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in every race he entered en route to his four titles. He won all of the finals he started except for the last race of the day, the 125 Two-Stroke Non-Pro class, which was won by his older brother, Tyler. "Ponca is kind of tight in the back sec- tions and it is hard to pass there, so I knew that starts would be important," Wharton said. "I won four titles this week and led the last race of the day, but I fell and Tyler won that, so that is good, as long as it is either me or him winning. I won the titles that I came here to win." That 125 Two-Stroke Non-Pro runoff was one of the best races of the week and started off with the younger Wharton grabbing one of his patented holeshots. Kawasaki-mounted Tevin Tapia followed in second, ahead of Huner Hewitt, also on a Kawasaki, with Tyler Wharton in fourth. However, Blake went down on lap two when his front end washed out in a tight back section, handing the lead to Hewitt. In consecutive laps, the eldest Wharton brother passed Tapia and then Hewitt to take the lead, and from there, cruised home with his first and only title of the event. "After a bunch of seconds, it feels good to finally win a title," Tyler said. "I saw my brother after he had gone down and I knew if he wasn't in the lead, then I had to get up there. If I don't win, then I want my brother to win." Blake was one of the fastest riders on the track all week and took home titles in the 85 Open through 16, 85 Stock (14-16), 85 Modified (14-16), and SuperMini Through 16 divisions. Accounting for five more of Kawasaki's 12 wins were the Bell brothers, Zachary and Chase, from Cairo, Georgia. Zach claimed championships in the 65 Stock, 65 Modified and 85 Stock divisions, while Case took home titles in the PeeWee Modified and Stock (6-8) classes. "Justin Summers was my toughest competition this week - that was in the 85 Stock class," Zach said. "Me and Justin had a good battle, but I finally passed him with two laps to go after the bridge jump to win the runoffs." Summers, riding a Suzuki, held on to finish second in the 85 Stock class, and returned later to win the Junior Cycle Open (6-11) title on a KTM. Honda-mounted Sean Hackley from Ovilla, Texas, claimed two Pro division wins, 125 Stock Pro and 250 Stock Pro, topping newly signed Makita Suzuki rider Ryan Dungey in each case. However, Dungey came back with two strong wins of his own, claiming titles in the 125 and 250 Modified Pro divisions, before heading to California to start testing for his Pro debut at Millville, Minnesota, later this month. For the first-time ever at Ponca City, a Girls class was added and Ashley Fiolek of Florida, riding a Honda, had the honor of becoming the first-ever Ponca City Girls champion. Fiolek out ran Sara Price of Canyon Lake, California, and Dian Klinger of Akron, Indiana, to win the 65-85 Girls class. "This is a great honor," Fiolek said. "I race against boys as much as I can and that helps makes me faster." Colorado's Eli Tomac finished a good week for himself by putting his Suzuki on top of the box for the 85 Modified (12-13) title, beating James Justice and Jason Anderson in the process. The Ponca City event, one of the longest-running Amateur national cham- pionship series in the country, celebrated its 31st year with a record 2563 entries. This year's event saw everything from hard rains on Thursday evening to 100- degree temperatures. On Friday, racing was delayed for five hours while track crews worked the track after an all-night rain left the surface covered in mud and standing water. However, on Saturday - runoff day - the track was in perfect con- dition and all 26 runoffs went off without a hitch. CN JACK BLEVINS MOTOCROSS PARK PONCA CITY, OKLAHOMA RESULTS: JULY 23-29, 2006 125 TWO-STROKE NON PRO: 1. Tyler Wharton (Suz); 2. Hunter Hewitt (Kaw); 3. Tevin Tapia (Kaw); 4. Dean Wilson (Kaw); 5. Blake Wharton (Suz). 125 MODIFIED INT: 1. Trey Canard (Kaw); 2. Ben C Y C L E N E W S • AUGUST 16, 2006 61 Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry attended Saturday's runoffs and commended the NMA officials for bringing the event to Okla- homa and made it clear he was cheering for the Oklahoma riders. "This is a great event for the town of Ponca City and for the state of Oklahoma," Henry said. "It is amazing what these young riders like Trey Canard are capable of doing on these bikes." Blake Wharton was chosen, along with Kyle Cunningham, Eli Tomac and Ryan Dungey to represent the United States in the 2006 FIM Junior Motocross World Championships in Vantaa, Finland, August 12-13. Dungey, however, will not be mak- ing the trip because of his recent signing with Makita Suzuki. The Ponca City race follows an unusual for- mat. In classes that have more than 40 entries, the class is divided into two (or three) separate divisions. Each of these divisions competes in two motos with the top 20 from each division making it to a "runoff" on Satur- day. The rider counts his overall score from his two "division" races as one moto score and his finish from the runoff as his other moto score for his overall finish position. The Ponca City week, which starts on Sun- day when riders are allowed to move into the pit area, is the beginning of two full weeks of Amateur racing for many of the riders attending the GNC event. The Ponca City event ends on Saturday after six days of practice and racing, after which, most of the racers quickly pull up stakes and make a 12- hour drive to Tennessee for the start of the six-day Loretta Lynn's AMA Air Nautiques Amateur Motocross Nationals on Monday. The Jack Blevins Motocross Park is located inside of the city limits of the town of Ponca City and the businesses in the town are 100 percent behind the event, as the thousands of fans, riders and support people who pour into the area for the week of racing are valuable to the city's economy. The AMBUCS, a local business- men's association, and the Ponca City Chamber of Commerce help to sponsor the race and provide support and volun- teers to work the gate and the corners. Briefly... Eli Tomac won the 85 Modified (12-13) class. This year's 31st running of the NMA Ponca City GNC had a record turnout of entries.