2006 ITP/ Yamaha QuadCross Series Round 9 - Glen Helen Raceway Devore, CA October 8th, 2006 By: Corry Weller / Weller Racing

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Pro Heat 1
Engines revved and echoed off the canyon wall as the first Pro heat race got underway and riders rushed towards the sharp left hand turn at the end of the starting straight. It was a close race to the corner, but it was Dustin Nelson on his YFZ who got there first, followed closely by TJ Dietrich and Doug Eichner, who was on his Honda once again for this race, after being seen on a new Suzuki at round eight.

There would be two Heat races before the final moto due to the small starting gate on the back track at Glen Helen.		Kory Ellis joined the Quadcross once again, winning his heat race but having mechanical issues the remainder of the day.

It was a familiar sight to watch Nelson take the lead and stretch it out by the first lap, making himself comfortable with the track and looking smooth and fast. Dietrich, who has been getting faster all year, held his own ahead of Eichner while newcomer to the Pro class for this round, Landon Hurst, followed behind the number 11 Duncan Racing quad. Nick Hengtgen threw a wrench in the mix (and confused this editor for a bit!) by running number 43 at this race, which has been Pimentel's number for the whole series so far. Dietrich also changed things up a bit by swapping his red YFZ for a blue one at this round, making him hard to tell apart from Kory Ellis for a while! Levi Marana joined the Pro racers once again for this round, as did ITP regular Rafael Guzman.

Levi Marana looked fast as he also moved up from a bad start.		Dustin Nelson gives the camera a wheelie shot as he heads to his first heat race win of the day.

The race to watch for this heat was definitely between Eichner and Dietrich, as Dietrich took second place away from Eichner for a while, but Eichner paced Dietrich for a lap or two until the final lap, when he was able to take second place back from the Yamaha rider and keep it for the remainder of the moto. Marana was also exciting to watch, as he made it through the field from a bad start to just behind the battle between Eichner and Dietrich.

With a "whoohooo!" out of Nelson as he passed on the last straight, the first Pro heat ended with Nelson taking another easy first place, and Eichner picking up where he left off the first moto at Speedworld with a strong second place finish. Dietrich would lose a position to a charging Marana, who made the pass on Dietrich to take over third place, with Dietrich having

The “S” turns developed deep ruts as riders battled the heavily sanded corners.

Even before the first lap was finished, however, Shafe would lose the lead and DNF this moto due to some tire difficulties - which gave Ellis the chance he needed for a clear track ahead. With Ellis now in the lead, Chislock and Spooner were quick to follow and once again, the race to watch was between 2nd and 3rd place as Chislock and Spooner battled it out through the tight corners and off-camber hills of the back track.

Behind those two came Darrell Patton, who also had a good start up in the front of the pack and was holding his own until something happened along the course that caused him to DNF this heat race. Chris Riley, still recovering from a broken collarbone, would stay up behind Patton for much of the race, until he would fade later to come in just ahead of Jovany Pimentel (the other number 43!) who was also riding injured from the last round at Speedworld.

Spooner sails the new double in front of the spectators lined up at the fence.		Battling some bad luck in both motos, Shafe had a great start in his heat race only to DNF due to a tire issue.

Number 57, McClanhan, new Pro rider to the series, would wind up turning some heads this round as he showed some serious speed throughout the day.

Ellis would take the win in the second heat race, easily ensuring his start on the front row of the final pro moto, with Chislock finishing ahead of Spooner in second, and with Spooner rounding out the top three for this heat race.

Eichner was in great form for Round 9, taking a solid 2/2 win for the day.

Just nosing ahead of his competition, Nelson pulled off another hole shot for the day and edged his YFZ out of the corner first, but with Chislock and Eichner fighting for position right behind him. With a clear track ahead, Nelson throttled once again into a comfortable lead, setting the pace for his fellow racers. As Eichner and Chislock fought for position in the "S" turns, neither rider was willing to give any ground, and with that much contact, someone is going to go down. Apparently Eichner had decided he had hit enough dirt in round 8, because it was Chislock that went down this time, as too many tires touched too many times. Fortunately, it was a slow roll-over, and Chislock was up again and was able to get his quad back on all 4's, but the field had passed before he was able to get back in the race.

Nelson was leading the moto, but Eichner was not far behind him and Dietrich was not far behind Eichner! The rest of the field followed, as riders sorted themselves out and the race pace settled in. Chislock had a lot of ground to make up in order to finish well, and there plenty of fast riders he would need to get around to make it to the front. Levi Marana paced and finally worked his way around Spooner, as Spooner found himself falling back into the pack for some reason. Shafe was also having a rough time, it seemed, in this moto - as he was running his spare bike for this moto after his tire mishap in the first heat race.

Not much changed up front throughout the final moto, as Nelson continued to dominate the track on this day, taking his lead all the way to the checkered flag once again. Eichner also continued to run strong in second place, intent on getting a good finish for this race, as every point counts at this stage in the series. TJ Dietrich showed his speed once more as he held his third place position until Marana challenged that position, and took it away from Dietrich - until something happened to Marana that would take him all the way to the back of the pack by the final lap. Perhaps the most exciting part of the final lap was the mad dash for the finish between Chislock and Dietrich, as the number 222 rider had made his way all the way up to fourth place, and dogged Dietrich for the last few corners- trying to pass Dietrich for 3rd. It was such a close finish that I had to check my photos to see who came in ahead and it was Dietrich who nosed out Chislock by a tire tread.

As the checkered flag was thrown, it was Nelson coming in ahead of the field, with Eichner bringing home a second place finish for his Duncan Racing team, and making the points race between himself and Spooner even more interesting. Dietrich kept his third place position from a charging Chislock, who came in fourth, and just ahead of Shafe, who would round out the top five finishers for this ninth round of the ITP Quadcross Series. This day would see a number of DNF's, as Ellis, Patton, Marana and Hurst would either DNF or fall to the back for various reasons for this final moto.

It was a photo finish in the Pro Main between Chislock and Deitrich, with Dietrich just nosing out Chislock for third place.		Chislock would move up through the field from last to fourth place in the final moto.

Wrap Up
With Round 9 over and done with, the series is winding down to the final two rounds and the points battle is heating up more than ever! With Round 10 scheduled for Honolulu Hills, racers like Eichner. Shafe and Marana, who have raced the WORCS Series might have a small advantage in that they are familiar with the track at Taft, as it's a regular stop in the WORCS circuit, and every small advantage counts! Taft is a course that uses natural terrain more than anything, and it will be a track where good cornering skills will come in handy with the many twists and turns throughout the nearby hills. We hope to see everyone at Honolulu Hills for even more racing action as we come close to the series end, where anything can still happen and where it's always exciting to see who's turn it will be to take home some hard earned cash. See you in November!

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