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Matt Bartosek Celebration Race
4th Annual Event - September 24, 2006
Maple Shade MX - Sugar Grove, PA

By: Shane Hartman



Matt Bartosek Celebration
4th Annual - Links
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Matt Bartosek (1983 - 2003)
Suger Grove, PA - The Matt Bartosek memorial race falls just after the motocross seasons come to a close. This race is a perfect opportunity for pros to come out and compete for a generous purse with no pressure or concern about points.

To many, this is just another race. For most of the ATV riders that came out to compete, this race meant so much more. This is a race to remember and pay respect to those close friends we all meet up on the weekends at various locations around the country. Matt Bartosek was an idol and more importantly a great friend to many. His departure will never be forgotten. Debi Bartosek and Jody Bateman volunteer their time nearly every weekend of the racing season to haul the ATV Mobile Medical Unit to races across the country. Debi Bartosek is also the one usually found in charge of collecting donations and heading benefit auctions for hurt or fallen riders. Currently on www.88ridetolive.com Debi offers everyone the chance to win Jeremiah Jones factory race quad, with all proceeds going to Jeremiah and his family. Jeremiah’s bike was on display this weekend for all riders to get an up close glimpse of a factory race machine.

The weather forecast for the weekend showed a 60% chance of rain for each day. After flooding out the Extreme Dirt Track race in Paducah, KY, the rain moved eastward towards the Maple Shade raceway. Due to the high percentage chance of rain on Sunday, practice that was scheduled for Saturday was canceled. The track’s owner explained that the track would be much more exceptive of a rain on Sunday it remained untouched till then.

Despite Saturday’s practice being canceled, rider turnout Sunday morning was enough to give spectators a show in each class. Although many classes lacked the ability to fill the starting gate, the expert class was over filled with some of the fastest riders in the world.

Located on the side of a hill, the Maple Shade raceway offered something different for many traveling riders. After launching off the starting gate, riders faced their first challenge, a 180 degree hairpin turn. Several series of table tops challenged the timing and smoothness of the riders before dropping them down the hill. The quad riders then took an optional route that took them back up the hill into a hairpin which sent them right back down via a step down double. A set of whoops slowed riders down before their plunge into the cavity. After leaping out of the cavity, a high speed straightaway connected to yet another high speed straight away. Following a 90 degree right hand turn, riders reached the most bottom portion of the track. A fast sweeping corner followed one of the larger table tops. Climbing back up the hill, riders leapt over several table tops and railed many tight turns. A last table top gave a visual of the finish, which was reached by one last 90 degree left hand turn.

With 26 riders signed up, the expert class was the largest and only one requiring riders to qualify to earn a spot in the final moto. During practice, the track remained slightly muddy, but was quickly evolving into better conditions. When the expert riders lined up for the first of the two qualifiers, the track had soaked up a lot of the moisture, leaving a tacky compound.

#32 Matt White
When the gate dropped, it was Andy Travis, a local resident, grabbing the holeshot with Matt White, another local resident, and Jason Dunkelberger hot on his heels. As they made their way through the combination of tabletops and proceeded to head down the hill, Dunkelberger snagged a berm causing a quick dismount. Now sitting in last place, “Dunk” began his charge. The race for the lead remained out front as White was still working on Travis. As the local front runners pulled away, the focus was on Dunkelberger as he gave pushed the limits trying to sneak into a qualifying position. When the checkers flew, it was Matt White followed by Andy Travis. Ricky Stair rounded out the top three. Meanwhile, Dukelberger had positioned himself in 7th place when he cross the finish line, his hard work earned him a sure spot on the gate.

#99 Justin Bres & #199 Pat Brown
The second qualifier was underway with Justin Bres taking the holeshot aboard his Yamaha YFZ. Justin Hanusosky held onto second place with John Ragon looking to make an early pass. Just behind the top three sat, Team Motorsports rider, Josh Upperman and Yamaha’s Pat Brown. Brown charged hard and had slipped into second place by the end of lap one. Looking to make a pass on Bres, Pat had snuck by before they began their third lap. Upperman ran a steady pace and soon found himself in second place, but was unable to catch Brown before the end of the race. Bres was able to hold onto a third place finish to round out the top three.

The LCQ win was commanded by Mark Kendall who was followed by Justin Hanusosky, Billy Cottage, and with Thomas Brown heading up the last transfer spot.

#199 Pat Brown grabs the Holeshot over #20 Josh Upperman

As the gate dropped, the riders sprinted for the hairpin corner at the end of the straightaway. Reaching the corner first and grabbing the holeshot was Pat Brown. Josh Upperman was positioned on the outside, allowing Matt White to sneak past him out of the hole. As they completed their first lap, Pat Brown remained out front with Matt White and Josh Upperman following closely. Mark Kandell and Justin Bres rounded out the top five. Still maintaining the lead, Brown rounded the corner to climb the hill when he encountered an engine malfunction and was forced to pull off to the side. Matt White was the new leader, which would be short lived as Upperman would find his way around on lap 4. At the midway mark, it was Upperman cruising in the lead with Matt White pursuing. Kandell slipped into the third spot with Jason Dunkelberger sliding into the 4th spot after slipping by John Ragon. The formation remained nearly the same as the riders crossed the finish line, with the exception of Dunkelberger’s bad luck continuing with loose engine bolt allowing an oil leak, which was causing his engine to begin to seize. Josh Upperman would bring home the moto win and score the overall win with his 2-1 performance. Matt White’s 1-2 was good enough to put him in 2nd overall with Justin Bres rounding out the top 3 with his 3-5 finish. Ricky Stair and Andy Travis would round out the top 5 aboard their Honda machines.

#20 Josh Upperman
#19 Jason Dunkelberger

Amateur Racing
#87 Austin Moser
In the amateur ranks, Austin Moser, who made the switch from his 300ex to a Honda 450r half way throughout the season, had a great day of racing. Austin would go on to take home two moto wins and the overall in the Quad B class. Moser would also snatch a win in the 16-29 age class, but was edged out for the overall by Brad Carr. With Pat Brown not able to come back to defend the moto 1 win, Jason Perterson was able to grab the 3rd place position to round out the top three. With 16 entries, the quad C class was filled with handle bar to handle bar racing. Michael Miceli came out on top with his two moto wins on his Suzuki LTR. Michael Samick posted a 2-2 for a confident 2nd place overall. Michelle L. Suciu brought home a 3rd place finish with her 4-3 moto finishes. The beginners class, quad D, win was taken by Brian Jozefczyk on his Yahmaha YFZ. Michael L. Rizzo Jr. scored a 2nd overall with David Schanzlin finishing in 3rd. Michael Pollard of Corry, PA reeled in the youth quad win with his two moto wins. Also posting a set of snake eyes was Leslie Ragon in the Women’s open class. Kayla R. Davis was not far behind with her 2-2 finishes. In the 90cc Mod class, it was Ashton Laird of Delevan, NY edging out Joshua Walker for the overall. The mini quad class win belonged to Shawn Mc Iver. Devin Laird and Nick Moser rounded out the top three. Maccoy Shine, a local racer, marked up two moto wins to take the overall in the Pee Wee quad class. Lastly, the Plus 30 class had 7 entries with Mel Davis of Union City, PA taking home the win followed by Tracy Howard and Brian Jenkins.

Despite the rain and poor early day conditions, all the racers had a great time. The Maple Shade Raceway provided riders with a challenging, yet safe race course. All in all, this was a great weekend to put a foreclosure on the 2006 motocross season.

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