| ITP QuadCross
- Round #10
Glen Helen Raceway Park - National Track
San Bernardino, CA
December 4, 2005 |
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San Bernardino, CA - As the ITP Quadcross
Series winded down, there was plenty of anticipation upon
who would be crowned the 2005 Pro Champion. With the top
three pro riders all within striking distance of claiming
the championship in the final round of the series. The
two time champion, Golden West Cycle’s Jeremy Schell
held just a ten point lead over Dana Creech with Dustin
Nelson only twelve points out of the lead as well. With
the final round counting as double points, it meant fifty
points were up for grabs for the winner, and the top three
could be easily rearranged by the end of the day, and
stranger things have happened in the past. Any one remember
Joe Byrd stalling on the line at the last race of the
ATVA GNC race a few years back at Southwick, which resulted
in him losing the championship, so it isn’t over
till the checkered flag.
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2005
GNCC Women's Champion, Traci Cecco, surprises
everyone with her debut ITP Quadcross Women's
Class Win |
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To make things even more interesting, Alba’s Kory
Ellis was back in action again for the final round, and
he was fully recovered from a cracked collar bone injury
that held him back at the previous round, so this weekend,
he was going for the win. If just the appearance of Ellis
wasn’t enough to mix things up, the Glen Helen Raceway
National Track was redesigned with very few jumps, but
plenty of high speed sections, which meant that horsepower
would be key, and unlike the GNC MX Nationals, the Pro
Class doesn’t have a 450cc limit, which allows for
some serious engine modifications.
Fifteen pro signed up for the race, but there were
no need for qualifiers this round even with the larger
turnout because the National track can accommodate a
full starting gate of twenty riders unlike the Glen
Helen back track, so there would be a normal two moto
format, which eliminated any chance of confusion over
the final race results like the previous round of the
series.
Pro Moto - One
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#14
Jeremy Schell and #11 Doug Eichner sprinting to
turn one followed by #94 Dustin Nelson |
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As the pros headed to the starting gate for the first
moto, the winds were roaring with gust up to 40mph, which
meant for a dusty race. With all pros lined up and engines
screaming, the starting gate dropped, which had Jeremy
Schell and Doug Eichner sprinting down the straightaway
side by side battling for the lead. Schell would be able
edge out Eichner for the Holeshot and lead the pack around
for the first lap as riders were changing positions behind
him. Kory Ellis, who’s not known for great starts
had worked his way up in behind Schell after passing Nelson,
Creech, and Eichner. Jeremy Schell was feeling the pressure
from Ellis, so he started to pick up the pace and the
pair began to distance themselves from the rest of the
pack. Meanwhile, Creech and Eichner rubbed tires while
Creech was making the pass, which sent Eichner off the
track for a split second, but Eichner quickly recovered
and moved back in behind Creech.
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#53
Kory Ellis moving in on #14 Jeremy Schell in the
lead |
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As Schell and Ellis made the turn to go up the hill, Ellis
went inside after Schell took the outside line, which
provided an awesome drag race to the top with Schell maintaining
his lead, but shortly afterwards, the unexpected would
happen when Schell lost his balance landing a triple,
which sent him flying over the handlebars. Luckily, he
wasn’t injured and jumped right back up and remounted
his YFZ450 to return to the race, but not before Creech
would make the pass and move into second place. Schell
would take off in third place with Dustin Nelson moving
into fourth after passing Eichner.
Kory Ellis now out front with clean air and a comfortable
cushion between him and Dana Creech, but either way
he continued his steady pace and continued to pull away
from Creech. At the same time, Dana Creech was trying
to do the same thing to Jeremy Schell while Schell was
watching out for Nelson. Creech knew he had to try and
catch Ellis for a shot at the Championship, and Schell
couldn’t afford another mistake.
With the checkered flag waving, Kory Ellis was able
to claim the win with Creech, Schell, and Nelson
maintaining their positions to the finish line.
Now all the calculations started to see where
everyone would need to finish in the second moto
to secure championship or move up in the final
standings, which had many reaching for a calculator.
At this point, Dustin Nelson knew it was all but
over for his championship hopes unless something
drastic would happen in the second moto, but he
still wasn’t about to throw in the towel
just yet.
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#53
Kory Ellis rides a flawless race to claim
the moto one win onboard his Yamaha YFZ450 |
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#52
Dana Creech keeps his Championship hopes
alive finishing in second place in Moto
One |
Pro Moto - Two
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Jeremy
Schell and Dustin Nelson drag race down the straight-away |
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The second moto had everyone on their feet as Dustin Nelson
launched out of the starting gate and down the stretch
with the lead. Jeremy Schell got a late jump and just
pinned the throttle on his Curtis Sparks engine and was
able to pull up along side of Nelson heading into the
Talladega sweeping turn. With the pair side by side battling
for the lead, disaster almost struck as Schell’s
rear end broke loose and sending him within inches of
colliding with Nelson in the lead, which allowed Dana
Creech to capitalize on the situation and move past Schell
into second place. Kory Ellis seen what was happening
and tried the same pass, but Schell was able to avoid
the collision with Nelson and get back on the throttle
holding off Ellis. The next corner, Nelson hung to the
inside followed by Creech and Ellis while Schell railed
the outside to gain momentum which catapulted him back
into second place behind Nelson with Creech and Ellis
in chase. Soon afterwards, Schell would pass Nelson and
take over the lead with Ellis moving past Creech into
the third while Doug Eichner held down the fifth spot.
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Jeremy
Schell leading the way followed by Dustin Nelson,
Kory Ellis, and Dana Creech |
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The racing action was intense in the first few laps as
the front four were battling for position with Jeremy
Schell leading the way until he make a mistake on the
back side of the track, which allowed Nelson to take back
over the lead with Schell dropping back to fourth place
and his championship hopes in jeopardy. Unfortunately
for Dustin Nelson, he would surrender the lead almost
as quickly as he regained it with both Ellis and Creech
passing him as it appeared he was experiencing issues
with his quad, which allowed Schell to make the pass and
move back up into third place.
Luckily for Jeremy Schell, Kory Ellis was able to maintain
the lead to the checkered flag over Dana Creech
with Jeremy Schell finishing in third and earning
his third consecutive ITP Quadcross Championship
in the process, which was the most meaningful
of them all with some stiff competition from Dana
Creech and Dustin Nelson.
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Jeremy
Schell works his way past Dustin Nelson
to finish out the second moto in third place
and win the Championship |
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Alba
Action's Kory Ellis would go 1-1 and claim
the overall win in the final round of the
ITP Quadcross Series |
Yamaha GYT-R YFZ450 Giveway
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ITP
Tires, Craig Peterson & Rafael Guzman with
his Brand New 2005 Yamaha YFZ450 |
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All ITP Quadcross participants received one drawing entry
for each race they entered throughout the year for a chance
to win a brand new 2005 YFZ450 equipped with GYT-R accessories,
ITP Holeshot Tires, and T9 Baja wheels. The lucky winner
of this practically race ready machine was Rafael Guzman
who raced several races this season in the Open Pro Class.
Next Year, the ITP Quadcross is going to be bigger
and better than ever as it expands it reach to several
new tracks in both California and Arizona, and Jeremy
Schell plans to be back and defend his title once again.
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ITP QuadCross Round #10 Pro Results |
| Rider
Name |
Race
Results |
| Kory Ellis |
1st |
| Dana Creech |
2nd |
| Jeremy Schell |
3rd |
| Doug Eichner |
4th |
| Dustin Nelson |
5th |
| Tony Munio |
6th |
| Darrell Patton |
7th |
| Jeffrey Spooner |
8th |
| Mike Machado |
9th |
| Johnny Shafe |
10th |
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| ITP
QuadCross Overall Pro Points |
Overall
Finish |
Rider
Name |
Points |
1st |
Jeremy Schell |
217 |
2nd |
Dana Creech |
211 |
| 3rd |
Dustin Nelson |
201 |
4th |
Mike Machado |
170 |
5th |
Doug Eichner |
163 |
6th |
Darrell Patton |
158 |
7th |
Tony Munio |
133 |
8th |
Danny Ragan |
116 |
9th |
Jason Weller |
100 |
|
10th |
Scott Santellan |
87 |
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