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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U.S. Mega Ser ies, Round 13 Ballzee Fall Classic Ser ies, Round 6 Eastern Four-Stroke Nationals, Round 6 M uddy Creek Raceway • z By Tim H odo ck, Mich a el C ampb e ll , Just in Brusseau , Robb ie Ta y lo r and S T E V E AND P E G GY C O RL E E P HO T O S By P EG G Y C O RL E E Ben Rutl edge rounded out the to p 10 . BLOUNTVILLE, TN, OCT. 15 A s t ho ug h d om in ating th e four - l ab a m a ' s Clark Stiles, rid ing a KTM 520 SX . was the big winner at th e 13th annual Suzuk i Top Gun Sho wdown at Mu ddy Creek Racew ay in Blountvi lle , Tennessee - wh ich was also the fin al round of the U.S . Mega Se ries , th e B all zee/ Hu sq v arn a F all Cl assic Series and th e East ern Four Stro ke N ati ona ls - sc oring an impressive v ictory in the fo ur-stro k e d iv i s i o n. Al so , a h ard - ch arg in g D avi d K r a t z b r ough t H u sq v arn a it s fi r st m aj o r U.S. Series title in m any yea rs . Al th ough Kratz w as un ab l e to wi n eith er moto at th is ro und, win s in pr ev ious rounds and cons is t ent rid in g thro ugho ut the series put him on top of the leaderboard at the last round of the Fall Cla ssic Series. Sa m Gam mon and h is V icto ry S p o r t s cre w p ro vide d a perfect racetrack and wor k ed ti rel es sl y to ensu re that the course sta yed th at w a y throughout the day. Ser ies sponsor B al l ze e was on h an d , w ith t h eir Aggress ive We ar Cr u iser (a hu ge semi) , as were DC Sho es, Pro Ac t i on Su sp en sion and Moto Plane t. "Jersey Joe" Cost a was o n ha nd wi t h the S uzuk i suppo rt tru ck . On a som ber not e, a m em ori al service was held du ring half -t ime for James " Sc o t ty" Miller, w ho d ied o f inj u rie s susta in ed during p ractic e at Muddy Creek in July . Donations were collected fo r th e Scott Miller Memorial Fund. Ser i es po in t s lead er Kelly Sm it h h ad al ready cl inched the Ea st e rn Fo ur -S t r ok e N ational ti t le . so he elected to at te nd th e U.S . Open in Las Veg as. St il es too k ad vantag e of the opp or tuni t y a n d p e r formed impres siv el y . ea si ly w inning b oth rac es on the day. Sec ond o verall vi a a 3 -2 mot o f in ish was Yamahamoun ted Ma rk Burk hart , w ho man aged to put h im self b et w een St il es an d a not h er stro ng KT M p il ot , Tim Mu t e r sp a u gh , w hose 2-3 fi n is hes g a ve h i m t hi r d o ve r a ll. M udd y Cre ek 's ow n Kevin W alker (4- 5 ) fi n ished fourth ov erall ; he rod e cautiou sly , ha ving j ust retu rn ed aft er rec overing from inj u ries sus t ai ne d early in the season, and j ust edge d out KTM rider Bo b b y W ilson. Ya maha rid er s A 32 NOV EMBER 15. 2000' cue st ro k es was not enoug h , St iles co n t inued his winn ing wa ys by runn ing away with the 250 Pro cla ss as well. Stil es w on both rac es fa irly e asil y after being pressured b y both Kratz and Suzuki's Ben Riddle. Kratz took seco nd place o ve ra ll w ith 2 -3 m ot o f in is hes, an d th at was sufficient t o (Above) Clark Stiles (9) le ads Ben Riddle (2 41 ) en route t o the 250c c A Pro vict ory. (L eft) Be n Riddle (2 41) h ad no troub le winning bo th race s i n the 12 5cc A Pro class in B lountville, Tennessee. He also placed thi rd in the 250cc A c lass . give the seri es titl e to th e Hu sk y m o u nt ed spee dster. Th i r d ov e ra ll w ent t o Ke ntuck y 's Ridd le . After a l a c k l u st e r first m ot o in whi ch th e young ster finish ed fourth , a second rac e charge to second pla ce ensur ed h is overall third -p lace finish . Fourt h went to New York's Aaron Dieter w ith two fifth -p la ce finishes. Su zu k i 's T o m W e lch w as fi f t h . ahead of a very fast J am es Povol ny . wh o finished a str ong fourth in m oto two , b ut a cras h in t h e firs t moto drop ped him to a ninth-p lace fini sh . and his 9 -4 score fo r the day was not eno ugh to beat We lch 's 6 -6 finishes . J im Neese fin ished th ird in the first rnot o, but a flat ti re left h im in 1 J th pl ace in moto two , and seventh overall wa s th e best he co uld muster. Eighth went to rook ie Pro Joshu a Summey with a 8 -7 tall y for the day , and ninth went to the wily old A renacross veteran J im Che ster . Florida's Troy Adams rounded out the top 10. Rid dl e had no tr o u bl e taki ng th e 125cc Pr o -c la ss w in . He won both ra ce s wi t h rel at i v e ease. A lthough Ridd l e d i d n 't score t he ho l esho t in eithe r rac e. he was in fro nt by the end of the fir st lap in both race s. Nee se , aboard a bo rrow ed b ike, m an aged to pl a c e sec o n d in b oth I e n e 'tIV s r a c e s d e sp it e c i rc u ms ta nces tha t wo uld have stop pe d most ride rs . In t h e mo to prior t o N e ese 's second race , the bik e he had bo rrowed was involved in a cr ash that bent the subframe and shattered the ai rbox . After frantic p it work by the Harper Yama ha t eam , th e b ik e came t o the line looking lik e a tra in had hit it. Neverth el ess , N ees e ga ted mid pack and worked h is wa y up to second . Kratz pushed his Husky to th ird overall vi a 3 -4 moto fin ishes, and in doing so secu red a th ird -overall 125cc finish in the Fa ll Class ic Series as well. Kratz ' win prov ided Husqvarna anoth er solid steppi ng ston e in the ir quest to return to prominenc e. F ourth place went to Maryland 's Welch , and fifth went to yet another ro ok ie Pr o , Shane Lusk , a bo a r d a Ronn ie Lusk -prepared CR 125 , over a hot -and -co ld Aaron Di eter, who cou ld onl y mana ge a 15th -p la ce fin ish in th e fi rst m ot o. Sev enth wen t to Wisco nsi n' s D arby Fowler. A frus t rat ed Pov oln y was eig hth. eN Muddy Creek Raceway Blountville, Tennessee Results: October 15. 2000 [Rounds 13/ 6/ 61 50 SHAFT: I. Michael Ha ll ( Yam ): 2. Tr evor Ba rrett ( Yam ); 3 . Mason Grllgg (Y am) ; 4 . Cody Gragg (Yam) : 5. Drew Fields (Yam) . 50 HON: 1. Jalen Shuffler (Hon) ; 2. Demon Gain (Hon); 3. Jordan Matusev ich (Ho n ). 50 (4-6 ): I. Dakota Matth ews (Cob); 2. William D ickson (Po l ) : 3 . Mic hael Hall ( Pol ) ; 4 . C hris Goodman (Cob); 5. Trev or Barrett (Cob). 50 ( 7 - 8) : I. Bradley Bunch (Co b): 2 . Cody Robb ins ( C o b) ; 3 . Ga rrett Toth ( C o b); 4 . Sean Cunningham (Cob); 5. Sha wn Rife (Co b ). 60 ( 7 · 9) : I. Ty le r Bo wer s ( Ka w); 2. Colton Bailey (K TM ); 3. Taylor Fu trell ( KTM ); 4 . Zacha ry Alvea r (KTM): 5. Tyler Bright (KTM). 60 (1 0 - 11): 1. Zech Osborne ( KTM) : 2. W;lIy Toth ( KTM); 3 . Chad Muterspaugh ( Ka w) ; 4. Jacob Patterson (KTM); 5. Tyler Clark (Ka.... ). 80 (7 - 1 1) : 1. Justin Sipes (Ka w) ; 2 . David Millsaps (Sua) : 3 . Zac h Os borne (S uz) ; 4 . Chad Wages (Suz ): 5 . Ja ke Griffis (Hon ). 80 ( 12- 13): 1. Zach Ames (Suz): 2. D.C. Clark (Suz); 3 . Patrick Massie (Hon ) : 4 . Chris Osbo rne (Suz): 5. Chase Revell (Yam). 80 ( 14 - 15 ): I. Mic hael Wlllerd (SU2): 2. Kenn y O rr (S uz) ; 3 . A da m Robin son (Y am) : 4 . Stephe n Martin (Yam) : 5 . J eremy A lliso n (SUl ). 8 0 0: 1. Nathanie l McMu rra y (Ya m) ; 2. Tyl er Bailes (Kaw) ; 3. Chris King (Sw) ; 4. Bradley By ars (Suz) ; 5. Micha el Sanders {Suz}. U/L MINI : I . Dav id M i ll sap s (Suz) ; 2. Ad am Robinso n (Ya m); 3 . Ju stin Si pe s (Kaw ): 4 . Ja k e Griffi s (Han); 5. Chad Wages (Suz). S CH BY : 1. B ri an G r a y (Su z) : 2 . T h oma s Osmia lowski (Suz): 3. Shane Lusk (Han ): 4. Don ald McGourt y (Yam ): 5. J acob Saylor (Yam). Ull AM : 1. Doug Earls (SOl ); 2. Wesley McCoy (Kaw ) ; 3. Mi c ha el Ro binso n ( Su z) : 4 . Rory Cunningha m (Yam) : 5. Matt Greene (Kaw). (Il L C!D: 1. Rya n Stanesu (Han) ; 2. Terry Brazier (Yam); 3 . Jeffrey Spa rk s (Han): 4 . Ada m Mannin g (Yom ): 5. ze c Babcoc k (Suz). 125 B: I. Brion Gray (Suz); 2. Ryan Sipes (Kaw): (Above) David Kratz (70) came out on top of the Fa ll Classic Series, bringing Husqvama its first m ajor U.S . Series t itle in years. (Above left) Clark Stiles (9) flew h is KTM to i m p ress ive w ins in the FourStroke Pro an d 250cc A Pro classes at Muddy Creek Ra c eway. 3. Dann y Sm ith ( Ho n ): 4 . Th oma s Os mi alo wski (SOl); 5. Aaron Stancil (Yam) . 12 5 C: I. Micha el M it c h ell ( Yam): 2 . Ryan Burkett (Y am) ; 3 . Ryan Sten esu (Su z) ; 4 . Terr y Brazier (Yam); 5. Fredd y Rowe (Yam) . 12 5 0 : 1. Ma tthew Walker (Ya m); 2 . Adam Ballenger (Hon ); 3. Zachary Haning (Suz): 4. Brent Hall (Hen ): 5. T ravis Owens (Hon ). 250 B : 1. Da nny Sm ith ( Ho n); 2 . N ich o las Adams (Kaw): 3. Aa ron Stancil (Yom) ; 4 . William Bryant (Yam); 5. Blake Hov is (Hon). 250 C: 1. M i cha el Gr aham ( Ka w) ; 2 . Ry an Stenesu (Hon) : 3. B.J . Huntsinger (Suz): 4. J erem y Hill (Suz): 5. Ryan Burk ett (Yam) . 250 0 : I . Ryan Adkins (Suz); 2. Tra vis Owens ( Ho n) ; 3 . Chr is Grah am ( Hon) ; 4 . Rodn ey Wh it e (Hon): 5. Tommy Tevepaugh (SOl) . 2 5 + A : 1. J im Chester (Suz) ; 2 . Will iam Lil es (Suz) : 3. Ji m Neese (Y8m ); 4. Ric hard Prather (Hon) : 5. Troy Crisp (Han) . 25 + B: 1. Chris Bla nken sh ip (Yam ) : 2. Mark Nun cy (Y am) : 3. Lonnie Ev an s (Ya m): 4 . Jimmy Leach (K aw): 5. Chad Perry (Kaw) . 25 + c: 1. Harvey Hall (Han) : 2. Eric Reed (Han) : 3. A llen Bro wn (Suz); 4. Craig Greer (SUL): 5. Steve Fish (Han). 30 + A : 1. William Liles (Sur): 2. Bobby Wilson ( KTM) ; 3 . Robb ie T ayl o r ( Yarn} : 4. A lan Al ford II (Hus); 5. Leslie Belch er (Sua). 30 + B: I. David Al bert J r. (Hus): 2. Bill y Ad ki ns ( Han ): 3 . Fr ank Koenig J r. (KTM); 4 . Kyl e Sho un (Han): 5. J effrey Field s (Hen} . 30 . C: :1. Steven Ratliff (Yam ): 2. Harvey Hall (Hon) ; 3. Wade Garland (Kaw) ; 4 . Craig Greer (SOl); 5. Harold Moore (Yam) . 35+ : 1. William Lil e s (Suz ): 2 . Al bert Mc Coy (SOl) : 3. Kris Ray (Yam) ; 4. J effrey Dodge n (Yam): 5. Darrell Sim s (Han) . 40 +: 1. Ron Jones (Suz) ; 2. Tam Tophan (Yam) : 3. Darrell Sims (Ho n); 4 . Da vid Farri s ( KTM) : 5 . Benny Stone (Yam ). 48 +: 1. Steve n Lew is ( Yam ); 2 . Steve Cortee (Suz) ; 3 . Ted Shortr id ge ( Suz); 4 . David Hayward (Han) ; 5. Mike Bailey (Kaw ). 4 ·5TRK: 1. David A lbert Jr. (Hus): 2. Jonathan Rine r (Y am ) ; 3 . B rand on Stooksb ury (Yam) ; 4 . Jos hua McNeal (Yam): 5. Jeffrey Belc her (Yam). OPEN 2-STRK : 1. Bloke Wr;ght (Hon): 2. Roger lwerks ( Ho n): 3 . Bret Harper ( Ha n); 4 . Jo seph Mcin tosh (Hon); 5 . Brian Smith (Han ). OPEN : I. Scott Fr eem an ( Ho n ): 2. Brian Plasschaert (Hon) ; 3. James Perry ( Hon); 4. Justin Teague (Han): 5. Brad Rhodes (Hon) .• O PEN PRO : 1. J ustin Nonnan (Han ); 2. Josh Starrett (Han); 3. Brian Mc Kinney (Hon): 4. Bobby Ousley (Han): 5. Curt Will iams (Han). 125 A PRO: I. Ben Riddle (Suz): 2. .Jim Neese (Yam ): 3. David Kratz (Hus) : 4. Tom Welch (Suz); 5. Shane Lusk (Han) . 2 50 A PRO : I. Cla rk SHies ( KTM) ; 2 . Da vid Kra tz (Hus): 3 . Ben Ridd le (Sua) : 4 . A aron Diet er (Suz) ; 5. Tom Welch (Suz). 4 ·STRK PRO: 1. Clark St ile s ( KTM) : 2. Mark Burha rt (Hus): 3. Tim oth y Muterspaugh ( KTM): 4 . Kevin Walker (Yam); 5. Bobby Wilson (KTM). F A LL C LASSI C/ EAST ER N F O U R· STR O K E NATI ON A L SERIES Fl NA L RESULTS (A ft er 6 of 6 rounds ): ]25 A PRO : 1. Tom Welch (Sua): 2. Ji m Neese ( Yam ): 3 . David K ratz ( Hus ) ; 4 . J o sh Sum m e y (Ka w) : 5 . Mi ke C ampbell (Ya m ) ; 6 . Scott Met z (Yam ): 7. Robert Cec il (Han) . 25 0 A PRO: 1. David Kratz (Hus) ; 2. Clark Stiles (KTM ): 3 . Tom Welch (5 02); 4 . Kelly Sm ith (KTM): 5. Ji m Neese (Yam) ; 6. Jo sh Sum mey (Kaw ); 7. Bri an Mason (Yam ): 6. Keith J ohn son (Can) . 4 -STRK PRO : 1. Kell y Sm ith ( KTM ) : 2. Bri an M as on ( Yom): 3 . Cl ar k St iles (K T M ) ; 4 . M ik e Camp bel l (Y am) ; 5 . Ben Rutledge (Y8 m); 6 . Tim Muterspaugh II ( KTM) : 7. Keit h J oh nson (Can) ; 8. Chad Nelson (Yom) .

