Ozarks Cross Country Racing Series Round #2 - Westphalia, MO November 1, 2008

by Shellie Robertson

Duane Johnson grabs the PRO holeshot with Carson Coffman, Josh Roberts, Matt Olsen, DJ Shrum and David Hicks on his bumper

Westphalia, Missouri, voted by the racers as their favorite OXC track in 2008, was home to Round 2 of the 2008-2009 Ozark Cross Country ATV series. 130 Racers turned out for Round two of the series, as perfect weather and a great Missouri track greeted everyone.

It was déjà vu for the womens class, as the morning and youth racers took to the track. Kerri Roberts, Hannah Payne, Shellie Robertson, Carol Edwards, and Samantha Tschirhart placing in the top five spots respectively, as in Round 1 competition, in the Women’s Class.

Youth class racers returned for Round 2 with a few new faces in the crowd. In the PeeWee Beginner class, Joslyn Mueller placed first followed by Devon Ruark and Jake Wilson in second and third. Preston Robertson took his second first place finish this season in the PeeWee Intermediate class. PeeWee Pros Travis Gromowski and Crystal Diebold repeated their Round 1 performance, and finished in first and second spots respectively.

Coffman pulls the holeshot with Martin and Roberts in tow

Off the start in the afternoon races, Carson Coffman grabbed the Fastrax Motorsports Holeshot award and led the 11 Pro racers into their seven mile, five-lap battle through the woods, fields, and creeks. Closing in quickly was Kyle Martin who stayed closely behind Coffman for two laps until making a pass for the lead. Coffman was not going to let Martin have it that easy and struck back quickly when the two of them came upon a bottleneck, taking the lead again and holding on to it for another lap. Kyle Martin used the same move on lap four to regain the lead from Coffman.

Pro Rider Josh Roberts on his KTM

After his hard-fought battle against 2008 Iowa ATV Harescrambles State Champion, Carson Coffman, it was 2008 OXC ATV Racing Champion Kyle Martin taking top honors at the end of Round 2. Coffman held on to second place, with 2008 OMA ATV National Series Champion, Bryan Hulsey rounding out the top three podium spots after charging back from a mid pack start. KTM mounted Josh Roberts ran strong and was able hang on to a fourth place run throughout the race, while Todd Senger (with one OXC Overall win from last year) powered through some fast Pro racers to move from ninth place at the end of the first lap to finish in fifth place overall.

Podium finishers: Carson Coffman (2nd), Kyle Martin (1st), Bryan Hulsey (3rd), Josh Roberts (4th) and Todd Senger (5th)

If three different 2008 ATV series champions on the podium wasn’t enough, six past Missouri Harescrambles Championship Series ATV Champions graced the race track and showed they still have what it takes to win, as Ron Bloodworth (1998) took first in the Pro-Am class and Rick Matteson, four-time Champion (1989-1992), clinched the win in the Vet class. Coming through the checkered flag for second place in the Vet class was two-time Champion, Tim Butler (1993, 1995). Rounding out the six past Missouri State Champions in attendance was Hubert Morris (1994) also racing in the Vet Class, and Pro class racers, two-time Champion David Hicks (2005-2006), and Bryan Hulsey (2007).

All total, these past champions including Kyle Martin 2008 OXC ATV Racing Champion, account for twelve Missouri State ATV championships. This marks the first time that an ATV race held in Missouri had that many Championship riders racing at one time, but hopefully not the last.

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