him, and he is so smooth."
"I had a great day going,"
said Whipple. "I had fun all day.
I put myself in a good position. I
had 30 to 45 seconds on Jhak.
Then it was time to go on the last
lap. Then we got going and that
happened. My pipe came off.
I made the mistake of thinking
that my race was over. I didn't
think I could get back across
Rock Creek without destroying
the bike. I also turned around
and tried to grab [the pipe], and
I realized it was pretty hot. Then I
went back and got my phone out,
called [my dad] to see if I could
go across Rock Creek. He told
me to go."
Losing precious time and
admittedly a bit of confidence,
Whipple soldiered on with his
wounded Kawasaki. "I'm just
pretty disappointed," he said.
"I should have just kept going
instead of thinking my day was
done. All in all, it was a good day.
Jhak rode absolutely amazing.
Even if I had a header, he still
could have got me."
Rounding out the podium
was Local racer Easton Morgan
aboard his family-supported Fly
Racing G2 KTM. Morgan had a
bit of a tough start and an odd
mid-race event, but overall was
happy with third place.
"It was pretty rough," Morgan
said. "I kind of screwed myself off
the start. I didn't put myself in a
very good spot leaving the barn,
and I just tried to play catch-up
that first lap. About three quar-
ters of the way through I caught
Walker and Whipple."
After catching the lead pair,
Morgan thought his bike had
blown up when it coasted to a
stop in a field. "I don't know how
it happened," he said. "Near the
barn my gas shut off. So, going
through the field it just died. I
thought I locked it up. I was look-
ing around and saw the gas got
shut off. I turned that on, but by
the time I figured that out, I was
pretty far behind. I never really
saw them again."
Morgan also made a point of
thanking a local racer's dad who
helped him out of a tough situa-
tion near the end of the race. "I'd
like to thank Kris Nees for getting
me out of the last creek crossing
at the turkey farm," Morgan said.
"I buried it pretty bad, so thanks
to Kris."
John Gasso
OVERALL
1. Jhak Walker (GG)
2. Tanner Whipple (Kaw)
3. Easton Morgan (KTM)
4. Colton Zuidema (KTM)
5. TJ Nees (KTM)
6. Tommy Fortune Jr. (KTM)
7. Tyson Emery (Yam)
8. Bryan Johnson (Kaw)
9. Jarrett Ruchotzke (KTM)
10. Adam Bonneur (Yam)
IN
THE
WIND
P38
Tanner Whipple made
it a race but came up
a little short at the
end and had to settle
for second overall.
Easton Morgan filled out the podium.
