Square Deal Riders Club
Winter Series - Round #1
story & photos
by: Ryan Verrastro
Harpursville, NY (11/27/05)
- Around this time of year in the Mid Atlantic region
most racers find themselves taking part in the inevitable
end-of-season siesta. With almost all of the national
and local series winding down to their final rounds
riders think they have no choice but to retire to
their neighborhood trails and get ready for the big
freeze. But isn’t there more? Can’t ATVs
operate in treacherous and frigid conditions such
as snow and sleet? The answers are yes and yes. The
problem is a lack of events held throughout the winter
and the solution is the 2005/2006 Winter Series hosted
by The Square Deal Riders club.
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The
woods was a winter wonderland with fresh snow |
Located 20 minutes outside of Binghamton New York,
SDR is a club established back in 1937. Rich in a
heritage of racing, the facility is home to one of
the oldest flat tracks in the country along with a
not-too-new harescramble course. I am told by Gary
Homanich, the club’s president, that their Winter
Series in the longest running consecutive series in
history with not missing a single year of events since
the 40’s! Today the organization has a roster
of 200 members that ride there regularly and enjoy
clubhouse luxuries such as a kitchen and bar.
The harescramble course is about a mile long. At
the start a racer is taking aim at a left turn 150
feet away. Passing turn one then directs you into
a small woods section a hundred feet away. After about
100 yards of the first taste of the forest you arrive
at a collection of high-speed straights that in about
another 250-300 yards sends you into the last and
longest piece of this tree-infested puzzle. The course
was virtually rock free and very fast that proved
to be a formidable test for both man and machine.
Along with running motorcycles the lineup featured
35 ATV racers spread across three classes. The morning
classes were the mini quads and a 4x2/4x4 (similar
to a B class). The afternoon belonged to the experts
with seventeen of them in attendance.
Upon arrival the track was a winter wonderland with
a coating of fresh powder provided in the days before.
It didn’t take long for the icing to wear away
on this cake as the morning classes dug in and exposed
the true colors of the track. Those colors were different
shades of clinging mud that enveloped all who passed
over them. A “Clark Kent in the phone booth”
type of transformation occurred to everyone behind
1st place as they exited the first woods section leaving
all but one rider indistinguishable. The course would
fix that quick further down the track, as everyone
appeared to be rocket-mounted mud monsters after the
first lap.
The kids on the other hand had a little less trouble
with the water and dirt cocktails served up in the
afternoon as they ran on an abbreviated track with
only the first woods section and the straight-aways
mentioned before. This allowed them to complete 5-6
more laps in the allotted 30-minute time frame that
all the classes abided by during the day.
SDR doesn’t want riders coming off the track
with frost bite later on in the colder months so they
keep the races to thirty minutes instead of the usual
2hrs found in other series that run haresrambles.
Good idea! Plenty of fun and thrills are served up
at these races and 30 minutes is more than enough
time to get your fill.
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Jesse
Crea leads the way! |
The mini quads gave spectators great eye candy with
close competition throughout their race. Jesse Crea
grabbed the holeshot and led the pack through the
rest of the race. Jordan Hawk owned 2nd place until
he was a lap down around lap 9 when AJ Vallone secured
the 2nd place finish. Michael Frederick had passed
AJ for 2nd place on lap 6 but was then passed by both
AJ and Dante Pultz on lap 9 and wound up in 5th overall
for the day.
Next up was the Quad 4x2 class (again like a B class)
with 11 racers on the line. The holeshot was taken by
Mark Beadle aboard his Banshee followed by Jeremy Snow
in second on his Raptor with Anthony Dirienzo in 3rd
on his Banshee to make an all Yamaha 1-2-3 start. Mark
was held up negotiating with the mud and allowed Jeremy
to make the pass for 1st. But that didn’t last
long when Mark regrouped and took back 1st place before
the end of lap 1, meanwhile Jeremy experienced mechanical
problems in the second woods section that forced him
to call it a day before completing one lap. First place
belonged to Daniel Conway after lap one when he passed
Mark who got stuck in the mud. Mark retired after lap
2 leaving Daniel to lead the pack. Daniel’s pole
position expired as Charles Vullo who battled the field
in second place the whole race and finally moved up
a spot to take 1st on lap 4 and then remained there
for the rest of the day.
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Dan
Preston with the early lead |
Finally the Experts lined up to take a shot at the
checkered. Not only did this class posses the most
amount of competition with seventeen riders all vying
for the same goal but they also had to contend with
the worst track conditions seen all day topped off
with a blinding sunset. At the drop of the green it
was Dan Preston that bolted off the line followed
by Mitch Boughton in 2nd and Gary Chamberlain close
by in third. After the first woods section you would
see the same line-up continue but further down Mitch
traded positions with Gary leaving Mitch in third
and Gary in second. Mitch would regain 2nd during
lap 3 with Dan still in the lead and Gary following
close behind them. Something drastic happened on lap
4 where we saw Gary take first, Dan move to second,
Seth Neumann elevate into third and Mitch retire.
Those positions would stick for the rest of the race
with Gary taking home the number 1 plaque, Dan receiving
the second and Seth grabbing third.
As you can see plenty of action can happen in 30
minutes of racing in the mud and snow. SDR encourages
riders to come and check out their cure for cabin
fever. Registration is only $25 with a $5 admission
fee and certain classes will receive payouts along
with plaques. Every child that races in a mini class
will receive a plaque to take home. This year’s
opener was a blast but with 6 more events scheduled
for the rest of the season it’s not too late
to sign up. All events are AMA and ATVA sanctioned
and the series allows you to miss 2 races to still
be considered for points, so like I said it’s
not too late. Check out SDR’s home page for
more info and I hope to see you there!
www.squaredealriders.com
P.O. BOX 12
Port Crane, NY 13833
(607)693-2634
