AMA ATV Motocross Nationals Round #5 - BriarCliff MX Nashport, Ohio June 15, 2014

As the gate dropped on Moto 2, it was Natalie who made his presence felt early by racing to the SSi Decals Holeshot Award. The opportunity to start of front allowed Natalie to set a strong pace early and helped him maintain the position in front of a hard-charging Wienen. Behind this duo up front, Higgerson, Hetrick, and Brown also went wheel-to-wheel as Upperman looked to rebound from a start deep inside the top 10.

John Natalie Jr grabbed the SSi Holeshot in Moto 2 & held the lead for 4 laps before dropping back to 2nd place, where he stayed to the checkered flag

Natalie kept Wienen at bay for several laps, but on Lap 4 the defending champion made his move and proceeded to put an emphatic end to his efforts on the afternoon. Natalie sat comfortably in second, but the battle for third was a captivating one. Higgerson gave way to Brown for the final spot on the podium on Lap 6, only to lose another sport to Hetrick one lap later. Upperman had fought his way into sixth and was coming on strong in the late stages of the moto.

Joel Hetrick & Thomas Brown battled back and forth in moto 2 with Hetrick taking 3rd place followed by Brown in 4th place at the moto 2 checkered flag

Brown and Hetrick put on a show for the fans in the closing laps, with Hetrick gaining the advantage to assume third with three laps remaining. Meanwhile, Upperman made his way past Higgerson and closed up on the battle for third, resulting in a three-rider showdown on the final lap. Wienen cruised to the win out front, crossing the line nearly seven seconds ahead of Natalie, while Hetrick held off the hard charge of Brown and Upperman for third.

After missing the gate drop for moto 1, Creamer got off to a last place start in moto 2, but he put in an impressive charge to claim a 6th place finish

Wienen's first moto sweep of the 2014 season helped extend his lead in the AMA Pro ATV Class standings in a big way, earning 12 more points than his competitors. A three-way tie in points for second resulted in the need for the second-moto tiebreaker, which allowed Hetrick to finish in the runner up spot (4-3) thanks to his podium effort in Moto 2. Brown's fourth-place finish in the final moto landed him third overall (3-4), while Upperman just missed out on a spot on the box at his hometown race in fourth (2-5). Natalie sat just one point back of this trio in fifth (6-2).

A huge crowd of spectators was on hand to watch Chad Wienen claim his third win of the season & extend his points lead to 41 points over John Natalie & Joel Hetrick

"I just came in here hot and wanted one more win," exclaimed Wienen. "I put in a lot of work back home and had a great two weeks of training and practicing coming in here. I wasn't all that happy with my performance [at the previous round], so I just put my head down. Coming to a new track meant this was a fresh start and I came here aggressive. I made moves because I was sick and tired of following people, so I just had to make it happen."

#422 David Haagsma made his 2014 AMA Motocross racing debut at Briarcliff MX & he finished an impressive 7th overall & his teammate, #549 Beau Baron finished 11th

Wienen remains the only rider in the AMA Pro ATV Class to have an overall podium result in each of the first five rounds of the season. His control of the ATVMX standings now sits at a comfortable 41 points over Hetrick and Natalie, who sit tied for second following Briarcliff. Brown maintained control of fourth (-60) while Upperman remains fifth (-66).

The Mtn. Dew ATV Motocross National Championship will take a week off before returning to action for the sixth round of the 2014 season on June 28-29. Spring Creek MX Park in Millville, Minnesota, will be the host site of the Mtn. Dew Spring Creek ATV National.

AMA Pro ATV Overall Results (Moto Finishes)

1. Chad Wienen, Galena, Illinois, Yamaha,
2. 1-1 Joel Hetrick, Seneca, Pennsylvania, Can-Am, 4-3
3. Thomas Brown, Sanger, Texas, Yamaha, 3-4
4. Josh Upperman, Louisville, Ohio, Honda, 2-5
5. John Natalie, Warriors Mark, Pennsylvania, Honda, 6-2
6. Ronnie Higgerson, Cutler, Illinois, Can-Am, 5-7
7. David Haagsma, Jr., Bakersfield, Calif., Honda, 7-8
8. Tyler Hamrick, Cortland, Ohio, Honda, 8-9
9. Nicholas Moser, Pipersville, Pennsylvania, Honda, 9-11
10. Josh Creamer, North Stonington, Connecticut, Can-Am, 16-6  

AMA Pro ATV Championship Standings

1. Chad Wienen, Galena, Illinois, Yamaha, 236
2. Joel Hetrick, Seneca, Pennsylvania, Can-Am, 195
3. John Natalie, Warriors Mark, Pennsylvania, Honda, 195
4. Thomas Brown, Sanger, Texas, Yamaha, 176
5. Josh Upperman, Louisville, Ohio, Honda, 170
6. Josh Creamer, North Stonington, Connecticut, Can-Am, 139
7. Jeffrey Rastrelli, Palm City, Florida, Can-Am, 117
8. Tyler Hamrick, Cortland, Ohio, Honda, 99
9. Casey Martin, Frenchburg, Kentucky, Honda, 91
10. Sean Taylor, Montezuma, Iowa, Honda, 89

Specialty Awards
ATVRiders.com Top Qualifier Award - Chad Wienen

SSi Decals Holeshot Championship Points:
1. John Natalie – 9 points
2. Josh Upperman – 7 points
3. Chad Wienen – 1 points

Catch all nine rounds of AMA Pro ATV Class racing action on MAVTV. For more information on the series, visit www.atvmotocross.com and join the conversation on the series Facebook page or follow on Twitter @ATVMXdotcom and #ATVMX.

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