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JOE BYRD HITS "GRAND SLAM" AT HIGH POINT
Joe Byrd earned his second victory of
the season Sunday at High Point Raceway.
Joe Byrd holds his extra "Grand" on the
podium after winning the opening round
of the ITP Tires Grand Slam Presented by
QUAD Magazine.
Jeremy Lawson recorded his best finished
this season with his runner-up effort
and handed Can-Am its second consecutive
podium.
Josh Creamer earned his second podium of
the season on Sunday.
(Stephani McIntyre Photos) |
MOUNT MORRIS, Pa. (May 25,
2008) -- Joe Byrd has been around long
enough to know when it’s time to pull off a big
win. With Round 6 of the ITP Tires/Moose Racing
AMA/ATVA National Motocross Championship Series
Presented by Parts Unlimited marking mid-point
of the 2008 season, as well as the opening round
of the ITP Tires Grand Slam Presented by QUAD
Magazine, Byrd brought his "A" game...and it
showed. Byrd knew it was time to win, and win he
did.
Byrd (No. 7 Honda) captured the ATVRiders.com
Holeshot Award in the second moto, and, combined
with his third-place finish in the first moto,
he netted his second overall victory of the
year. Putting in another strong ride was Can-Am’s
Jeremy Lawson, who finished second, ahead of
Josh Creamer (No. 9 Team Monster Energy
Kawasaki), who recorded his second podium this
season Byrd switched machines three rounds ago
and since then, he has been methodically
marching his way to the top of the series
points.
“This quad has just worked out great," said
Byrd. "Sometimes, one machine is just better
than the other one; plain and simple. We finally
got to enjoy perfect weather and I was feeling
great out there. We worked hard on the set up on
this Honda and it was working perfectly.”
The victory provided a boost to Byrd’s points
tally, but the Union City, Tenn. native is still
taking it race by race.
“We got off to a slow start,” said Byrd.
“We’ve been trying to dig ourselves out of a
hole and things are coming around. There are
still a lot of motos to go.”
After posting a solid runner-up finish,
Lawson (No. 16 Can-Am) suffered a poor start in
moto two, but quickly made his way into second
place. Once there, he made a short charge after
Byrd, but couldn't make a dent in the Honda’s
rider’s lead. His second-place overall finish is
his best this season.
“I rode my hardest to overcome my bad start,
and I just hit the wall when I reached second,”
said a motivated Lawson. “It’s been a good
weekend for me and my Can-Am has been working
well. The guys at Epic have been working hard to
give me everything I need.”
Adding to Bryd’s stellar day was the bad luck
of series points leader Dustin Wimmer. The
MSR/Suzuki/Yoshimura/Pro Taper rider earned the
Ti Lube Fast Qualifier Award, and the Suspension
Systems Holeshot Award, en route to winning the
opening moto. However, the Center Valley, Pa.
rider suffered a variety of misfortunes to post
a 15th place in moto two. Most in attendance
were expecting another win from the previously
dominant Wimmer, but he ran into trouble right
out of the gate.
“I came together with Josh Creamer, we rubbed
tires and I was lucky not to crash," said Wimmer.
"I was completely up on my front wheels,
spinning backwards, and somehow I pulled it
out."
From there it things continued to go poorly
for the series points leader: “I cut the right
front tire down when I made contact with Josh,"
added Wimmer, "then the left went flat on the
second lap.”
Wimmer’s team changed his tires. He continued to
race to salvage valuable points.
Team Honda edged closer to Team Suzuki in the
Manufacturers' Cup standings. Suzuki now holds a
46-point lead going into the next race. Team
Can-Am sits third, 49 markers out of the lead.
The next race for the ATV Motocross Series is
scheduled for June 7-8 at Unadilla Valley Sports
Center in New Berlin, N.Y.
MOUNT MORRIS, Pa. (May 25,
2008) – Results of Sunday’s ITP/ Tires
Moose Racing AMA Pro ATV Motocross Championship
at High Point Raceway (Showing finishing
position, rider, bike number, bike brand,
hometown, and moto finishes):
Joe Byrd, 7, Honda, Union
City, Tenn., 3-1.
Jeremy Lawson, 16, Can-Am, Battletown, Ky., 2-2.
Josh Creamer, 9, Kawasaki, North Stonington,
Conn., 4-3.
Josh Upperman, 20, Honda, Louisville, Ohio, 7-4.
Dustin Wimmer, 191, Suzuki, Center Valley, Pa.,
1-14.
Doug Gust, 55, Suzuki, Salem, Wis., 5-6.
Harold Goodman, 708, Honda, Romulus, Mich.,
11-5.
Chad Wienen, 44, Suzuki, Galen, Ill., 6-10.
Rocco Arno, Jr., 101, Honda, Bridgeton, N.J.,
13-8.
Cody Miller, 22, Can-Am, Greenville, Texas,
15-7.
Sage Baker, 49, Can-Am, Shasta Lake, Calif.,
12-12.
Keith Little, 12, Kawasaki, Spruce Pine, Ala.,
8-17.
Steve Runkel, 911, Honda, Pleasant Prairie,
Wis., 14-3.
Pat Brown, 199, Yamaha, Pittstown, N.J., 9-18.
Russell Shumaker, 68, Kawasaki, Bristol, Wis.,
20-9.
Greg Gee, 10, Can-Am, Simcoe, Ontario, 18-11.
John Ragon, 98, Honda, Milan, Tenn., 10-20.
Thomas Hager, 215, Suzuki, Flaherty, Ky., 17-15.
John Natalie, 13, Can-Am, Houtzdale, Pa., 19-16.
Hunter Miller, 90, Honda, Greenville, Texas,
16-19.
ITP Tires/Moose Racing AMA Pro ATV Motocross
Championship points leaders: Wimmer 235, Gust
194, Byrd 178, Creamer 146, Natalie 142, Goodman
141, Lawson 134, Wienen 126, Upperman 119, Arno
116.
Notebook:
SLAMMED...With his
overall win on Sunday, Joe Byrd (No. 7 American
Honda/Joe Byrd Quad School Honda) won an extra
"grand" in the form of a $1,000 check for
winning the first of four ITP Tires Grand Slam
Presented by QUAD Magazine events. The $5,000
program, being held at the four showcase events
left on the 2008 calendar, kicked off here this
weekend. Byrd also takes the points lead in the
championship-within-a-championship series. The
Grand Slam also awards special Gold, Silver and
Bronze medals to the top-three finishers in each
of the Amateur divisions.
STRONG ENTRIES...This
weekend featured 704 entries, of which 27 were
Pros.
TAKE YOUR SEAT...Josh
Upperman finished fourth overall, despite losing
the seat on his No. 20 Baldwin Motorsports Honda
early in second moto.
CAN-AM AGAIN...Can-Am
earned its second consecutive podium here, this
time with rider Jeremy Lawson. Can-Am earned its
first overall podium in ATV Motocross
competition two weeks ago in Illinois with rider
John Natalie.
QUICK CHANGE...Pat
Brown (No. 199 Yamaha) had a change in personnel
prior to the first Pro moto on Sunday. Paul
Turner, Brown's mechanic, was called away at the
last moment to care for his daughter, who was
injured in a non-racing accident. Brown's
father, Fred, stepped in at the last minute to
wrench for the younger Brown. For his efforts,
the elder Brown was named the DASA Mechanic of
the Race.
INJURY UPDATE...Chad Wienen (No. 44 Team
MSR/Suzuki/Yoshimura/Pro Taper) is still
suffering the after affects of two separate
shoulder injuries. Wienen broke his right
scapula several weeks ago in a crash during
practice, which was further aggravated by a
tumble a month ago. "I'm just trying to finish
two motos," said a dejected Wienen. "That's my
goal right now."
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES...The
quads ridden by Pat Brown, Dustin Wimmer, and
John Natalie all suffered mechanical problems in
the second moto on Sunday.
THREEPEATER...This
weekend's overall podium marked the second
consecutive time three different brands finished
in the top three: 1. Honda (Joe Byrd), 2. Can-Am
(Jeremy Lawson), and Kawasaki (Josh Creamer).
About the ATV Association
(ATVA)
The ATV Association (“ATVA”) is the official
sanctioning body of the amateur division of the
ATVA ITP/Moose ATV National Motocross
Championship Series Presented by Parts
Unlimited. The 9,000-member ATVA is a sister
organization of the 260,000 member American
Motorcyclist Association (AMA). ATV racing has
experienced phenomenal growth in recent years,
and continues to gain momentum and support,
outselling off-road motorcycles annually. Each
ATVA round attracts hundreds of racers who
compete for bragging rights to one of 31 amateur
national titles. For more information, please
visit
www.atvaonline.com.
About the ATV Promoters
Group (ATVPG)
The ATVPG is composed of the individual
promoters that host the AMA ITP/Moose ATV
National Motocross Championships, presented by
Parts Unlimited. The goal of the ATVPG is to
raise awareness of ATV motocross through the
production of professional and amateur
championship racing events. For more information
on the ATVPG and the ATV National events they
produce, please visit
www.atvmotocross.com.
About the ITP/Moose ATV
National Motocross Championship Series Presented
by Parts Unlimited
The AMA ITP/Moose ATV National Motocross
Championship Series Presented by Parts Unlimited
is the nation’s premier amateur and professional
ATV motocross series, and competes at top
motocross facilities nationwide. The 11-round
series features the Nation's best racers, teams
and sponsors, and is America’s largest and
longest-running ATV National Motocross series
with more than 20 years of competition. The
series continues to expand and produce top
talent from the amateur ranks, while keeping
close to the grassroots fun that makes people
love to go to the races.
Series sponsors include title sponsors ITP
Tires and Moose Racing, and presenting sponsor
Parts Unlimited. Premiere and Feature sponsors
include ATV Sport, Moto Tees, Scott USA, Maxxis
Tires, Elka Suspension and H-Bomb Films/Division
Four. Associate sponsors include Weekend Warrior
Trailers, Denton Racing, and Hinson Racing.
Media partners include ATV Insider, ATV Rider
and ATVRiders.com. For more information, please
visit
www.atvmotocross.com.
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