Root River Racing’s
Loretta's Mtn Dew ATV MX Report
Brandon O'Neill Takes
Two Overall Wins at Loretta Lynn’s
2015
AMA ATV Motocross
Round 10 - Links
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La Crosse, WI (8/28/2015) - Root
River Racing wrapped up the 2015 season at round
ten of the Mtn. Dew AMA ATV MX National Championship.
Racing was held at the legendary track on Loretta
Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, TN. All together,
the team seized seven podium finishes, with Brandon
O'Neill being responsible for two of those after
his dominating weekend in the youth classes.
Root River Racing’s Brandon O'Neill finished
the 2015 season on a strong note by winning all
four motos and the overalls in 90 Open Sr. and
90 Shifter. “Both first motos I was second out
of the holeshot. I passed my way back up, pulled
the lead, and checked out. Second motos I was
around fourth out of the holeshot and worked my
way back to first and ended up winning. I had
a couple good battles,” stated O Neill.
In Supermini, O'Neill took sixth overall, and
in Youth All Star he took seventh overall at Loretta’s.
“This season went really well, even better than
I thought. I couldn’t have done it without Rich
Gillette. I’m looking forward to next years challenges,”
said O'Neill.
Megan Manshack represented Root River Racing
in the Women’s class. After wrapping up the championship
at round nine, Manshack finished the season by
clinching both moto wins to take her eighth overall
win this season.
“ I couldn’t have ended the season any better.
My goal this year was just to ride a more consistent
season and I’m really excited to have reached
my goal. Next year I’ll be going for championship
number three. I have to say thanks to Rich Gillette.
He has supported me since 2013, and he’s going
to continue to help me out for next year. I wouldn’t
be here without him,” explained Manshack.
Sam Rowe ended the season with solid rides and
two podium finishes. In Pro Am, Rowe went 3-3
for third overall and in Pro Sport Rowe went 1-3
for second. “I had all those problems in the beginning
of the year but I just kept my head down and kept
working at it. I closed out the season with five
straight podiums, and I couldn’t be more happy
with that. Next year I’m going to be jumping up
to the Pro class and will continue to run Pro
Am. I’d like thank the whole team at Root River
Racing, I wouldn’t be here without them,” said
Rowe.
Dylan Tremellen finished fourth in Pro Am. “I
had decent starts and held my own behind the leaders.
I just rode my own race. Everyone in that class
is fast, so being in the top five is awesome,
and finishing top five in the year is pretty cool
as well,” stated Tremellen. In Pro Sport, Tremellen
had an incident in the first moto but still pushed
through for a decent seventh overall finish. “The
first moto I actually flipped in the lead and
went to the back of the pack but caught back up
and passed some people to get twelfth. Then I
got fourth the second moto,” explained Tremellen.
As he reflected back on the year and his future
plans, Tremellen said, “I had a lot of stuff going
on this year, so it was a tough year trying to
get to the races, but we made it work. We have
a lot of stuff in the works for the winter. I’ll
get to ride all winter long so that will help
out a lot. Next year we are going to stay in the
same classes and try to get some championships.”
In the highly competitive Production A class,
Haedyn Mickelson rode his Root River Racing bike
to a second place overall. Mickelson took second
in moto one, and third in moto two. In moto one
of 450 A, Mickelson was running in fifth until
the third lap where he ran into issues and dropped
to seventeenth. In the second moto, Mickelson
rebounded to finish third which salvaged him a
ninth place overall.
Bubba Hicks also competed in the A classes, where
he had strong rides to finish out the season.
In 450 A, Hicks went 5-6 for fifth place overall.
In Production A, Hicks finished seventh in moto
one. In moto two Hicks ran into trouble on the
third lap, which took him out of the race and
caused him to finish ninth overall.
Tyler Mack competed in the B classes, where he
nabbed two top five finishes. “Saturday in 450
B I had a good holeshot. I got passed for fourth
at the end of the first lap, but got third place
back at the end of the third lap. On Sunday I
didn’t get the best holeshot and made a mistake
to drop a position into fifth. I stayed there
for fifth place overall. In Production B I grabbed
the holeshot with my teammate Tommy Vossman right
behind me, but I got hung up on a berm the first
lap and lost the lead. I stayed in second for
the rest of the race. On Sunday I had some problems
with the bike and ended up sixth for fifth overall,”
said Mack.
Alex Gillette competed in Production B where
he took sixth place overall. “First moto I got
a decent holeshot and just moved up in the pack
to take seventh. The second moto I got fifth place
for sixth overall,” explained Gillette. In 450
B, Gillette took third place the first moto, but
issues during the second moto held him back from
the finish he was looking for. “Moto two I was
about to pass for the lead, but a kicker messed
me up and made me fumble the corner. Since it
was in the first part of the race and everyone
was so close, everyone went right around me,”
said Gillette, who would consequently take eleventh
on the second moto for ninth overall.
According to Gillette, it was a fun season and
he looks forward to next year, “I tried my best,
and I didn’t really plan on doing anything spectacular
because I missed some rounds with an injury. I
haven’t really gotten my full speed back but I’m
still getting faster. This winter I’m moving to
Texas, and next year I’m doing college and an
A class.”
Tommy Vossman went 3-7 for seventh overall in
Open B. “I had a pretty decent start and got third
the first moto. Then on Sunday I didn’t get the
best start, and I made some mistakes to put me
back in seventh,” explained Vossman. In Production
B, Vossman went 5-9 for tenth overall. “It was
a wild year with a lot of ups and downs, but I
put my head down and it was fun. I appreciate
everything the Root River Racing team has done
for me, and I’m ready to get working for next
year in a couple weeks,” said Vossman.
Johannah Vossman made her big return to the Mtn.
Dew ATV Nationals at Loretta Lynn’s after she
had been sidelined with an injury she sustained
in a crash earlier this season. Vossman put in
a solid ride, going 4-4 to take third place overall
in the Schoolgirl class.
The season has now came to a close, but the Root
River Racing team had a very successful year.
The team will be working hard over the offseason,
and will return in 2016 faster and stronger than
before.
2015 Root River Racing Team Sponsors:
Rich Gillette Owner La Crescent Wine & Spirits, Race Team Specialist, RAGE ATV Racing, Motowoz, Pepsi, Rath Racing, FTR Powersports, JB Racing, FLY Racing, Fourwerx, Instituforn, ITP, C&L Powder Coating, 100%, DP Brakes, Yoshimura, Racedaypix, Glann Innovations, Thorson Graphics, Trimble’s Cycle Center, Moto Hose, RPM, Rod’s Powersports, Streamline, Racing for Cancer, Severson Oil Company, DWT, Powermadd, PT Welding, WORKS Connection
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