FLY
ATV Supercross
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona, Florida
March 14, 2017
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Chad Wienen Wins 3rd Annual
Daytona ATV Supercross
Joel Hetrick & Thomas
Brown Round Out ATV SX Podium
Daytona,
FL (3/15/2017)
- The 2017 Wiseco ATV Motocross National Championship
(ATVMX) presented by CST Tires, an AMA National
Championship kicked off yesterday, March 14, at
the iconic Daytona International Speedway in Daytona
Beach, Florida.
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FLY
ATV SX Pro Podium (left to right)
Joel
Hetrick (2nd),
Chad Wienen (1st), Thomas
Brown
(3rd)
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After opting out of the first timed qualifying
session, Wienen Motorsports / SSi Decals / Walsh
Racecraft / Yamaha / Maxxis / 7240’s Chad Wienen
came out swinging in the second qualifying session
to claim the first ATVriders.com Fastest Qualifier
Award of the season.
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Chad
Wienen claimed the ATVriders.com Fastest
Qualifier Award at the 3rd Annual Daytona
ATV SX |
When the heat races got underway for the Third
Annual FLY Racing ATV Supercross, Root River Racing’s
Josh Upperman and Maxxis/Elka/Liquid Wrench/Honda’s
Joel Hetrick emerged with the wins.
The $100 Bell Helmets Holeshot Award was up for
grabs as the main gate dropped. Hetrick used his
momentum from his heat race win to fire off the
start and grab the early lead. Upperman and GennUSA
Racing’s Nick Gennusa was in tow, while Wienen
sat in a top-five position.
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DASA
Racing's Joel Hetrick grabbed the holeshot |
Wienen wasted no time and made the pass for a
podium position after the first lap was complete,
and then second shortly after that. Wienen set
his eyes on Hetrick who already had a gap on the
rest of the field.
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Chad
Wienen charged his way to the front to take
the lead when Joel Hetrick made a mistake
late in the race |
Hetrick and Wienen maintained a four second gap
between each other for the first half of the race,
until Hetrick bobbled coming out of the second
turn. “I made a mistake, but it didn’t cost me
too much this year,” said Hetrick. “Of course
I’m a little upset at what happened. I went wide
and caught the Honda banner and it tossed me off.
I’m lucky that I got up and got going as quick
as I did.”
Once in the lead, Wienen ran his own race while
the battles continued behind him. After getting
back up, Hetrick was running in fourth. He was
able diligently work his way around Upperman and
put the pressure on Nick Gennusa.
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Chad
Wienen claimed his 2nd straight Daytona
ATV SX Win |
With much of the focus was on Hetrick recovering
from his mistake, Root River Racing/CST Tires’
Thomas Brown was quickly rising through the ranks.
After an unfavorable start, Brown rode in fourth.
With only a handful of laps remaining, Gennusa
held off Brown, but with only three turns to go
Brown would make the pass and steal the last podium
position away from Gennusa.
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Thomas
Brown charged his way into the third spot
just before the finish line with a last
minutes pass on Nick Gennusa |
Wienen defended his 2016 ATVSX win, with Hetrick
crossing the finish line behind him in second
and Brown rounding out the main event podium.
Gennusa placed just off the podium in fourth,
and Upperman rounded out the top-five finishers
in the opening round. Walsh Racecraft/Honda’s
Parker Wewerka had an impressive showing for his
pro debut in sixth.
“Lines on the track were crossing everywhere
so you had ride very precisely. My goal was to
go out there and not make any mistakes,” said
Wienen. “I know Joel rides hard so when I saw
him down, I knew I had to be cool, calm and collective
to win the race.”
“Over the years my mistakes here at Daytona have
cost me big time.” said Hetrick. I’m just glad
to be up on the podium, because that was my main
goal coming into the race.”
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Joel
Hetrick rebounded from a wreck to secure
the 2nd spot with Nick Gennusa & Thomas
Brown in chase, which made for an exciting
battle at the end of the race |
Joel Hetrick proved he has the speed and mentality
to be a championship contender.
Racer TV captured LIVE streaming of each qualifying
round and main event, both amateur and pros. To
watch the archived footage head over to RacerTV.com.
A highlight show featuring the event will be aired
on the MAVTV later this spring.
The 2017 Wiseco ATV Motocross National Championship
resumes with a return to the traditional motocross
format on Saturday, April 1 at the popular Underground
MX in Kemp, Texas.
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