Loretta Lynn’s MX, Hurricane Mills, TN 2005
- Updated: August 14, 2005
Joe Byrd kisses his four time Women’s Class Champion, Heather on the podium.
GNC Round 12
Dirt Days MX
Loretta Lynn’s Dude Ranch
Hurricane Mills, TN
August 14, 2005
Since 1985, the season finale to the ATV nationals has been held at the Loretta Lynn’s Dude Ranch in Hurricane Mills, TN. It’s always been hot and humid for this one, but never has the event seen so many competitors, 965 entries to be exact. Conversation in the pits on Friday seemed to center around whether there would be enough time in the day to run all the qualifiers. Racer Productions decided to cut laps to three and most motos were double gated to save time. When it was over Racer Production crews pulled off a mini miracle with plenty of daylight to spare.
Joe Byrd muscled past high temperatures and heavy humidity to win his fourth consecutive Loretta Lynn’s Dirt Days ITP ATVA Grand National Motocross Overall. Byrd did it with two impressive moto wins but not before a get off in practice that nearly sidelined him for the day. “I tried to triple into the whoops after the finish line and missed,” said Byrd. The crash left a big open wound on his forehead that needed immediate attention. Thanks to track side volunteer, Doctor Ragon, Byrd was all stitched up but couldn’t quite get his helmet on over the painful eight stitched on his head. Once again, Doc Ragon to the rescue. A quick shot to numb it and Byrd was on his way to the first moto gate.
In the 90’s “Digger” Doug Gust used to have a lot of bad luck at the Loretta Lynn’s GNC. On this year, his good luck enabled him to secure the runner up position for the year. He edged out his teammate Jeremiah Jones by three points.
Moto One
Byrd put all the pain aside, nabbed the holeshot and quickly put some ground between him and the moto one pack. Leading that pack was Duncan Racing’s Tavis Cain, who looked like he was ready to rumble, but faded as laps progressed with set up problems.
Early in the race Alba Yamaha’s Kory Ellis crashed hard after not being able to hold on to the bars as firmly as he would have liked due to another crash while training for this race.
John Natalie and Jeremiah Jones quickly advanced through the pack. Natalie found room past Travis Spader and found himself riding in Byrd’s shadow. While the race for the lead position heated up, Jones charged from 8th place to 3rd. Pat Brown broke an axle with a lap to go, but not before 18 minutes of impressive seat time. Brown would have locked down fourth in the first moto and looked like he had what it would take to do it again in the second moto.
Lone Star / Yamaha’s Keith Little looked impressive in moto two’s sweltering heat. Little ended the day with a 6-4 score to finish up top five. Little is already working on a better 2006. He’ll be testing tires with Maxxis this week. Then it’s off to contest the rest of the FMF Extreme Dirt Track Nationals, where he holds the 2005 crown and is tired for first in points with Harold Goodman.
If the final moto of the season is an indication of Pat Brown’s 2006 attitude, then K&K’s #199 will indeed be a contender to win next year’s championship. Check out the camera mounted on the right side of his helmet. This “Gear Media Inc” footage will be televised Sept 3 at 2:30pm EST and again on Sept 6 at 5:30pm EST on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN).
Jeremiah Jones battles Pat Brown for fourth in moto one.
Ironman Natalie passed Byrd for the lead in the high speed “S” turn section after the start area. This only seemed to irritate Byrd. He instantly fought harder for his lead spot. The number seven Honda nabbed the lead right back only seconds later. Byrd sprinted the remaining three laps and started to distance himself from team Honda’s number 13. Natalie’s strategy was to back off and not waste any further energy and come out swinging in moto two.
Byrd took the win, followed by Natalie and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Jeremiah Jones, who put in one heck of a moto. Speaking of one heck of a moto, Yosh Suzuki teammate, “Digger” Doug Gust, who is supposed to be going slow with injury, finished up fourth under the hot noon sun. This combined with the fact that Tim Farr cased a triple jump hard enough to tweak his already unhealed back, really heated up the race for season overall runner up spot between the two Suzuki teammates and Honda’s Tim Farr. With Farr barely able to ride the second moto, the season’s #2 position would more than likely go to one of the two Suzuki mounted riders.
Travis Spader on his new TC Racing Yamaha, rounded out the top five respectively.
There’s no doubling everything on this track. In order to win, you’ll need to case jumps. Here, Professor Byrd demonstrates the best way to case a jump.
Moto Two
As he exited the gate and left the competition, Byrd made it very clear, just like he he has in the three Loretta Lynn GNC prior — this was his race and no one was going to take it from him. “I like the track and I like the heat,” remarked Byrd after the moto. This time out, Natalie would not be able to give Byrd a run for his money. Ironman crashed down the front straight stretch. He was unhurt and still in excellent spirits, after all the 2005 championship was already his.
Most didn’t like the heat but tolerated it a little easier by winging their goggles in later laps to allow more air to enter. Exhaustion in later laps didn’t seem to be an issue with K&K’s Pat Brown however. Brown charged into the two spot and easily took runner up in the moto. Take away his broken axle misfortune and the New Jersey kid would have finished second on the day with a 4-2 score. Look out for #199 in ’06.
T-Doc Spader is always up for doing something a little different than the rest. In the second moto he came to the gate with glitter-red plastic on his Yamaha. He could be spotted on the other end of the course easily, and stuck out like a big reflector as he tore up the track. Spader and his newly pimped out YFZ looked as hot as the 90+ degree temperature in moto two. He finished with a strong third place – good enough for runner up on the day behind Byrd, and good enough to secure a top five on the year, (not bad considering he wasn’t fully trying and he recieved zero points from the Red Bud round). Watch out in 2006, Spader said he’s going to seriously go after the title!
The high temps and severe pounding wasn’t too much for Travis as he finished up second overall. His pimped out paint job in moto two didn’t last long however.
Bling Star brings creativity and modern day innovation to the scene. Here Bling Star’s president, Freddie Shepard, awards 2006 GNC Champ, John “Ironman” Natalie with this cool shield trophy.
Yamaha’s Keith Little proved he’s from the hot south and no amount of humidity would ruin his day. He finished up with a smooth, steady and respectable fourth in the moto, fifth on the day and seventh for the year.
Unfortunately for Farr he went from a possible runner up position to fifth for the year, since Byrd’s 30 points allowed him to slip into fourth overall instead.
2005 Overall Top 20
1. John Natalie 261
2. Doug Gust 216
3. Jeremiah Jones 213
4. Joe Byrd 207
5. Tim Farr 200
6. Travis Spader 169
7. Kory Ellis 168
8. Keith Little 163
9. Dustin Wimmer 135
10. Jason Dunkelberger 127
11. Pat Brown 125
12. Tavis Cain 121
13. Joe Haavisto / Harold Goodman 101
14. Matt White 99
15. Jason Luburgh 98
16. Gil Attix 70
17. Donald Lysinger 45
18. Donald Lamborn 26
19. Dustin Nelson 22
20. Chad Wienen 20
Who loves the spectators as much as he loves to ride? You guessed it, John Natalie. Here he throws free stuff to the many fans at the awards ceremony.
Twenty years of Loretta Lynn’s fun
It’s hot, it’s humid, our cell phones don’t work, the track is kind of hard to see what’s going on at times and it’s kind of pricey, — but there’s something about this twenty year tradition that always has us eagerly waiting for next year. Long live the Loretta Lynn’s GNC! See ya at the ranch next August, bring your swim suit and lots to drink.
Ryan Sowers Injured
Zanesville, Ohio’ Ryan Sowers was injured and placed in critical condition at the Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, TN. His crash happened late in the day on Sunday. Ryan suffers from multiple facial injuries along with other injuries. He is expected to recover but is facing some major facial reconstruction surgery. We pray for Ryan’s speedy recovery.
