lived up to his 80 ( 14 - 15 ): 1. Ryan Warren name, pursuing Jim Neese (86) on Neese's way to a trlteeta. (Kaw); 2. Jeremy Alli son (Suz); 3 . Ry an Sip es ( Ka w) ; 4 . Rob Neese earned the 125cc A, 250cc A and Over 25 A wins Wooden (Yam); 5. J ason DeVaux In Blountville, Tennessee. (Kaw). U/ L M INI : 1. Ry an Sip es (Kaw): 2. Ju stin Sipes (Kow): 3. Ry an Wa rre n ( Ka w ) ; 4 . .Jase Lewis (Hon) : 5. Jeremy Allison (Suz). positio n went to Chester, as Neel cam e S CHBY: 1. Brian Gray (Suz); 2. J aso n Wil ey ( Yam ) ; 3 . T ho m as O sm ia lo ws k i ( Su z) ; 4 . M att across the line in third - good enough Blevins (Suz); 5. Hutch Lee (Kaw). to give the Hond a rider seco nd ov erall. WMN: 1. Chri stina Lindsey (Yam) ; 2. Jam i Bell ( Ho n): 3 . Rlch el l Ec evc y (SU% ) : 4 . Shelb y Rol en C h este r a nd N ee se trad ed moto (KTM). 125 A : 1. J im L. Neese (Yam) ; 2. Jim Chester w i ns in t h e O v er 25 A c lass , with (Suz) ; 3 . Chase Reed ( Yam) ; 4. Leigh l aReserv ee D ohm C y cl es' S ha wn Prather a nd (Vam ): 5. .Jered Black (Vam) . 12 5 B : 1. Bri an Gra y ( SUI); 2. Shane Lusk T ecnosel' s Bill y U les foll ow in g. ( Hon) ; 3 . N ich ola s Vargo ( Hon ) ; 4. Dann y Sm ith (Hon): 5. Doug Earls (SU%) . Lil es went on to ta k e th e O ver 30 A 125 C: 1. Ju st in Lowery (Hon ); 2. Alex Gaines ( KTM ); 3 . J ar ed Arn ol d (Yam) ; 4 . J ason Tu ck er class w in by vi rt ue of the sec ond- rnoto (Suz); 5. Blake Arrowoo d (SUI). v ic t o ry over Bl uff M o unta in Ad ven 125 0 : 1. Christopher Nel son (SUI) ; 2. Chr is Hayes ( Yam) ; 3 . A lex Fullerton (Y am ) : 4 . Logan tures ' Kevin Blalock , who was pu mped Bedford (Vam ): 5. Brent Hall (Hon). 25 0 A : 1. J im L. Neese (Yam ); 2. Han s Neel by his firs t -moto win - and rig htly so , (Hon): 3. J im Chester (SU%): 4. Chase Reed (Vam ): as his riding has im proved dramatical5. .Jered Black (Vam) . 250 B: 1. Nichola s Vargo (Hon); 2. Danny Smith ly in the past couple of years. (Hon): 3. Doug Earls (Suz): 4. To ny Groham (Vam ): 5. Nicholas Wolfe ( Yam). One rider who was conspicuousl y 250 C: 1. B.J . Huntsinger (SUI ); 2. Jeremy Hill (Hon) ; 3. Gabriel Collett (Kaw): 4. Freddy Rowe III abs ent fro m the competition was pre(Yam ); 5. Travis Carlisle (Yam) . sen t as a sp ectator. Kevin Wa lker had 250 0 : 1. Alex Fullerton (Hon); 2. Ryan Adk ins (SUI) ; 3 . Rodn ey Whi te ( Ho n ) ; 4. Michael Pott s bro k en h is le g at B ir c h Creek MX (Yam) ; 5. Allen Dingus (Kaw) . 25 + A : 1. Ji m L Neese (Yam) ; 2. J im Chester (site of r ound ei g h t of th e (SUI); 3 . Richard Shawn Prather (Hon) ; 4 . Will iam Mega Seri es) tw o w eeks before, and Liles (SUI); 5. Jamie S. Simps on (Suz). 25 + B: 1. Matt Summers (Kaw) ; 2. Lonnie Brown he camped out at Mu dd y Cre e k ' s (Kaw); 3. Rodney Wise (Suz); 4. Ky le Shoun (Hon); 5. Chuck L. Coo per (Suz). spec ta tor tab l et op f or th e A - clas s 25 + C: 1. Allen Brown (SUI); 2. Eric Reed (Hon); races . A s the lead er s bl ast ed p ast , 3 . Robert Hearn (Suz) : 4 . Al ex Full erton (Vam ): 5. Bret Gipson (Hon}. Wa lke r wa s seen wa ving hi s crutches 30 + A: 1. William Liles (SOl); 2. Kevin Blalock (SU%) : 3. Albert Ja mie McCoy (Suz): 4 . Alan Al ford II at th em - as an enc o urage ment o r a (Hus) ; 5. Leslie Belcher (Suz). reminder , dep end ing on th e sit uatio n . 3 0 + B : I . Davi d A lb ert J r. ( Hus) ; 2 . Lonni e Brown ( Kaw); 3. M. Scott Linkous (Yam); 4. Jimm y "It happened on th e last lap of th e Leach ( Kaw); 5. Tom my Myers (Hon). 30 + C: 1. Ste v en Ratliff (Yam) ; 2. Jeffrey Fields last race of the day ." said Walker with a (Hon) ; 3 . Chri s Sho rtri dge (Suz); 4 . Rob ert Hearn (SUI ); 5. Bret Gipson (Hon). rueful grin, referring to his injury. "Ben 35+ : 1. Ron Jones (Hon); 2. William Liles (SUI) ; Riddle and I got into a litt le confronta3. David Farr is (KTM) ; 4 . Rick Cooper (Yam ): 5 . Greg Price (Hon) . tio n and neither one of us backed off. 40 +: I . Ron Jones (Hon) ; 2. David Farri s (KTM); 3 . Rick Cooper (Yam ) ; 4 . Ch et Malito ( Kaw ) ; 5 . Actually I tried to do a littl e 'Chester William Bagby (Hon). action' on him and move him over, but 4 8 +: 1. Steven Lewis (Yam) : 2. Warner Wilboum (Suz) ; 3 . Ted Shortr id ge (Suz); 4. David Heyw ard it didn't work ." (Hon): 5. Ray Ward (Hon). 4 · ST RK BK : 1. Wesley McCoy (Ver) ; 2. David As the last rider packed up and left Albert Jr . (Hus) ; 3. Jeffrey Belcher (Yam) ; 4. J ames th e M uddy Creek f acility , the storm Goin (KTM) : 5. Brandon Stooksbury (Vam) . 74 n B v B A RB A RA W ILLI A M S T ~ JULY 5 . 2000' cue • e e 1111' S U/L AM : 1. Hutc h Lee ( Ka w) ; 2. J .R. Cart er (Suz); 3 . Mic hael Robinso n (SUI) ; 4 . J .T. Smi th (Hon) ; 5. Kory Cunningham (Yam ). U/L C/O : I. Alex Gaines (KTM): 2. Jeremy Hill ( Ho n ); 3 . Ryan Stane su ( Ho n) ; 4 . Ray C larkson (Suz): 5. Samm y Brigm an (Suz). Ironman Hare Scrambles Series Round 3: Cliff Side Offroad Park Bittner's Sweet Victory B v B RU C E A. S N YD E R RAWUNGS, MD, MAY 7 D a v i d B ittne r from Fr o s t b u r g , Maryl and , took the overa ll win as well as first pl ac e in the Vet A class at round thre e of th e Ir o nm a n Ha re Scrambles Series, maki ng it two in a row for B ittner and placing him in the series' points lea d . W ith only one race rema in ing , it's doubtful anyone can t a k e the series cha m p ionsh ip away from hi m. T he o nly rac er who po ses a threat is J o h n Ru t he rford; with onl y ni ne po ints sepa rating t he tw o, Ruth erf o r d h a s a n outsi de ch anc e of t a k in g the cha m pi o ns hi p from Bittner , thoug h he wou ld have to fi nish first in the last race and B ittner wo ul d have to fin ish 10th or wo rse. Bittner started the race in the sec ond wave, wh ich put him at a dis tinct disadva ntage as fa r as th e overall wa s con ce rn ed , b ut b y t he ti me he had com p l eted hi s first l ap , he h a d al ready picked off t wo of t he first wave r ide rs . A t 21 m inu te s an d 40 second s, th is wo uld be hi s sec o nd fa ste st lap of th e day , and it wa s also the fastest first lap fo r any rid er. Bittner' s second lap wo uld st an d as the fast est la p of the da y , by any ra cer. He had obvious ly ste pped it up a notch , turning a blisteri ng la p time of 2 1 minutes and 26 sec o nds. Con sidering the toug h te rrai n of the 7.sm il e co urse , this was q uit e an accomp l ishm ent. Bittn er had now worked hi s way through the entire first wave and w as in charge of the race, having put three seconds o n M ichael Bu rk , the O pen A clas s l ea d er , who was now in second p la ce ove ra ll. J o shu a McCoy was riding in thi rd , fourt h was held by Jim Maltba , and Pat rick Han shew now owned fifth . Co nsist ent lap tim es and smooth riding kept Bittner in the lead fo r the remainder of the race. On the final lap , he slowed down slightly, wi th a lap ti m e of 23 m inutes and 17 seconds, but he was not going to let this interfere with his p la ns . T he sl ower lap time co uld be ex pected, as tem peratures we re rea c hing 9 0 fo r the fi rst tim e this season , but Bittner was still turn ing in so me of the fastest lap tim es of the ra ce. When th e checkered flag fle w , B it tner was in fir st place, Burk was sec -

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