Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

C Y C L E N E W S • AUGUST 16, 2006 75 BY LARRY WOOSTER AUBURN, NY, JULY 8 I t's amazing the level of competition that $7000 in "dead Presi- dents" like Franklin and Grant can ignite. The Yamaha Dealers "Night of Champions" at Frozen Ocean Motocross Park is a well-established two-wheeled ritual, and the fans lined fences. This year, Justin Buckelew, Bobby Kiniry, Damien Plotts, Jack Carpenter and other "Night of Champions" veterans welcomed Cohocton, New York's Phillip Nicoletti and a bunch of Californi- ans including Travis Smith, Antonio Balbi and Brian Burns, as well as a contingent of Canadians. Both motos count toward the riders' overall finishes, and those dead Presidents are awarded after each 125cc and 250cc moto. In the first 250cc Expert moto, 27 Experts erupted off the line, and it wasn't much of a surprise to see Surprise, Arizona's Buckelew out front on his Team Solitaire Honda 450, with Jeremy Cook, Plotts and Alex Sigismondi in tow. In half a lap, Buckelew, Cook and Plotts had made it a three-bike breakaway, over Sonny Nighman, Sigismondi, Thomas Addy, Nicoletti, Broc Donnison and the rest of the pack. Nighman slipped past Plotts and began challenging Cook for second. Then Nicoletti got his front tire inside of Plotts' rear tire and Nicoletti went down, but he was far from out, as he kept that Honda 450 alive. Buckelew set the pace from the gate drop to the checkered flag, and nobody was going to catch him. Cook held off Nighman to the end, and those two joined Nicoletti in Yamaha Victory Circle, with Buckelew collecting the big $550 check. Sigismondi looked very strong in fourth place. Mitch Dougherty stormed his way forward for fifth. Addy, Nicoletti, Tyler Medaglia, Balbi and Donnie Schmidt rounded out the top 10. Plotts roosted his way to the moto-two holeshot, with Nicoletti outside and 25 other octane junkies swapping plastic and knocking knobbies behind them. Nicoletti dived inside turn two for the lead, leaving Plotts to deal with Buckelew, Addy, Ben Ritter, Sigismondi, Balbi, Donnison and Schmidt. In another three-bike breakaway, Nicoletti led Plotts and Buckelew, over Ritter, Addy and Dougherty. Buckelew powered his way past Plotts and onto Nicoletti's rear fender, and he was all over him. When Buckelew moved into the lead, Plotts stumbled and went down, allowing Ritter into third. Opening up another solid lead by midmoto, Buckelew was back on pace out front, and again, nobody was going to catch him. Nicoletti was safe in second. Plotts won the bar-to-bar battle royal with Ritter. Buckelew (1-1) dominated the field and collected the lion's share of the $3500 set aside for 250cc payout. Nicoletti (7-2) and Addy (6-5) completed the podium. Nighman (3-8) and Dougherty (5-7) busted their tail feathers to fill out the top five overall. In 125cc Expert action, Buckelew (3-3) landed on the bottom of the podium, behind winner Nicoletti (1-2) and runner-up Kiniry (4-1). Buckelew snagged maximum cash when he earned the big $500 check for winning the Dash For Cash. CN FROZEN OCEAN MOTOCROSS PARK AUBURN, NEW YORK RESULTS: JULY 8, 2006 50 YAM/SUZ: 1. Ian Frackelton (Yam); 2. Griffin Olin (Yam); 3. Tristan Custer (Yam); 4. Eric Kimpland (Hon); 5. Zavien Rosato (Yam). 50 OPEN: 1. Bryon Bower (Cob); 2. Joshua Lee (KTM); 3. Mason Wheelock (KTM); 4. Dawson Driscoll (KTM); 5. Tyler Bigford (KTM). 60: 1. Brandon Innes (KTM); 2. Brett McMichael (KTM); 3. Keith Mulvaney Jr. (KTM); 4. Austin Littler (KTM); 5. Wesley Mattivi (KTM). 85 (7-11): 1. Craig Mullett (KTM); 2. Brandon Innes (Kaw); 3. Brett McMichael (Hon); 4. Keith Mulvaney Jr. (Kaw); 5. Austin Littler (Kaw). 85 (12-15): 1. Ryan Zaveral (Hon); 2. R.J. Beck (Kaw); 3. Chris Mowery (KTM); 4. James Doolittle (Suz); 5. Andrew Beck (Kaw). 125 BEG: 1. Allen Clark (Yam); 2. Kevin Brassie (Kaw); 3. Mitchell Merrill (Hon); 4. Saxon Sprouse (Kaw); 5. Chris Grosso (Kaw). 125 NOV: 1. R.J. Beck (Kaw); 2. Kyle Field (Hon); 3. Kyle Boehme (KTM); 4. John Buchanan (Yam); 5. Chas Porter (Kaw). 125 AM: 1. Ryan Blizzard (Kaw); 2. Joshua Emmi (Kaw); 3. Mike Dawson (Kaw); 4. Zach Raus (Hon); 5. Cameron Schmid (Yam). 125 EX: 1. Phillip Nicoletti (Hon); 2. Bob Kiniry (Hon); 3. Justin Buckelew (Hon); 4. Jeremy Cook (Hon); 5. Sonny Nighman (Kaw). 250 BEG: 1. Brian Zamiara (Kaw); 2. Stephen Chase (Hon); 3. Ricky Kent (Yam); 4. Craig Wescott (Hon); 5. Brandon Butler (Hon). 250 NOV: 1. John Buchanan (Yam); 2. Patrick Spirawk (Kaw); 3. Kelsey O'Hara (Hon); 4. Patrick Klem (Yam); 5. Ryan Hotaling (Kaw). 250 AM: 1. Ryan Blizzard (Kaw); 2. John Vergalito (Yam); 3. Mike Dawson (Kaw); 4. Brett Malcolm (Kaw); 5. Joshua Emmi (Kaw). 250 EX: 1. Justin Buckelew (Hon); 2. Phillip Nicoletti (Hon); 3. Thomas Addy (Hon); 4. Sonny Nighman (Kaw); 5. Mitch Dougherty (Kaw). SR NOV: 1. Joseph Chuff (Yam); 2. Bradley Ostrander (Yam); 3. Bruce Wilkes (Suz); 4. Russ Michels (Yam); 5. Raymond Chilson (Kaw). SR AM: 1. C.J. Talarski (Hon); 2. Nick Schroth (Hon); 3. Scott Smith (Hon); 4. James Houston (Hon); 5. Jason Vanbenschoten (Kaw). SR EX: 1. Don Schmidt (Hon); 2. Mike Ayen (KTM); 3. Jeremy Tiffany (Suz); 4. Damien Plotts (Kaw); 5. Dan Field (Hon). Night of Champions Frozen Ocean Motocross Park Buckelew Bags Some Dead Presidents Justin Buckelew collected the lion's share of the purse at the annual Yamaha Dealers' Night of Champions at Frozen Ocean Motocross Park. PHOTO BY LARRY WOOSTER BY CLAY LIGHT ALBANY, OR, JULY 8 O regon's Josh Hill has done it again. The 1 7 - y e a r- o l d f r o m Yoncalla totally trounced the competition in four classes at the penultimate round of the CMC Pac West MX Nationals, held at Albany Motorsports Park. At round nine, Hill captured four overall wins, topping the 125cc, 250cc and Open Pro class- es, as well as the Four-Stroke-class, while rid- ing a pair of Yamahas. Hill - who two weeks ago did some testing for the Yamaha Factory, which he will join immediately after the upcoming Loretta Lynn's Amateur National - displayed amazing speed en route to his eight moto wins. Even riding back-to-back motos in the 90-degree heat didn't slow Hill down; Hill dominated both 125cc Pro motos and was headed only once throughout the day. Suzuki rider Dan Moore led Hill and the rest of the field in the second 125cc Pro moto, which ran combined with the Over 30 Pro class. While Hill was the lone rider to clear the massive "Buddy Jump" double, good battles abounded between KTM rider Pete Sannan and Honda-mounted Adam Metzler in both motos. Metzler got the best of Sannan in the opening moto, although Sannan edged Metzler at the finish in moto two to garner second overall. Moore scored the overall win in the Over 30 class, ahead of Scott Grimm and Joe Miltenberger. The 250cc Pro class also saw a runaway performance by Hill. Metzler, who leads the 125cc and 250cc Pro-class points standings, finished second to Hill in both motos. Sannan kept close tabs on Metzler in both motos to capture third overall, followed by Montana's Drew Woolsey and Oregon's Will Wallace. In t h a t s a m e r a c e , M o o r e c o n t i n u e d h i s stronghold on the Vet Over 25 Pro class with his dual-moto sweep, leading Joe Brockway (3-2) and Ryan Leach (2-3) overall. Team Green's Chris Johnson and Honda rider Nathan Whitlow had the day's best battle while challenging each other for the lead in the first 125cc Intermediate moto. Their battle went down to the finish, with Johnson edging Whitlow by inches at the line. It was so close that CMC referee Steve Metzler had to make the call in Johnson's favor. In moto two, Whitlow got the start he needed to take an early lead, and he held it to the finish. Johnson got a poor start but worked his way though the field before placing second to Whitlow, who was the overall winner. Johnson (1-2) placed second, ahead of series points leader Wren Fuller (6-3). Hill easily won both Open Pro motos and did the same in the Four-Stroke class to finalize his day. Honda-mounted Matt Wilson stuck surprisingly close to Hill in the second Four- Stroke moto. The rider from Eugene placed second to Hill in both motos to lead Suzuki rider Guy Tow (4-3) and Kawasaki riders Cody Denhem (3-5) and Caleb Watt (5-4) overall. CN ALBANY MOTORSPORTS PARK ALBANY, OREGON RESULTS: JULY 8, 2006 (ROUND 9 OF 10) P/W (0-6): 1. Mason Forty (Cob); 2. Louden Wardius (Cob); 3. Austin Black (Cob). P/W (7-8): 1. Tanner Morris (Cob); 2. Kaden Beutler (KTM); 3. Jack Fowler (Cob). 50 OPEN: 1. Tanner Morris (Cob); 2. Kaden Beutler (KTM); 3. Jack Fowler (Cob). 65 BEG: 1. Jacob Romero (KTM); 2. Brendan Teano (Suz); 3. Shelby Van Slander (Kaw). 65 (0-8): 1. Dustin Laughlin (KTM); 2. Kaden Beutler (KTM); 3. Tanner Morris (Kaw). 65 (9-11): 1. Chris Alldredge (KTM); 2. Justin Hill (KTM); 3. Wyatt Fowler (KTM). 65 OPEN: 1. Chris Alldredge (KTM); 2. Bradley Kruger (KTM); 3. Wyatt Fowler (KTM). 85 BEG: 1. Vinny Foster (Hon); 2. Harrison Drummond (Hon); 3. Derek Minor (Hon). 85 (7-11): 1. Hunter Evanson (Suz); 2. Dillon Guzman (Yam); 3. Cody Evanson (Yam). 85 (12-13): 1. Austin Ullrich (Hon); 2. Ryan Personette (Suz); 3. Steele Angle-Davidson (Yam). 85 (14-16): 1. Trevor Mort (Yam); 2. Matt De Atley (Suz); 3. Jake Warren (Yam). S/MINI: 1. Matt De Atley (Suz); 2. Austin Ullrich (Hon); 3. Trevor Mort (Yam). 125 BEG: 1. Tanner Symons (Yam); 2. Garrett Jensen (Hon); 3. Justin Mangum (Kaw). 125 JR: 1. Cody Hockema (Yam); 2. Travis McClinton (Yam); 3. T.J. Guzman (Yam). 125 INT: 1. Nathan Whitlow (Hon); 2. Chris Johnson (Kaw); 3. Heath Hamblen (Yam). 125 PRO: 1. Josh Hill (Yam); 2. Pete Sannan (KTM); 3. Adam Metzler (Hon). 250 BEG: 1. Kurtis Dyke (Hon); 2. Tanner Symons (Yam); 3. Jamie Blank (Hon). 250 JR: 1. Cody Hockema (Yam); 2. Jeremiah Sparks (Yam); 3. Klov Johnson (Yam). 250 INT: 1. Nathan Whitlow (Hon); 2. Erik Meusling (Hon); 3. Matt Wilson (Hon). 250 PRO: 1. Josh Hill (Yam); 2. Adam Metzler (Hon); 3. Pete Sannan (KTM). OPEN AM: 1. Shawn Dahlman (Hon); 2. Mike Dahlman (Hon); 3. Sean Light (Kaw). OPEN PRO: 1. Josh Hill (Yam); 2. J.R. Meusling (Hus). 4-STRK: 1. Josh Hill (Yam); 2. Matt Wilson (Hon); 3. Guy Tow (Suz). WMN BEG: 1. Sammi Denhem (Yam); 2. Lisa Fisher (Hon); 3. Christina Wells (Yam). WMN: 1. Sierra Bragg (Yam); 2. Jenni Wilson (Hon); 3. Shiri Howell (Kaw). BTH JR: 1. Cody Hockema (Yam); 2. Jeremiah Sparks (Yam); 3. Randall Walt (Yam). BTH INT: 1. Erik Meusling (Hon); 2. Arlie Southard (Yam); 3. Nic Wolfer (Hon). 25+ JR: 1. Klov Johnson (Yam). 25+ INT: 1. Kris Jorgensen (Yam); 2. Rod Tryon (Hon). 25+ PRO: 1. Dan Moore (Suz); 2. Joe Brockway (Yam); 3. Ryan Leach (Suz). 30+ JR: 1. Stu Bailey (Kaw); 2. Matt Russell (Suz); 3. Scott Hockema (Yam). 30+ INT: 1. Kris Jorgensen (Yam); 2. Kip Davis (Yam). 30+ PRO: 1. Dan Moore (Suz); 2. Scott Grimm (Hon); 3. Joe Miltenberger (Suz). 40+ JR: 1. Brian Granberg (Hon); 2. Scott Hockema (Yam); 3. Mark Smith (KTM). 40+ MSTR: 1. Kevin Cornett (Yam); 2. Dave Fox (Kaw); 3. Frank McKuhn (Hon). 50+: 1. J.R. Meusling (Hus). CMC Pac West MX Nationals Round 9: Albany Motorsports Park Another Runaway by Hill! Josh Hill topped four classes overall at round nine of the CMC Pac West MX Nationals. PHOTO BY CLAY LIGHT

• Cover