VOL. 50 ISSUE 31 AUGUST 6, 2013
P57
SHIP, PRESENTED BY AMSOIL
Racers such as
Joey Crown (35)
had to deal with a
variety of extreme
conditions this
year at Loretta's.
>>WEATHERING IT OUT
Mother Nature always plays a major role at Loretta Lynn's and this year
was no different, but maybe more so
than usual. Racers faced a variety of
extreme weather conditions during
the week, from periods of sweltering heat to light rain, to periods of
heavy rain, there wasn't too much
in between. But this year's event
will no doubt also be remembered
for the wet conditions that forced
MX Sports, the race organizers, to
halt the show a couple of times after
the course became un-rideable due to
muddy conditions.
The first day of racing (Tuesday) started
off quite well. Cloudy skies kept temperatures unusually cool, but by midday, a light
rain began to fall that had spectators reaching for their umbrellas and racers reaching
for their tear-offs. The steady rainfall made
the track muddy and slippery but still very
raceable, though Junior 25+ winner Tim
Ferry said the track had already turned into
a "mudder."
The last two motos of the day, however, were caught in a heavy downpour that
had everyone running for cover, except
for the Mini Sr. (12-14) Limited and Vet
B/C (30+) riders. They still raced; after
all, this is motocross.
Joey Crown was phenomenal in the
slop. He didn't miss a beat and dominated the ultra-wet Mini Sr. race, though
Gabriel Jairala kept him honest for a
while before his bike suddenly sunk and
stopped in the mud at speed, but his
body kept going, resulting in a spectacular crash. Luckily the mud made for a soft
landing and he was okay.
Michael Mitchell also had fun in the
mud, winning the final race of the day (Vet
B/C 30+) in the slop. He went on to win
the class title, as did Crown in the Minis.
More rain the following morning as the
first three motos were running eventually
forced race organizers to temporarily stop
the racing. Five hours later, after some
major track repair (which included eliminating one section) racing resumed but in
less than ideal conditions, which did get
steadily better after every moto. By the
end of the day, when the 51cc- and ShaftDrive-classes where re-inserted into the
program, conditions could not have been
any better.
More traditional hot, humid and even
cloudy weather prevailed Thursday and
Friday, but the rain returned for the final
day of racing on Saturday, forcing another
brief stoppage. All in all, it was just another crazy week of weather at Loretta's.
