Riders from as far away as Pennsylvania joined those from Texas and surrounding states in a battle to the finish at Oak Hill, a track most will eagerly return to next month for Round 2 of the 2006 ATVA ITP-Moose Grand National Championship Motocross Series.

With a full gate in the Open Expert class, thrilling race action was anticipated and spectators were not disappointed. What some may not have expected, however, was the excellent show put on by the amateurs. Non-stop action continued, race after race, through both motos as 178 riders revealed their determination to get to the front of the pack in each of their classes.

Open Expert moto 1 holeshot

A few of the 2005 GNC Pro and Pro Am riders competing at Oak Hill were Dustin Wimmer (191), Jason “Dunk” Dunkelberger (19), Matt White (32), Chad Wienen (152), Josh Creamer (270), Cody Miller (22), Hunter Miller (90), Johnny Hale (16), and Jesse Sheaffer (311).  Positions changed on the track throughout both races, with a surprising overall win for Wienen.

In the first moto, Cody Miller got the holeshot. Nick Hickey (82), Daniel Donnon (9), Wimmer and others were right with him coming into the first turn out of the gate, but Wimmer soon made his way to the front, passing for second. He and Cody were gaining a lead until Wienen passed for third.

“This is where things got really interesting,” said Barbara Miller, mom to Cody and Hunter. “Chad started making time back on Cody and Dustin, and by lap 5 he was right with them on a wild ride for the finish.”
Wimmer was all over Cody, trying to make a pass, with Wienen right on them. Cody took the inside on an inside/outside berm and when Wimmer went around for a pass, Wienen flew through, taking his second place position and going for first. With all three running close together, Wienen made another attempt to pass Cody in the last lap before the checkered flag, but could not make it stick. Cody took first, followed by Wienen, Wimmer, Dunkelberger, Hunter Miller, White, RJ Slayton (15), Brice Simon (29), Thomas Brown (84), and Nate Frees (114) in the top ten.

Wienen blasted through the holeshot in moto 2, taking his lead early, followed by Cody and Hunter Miller. Running without a working clutch, Dunkelberger stalled in turn two and could not get his bike started right away. By the time he did, the pack was well ahead of him and he had lots of ground to make up.

Wienen (152) closes in on Wimmer

“It didn’t matter anyway,” said Barbara Miller, “because Chad Wienen was gone by the second corner.  I mean just flat out gone, and there wasn't anything that anyone could do about it.  He was a man on a mission and he wasn't looking back.”

A battle for second place began between the two brothers, Cody and Hunter. The two ran neck and neck at times, with Hunter passing Cody in lap two and Cody taking him back in lap three, and then Hunter flipped. Coming on strong, Wimmer took third, then second, but it was too late to catch Wienen.

“Chad was so far out in front, it was amazing to see this happening,” said Barbara Miller.  “He was clearly 20 or 30 seconds ahead of everybody and still pushing like it was the last race and the championship was on the line. It was like watching a star being born right in front of our eyes.”

Wienen took the checkered flag, and first place overall. Wimmer took second, followed in the moto by White, Creamer, Cody Miller, Dunkelberger, Brown, Frees, Slayton, and Bobby Ross (815). Overall top ten finishes following Wienen and Wimmer were Cody Miller, White, Dunkelberger, Brown, Slayton, Frees, Hunter Miller, and Creamer.

Several of the experts were back out on the track in the Pro Am class, including White, who took second in the first moto and first in the second for a first place overall. Creamer won the first moto and finished second overall, followed by Matt Christian (36), Denton Boyer (156), Sheaffer Brown, Brown Tyler Steffens (12), Tyson Strauss (87), Zakk Lumm (93) and Cory Dunaway (9) as the top ten.

In the Over 40 Open, Roger Moore (38) took first in both motos, followed by Robbie Carpenter (63), Roger Ratliff (32), Rick Raymond (611), and Tony Wo (137), with the same top five positions in both motos.

Cody takes checkered flag

Kevin Carothers (06) placed first overall in the Over 30 A, followed by Michael Fisk (65), Robert Salinas (738), Aaron McMahan (77) and Eric Gilbert (13).

Jay Holman (2r) took a 1-1 win for first overall in the Over 30 B, followed by Dan Teague (131), Brian Saliba (51), Don McKain (8r), and Joe Gonzales (2) for the top five overall.

In the Open A, Shane Owens (1) won the first moto and Chris Zolnai (33) won the second, but Cody Magnuson (57) took first overall, followed by Lumm and Chase Ingram (12r). The rider to watch in this class, however, was Robby Early (12), who finished fourth overall after mishaps in both motos.

In the first moto, Early flipped after tangling with a few riders coming into the first turn. With bent handlebars, he went on to finish seventh. In the second moto, Early was on the gas and flying. Out ahead of everyone, he spun out between jumps seven and eight and stalled, losing several places, but managed to make it back to second before the checkered flag. Zolnai, running in second, won the race and ended up with fifth overall.

With 24 riders, the Open B was the only class required to qualify. Finishing in the top five overall in this class were Jared Heintschel (88), William Creese (16), Joshua Bateman (7r), Tracy Yocham (55) and Daniel Jones (3).

The top five overall riders in the Open C included Chad Wilson (4), Brad Dunn (8), Braden Feller (13r), Larry Corwin (13), and Ryan McDaniel (44), and the top five in the Open 4-stroke included Spencer Owens (411), followed by Heintschel, Brent Henneman (39), Creese, and Austin Wilson (12), who won his second moto.

Ryan Anderson (414) took first place wins all around in the Blaster and Youth classes. Although Chase Snapp (22) managed to pass him once or twice in the Blaster class, Anderson quickly took his first place position back as he hit all of the jumps on his little Blaster. On the heels of Snapp, Tyler Whitmire (4) tried to make a pass for second, but Snapp took him in both motos. Whitmire finished third overall, followed by Terrell Evans (9) and Chaz Howell (23) in the top five.

Following Anderson in both motos of the Youth class were Yocham, who also placed in the Open B., and Josh Juneau (56) who took third, although Whitmire tried several times to get around him. “He was all over me,” said Juneau. “It was hard to hold him off, ‘cause he’s really fast.”

Weinen jumps out front in moto 2.

Whitmire finished fourth, and Cody Bales (22) rounded out the top five among these highly competitive Youth racers.
Megan Manshack (11) ran away with the Open Ladies class, no contest, followed by Shae Warren (324), Courtney Griggs (15), Rachelle Lewis (8), Megan Magnuson (57) and Anne Reece (6).

In the Mom’s class, made up of racers’ moms with very little racing experience, Kim Whitmire (4) took first in both motos, followed by Gail Tincher (9), Kelly Gonzalez (2) and Audrey Hickey (82) in the overall finishes.

Tessa May (12) won both motos in the Super Mini (6-12), although Tanner Bales (11) had a big lead in the first moto before spinning out and losing a couple of positions. Finishing second overall was Rhett Sims (112), followed by Bales, Brennan Mullins (33), and Trey Talley (3) in the top five.

Only four riders entered the Super Stock Mini class. Keifer Peak (23) had a 1-1 win, with Baylee Evans (9) finishing second overall, Cory Gonzalez (6) in third and Max Bledsoe (4g) in fourth.

The Mini Quad (5-11) had the same top four finishes in both motos. Evans placed first, followed by Bledsoe, Bailey Holman (4), and JD Head (46). Payton Howell (6) finished fifth overall with a 5-6 win.

The smallest class was the Peewee (4-8), with only two riders starting. Keaton Forsyth (714) took first in both motos and Payton Howell finished second.

A majority of the riders commenting on the Oak Hill track said it was “awesome” and they “loved it,” although it is long and did become “blue grooved.” Known as the “country club of motocross,” it is considered sandy with “safe, but technical jumps”, a lot of flat turns, and a “knarly” woop section _certainly a national caliber track. Many say they cannot wait to return for the GNC Round 2, The Wrangler at Oak Hill, scheduled for February 11-12. For more information on that race, contact Racer Productions at (304) 284-0084, info@racerproductions.com or visit their web site at: www.racerproductions.com.

Complete results from the TQRA/ Oak Hill National Warm up Race is available on the TQRA website at www.tqra.com.