T
he 25th annual Air Nautiques AMA
Amateur National Motocoss Champi-
onship presented by Amsoil is now in
history books, and after 25 years in the
making, it proved to be more than well
worth the wait. This year's silver-anniversary event
captured some of the most spectacular motocross
racing in Loretta Lynn's history, as 1386 entries
stacked 33 motos with the "best of the best" top
amateurs from across the country, while a record-
breaking number of spectators filled the stands.
Mother Nature makes two promises every year at
Loretta's. Number one: It will rain at least one day,
and number two: It will be hot! As usual, both hap-
pened. Steady rain moved in on Friday and lightning
forced racing to be canceled for the remainder of the
day. Southern temperatures are notorious for being
brutal in July and the thermometer soared into the
100-degree range throughout the week. Back-to-
back motos were cut to 15 minutes vs. the usual 20
in order for final rounds of the hottest (literally) rac-
ing of the year to be completed by Saturday evening.
Three champions cruised home with double-
crown titles. By sweeping all six of his motos for
Yamaha, Josh Hill proved to be unstoppable in both
the 125cc A and 125cc A/Pro Sport classes with his
repeat performance from last year, where he won
double top honors in the 125cc B Stock and Modified
classes. Team Green's Trey Canard cleaned up in both
the 125cc B Modified and 250cc Open B Modified
classes by gaining two perfect 1-1-1 wins and
California native Jessy Nelson nabbed two champi-
onships for Suzuki with dominating 1-1-1 perform-
ances in the 85cc Modified (7-11) and a 1-1-2 score
in the 85cc Stock (7-11).
As most everyone knows by now, Yamaha Vet
Loretta Lynn's Ranch
Hurricane Mills, TN
August 1-5, 2006
AUGUST 23, 2006 • C Y C L E N E W S
28
25th Annual Air Nautiques AMA Amateur National MX Championship
Presented by Amsoil
Josh Hill celebrates
Loretta Lynn's 25th
with a pair of firsts
BY CINDY GIBSON PHOTOS BY KINNEY JONES
Aaron Harvey (76) gets the jump on the 250/Open B Modified class.
In his last race
as an amateur,
Josh Hill came
away with a
pair of 125 A-
class wins.
Coleman Martin made
mom proud.
Jeff Emig won the highly
anticipated Over-35 class.
