Sight Lap: ATV Stampede is Coming

As round 6 of the AMA ATV MX National Championship present by DWT heads to Steel City this weekend for the ATV Stampede, one has to wonder what the mid-way point of the season holds.  It is the exact halfway point of the 11 round national series and round 5, the penultimate round of the AMA ATV Nationals 6 round Southern Challenge.

The Southern Challenge is part of the AMA ATV MX North/South Challenge Series.  This is basically two series within the AMA ATV National Championship created for those unable to contest the entire 2011 schedule.  All 35 amateur and youth classes of the ATVMX Championship are eligible. When you enter a National event, you will automatically have your points accumulate towards the program.  The top 3 in each class of the North and South Challenge will earn special awards.  In order to be eligible for awards you must compete in all six rounds of the North or South Challenge.  Loretta Lynn's will serve as a North and South round to offer riders the opportunity to face off at Dirt Days and sort of settle the score of who is the best of the best in each class.

The Southern Challenge consists of Aonia Pass, Mill Creek, Ballance MX, Budds Creek, Steel City and Loretta Lynn's.  The North Challenge consists of Sunset Ridge, Spring Creek, Sunday Creek, Unadilla, Red Bud and Loretta Lynn's.  As mentioned before this is only a part of the Nationals but offers up some excitement for those unable to race the entire series and gives them opportunity to prove themselves at least in their region of the AMA ATV Motocross Championship.

In reality the southern race in points look a lot like what the National point standings look like at the moment, but as we head into the latter part of the season things could really start to look a little different than what we are seeing in the first half as the series gets set to head back north in a couple of weeks.

Steel City will be the second race of what many would consider "premier venues" as it also hosts a round of The Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Nationals.  Round 4 at Budds Creek was the first of 5 events that share this prestige.  Though the weather conditions hampered what could have been and even better spectacle than it was at Budds Creek, the Steel City weather forecast is actually looking pretty good and the racing is slated to be the best yet.

I know there is so much hype coming into this round from so many angles that it is even hard to begin to write about it and I know that I will not run out of things to talk about from the announcer tower.   There are the obvious battles to look to with this being the home state for two of the top contenders on the circuit.

Seasoned Veteran and former Pro ATV Champion John Natalie hails from Houtzdale, PA and has always considered Steel City to be a favored track.  This track has also bitten Natalie.  In 2006 while John was defending the 2005 title he injured his thumb and it took him off a pace he hasn't seen since until this season.  Natalie is not only a threat to win races again but he is also a threat to win the championship again.

Rookie AMA ATV Pro Rookie, Makson Contruction/Hetrick Racing's Joel Hetrick from Seneca Pennsylvania is another rider that is carrying a lot of weight on his shoulders coming into this one.  Hetrick sits 8^th in points for the season and is coming off of his first podium finish in the pro class and with the taste of success could actually be a threat to win even against the experiences of John Natalie, points leader and MotoWorks/DWT/Can Am's Chad Weinen who is teammates with Natalie and Ohio's Baldwin Motorsports/JB Racing/ PEP's Josh Upperman.

Another factor to throw in is the mystique of this being a "Premeir Venue" is riders are ready to rise to the occasion.  Whether it be these style tracks fit different riders styles better or what, it is going to be a little different finish I feel than what many may expect.  Names like Thomas Brown, Nick DeNoble, Jeremy Lawson, Chase Snapp, Travis Moore and few others keep running through my mind and I for one am not "expecting" anything but an exciting weekend of racing.  Especially if ATVRiders.com's  Harlen Foley scoop is correct about both Dustin Wimmer and Josh Creamer making a visit this weekend.   Will they be there?  Will they race?  Will they be a factor?  Good questions to be answered soon.

In my opinion there will be plenty of racing to watch this weekend in all the classes.  The Pro Am Classes will have the intensity of the battles with Jeffery Rastrelli, Casey Martin, Mark Madl, Kyle Fix and Aaron Meyer battling to the bitter end in both those classes.  Don't be surprised to see another rider stake claims at the ATV Stampede this weekend as Jesse Barnes has been progressively finishing stronger and is looking for a strong start to put him in the mix of the battles right from the beginning.  This could be an epic season in these classes to say the least.

Next week we will try to break down some of the amateur battles here in Sight Lap and see how things are shaping up with 5 rounds to go.  Now I leave you with a few reminders heading inot this weekend:

1-      Racer TV's joined broadcast in progress this past Sunday on Versus Network of the Mill Creek MX will re-air in its entirety on Saturday May 28^th at 6:30 pm EDT. After it airs the show will be available on www.racertvonline.com to watch online.

2-      Racer TV will air flag to flag coverage of the ATV Stampede at Steel City on Sunday July 31, 2011 at 5:30 pm EDT.

3-      Can Am will plans to offer Demo Rides this weekend as a part of the 2011 "The Ride Say it All" tour.  You can experience the Outlander, Renegade, DSX 450 MX and the all new Commander side by side.  Look for the Can Am display trackside this weekend.

4-      Chapel Services will be held Sunday morning at 7:00am with Seth from DWT.  Series Chaplin Robert Cagle announced he would not be able to attend the rest of the season and Seth felt lead to step up and lead the services.  I had the opportunity to sit in at chapel service at Sunset Ridge and I feel that the racing community may see a huge blessing in future services. So try and come join us this Sunday at the bleachers.

That's it for now.  Looking for sunshine, great racing and you at the ATV Stampede at Steel City this weekend.  See ya there.  God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.