VOL. 54 ISSUE 11 MARCH 21, 2017 P53
track was a mix of tight trees,
winding tails, manmade ob-
stacles and wide-open cross-
country terrain. The rain the
night before took care of the
dust and made for some great
"slip-'n'-slide" action. The course
held up well for approximately
two of the four laps, but the ruts
and mud holes would became
a major factor. Several racers
bonsai'd into the waterholes in
hopes they would be the same
depth as the lap before, but this
just was not the case. The red
clay ruts and mud holes were
unforgiving. You had to ride
smarter than faster. There was
a 30-foot road crossing that
Palmer would jump and clear
every lap, much to the crowd's
delight.
At the halfway mark it was
Palmer aboard his SRT-KTM
with a two-minute lead over
second-place McDonal, aboard
his Bromley-Beta. About three
minutes back from McDonal was
local favorite, Yamaha-mounted
Nero. This was to remain for
the rest of the race, giving the
checkered flag to Palmer.
The top A rider was Justin
Lafferty, the top B rider was
Dylan Box, and the top C rider
was Mike Beeler Jr, who actually
finished ninth overall. Beeler was
also the Youth overall winner the
day before. The top female racer
was Kiersten McDonal, younger
sister to Kyle.
Kenny Held
Palmer impressed the fans by
jumping over the road crossing
instead of riding over it.
