[2006 ATVA MX Nationals Round #5 – Budds Creek - Race Coverage] - ATV Riders Forums - Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Polaris, CanAm, Arctic Cat, Kymco ATVs

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2006 ATVA MX Nationals Round #5 – Budds Creek - Race Coverage
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Posted by: Admin

The Daylight Savings meant getting up an one hour sooner after an extremely long day of racing on Saturday.

At 9AM, I introduced the Suzuki Pit Crew Members of the Day (Landon & John Herbst) to Pat Alexander, which was going to be the beginning of a day that would surely be a conversation piece for this father and son for some time as they had the opportunity to hang out with Team Suzuki for the entire day and meet both Jeremiah Jones and Doug Gust.

They won this prize at the Open House at Ray Wilt in Hanover, PA on Thursday when Lost Creek Cycles, Jason Dunkelberger & Jeff Thompson came down and signed autographs for the dealership visitors along with accepted entries for the Suzuki Pit Crew Member of the Day.

Posted by: Admin

The Herbst may have been pit crew members, but the ATV cleaning job still belonged to Paul and Ryan.

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Cale Downen replaced his axle and picked up where he left off yesterday in Pro Am Production by winning the Pro Am Unlimited Heat along with Josh Upperman winning the other Heat, which set the stage for the Pro Am Unlimited Main

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An ecstatic Josh Upperman would take the Win in the 2nd Moto to extend his winning streak to five races as he is well on his way to the Pro Am Unlimited Championship

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Cale Downen finished in the runnerup spot ahead of racing legend, Rodney Gentry rounding out the top three.

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Heather Byrd took the Win again today over Michelle Reiser followed by Jami Luburgh and Paula Shank.

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Candace Lee took the Women's Sport Win once again as she is really starting to make a name for herself on the motocross track as she has already proved her speed on the dirt track

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With the sun high in the sky and temps hovering around 80 degrees is was finally time for the start of the first Moto, and these brothers were ready with icy pops in hand

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Lonestar Racing's Keith Little and the rest of the Pros headed out for their parade lap to check out the track one last time before the start of the race.

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The Budds Creek hillsides were filled with a record crowd of spectators and racers for an ATVA Nationals Event in Maryland

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John Natalie Jr with his Rage ATV engine grabbed the Holeshot followed by a trio of DASA Engines with Pat Brown, Joe Byrd, and Travis Spader all in chase

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John Natalie Jr initially began to pull away from the pack with Joe Byrd applying the pressure to Pat Brown running in second place.

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Kory Ellis was running in the 8th spot after being passed by Jeremiah Jones as he tried to recover from being pushed off the track in the first lap, which dropped him back to near the back of the pack, but he was quickly picking off riders as he charged to the front.

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By the third lap, Doug Gust moved into 4th after passing Travis Spader, and Chad Wienen was now applying the pressure to Spader.

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John Natalie Jr built a several second lead by time the race was approaching the half way point

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Joe Byrd and Doug Gust both passed Pat Brown and set their sights on John Natalie Jr in the lead.

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Meanwhile, Jeremiah Jones pulled in behind Chad Wienen trailing Travis Spader as they formed a train heading up the finish line hill.

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Shortly afterwards, Jeremiah Jones made his way around Wienen and began to pressure Spader for the 5th spot.

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Dustin Wimmer was chasing after the battling trio in the 8th spot ahead of Kory Ellis and Joe Haavisto rounding out the top 10, but then his seat fell off, which would force him to slow it down a notch.

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Meanwhile, Jason Dunkelberger was eating a spray of roost from Keith Little and Tavis Cain

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Tim Farr was back on the track this weekend, but he was coasting around the track as he is still suffering from back pain, and the three week break after Budds Creek will give him some well needed rest.

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Jeremiah Jones continued his charge and moved into 4th place behind Natalie Jr, Byrd, and Gust.

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Pat Brown charge would come to an end when smoke began billowing out of his YFZ450, which sent him to the sit at the finish line for the checkered.

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Joe Byrd, Doug Gust, and Jeremiah Jones closed the gap on John Natalie Jr out front, and there was a real battle for the lead with only a few laps to go.

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John Natalie Jr apparently broke his subframe as his seat pulled away from the tank along with his rear fenders

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Doug Gust and Joe Byrd would collide over a blind step up when Joe Byrd drifted into the path of Gust, which caused Gust to plow into him. The result would lock the pair together, which allowed Jeremiah Jones to quickly move into the second spot with only two laps to go.

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The Pro Rookie, Chad Wienen moved into 3rd place followed by Travis Spader, and Joe Byrd would get going again in 5th place with Doug Gust dropping all the way back to 11th place

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Even without a seat, Dustin Wimmer continued to charge and was running strong in 6th place.

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In the final lap of the race, Jeremiah Jones would over come his spell of bad luck and make the pass on John Natalie Jr and take his first Moto win of the season, which was a big win for Team Suzuki and their new LT-R450 Quadracer

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John Natalie Jr finished in the runner up spot followed by none other than Chad Wienen with his career best Pro finish.

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Jason Dunkelberger and Tavis Cain tangled in the final laps of the race in between the two large tabletops in the valley, which sent them flipping. Tavis Cain ended up with a gash in the forehead, but Dunk was able to remount and finish the moto in 17th place while Tavis Cain took the DNF

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When the Pros arrived for the start of the second Moto, Smitty notified Jeremiah Jones and John Natalie Jr they would need to provide fuel samples for testing

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John Natalie Jr took the fuel sample in stride as he posed with one of the many ATVriders.com members at the track, Herb Eyler who was attending his first ever ATV Motocrosss National and having a blast.

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Finally with the first gate pick, Jeremiah Jones takes a moment to take a look at the start in hopes of picking the perfect line for the Holeshot in the second Moto.

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It was hard for anyone to wipe the smile off Chad Wienen’s face after his impressive first Moto finish, which was great to see.

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Jason Luburgh’s sister, Jami, was out sweeping the gate for him, which shows a true family commitment. I would be lucky to get my sister to pickup a broom besides sweeping the starting gate, lol.

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Meanwhile, Pat Brown decided to take upon the duty himself, while his mechanic told him to give me the broom.

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The Elka crew took a break from adjusting suspension and were track side for the start of the race with camera man, Shane Hartman getting into position after just finishing up his second moto and finishing out the weekend in 6th for Production C.

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The start of the second Moto had Jon Natalie Jr once again grabbing the Holeshot followed by Pat Brown and Jeremiah Jones. As they crested the top of the downhill, Josh Creamer was bumped from behind, which sent him flying off his quad and flipping down the hill for one scary scene.

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On the lucky side, no one ran over Josh and his Honda didn’t body slam him into the ground, but he flipped head over heals almost to the bottom of the hill for nearly 100 feet.

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With the rest of class disappearing, Josh Creamer was stopped motionless for a few seconds before he began to move his feet and finally jump back up and get on his K&K Racing Honda and return to the race, which was a relief for anyone that saw his horrible accident.

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John Natalie Jr launched through the whoops with Jeremiah Jones in hot pursuit.

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By the end of the lap, Natalie Jr maintained the lead followed by Jeremiah Jones, and on the same hill that Creamer almost got knocked out, Jones hand slipped off the grips, which almost sent him flipping through the berm at the bottom.

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Moments later, without missing a beat, Jones was able to get back in control and on the throttle chasing after Natalie Jr.

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Dustin Wimmer quickly charged his way up into 3rd by the end of the second lap after passing Pat Brown, while Keith Little also worked his way up from 9th to 6th place in just two laps after passing Joe Haavisto.

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Joe Byrd was also on the move as he moved up to 9th after a surprisingly bad start, but he was on the gas and apply the pressure to Travis Spader

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While Natalie Jr was feeling the pressure from Jones, Dustin Wimmer was also closing in on the battling pair out front.

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By the third lap, Jeremiah Jones would make his move and pass Natalie Jr to take over the lead.

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Joe Haavisto was beginning to apply the pressure to Pat Brown, and he would make the pass in the fourth lap to take over the 4th spot behind Dustin Wimmer.

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Tavis Cain forget to remove the magnet from his Honda between Motos because him and Jason Luburgh got hooked up in the second Moto, which sent the pair to the back of the pack with Harold Goodman and Josh Creamer.

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As Joe Byrd charged to the front, it was lucky that Jason Dunkelberger didn’t let off the gas going over the “Big Gulp” because it could have gotten ugly real quick with Jason on the losing end of the deal, and it is amazing sometimes how close the Pros launch over some of these huge jumps.

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Chad Wienen wasn’t the only Pro Rookie out on the track as Rocco Arno Jr was also out there looking to gain some points along with Josh Creamer who has been having a rough comeback after a preseason injury.

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Josh Creamer was at the rear of the pack, but instead of giving up, he continued to ride hard and use the Moto as a chance to prepare for Birch Creek after a well needed 3 week break.

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By the half way point, Jeremiah Jones began to play a disappearing act as he pulled away from John Natalie Jr.

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Pat Brown was back to 6th place after being passed by Joe Byrd. Byrd continued to execute the art of passing as he closed in on the leaders and round out the top five.

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Tim Farr was giving all he could early in the second Moto while battling with Travis Spader for the 11th spot, but shortly afterwards he would start his descent backwards while Spader creped his way toward the front.

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While Jones downsided the second tabletop, Natalie Jr was going through the berm in between with Dustin Wimmer launching the lip on the first tabletop.

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Meanwhile, Doug Gust continued his charge to the front along with Chad Wienen as they both passed Brown and moved up into 6th place behind Joe Haavisto and Joe Byrd now in the 4th spot.

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Jason Luburgh may have been back near the rear of the pack, but he still styled up the “Big Gulp” for the race fans flocking at the base in complete awl.

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Duncan Racing’s Tavis Cain also was back on the gas try to salvage enough points to stay in the top 10 overall point standings

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With only a few laps left, Jeremiah Jones takes a look over to see who is coming in behind him, and it would be John Natalie Jr along with Dustin Wimmer as he was pressuring Natalie Jr for the second spot while Natalie Jr was experiencing some serious arm pump and was just trying to hold on at the end of the race.

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Wimmer would finally make the pass and move into the runnerup spot while Joe Byrd closed the gap on the pair in 4th place.

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Doug Gust moved into the 6th spot behind Joe Haavisto as the Suzuki Team was having a great day besides the unfortunate collision in the first Moto, which sent Gust out of the chase for the Podium

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Jones may have been in the lead , but anything could happen, and he almost lost it over the second tabletop when the lip sent him out of shape for a rough landing, but he was able to straighten it out and stay on the gas.

He would keep it under control for the remainder of the Moto and take the second Moto win for a perfect 1-1 day and his first Podium since Unadilla in 2005.

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In the final laps, Joe Byrd would make the pass on Dustin Wimmer and move into 2nd place and take second overall for the weekend.

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Natalie Jr would finish out the second Moto in 4th place with Joe Haavisto all over him as they crossed the checkered flag, which was enough for Natalie Jr to finish out on the Podium for the 5th time this season as he maintains his points leads.

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The Overall Winnner, Jeremiah Jones was greeted on the podium by his lovely wife, Jamie, and their baby boy.

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The top three finishers up on the podium balcony over looking the cheering crowd below on the hillside

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2006 Budds Creek’s Top Three Finishers, Jeremiah Jones, Joe Byrd, and John Natalie Jr.

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Afterwards, John Natalie jr protested Jeremiah Jones and Joe Byrd as he promised before the start of the races on Friday during the riders meeting ,and he plans on doing it through out the remainder of the season to keep everyone honest.

On the positive, Both Jones and Byrd were below the 450cc limit and everyone went home happy.

Posted by: Admin

It was now time to pack it up, and think about what could have been or atleast begin preparing for round 6 at Birch Creek at the end of April

Posted by: Admin

With the sun setting behind the trees at Budds Creeks, the weekend of racing and packed parking lots quickly was over and the once active track became a ghost town by dark, and I hope everyone enjoyed the updates from this weekend's race.

Next weekend, it is time for some GNCC Racing, and I will be heading to Big Buck, which is really exciting because I will finally be racing again on a 2006 Yamaha Raptor 700, which is well over due because it is getting tough to just watch and take pictures every weekend.

Posted by: BlueZ440

Thanks for alll the great picture Harlen.

Posted by: Lurch

Was jjones running Maxxis Razor's this round?

Posted by: quadgeek631

Great pictures!! I look forward to your review of the races every week. Keep up the good work.

Posted by: 450man

finally a forum follow up with pictures and a good race coverage!!!

Posted by: Pappy

great job Harlen....pics look awesome!

Posted by: atvracer9m

awesome pics as always...

WHY did Natalie protest their engines..

Posted by: QCquad83

Great job chad

Posted by: 450r51

whats the top 20 in pts....anyone?

Posted by: tido450

quote:
Originally posted by atvracer9m
awesome pics as always...

WHY did Natalie protest their engines..

all i know, is that if i had to tear my engine down for now reason id be pissed. if natalie wins someone should say his needs inspected

Posted by: QCquad83

yeah he's just doing to them what they did to him last season. what comes around goes around

Posted by: infantry317

Suzuki protested Farr and Natalie last year did they not?

Posted by: Pappy

i dont blame them one bit...if I was in a points battle and had an off day, it would be worth the money to protest them. You could catch someone and help keep the points honest.

and why do folks get upset, these engines come apart when they get back to the shop anyway

Posted by: badvox

quote:
Originally posted by Pappy
i dont blame them one bit...if I was in a points battle and had an off day, it would be worth the money to protest them. You could catch someone and help keep the points honest.

and why do folks get upset, these engines come apart when they get back to the shop anyway

I agree with ya there Pappy. The way I understand the rule is that the money you put up to protest goes to the team you protest in the event that nothing is found. Do I have that right?

In the pro ranks I would expect that. Although Ive heard of the 90cc class having lots of protests going on too. That to me is much harsher considering it could be a poor schmuck like me having to tear it down and rebuild it.

Posted by: Pappy

you could be correct, I know in Nascar it goes to the year end purse.

i could have protested several races myself last season in teh gncc 90 class, but decided to let it go

Posted by: JRP

Hey Harlen, great pics... I belive I saw you.. I had a red ASV shirt on with a white shirt around my neck. The berm right before the big gulp i saw you.. You went over the fence onto the track and almost go your foot stuck. I was right there. Oh and when you were taking the pics of the pros shaking their wine, and you took a pic of the crowd.. I think i was in it. lol, once again great job. Check out my thread in the open forum.

Posted by: ex kid

if racing was your full time job you would make sure that everyone is racing on equal equipment too.

Posted by: catch22blaster

great pics it was a great weekend

Posted by: cowchaser

Thanks Harlen awsome job again it was nice to meet you on the weekend
Paul Smith
That Australian guy

Posted by: Lurch

Harlen gets TWO THUMBS UP for the great coverage!

Posted by: TCracin440ex

oh man this forum only got me stoked up for birch creek....it will be here sooner then you know....and i cant wait....woot...im def gonna be there hopefully on my brand new 06 450er...not racing tho just spectating

Posted by: Dice Wiley

quote:
Originally posted by atvracer9m
awesome pics as always...

WHY did Natalie protest their engines..

Natalie said on friday, during riders meeting, that all the rumors(of illegal quads) might as well come out. he said after the 2nd moto he was gonna protest 2 people, and 2 more people every round. it was nothing ill-content----- just too many rumors to chance a championship on

Posted by: Dupontster

Awsome pics Harlen! I didnt realize how much of a job it is to take these pics till I saw Harlen RUNNING his arse off all over to get these awsome pics. Great job. My mom was taking pics aswell. Here is a couple.
Natalies Holeshot

Posted by: Dupontster

.............

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Natalie again

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And again

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Byrd and Gust

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Gust, Brown, Wienen

Posted by: Dupontster

Thats it for now I got some more resizing to do. My mom got a really neat sequence shot of Josh Creamer falling down the first hill. I'll have that up shortly

Posted by: TheJeSter1340

Good Job harlen. I was wondering where the reports were. I am goign to try to be at birch... maybe Race. I have exams that weekend though.

Posted by: Lurch

In a few of the pictures it looked like JJones was running Maxxis Razor MX tires this round. Anyone one know if this is real or is my eyes playing tricks on me?

Posted by: Prey

jj had 2 bikes there, one had maxxis and the other bike had stock tires on it

Posted by: Lurch

So I'm not loosing it. THANK GOD!

Posted by: Dupontster

Here is that sequence shot of Josh Creamer

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Posted by: JRP

yea man, i saw that... It was sick...

Posted by: Dupontster

Yeah. How bout Tavis Cain and Dunkleburgers wreck.

Tavis got a pretty bad gash on his head I think.

Posted by: JRP

yea i walked up to tavis's pit, and he was sitting there after his crash with dunk, with a band-aid on his head and it was covered in blood.

Posted by: ESrider

Great coverage Harlen! I can't to see Birch Creek, good luck at Big Buck!f

Posted by: Atkins

Creamer needs to be thanking his lucky stars. He is one licky dude after avoiding injury from that wreck.

Posted by: tamehart

Great Race Coverage. Awesome Pics!!

Posted by: herbert

harlen excellent job on the coverage and thanks for the picture of john natalie and myself. keep up the good work!!!! anytime you need help call me ill be your wing man anyday!

Posted by: cutierider

great coverage. i was standing at the top of that hill when he went over. i thought he was unconscience after he wrecked b/c he wasnt moving. glad to see he could walk away after a wreck like that.