to possibly the tightest racing in
recent memory with first through
fifth separated by 22 seconds at
first, that margin shrinking to 13
seconds as they started thinking
about pit stops.
Martinez was a close second
to Oliveira and even led just
before the one-hour mark fol-
lowed by Stewart, 3 Bros./SRT
Husqvarna's Dalton Shirey and
Walton.
Unfortunately for Martinez, he
didn't get quite the mileage out of
a tank as teammate Stewart and
his Monster Energy/Skechers/
Fly Racing CRF450RX stopped
not long after taking the lead.
"It was a gritty race for all
parties included—it really was,"
Stewart said.
Walton added, "We were all
pushing hard. There were some
aspects out there with the dust
and trying to find where the track
was [while] going as fast as we
could. There were a couple times
where I wasn't able to push as
fast as I would like to or knew I
could [because of the dust]."
After Martinez dropped from
the lead pack, Stewart led
briefly though he couldn't hold off
Oliveira.
"At that point, I knew what I
had to do and that was settle in. If
he was going to make a mistake,
then I was going to capitalize,"
Stewart said.
The last 30 minutes saw Olivei-
ra stretch his lead over Stewart
now second, winning by 17 sec-
onds. Walton held third ahead of
Shirey, Johnny Campbell Racing
(JCR) Honda's Preston Campbell
and Purvines Racing Yamaha
rider Justin Seeds, though Seeds
would drop Campbell to sixth with
two laps to go.
In Pro II, Chaparral Motor-
sports/Precision Concepts
Kawasaki's JP Alvarez dominated
aboard his Pro Circuit/Maxxis/
Moose Racing KX250. After
starting on the second row, it
took him only a lap to jump up to
eighth overall.
Behind him, Purvines Racing's
Mason Ottersberg dug himself
out of a hole with his mediocre
start and had to push the final
30 minutes to claim second in
class and ninth overall aboard
his FMF/Dunlop/O'Neal Racing
YZ250FX. Class points leader
Tallon LaFountaine of the SLR
Honda squad ended up third in
class and ninth overall while Gar-
rett Off-road Racing Husqvarna's
Ryan Surratt rounded out the top
10 overall.
Mark Kariya
PRO OVERALL
1. Dante Oliveira (KTM)
2. Trevor Stewart (Hon)
3. Austin Walton (Hus)
4. Dalton Shirey (Hus)
5. Justin Seeds (Yam)
6. Preston Campbell (Hon)
7. JP Alvarez (Kaw) Pro II
8. Mason Ottersberg (Yam) Pro II
9. Tallon Lafountaine (Hon) Pro II
10. Ryan Surratt (Hus)
IN
THE
WIND
P40
His second Pro II
triumph of the season
got Kawasaki-mounted
JP Alvarez closer to
class points leader
Tallon LaFountaine,
but LaFountaine's third
place on the day keeps
him ahead by eight,
unofficially, 121-113.
