Sexton, Sanders, Charnowski prepare for the Big Show.

Mendota, IL – July 19

By Nikki Dixon

 Mother Nature dumped on the Tri County Fairgrounds Saturday morning, with the rain finally letting up around 10 am.  Rather than cancelling, the Megacross track crew kicked it in high gear and scraped mud until the start of practice to provide the best track possible.  The track was a little soft it practice, but actually turned out really good for the races considering the conditions.  “Nothing like an 8 foot rear blade on a John Deere to ‘plow’ off the mud like removing snow,” said promoter Gerhard Ward.  “If the mud was white, it could have been December!” 

Side note: I checked out the mud piles up close and personal while taking pictures, as I accidentally stepped from a dry dirt mound to a pile of mud, and sunk to my knees!  I had to be yanked out of my motocross boots, and they were later dug out of the sticky mud by shovel (thanks Corey!), what a mess!  I can just imagine what the track looked like at 10 am!

 Chase Sexton was one of the few Megacross riders getting ready to compete at the Loretta Lynn’s AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship in Tennessee, which was one week away.  Sexton carded a pair of Megacross wins in 50 Senior and 65 Junior.  In the 14-rider 50 Senior class, Jarred Berggren picked up the holeshot, but Sexton went to work on the first lap, airing it out over the step-up double before the long straightaway to move into the lead.  Sexton pulled away for the win, with Tanner Chada and Berggren rounding out the podium.  Sexton also topped the 10-rider 65 Junior class, followed by Anthony Wallace and Nick Wallace.

 At the National, Sexton (486) finished an impressive fourth overall in the 50 Senior class with 5-3-5 moto finishes.  Sexton even pulled the second moto holeshot over the 42-rider field.  Way to go, Chase! 

In the 10-rider 50 Junior class, Shawn Thompson led around the first turn, trailed by Jacob Gaul and Jacob Wain.  Thompson stayed out front for the win, while Riley Gaul passed his brother Jacob for second.  Jacob Gaul, Wain, and Corey Eilers wrapped up the top five.

Dylan Martin grabbed the 250A holeshot over the 12-rider field, followed by Charles Harpe, Brad Fabrizius, and Bryan White.  Tommy Hofmaster went from fifth to second in the first lap, and started closing in on leader Martin.  Hofmaster made his move at the end of lap three, when he put a clean block pass on Martin in the right-handed turn after the step-down triple for the lead.  Hofmaster pushed ahead for the win in the seven lap main event, while Martin slid out and dropped back in the pack.  Derek Whitney reeled in Fabrizius for second, followed by Justin Baker and White. 

Martin had his starts dialed as he led the 11-rider Open A class out of the gate.  Hofmaster was at the back of the pack through the first few turns, but cracked the top five as they completed the first lap.  Martin, Baker, and Roy Horton ran one-two-three for several laps, while Hofmaster made contact with Kyle White to pass into fourth through a banked turn, bumping White off the track.  Hofmaster reeled in Baker and Horton on the next lap to move into second.  Then Hofmaster blazed around the new left-handed sweeper berm and through a whoop section to take the lead from Martin.  Hofmaster sprinted to the win, followed by Martin and Baker.  Horton ran into problems, as Whitney and Loretta Lynn’s bound rider Jonathan Six advanced into the top five at the finish.

 Durk Roper lead through the first turns in the 125cc two-stroke class, chased by Matt Mellott and Reese Miller(446).  The top three mixed it up, as Roper led for two laps, until Mellott took over the lead.  Then Miller turned it up and reeled in Roper and Mellott for the lead.  Miller hung it out to the checkers for the win, followed by Mellott and Roper in a close race. 

Both 250B riders Daniel Sanders and Kyle Mierzjewski were headed to race the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National.  Sanders grabbed the holeshot over the 17-rider field, but Mierzjewski quickly moved into the lead.  But then Mierzjewski bobbled coming out of a rutted turn on the first lap, and dropped well outside of the top five.  Sanders regained the lead, followed by Kris Bracken, Mike Chrisos, and John Pogliano.  Sanders stayed out front for the win, while Mierzjewski rallied back to finish second after the first lap mishap.  Chrisos, Bracken, and Denny Morsch completed the top five. 

In the 12-rider Open B class, Sanders started out front and sprinted to the checkers.  Morsch reeled in Kyle Bracken for second, and Jesse Keith edged out Michael Goetz to round out the top five.

Iowa’s Rochelle Charnowski, another rider racing the Amateur National, topped the 14-rider Women’s class in her Megacross debut.  Charnowski had a bad start in the heat race, and charged up to finish second, between Miller sisters Shelby and Kendall.  But Charnowski turned it up in the main event to take the win, followed by Shelby Miller and Elisa Lunde.  Charnowski also put in a solid sixth place ride in the Open B class. 

Tim Filippi led the way in the 9-rider +40 class, with David Hayes and Randy Harper in tow.  Filippi held off Hayes to the checkers to take the win.  Frank Licastro reeled in Harper late in the race to complete the top three. 

In the 13-rider +30B class, Jeffrey Evensen started out front, followed by Max Lagod, Ryan Moss, and Troy Quest.  Moss fell in a turn on lap two, while Evensen and Lagod battled for the lead.  Mid-race Evensen stalled in a rutted turn, and Lagod took over the lead and captured the win.  Scott Holmes charged up to second, Troy Quest held off Loretta Lynn’s bound rider Scott Dixon for third, and Moss wrapped up the top five.

 Maxx Malatia(999) continued his Megacross dominance topping both Supermini and 85 Senior.  In the 10-rider Supermini class, Malatia grabbed the holeshot and never looked back.  Joey Fortune followed Malatia around the first turn, and held second to the finish.  Jordan Mackiewicz edged out Tyler Simpkins for third. 

In the 17-rider 85 Senior class, Malatia led around the first turn again, trailed by Fortune and Simpkins.  Malatia opened up a big lead on the way to the win, while Fortune, Simpkins, and Brady Neys mixed it up for second the whole race, with Fortune getting the nod.  Neys, Simpkins, and Mackiewicz completed the top five. 

Quad A had a solid turnout with 12 riders.  Charlie Snow grabbed the holeshot in the main event, trailed by heat-race winner Jason Wehrli.  The front two held their positions, while Cody Suggs and Stephen Schenk raced side-by-side for the third spot, bumping through the tighter stadium-style turns.  Schenk moved into the top three as they started the final lap, and the top four were in a cluster.  Snow protected his lines to secure the win, with Wehrli and Suggs completing the top three, while Schenk resulted in a DNF on the final lap.