2006 ITP/ Yamaha QuadCross Series Round #5 - Speedworld MX Park Surprise, AZ June 24, 2006 By: Corry Weller / Weller Racing

The line of cars outside the gate was a good indicator of the huge number of spectators that would make it out to watch round 5

Despite the heat during the day, Saturday night’s racing under the lights brought great racing weather as the sun went down and the track got broken in throughout practice. Speedworld’s track crew worked hard throughout the day to provide racers with the best track possible, and their hard work was evident as the night wore on and the track held up extremely well, only getting rough in a few placed as the racing progressed throughout the night.

Kory Ellis would show up at this round, to give the ITP Pro regulars a run for their money and to have some fun under the lights. With the GNC races taking a weekend off, ITP racers got another surprise visitor as Angela Butler decided to give the ITP Quadcross racing a try and showed up on her spare Honda to race with the Women’s Intermediate class!

The first moto for the Pro races began just after sunset, as the heat from the day began to quickly recede

As the riders flew over the largest table top on the track, dust flew and a quad was seen flipping end over end, leaving number 44, Nick Hengtgen, lying on the ground with the EMT’s signaling for the ambulance that was on site. A short time later, Hengtgen was flown out in the medical chopper and it was rumored that his helmet had broken upon impact and he had possible face fractures. We wish the best for Nick and hope for a quick and full recovery!

With Hengtgen being treated, the race continued with Spooner holding his lead throughout the first part of moto one, but with Nelson hard on his grab bar and waiting for his chance to take over the first place position. Nelson wouldn’t have to wait long, and made the pass on Spooner when he got the chance to take over first place. Kory Ellis was working his way up through the field after his bad start, and was battling his way around riders who weren’t in a hurry to give up a position to the GNC racer. Doug Eichner was running a good race in third place, while Cyle Chislock was riding hard to keep his position near the front of the pack. Cyle could be seen getting out of shape more than once, as he obviously pushed his limits and fought for his place in the field, only to drop back for some reason and wind up midpack before the race was over.

Mike Machado was looking good and running a solid, smooth race in the top five as he made everything look easy with each jump. Darrell Patton was also running a good race, but was later seen sitting on his quad at the finish for some reason, and waiting for the checkered flag. Darrell would, however, race both motos of the Open Pro race on his Yamaha Raptor.

As the racers completed their last laps and the white flag came out, Dustin Nelson had gained a huge lead on the rest of the field and wound up taking an easy first place victory for moto one. Riding well and looking smooth at his home track, Jeff Spooner would take second place, ahead of Kory Ellis who was still battling for his finishing position.

Just before the checkered flag, Ellis decided he didn’t want to be behind Eichner and with a final push, Ellis passed Eichner just before the finish, giving himself a third place finish just ahead of the veteran racer. Doug Eichner came in fourth after a great moto and some fantastic blitzes through the rough whoop section of the track.

Mike Machado would take fifth place, coming in just behind Eichner, with TJ Deitrich taking sixth place for moto one. Cyle Chislock, after a great start, faded back to finish in the seventh spot, just ahead of two other Arizona locals, John Shafe and Jason Weller, who finished in eighth and ninth, respectively. Rounding out the top ten finishers would be Jovany Pimentel, after some great racing with fellow rider Rafael Guzman.

Pro Moto 2
After the break between motos, the Pro riders once again lined up at the gate; however, their numbers had lessened by a few riders as some racers DNF’d the first moto and were also “no starts” for the second moto. Despite this, the main riders were all present, and as the gate dropped it was hard to tell who got into the corner first through all of the dust, but it was Nelson who got an early and commanding lead for lap one.

As the rest of the pro field rounded the first turn and headed to the first back table, it looked as though Evan Carrillo had t-boned John Shafe, and the two quads were now stuck together. After a bit of manipulation, the quads came apart and Shafe took off to rejoin the race that had progressed almost an entire half lap ahead of them. It took Carrillo a bit longer to get started, and he headed off almost an entire lap down.

Doug Eichner rode well and continued to hang onto second place in the overall points race for the series

With Nelson in the lead, Chislock was riding a bit out of control to hold his second place position, as he came in contact with several riders as the race progressed. Also riding a bit wild was Carrillo, who, in his hurry to make up time, overshot a stepdown and shot over the berm and into the infield, almost going over the front of his quad. He saved it though, and headed back onto the track.

Jeff Spooner was holding down third place right behind Chislock, with Ellis and Eichner right behind him through the turns and over even the biggest jumps. Machado was running another good solid race behind Eichner as Dietrich, Pimentel and Weller had their own midpack races to run.

Coming through the pack, John Shafe began passing riders as he made sure not to make any mistakes and to ride smart on his way back up to the front. Carrillo was also trying to make up positions, but was about to be lapped by Nelson as Nelson yelled for Carrillo to move out of his way. Nelson forced his way past a still-racing Carrillo and headed towards another easy first place finish.

Meanwhile, Ellis was on the move, having made his way around Spooner, and waiting for his chance to pass Chislock, which he took, and which then moved him into second place before the end of the final lap.

Cyle Chislock sails off a step down as he chases the leaders in the second moto	Kory Ellis took a weekend off from the GNC’s and joined the Quadcross Pros on the line for the Pro Production and Open Pro classes

As the checkers were thrown, Dustin Nelson cruised to another easy win for a 1/1 overall for the evening. Ellis, after making his move past Chislock, took second with Chislock coming in with one of his best finishes so far this year in third place. After a terrific run in the first moto, Jeff Spooner again finished in the top five with a fourth place position and with Eichner also again in the top five with his fifth place finish. Machado ran two solid races, and finished sixth for the second moto, as well as TJ Dietrich, who finished in seventh place. Weller, Guzman and Pimentel would finish out the top ten, while Shafe just missed it after coming through the pack all the way to eleventh place after some great, fast riding.

Dustin Nelson would go 1/1 for the night, taking two easy wins for Round 5 in Arizona.

Pro ATV Race - Video Clips
Pro ATV Practice - 9.9mb	Pro ATV Moto One - 23.9mb	Pro ATV Moto Two - 9,5mb
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