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If you haven't noticed the ATV pro class has gotten pretty darn competitive. On any given Sunday, there are now about 10 riders that are very well capable of winning a prestigious Grand National event. More and more talented, dedicated professional athletes are going head to head for the national championship. A good outing at round one surely helps carry a rider into the rest of the season. With that, riders seem to be taking less time relaxing in winter months and more time training for the upcoming season. Even with all the training preparation mechanical problems can ruin the weekend for racers anytime. That fact definitely held true at Echeconnee.

Jones takes the opener.
Moto 1

Jones (right) congratulates Ben Jackson on a good ride.

Doug Gust on TC Racing's newest creation - a DR 440cc Suzuki powered race quad.

Ben Jackson looked impressive. He lead for much of the final moto, but got passed by Jones in later laps. Jackson will try his best to win the Duncan/Roll/Golden West team another championship.

Not in the cards for "Digger" Doug. After winning moto one, his new Suzuki thumper threw an oil line and sidelined him in the final moto.

Kory Ellis explains how he rode to his best GNC pro class finish (3rd place overall).

Tim Farr edged out Spader in the second moto. Farr's 4-3 score gave him second place overall.

The dynamic duo is back at it for 2001. Spader and chief mechanic, Paul Turner are back at it under the K&K roof. Turner had the new PSI motor running flawlessly, while Spader rode the Lone Star frame, PSI powered R to a respectable 6th overall.

Nathan Dallas took home 8th and is looking forward to 2001 on his Legacy/Fischer ride.

Angela is determined to win another women's class championship. You A-class 4 stroke guys better watch out - she's after your class as well.

Solon, IA's Nate Frees.

Shane "Daddy" Hitt (Sparks) flew home on Friday to be with wife, Holly while she gave birth to their son. With time to spare, Hitt flew back
into Atlanta, found his way to the Echeconnee track and proceeded to holeshot the 20 rider
field on his new Sparks Racing Powervalve 250R. In Hitt's sandy roost was Travis Spader, who now rides under his own team using a Lone Star frame and a PSI powered 265cc 250R motor. As Hitt and Spader charged through the whoops Tim Farr (riding a Baldwin Motorsports 440cc Yamaha YZ thumper), Jason Luburgh (riding his pro race debut aboard a TC Racing Yamaha YZ426), Jasmine Plante (the fast Canadian on a TC 250R) and Doug Gust (riding a Suzuki powered DR440 thumper) followed respectively. Meanwhile Joe Byrd (on an East Coast ATV 250R) and Kory Ellis (aboard his Wide Open, Bill's Pipes YZ 426) charged hard through the pack. As laps progressed "Digger" Doug quickly got used to his new ride and passed to the front while Farr battled with Spader and hard charging Ellis and Byrd to hold on to the two-spot. "Flyin" Joe Byrd put in a ride that showed he means business in 2001. Byrd crashed while trying to pass Spader but quickly remounted and passed his way back to an incredible second place! At the checkers Gust won while Byrd, Ellis, Farr and Hitt rounded out the top five. Jeremiah Jones (racing his Sparks/JPMX powered 250R) used the whole race to slowly advance himself from a 15th place start to a 6th place finish even though he crashed on the tricky step-up double.

Moto 2

 

Once again, Shane "Dog" pulled the holeshot. In tow was Farr, Ben Jackson (riding his new Roll Design LOBO chassis Duncan Racing powervalve 250R), Spader and Ellis. Later Jackson would take over the helm. "I knew I needed to get out front early in this final moto. My plan was to try to get out front and do it fast as possible because I knew I wouldn't be able to last the whole moto and would fade out toward the end", explained Jackson after the race. All the while, new Nac's superstar John Natalie passed about 8 riders in less than a minute to hyperspace himself into the two-spot! Natalie would later fade to 14th due to an old injury in his right arm, (he cramped up so bad that we spotted him working the throttle with his left arm).

Gust and Byrd once again looked strong as they charged from mid pack starts. Gust worked his way to sixth place behind Byrd. Just as race teams, mechanics and fans were adding Gust and Byrd's moto one (1st and 2nd place) scores to current moto two positions, both pulled to the side of the track with motor problems. Either Byrd or Gust could have very easily taken home the overall, instead each disgustedly sat helpless. Byrd's culprit -- a broken piston. Gust's -- an oil line came loose on his mighty one-of-a-kind Suzuki superthumper. The two walked away in disbelief as their charge to the front was so rudely interrupted.

 

 

Jackson fought off the never tiring Jeremiah Jones for the lead, while Farr had his own battle to tend with as Spader followed his every move. "I was pounding the hell out of myself trying to get around Tim, so I just tucked in and followed in his line, which was much smoother, but I couldn't pass him -- we were both so tired -- it must have been a riot to watch us going around like a couple of rag dolls being bounced all over the place. All in all, I'm happy with this. The whole program is only about two weeks old - so we didn't get much seat time or testing time before coming here", said Spader after the moto 2 marathon.

Riders could hardly hold themselves upright from the severe pounding they were taking as the twenty minute mark approached. Jones ended up motoring past Jackson for the win and the overall with a 6-1 score. Farr held off Spader for third, which was good enough for a 2nd place overall. "I kind of burnt myself out in the first moto, so this time I decided to back off a bit and last a longer -- looks like the plan worked pretty well", said Farr after the final. Kory Ellis charged hard to capture the fifth and the final spot on the podium, (his best finish ever in the pro class at the GNCs). "Everyone is really going good this year. There's
a ton of riders that are capable of winning. I've always been close but never seem to get into the top five, so this year I've really worked hard in the off season to get ready -- looks like it's paying off", Said Ellis on the podium. Hitt came in behind Ellis with Dana "pimpdaddy" Creech (Nac's) in tow. Creech salvaged a somewhat respectable weekend after a motor problem in the first moto. The 7th place moto 2 score, giving him a 12th overall.

 

Round 1 Notables:

Leslie "The Outlaw" Wells crashed extremely hard in Friday's practice. She had blood on her brain and was unconscious for several days at the Medical Center of Central Georgia. She also has some facial damage. Her cheek bone is broken and to make matters worse we've heard that she has compressed discs in her neck. As bad as it sounds, doctors give word that they think she will recover 100%. Leslie awaited release from the Medical Center until doctors were comfortable with her leaving. She's now recovering at her hometown of Waterloo, IA.

 

455 entries at Echeconnee Park prove that ATV racing is on the rise!

Nathan Dallas scored his best ever pro class finish - a respectable 8th place overall aboard his new Fischer Cycle, Legacy ATV, Sparks Racing Honda. Dallas looked consistent and rode a
smart race in both motos.

Hot in the scene is Ohio's Jason Luburgh. Luburgh has come of age and rode to a well deserved 7th place overall in his pro class debut.

"Big Bad" Angela Moore kicked some guy butt at Echeconnee. Angela rode the wheels of
her TC Racing Honda 400EX in two classes.
She easily won the girl class and took home a respectable 3rd place in the 4-stroke A class. Angela plans to add a class at the TTs. She'll race the above as well as the 4-stroke Pro-Am class.

Complete Results:
Pro
1. Jeremiah Jones
2. Tim Farr
3. Kory Ellis
4. Ben Jackson
5. Shane Hitt
6. Travis Spader
7. Jason Luburgh
8. Nathan Dallas
9. Jasmin Plante
10. Doug Gust
11. Joe Byrd
12. Dana Creech
13. Ryan Detrick
14. Tommy Rich
15. Micahael Walsh
16. Keith Little
17. Jimmy Elza
18. John Natalie
19. Chris Gary
20. Joshua Frederick

250 Pro-Am
1. Jeremiah Jones
2. Jasmin Plante
3. Jason Dunkelberger
4. Josh Starrett
5. Matt White
6. Tracy Lecompte
7. Brian Steele
8. Rob Arnold
9. Joey Dreslinski
10. Tavis Cain

4-Stroke Pro-Am
1. Jason Luburgh
2. Donald Lamborn
3. John Bartosek
4. Gilbert Attix
5. Ernest Powers
6. Robert Brown
7. Michael Evans
8. Dave Kendall
9. David Evans
10. Jason Watt

Open Pro-Am
1. Chad Lohr
2. Khris Butter
3. Scott Zollars
4. Ron Solomon
5. Douglas Schaffer, Jr.
6. Robert Brown
7. Michael Kamalsky
8. Robert Nyland
9. John Angel
10. Bryan Shipley

250A
1. Tavis Cain
2. Joey Dreslinski
3. Nathan Leverenz
4. Jason Dunkelberger
5. Kevin Clendenning
6. Matt White
7. Tracy Lecompte
8. Michael Haas
9. Brian Steele
10. Gilbert Attix

4-Stroke A
1. Donald Lamborn
2. Eernest Powers
3. Angela Moore
4. Jerad Logeman
5. Shaun Anderson
6. Micahel Evans
7. Brian Wolf
8. Jason March
9. Michael Sisco
10. George Erker

Open A
1. Nicholas Nelson
2. Gray Parker
3. Khris Butter
4. Dustin Shuler
5. Don Seay
6. Justin Norman
7. Curt Williams
8. Brad Phillips
9. Ron Solomon
10. Tanner Strohm

4-Stroke B
1. Jason Urban
2. Steve Mancuso
3. Jason Fuller
4. Charles Abbott
5. Chris Cardin
6. Joe Butterworth, Jr.
7. Jeff Barker
8. Justin Fisher
9. Jake Balsiger
10. Russell Thompson

4-Stroke C
1. Brian Jones
2. Daniel Bell
3. Brad Miller
4. Cason Simmons
5. Daniel Koopman
6. Wesley Heatherly
7. Jeremy Hancock
8. James Howard
9. Bill Renniger
10. Jason Holleran

Air-Cooled 2/4-Stroke
1. Dustin Wimmer
2. Josh Pangallo
3. Levi Mueller
4. Bobby Ross
5. James Black
6. Cody Hurst
7. Jason Andring
8. Mark Osborne
9. Sean Berkey
10. Bruce Levings

250B
1. Brian Kinter
2. Joe Krcelich
3. Jason Rich
4. Jesse Shaeffer
5. Blake Wright
6. Shane Scaramellino
7. David Germany, Jr.
8. Joseph Marrier
9. Lance Smith
10. Jordan Laymon

Junior 25+
1. Jewel Lucas
2. Khris Butter
3. Scott Butler
4. Scott Blanchard
5. Cale Clarkson
6. Matthew Andrew
7. Perry James
8. Carlos Scala
9. Jimmy Hetrick
10. Justin Swartz

250C
1. Kevin Kerrn
2. Marc -
3. Jeremy Lopp
4. Daniel Koopman
5. Brian Mueller
6. Bobby Giles
7. Tim Anderson
8. Roger Moore
9. Daniel Bell
10. Anthony Battaglia

Vet 30+
1. David Porter
2. Jefferey Thompson
3. Gary Doherty
4. Kevin Pcrnich
5. Joseph Marrier
6. Richard Hetrick
7. F. Lane Coile
8. Randy Hurst
9. Rachard Harrison
10. Terry Skoumal

Senior 40+
1. Gary Doherty
2. Jackie Steele
3. Steven Phillips
4. Andy Luburgh
5. Carlos Sobenes
6. Richard Kyer
7. Jefferey Scott
8. Jefferey Lohr
9. Tommy Stripling
10. Jimmy Krajewski

Open B
1. Brian Keesee
2. Justin Bres
3. Shane Scaramellino
4. Ricki Collins
5. Bret Harper
6. Johnathan Chandler
7. Jesse Shaeffer
8. Billy Salter
9. William Smith III
10. Ricky Schneider

Women
1. Angela Moore
2. Heather Rose
3. Jamie Rentz
4. Hollie Shartzer
5. Stehanie Solomon
6. Tracy Solomon
7. Brook Perry
8. Amy Chapman
9. Delany Rond

Open C
1. Carlos Scala
2. Jack Stiles
3. Robbie Charles
4. James Voyles
5. Greg Estes
6. Adam Deneka
7. Richard Simmons
8. John Portillo
9. Steve Stanton

70cc Youth (6-11)
1. Keeton Hanks
2. Josh Ross
3. Tyler Wiles
4. Brian Kelsey II
5. Jacob Brattain
6. Joel Hetrick
7. Lee Rentz
8. Ryan Wheeler
9. Jordan Wharff
* Class under protest at time of this print

90cc Youth SuperStock
1. JR Hinds
2. Leslie Ragon
3. Ryan Hetrick
4. Ethan Greene

90cc Youth (12-15)
1. Patton Thompson
2. John Ragon
3. Brian Eakin
4. Casey Thompson
5. Andrew Karp
6. Marshall Glass
7. Michael Morris
8. Chris Petty
9. Collin Maurer
10. MaryBeth Eakin

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