Oil City, PA (July 18, 2011) - A blind man could have seen it coming. All the indicators were there, front and center, plain and simple, cut and dry. The writing was on the wall. Or, could you say, the printing was on the event T-shirt. Never in their wildest dreams did the promoters of Round 9 of the 2011 AMA ATV Motocross Nationals imagine that by choosing Rookie Pro Joel Hetrick to grace the official event T-shirt that they had preempted a historic date in the annals of ATV racing.
After experiencing a season-long saga of extreme highs and depressing lows, highlighted by two holeshots and a second place overall finish during Round 5 in Illinois, Hetrick Racing/Makson Construction's Joel Hetrick finally put it all together at Unadilla Valley Sports Center in New Berlin, NY on July 16th. Not only did he win the event with 1-1 moto scores, but Hetrick made ATV racing history, reaching a pinnacle no other ATV MX Pro Rookie has ever accomplished.
In the first moto, Hetrick found himself behind two seasoned Pros at the holeshot but didn't stay there very long. He soon made his way around the duo and set sail on a pace that would give him the moto win by a margin of 7 seconds over the competition. In the second moto, with friends, family and fans cheering him on, Hetrick pulled the holeshot and put on one of those "never look back" acts, leading the Pro class of 17 to the checkers with a 5.5 second lead over second place.
In a post-race interview, Hetrick made this comment to ATVMotocross.Com, "It was definitely my weekend here at Unadilla...The track was good. I mean it was smooth, simple and real fast." In an article following Hetrick's podium appearance at Sunset Ridge MX in Illinois during Round 5, the editor of the ATVRE Media Group, David Screws, offered this insight, "Someday he will be a champion. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but some day in the not so distant future, Joel Hetrick will leave a major mark on the sport of ATV racing..." By winning the event, Hetrick Racing/Makson Construction's Joel Hetrick not only proved that he has what it takes to become a champion in the not so distant future..but...carved his notch in the history books of ATV racing by becoming the first ever ATV Motocross Pro to win both motos and the overall event during his Rookie year...a major mark on the sport of ATV racing if there ever was one. Joel Hetrick is sponsored by: Hetrick Racing, Makson Construction, JB Racing, Maximum RPM, Fly Racing, Elka Suspension, Walsh Race Craft, MotoWorks, Easton, Maxxis, Lone Star Racing, Tiger Racing, Pro Graph-X, Quad Tech, Rage ATV, Rath Racing, Luke Nixon Racing, Precision Racing Products, DWT, Oury ATV Grips, DP Brakes, Fuel Customs, PowerMadd, Outerwears, Rebel Gears, Kal-Gard, Intense Fabrication & Design, Hinson Clutches, Pafford EMS and World Of Wheels.
