2006 ITP/ Yamaha QuadCross Series Round 7 - Glen Helen Raceway Devore, CA August 13th, 2006 By: Corry Weller / Weller Racing

ITP / Yamaha Quadcross Round #7 - Links Photo Gallery Videos Pro Race Results Current Standings

Two weeks after the muddy mess that began as Round 6 of the ITP Quadcross Series, racers once again converged at Glen Helen for Round 7, but this time the weather would cooperate and give racers and fans alike a sunny weekend that was perfect for racing!

The weather wasn’t the only thing that had changed for this round; the track had been shortened considerably from last round’s grueling three miles, and would only be run on a portion of the National track this time, making this day all about the holeshot. With a shorter track, and tons of sand in the corners, it would be a fast, one lined moto – leaving little time and room for passing or making up for any mistakes that might be made.

Sixteen Pro racers would take the field on this day, with one Quadcross regular missing – Mike Machado was not at this round for the first time all season, after riding just for points at the last race due to a collarbone injury. However, there were a few new faces at this round to help fill in the gap, as Levi Marana and DJ Scarponi would join the Pro field for Round 7.

After waiting for a bit for some last minute grooming of the long start before the first turn, it was time for the Pro Production field to put the hammer down.

MOTO ONE

“No, this is not the Open Pro class – Darrell Patton was racing his Raptor once again at Round 7.”

Engines revved and all eyes were on the gate when it dropped, sending the Pro field into the first turn with the now familiar number 56 of Jeff Spooner taking the holeshot and leading into the first turn, with Cyle Chislock and Dustin Nelson hot on his rear wheels. TJ Dietrich was close behind, getting a good start and staying just ahead of John Shafe. Doug Eichner was following closely and leading Darrell Patton, who once again was racing his Yamaha Raptor (for some reason?) at this round. Chris Riley was keeping himself close to Patton and Eichner, and seems to have been able to rid himself of the mechanical issues that seemed to plague him at the beginning rounds of this series.

It was good to see the yellow YFZ of Nick Hengtgen back at this race, after being absent since his horrible crash at Speedworld a couple of months ago, and Nick was making sure he wasn’t left too far behind on this quick, one lined track, as he kept Patton and Eichner in his sites early in moto one.

“The 16 rider Pro field waited patiently as the tractor smoothed out the long start.”		“Jeff Spooner once again took the lead early on in both motos.”

Up in front, the battle for first raged on, with Spooner making sure he kept his lines and continuing to keep Nelson behind him. Chislock was running a good race, keeping pace behind Nelson in third, after losing second place to the Yamaha rider early on in the moto.

As the racers cleared a tricky triple just after the finish line, Levi Marana, who had come out to the Quadcross for this round for some MX racing, got a bit off center and tumbled off of his Honda. It was an easy get-off, however, and he was back up on his quad in no time and trying to make up for his lost time.

For six fast laps, there wasn’t much lead changing, and things stayed pretty much the same in the top half of the field, as Nelson hung behind Spooner, never losing too much ground, but never really able to fully challenge Spooner for the lead, until...

“Nelson sails the finish line table after he takes the lead from Spooner in the first moto.”		“Doug Eichner had a good run his first moto, coming in 5th behind Deitrich.”

Just seconds from the finish line, when it looked like Spooner was going to take another ITP win, Spooner took an easier, outside line in the second to last corner, leaving the inside line open to the number 94 YFZ. Dustin Nelson took the chance and stuck the messy inside line, forcing Spooner to yield or go off the track in the last corner, and causing some wild cheering from the stands as Nelson took the checkers and the win for the first moto. Spooner came in right behind, followed by Chislock, who had a great race. TJ Dietrich put in another smooth run and earned himself a fourth place finish, while Doug Eichner, who had finally gotten around John Shafe, took fifth place. Shafe brought it in right behind Eichner, after holding him off for most of the moto, and was followed by Chris Riley, who was hanging with some fast company for moto one. Darrell Patton, Jovany Pimentel and Nick Hengtgen rounded out the top ten.

MOTO TWO

“ This section was responsible for several close calls throughout the day due to the large holes that developed quickly.”

Once again, the Pros took off from the gate and headed into the first turn, and once again it was Jeff Spooner with the holeshot and lead heading into the first lap of moto two. Dustin Nelson quickly settled in behind Spooner and the race for first place had begun once more!

For the first lap, the field was pretty close together, as Riley and Shafe were followed by Dietrich for the first part of the race. Patton was staying close on the Raptor while Pimentel was having one of his best race days yet, following Patton and staying up towards the front of the field. Marana, who was having a better moto for moto two, was keeping up in the top ten and was being followed by number 10, Jason Weller.

Neither Eichner nor Chislock were having a great start to the second moto, as they were both struggling to get back into the top ten in the tightly packed field. Chislock’s moto was about to get worse, as he stalled his quad suddenly in the high berms of the “S” turns, just in front of Weller, who jammed up into the back of him and lost valuable time trying to back up off of Chislock and get going again.

“Eichner pulled off the track in the second moto and was messing with quad before heading back out to join the race.”		“Dustin Nelson would finish strong this round with a 1/1 for the day, making up for the bad luck he ran into at the last round.”

Those “S” turns must have had some type of magnetic pull, because the very next lap attracted the number 11 quad of Doug Eichner, just feet away from where Chislock was still stuck. Eichner had stopped, and could be seen fiddling with something under the chassis before trying to start his Honda and get back into the race. Eichner managed to get his quad started and was off again, leaving Chislock on his own once again.

In the front, the race was heating up, as Spooner rounded a corner into a rough straight section. Nelson must have dropped the hammer, because he made a straight-line pass around Spooner and took the lead just before the “S” turns – and didn’t look back. Behind the race for first, Riley and Shafe were having their own battle for third place, while Dietrich was almost close enough to join them.

“The track for this round was much shorter and one lined in most corners, as deep ruts developed in the sandy soil and made it all about the start at this round.”

Evan Carrillo, who was having a rough time on this quick track, found himself having an even harder time as his seat flew off halfway through the second moto, making it a bit uncomfortable to ride through the chopped up course. Picking it up and getting it back on cost Carrillo some valuable time, but it was probably worth it.

As moto number two quickly wound down, Nelson was not about to lose his lead and put some space between himself and Spooner by the last lap. Shafe had taken over third place, getting around Riley, who had somehow disappeared from the front of the field. Bringing the race to Shafe now was Dietrich, who was having just as good of a second moto as his first.

As the checkered flag flew, Dustin Nelson swept underneath, once again taking first place and taking first overall for the day. Jeff Spooner came in behind him, after leading for much of the day, giving him second place overall for his strong 2/2 finish. After putting together two great motos, Shafe and Dietrich came in third and fourth place, but Dietrich’s better first moto would give him third place overall for the day. Darrell Patton tried to make a last minute pass at the checkers, but it was not enough as he came in fifth place, earning him the fifth overall finish for this round. Marana and Pimentel followed Patton through the finish, giving Pimentel one of his best race days this season. Hengtgen, Guzman, and Eichner would round out the top ten finishers for moto two.

WRAP UP

Quadcross racers won’t be seeing Glen Helen again until the final round in December – instead, they will be heading back to Phoenix, Arizona, for Round 8 at the end of September – to be held once again at Speedworld MX Park. Round 8 will be the last night race for the year, and the weather should be just starting to cool off in the Arizona desert by that time!

With only a handful of races left for the season, and a great points battle raging between Nelson, Spooner, and Eichner, the rest of this season should be quite interesting, as it seems the entire Pro field is getting faster for every round. Riders like Riley, Dietrich, Shafe and Chislock should not be underestimated, as they are more and more often in the top five finishers these days. Spooner has given Nelson some fierce competition, and Eichner continues to show us why everyone knows his name. We hope to see you back at round 8, where there is bound to be a tremendous spectator and racer turnout once more!

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