CHAMPIONSHIP
VOL. 55 ISSUE 12 MARCH 27, 2018 P61
Block and knocked it onto the track, right in
front of Osborne and Plessinger.
As a result, Plessinger rounded lap one in
17th, and Osborne in 21st.
Martin made it look pretty easy, controlling
the race from the front for all 21 laps to take his
first win of the year.
"We had a family member in the motorcycle
community pass away, Dunlop Dan [Cunning-
ham]," Martin said. "I'd like to dedicate this win
to him and Dunlop, for everything they do for
us. They've helped us countless times through-
out the years. You know, it was a great race.
I got the holeshot and then just rode my own
race and raced the track. I saw those guys
right there and I'm like, 'You've just got to keep
digging.' That's why we put in the time during
the week and suffer."
Luke Renzland (Traders Racing Yamaha)
moved into second a few laps into the race,
and Cianciarulo was on the move early, pick-
ing off a rider every lap to land in fourth place
on the fifth go-around, but then he had to work
his way by Jordon Smith (TLD/Red Bull KTM)
said. "That's awesome to win three in
a row. I'm having such a great year.
And yeah, my starts are on it, but a lot
of it is just your belief, and knowing
that you can do it on the gate, so I'd
say that's the majority of it."
TWO-WHEEL ENVY
Three-time NHRA Top Fuel Dragster
champ Antron Brown was on hand in
Indianapolis. Prior to winning cham-
pionships in Top Fuel, he was a top
racer in the Pro Stock Motorcycle
category, winning 16 events, but his
love for two wheels started way before
that, when he was a motocrosser
as a young man. "Once it's a part of
you, it's always a part of your heart
and soul," Brown said. "I come out
here and I smell that two-stroke right
there—that's what I grew up on; we
didn't have four-strokes back then. I
still ride sometimes, but I need to get
back out here more often." Brown was
once a victim of Gary Bailey's famous
stick. "I remember when I was growing
up, I went to Gary Bailey's motocross
school at Lake Sugar Tree, and he had
a stick. I see these guys going around
here without a finger on the clutch,
and I want to smack them like, 'Put
that finger on the clutch!'" he said.
PEICK PACKS UP EARLY
A crash knocked Weston Peick out of
the 450SX main event. "The day was
tough," Peick said. "I struggled, be-
cause the track was super tacky and
rutted. I was trying to find comfort. We
went into the heat race with a major
change, and the track was very rutted.
Then we went back to how we were in
practice. I rode well in the main, but
was making a lot of mistakes. I had
a couple of close calls. I was hitting
this quad in the center of the track,
Briefly...
cont. on page 65
cont. on page 64
