Friday Sight Lap: Banquet Season

The racing season is over and only one more order of business lies ahead for the 2011 AMA ATV National Motocross Championship by DWT.  That business is the always fun and exciting awards banquet.  This year's banquet is set for Saturday October 29 at the Grand Resort Hotel and Convention Center  in Pigeon Forge Tennessee.  The Grand Resort has been the host for the banquet the last few years so there is really nothing new about the venue.  And as always one can expect it to be fun for the entire family as this area is geared specifically toward family vacations.  So in a nutshell plan your time while there and take advantage of everything that Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg have to offer.  You really should take advantage of all the things you can while there, especially if you have never been or have never really taken the opportunity while there at past banquets.

If you have not made reservations yet for the banquet it is suggested you do so soon the deadline will be Friday October 21, 2011. You can print the PDF form for the actual banquet and if you need to book a room at the Grand Resort you can do so by calling1-800-251-4444. For additional questions, please contact media@atvmotocross.com.

Once again this year we are planning on presenting some specialty awards and we are looking for any input you may have in some of the categories.  A few weeks ago I sent out this call and we have gotten a few responses but I have to think that there is more that can be shared from our ATV Racing Nation.  So if you have any suggestions of anyone you think deserves one of the awards then please bring it to our attention.  You can email to the above media@atvmotocross.com and it will get in the right hands.  The categories that once again that we are asking for help on are: Team of the Year Award Sportsmanship Award, Most Improved Award, Good Samaritan Award, Rider of the Year Award, Youth Rider of the Year Award and Award of Media Excellence.  Any suggestions will be taken into consideration.

As we prepare ourselves on the amateur side of things for the banquet the AMA Pro ATV racers had their awards a few weeks ago at the AMA Pro Racing Banquet in Pala California.  The ATV Pros joined the Motorcycle Pros for a night of celebration.  The top AMA Pro ATV racers were honored along with the other AMA Pros which is something that began back in 2007 once the Pro class finally reached full AMA Pro Racing status.

The obvious award of ATV Champion award went to MotoWorks/DWT/Can Am Racing's John Natalie Jr.  Natalie the wily veteran of the class captured his second ATV championship this season.  Realizing that his first was so memorable at a time in ATV racing when it seemed like the sky was the limit, Natalie accepted the award this time as a full-fledged AMA Pro racer.  I am sure as great as the first championship was this one had to be so much better.  As I mentioned he is the veteran of the class and one of the oldest riders now on the starting line.  He has seen the factory support come and go and was able to give a company that stood behind him even in some down years their first National ATV Motocross title.  That as much as anything has got be about as gratifying as anything can get.  Natalie was also recognized with receiving a special award called the Gary Denton Motocross Cup which honors riders for great accomplishments such as Denton performed himself in the early days of ATV MX racing.

In other awards that were handed out one of the closest watched battles of the year was the battle for Top Rookie honors.  Everyone went into the season looking at Chase Snapp and Joel Hetrick to be the ones to emerge top of the rookie class and battle for those honors.  And even though we did not really get to see a Snapp/Hetrick battle until Loretta Lynn's it was exciting to watch these two young rookies roll.  It appeared for a while that Snapp may have it in the bag, but after capturing 4 moto wins and 2 overall wins on the season, Joel Hetrick was able to edge Snapp out of the honor.

Even though Chad Wienen ended the season early due to injury, one has to admire the total dedication that he has shown to the sport that he basically gave up everything for.  Wienen was an avid stick and ball sports star in high school and when told to choose he chose the uncertainty of ATV racing.  Weinen didn't win a championship this year even though it looked like he was on track to do so before the season ending practice crash just past the mid-way point of the season.  However Wieinen received the ATV Sportsperson of the Year award which was a great honor after such a tough ending to his season.

It was not only riders that were honored at the banquet but sponsors, teams, managers and mechanics were also given recognition for their efforts.  The award for ATV Team Manager of the Year went to Baldwin Motorsports' Mark Baldwin.  Baldwin is the team manager for the privateer Josh Upperman who nearly took the championship away from the heavily factory supported teams of Can-Am and Yamaha.

The Champion mechanics award went to the obvious Casey Greek who is Natalie's mechanic.  You know that the team atmosphere is going to be a little uneasy next year between Greek and Weinen's mechanic Ryan Cox.  I hear that Greek has ordered a huge chain and is having his award crafted into a medallion to wear everywhere he goes next year.  I am sure it will not sit well with Cox and could really make for an exciting championship next year.  One may think that maybe Jimmy Odell from Can-Am may put the brakes on this medallion thing to ease any tension, but sounds like O'Dell is where the idea came from as it has been reported that Jimmy has already had his completed and can't wait to dawn next season at round 1. (Okay the medallion thing is a little bit far from truth, but it sure would be funny)

That will do it for now till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.