Ozarks Cross Country Racing Series Round #5 - Lincoln, MO April 4th, 2009

by Shellie Robertson

The OXC ATV Racing series had a record high youth attendence.

A gorgeous day at Walter’s Ranch welcomed Round 5 of the 2008-2009 Ozark Cross County ATV series. Spectators were in for a treat as 153 racers, launched off the line for the chance to win their spot on the podium.

Twenty-five PeeWee riders lined up to tackle the 1.1-mile track consistenting of great terrain for these little riders. Brian Wolfe took his second win this season in the PeeWee Pro class, but is it enough to take the point lead from Travis Gromowski or Crystal Diebold in close second? Bryson Hevlin took his second win this season in the PeeWee Intermediate class, followed by Mason House and Keaton House respectively. PeeWee Intermediate point leader Preston Robertson traded in his Intermediate status and points lead to join the Pro class finishing 11th out of 15 total. Devon Ruark and Joslyn Mueller have quite a battle going on in the PeeWee Beginner class. Ruark has been able to win the past two tracks with Mueller winning the first three races. They might be buddies on the sidelines, but watch out on the track because there is some serious competition going on.

Kerri Roberts dominated the 2.9 mile women’s track taking her fifth straight win for the season, followed by Hannah Payne right on her tail. Shellie Robertson and Jessica Zuklin battled for the third and fourth positions the entire race until the last lap where Zuklin took over the third spot on the podium.

Off the start in the afternoon races, Carson Coffman grabbed the Fastrax Motorsports Holeshot award and led the 12 Pro racers into their seven and a half mile, five-lap battle through tight woods, rocky fields, and fast flowing trails. After the end of lap one, Coffman was still in control of the lead with Todd Senger and Michael Burrows following with only two seconds between first and third position. Burrows made the pass for the lead just before the end of lap 2 where he was able to maintain his lead unchallenged for the remainder of the race. Josh Roberts, Devon Jarrett and Todd Senger battled over the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th position during the second and third lap with only four seconds between 2nd & 4th as they came through the scoring lane. It was during the fourth lap when Roberts fell back due to shearing a foot peg off his KTM, allowing Jarrett and Senger to take 2nd and 3rd (respectively) at the checkered flag, just a second apart. Bryan Hulsey battled from last place off the start working his way up into the top 5. Hulsey held off a charging D.J. Shrum until the end of the last lap where Hulsey nosed into a ditch and went over the handlebars, allowing Shrum to take the 4th position with Hulsey remounting for 5th. Last years OXC champion, Kyle Martin ran in the top 5 the first two laps, until a rock lodged into one of his front wheels and ended his day early.

Michael Burrows

Justin Raines racked up another win in the Pro Am and another top 10 overall finish. Tony Friga, Ron Bloodworth, Patrick O’Neill and Thomas Fleigle rounded out the top 5 in the Pro Am class.

With the season half over, point battles are a thought on some racers minds. In the Pro Class, Todd Senger and Carson Coffman have only three points separating them, with D.J. Shrum and Kyle Martin nipping at their heels. Patrick O’Neill, Ron Bloodworth, and Justin Rains have raced their way to the top three spots in the Pro-Am Class, with nine points separating first and third. Roy Hazzard and Gaylon Harris are tied for first place in the Vet class. Matt Willier took his fifth straight win giving him the lead points in the A class, with Eric Richardson and Dwayne Schwartz in a hard battle for top spots in the A class.

Round 6 takes the OXC to new terrain in Holts Summit, MO on May 2, 2009. Go to oxcracing.com for complete details.

www.oxcracing.com

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