VOL. 54 ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 22, 2017 P37
Justin Seeds, who
took the holeshot, ran
consistently in second for
the rest of the event. He
made a charge on Suther-
lin at the end, with Robby
Bell in tow, but came up a
little short.
"I've never been the
kind of guy to send it on
the first few laps," said
Seeds. "I had to wait until found
my lines and that happened 30
minutes into the race. I kept
them close enough and I was
able to put a run on them at the
end. I wanted to get Gary, and
my teammate, Robby [Bell], rode
a great race and scared the crap
out of me at the end when he
came charging behind me."
Bell rode through the
pack to get third for the
second time this season.
"On the last lap, I went as
hard as I could," Bell said.
"I'm stoked to get third
and see my teammate
Justin do well. Everyone
was riding really fast
today."
Michael Del Fante was
running third on the final
lap but just couldn't hold
off Bell in the end.
Travis Damon held off
Bell for a number of laps
in one of the race's fierc-
est battles. Both fought
it out, making contact
several times, before Bell
passed him during his
charge to the front. He
finished fifth.
"I didn't get too good of
a start…right when I got
over the hill I crashed," said
Oliveira. "I put my head
down and I caught Alex
Dorsey and Logan Cham-
bers. I passed them when
they pitted and I led from
there."
In Pro 2 Lights, Clay Hen-
geveld (Kawasaki) took a
shot at redemption and nabbed
his first victory of the season.
Austin Serpa (KTM), who led
every lap but the last one, was
second, ahead of Cooper Abbott
(DA8 Yamaha).
"I just charged hard, put my
head down and on the last lap, I
passed Serpa in the pro pits and
went on to win," said Hengeveld.
"It's really a big redemp-
tion. I've led a bunch this
season, and I finally put it
together here at Taft."
Harlen Foley
PRO:
1. Gary Sutherlin (Yam)
2. Justin Seeds (Kaw)
3. Robby Bell (Kaw)
PRO 2:
1. Dante Oliveira (KTM)
2. Logan Chambers (KTM)
3. Alex Dorsey (KTM)
PRO 2 LITES:
1. Clay Hengeveld (Kaw)
2. Austin Serpa (KTM)
3. Cooper Abbott (Yam)
(Above) Blayne Thompson was
heading to a sure win when his
wheel gave up. (Below) Dante
Oliveira won the Pro 2 class.
In Pro 2, RPM KTM's Dante
Oliveira pulled off his first vic-
tory of the season after charg-
ing back from a difficult start.
Oliveira beat out Logan Cham-
bers (KTM), who won the first
two races of the season, both
times just ahead of Oliveira. The
tables were turned this time.
Alex Dorsey (KTM) was third.
