37 (remember the helicopter
view of several thousand rid-
ers on the line for Barstow-to-
Vegas in
On Any Sunday?), those
haven't been in general use since
the early 1970s. Even 60-year-old
District 37 legend Paul Krause,
who started desert racing in
1973, couldn't recall doing one.
"I was trying to think about that
yesterday. I think my first race, I
was 7 or 8 years old, and I did a
Spoke Benders hare and hound.
We had three rows—Expert,
Amateur, Novice. I don't know
when they did the last one-wave
start. This is the first time I've
ever done it."
He admitted, "I was bummed—
I didn't want to do it. More
people means more opportunity
for dust, right? I think if I [were]
30 years younger, I wouldn't have
cared because I would've just
pinned it and not worried about
it. I don't think there's any reason
for [doing it beyond the nostal
-
gia]. It was cool to do it, I guess,
because
now I can say I've done
it."
Unofficially, the Air Cleaning
Technologies KTM rider, Krause,
also earned part of the $10,000
purse for being the first two-
loop finisher. The first one-loop
finisher was Wyatt Carlson on
his Super Mini.
Obviously, none of his younger
competitors had experience
with a mass start either, but
as Krause noted, they pinned it
regardless of the dust.
Dallas Chidester (DC) Racing
Kawasaki's Chance Fullerton still
doesn't fully appreciate a mass
start since he got the holeshot
to the bomb with a flawless run
aboard his Pirelli/Maxima/FXR-
backed KX450, despite having to
change his spot on the starting
line at the last minute.
He said, "About halfway down
the bomb [and leading], I was
thinking, 'Can't really beat that!'
I got to the end of the bomb,
and I couldn't believe it. I'd never
ridden that line, and I just kind of
held it on, and everything worked
out."
Fullerton led until just be
-
fore the end of the first loop
when
Johnny Campbell Racing
(JCR) Honda's Preston Camp
-
bell snuck by. The VP Racing
Fuels/Pro
Circuit/Fly Racing
CRF450RX-mounted rider led the
entire, more technical, second
loop, but the third loop proved
his undoing.
VOLUME 62 ISSUE 1 JANUARY 7, 2025 P33
Though he trails
Chance Fullerton
here toward the end
of loop one, Preston
Campbell made the
pass for the lead
shortly after and
led until falling on
loop three, though
he kept it going to
claim second.
