Megacross Fair Racing Returns After 17 Years!

Mendota, IL – September 4

By Nikki Dixon

 It’s been 17 years since Megacross has raced during the Tri-County Fair, or on a Friday night.  This year’s fair race was round 10 of 11 for the Megacross Shootout Series, and had a strong turnout with over 280 entries, compared to 79 riders at the last fair race event in 1992.  There was a good sized crowd on hand, with t-shirts and other goodies tossed into the grandstands at intermission.  There were some track changes, including a new grandstand finish line jump.  The track was a little muddy during practice, which rutted up in some turns, making line choice important for the main events. 

 The fair race 250A and Open A purses were increased by $800, to bring the payouts to the maximum allowed, with Justin Kelly and Ryan Poulter sharing the wins.  Maxx Malatia had the track dialed, as he picked up three wins, in 250B, Open B, and 14-24.  Seth Kuss and Robbie Hyson were also multiple class winners with two each.  Kuss topped 250C and Open C, while Hyson dominated in 85 Senior and Super Mini.

 In the 250A main event, Poulter (27) led the 10-rider field through the first turn, followed by the only two-stroke mounted riders, Kelly and Tom Hofmaster.  Kelly was on the gas, passing Poulter for the lead on the opening lap.  As they completed the first lap, the running order was Kelly, Poulter, Hofmaster, Derek Whitney, and Chad Johnson.  The top three stayed within a few bike lengths as they blazed around the track.  Hofmaster was jumping the far triple, trying to gain a position.  On lap six, Hofmaster charged through a rutted turn to pass Poulter for second, as Johnson closed in on the top three, setting up a four-rider battle for the final two laps.  A few turns before the checkered flag, Hofmaster made his last attack, trying to make something happen with an inside line after the step-up, but Kelly held off the pressure to take the hard earned win.  Hofmaster, Poulter, and Johnson crossed the finish line within seconds of each other, with Whitney wrapped up the top five.

 Poulter picked up another holeshot in the 10-rider Open A class, with Johnson, Hofmaster, Kelly, and Jonathan Six in tow.  Johnson chased Poulter for the entire race, showing Poulter a wheel here and there, but couldn’t stick a pass.  Hofmaster, Kelly, Six, and Whitney had a good battle for third early in the race, with Hofmaster inching ahead to round out the podium, behind Poulter and Johnson.  Six and Whitney reeled in Kelly, to complete the top five, as Kelly might have had a mechanical issue, as he looked down at his bike a few times late in the race.

 Hofmaster (110) started out front in the 11-rider +25A class, chased by Johnson, Adam Marten, and Jason Kloptowsky.  Johnson stayed on Hofmaster’s rear wheel, and was trying to work the inside lines, but couldn’t make anything happen.  Hofmaster captured the win, with Johnson second.  Marten held off Kloptowsky’s pressure to finish third, with Kloptowsky and Brian White completing the top five. 

In +30A action, Burton Lavens grabbed the holeshot over the 10-rider field, but Marten charged out front through the second turn.  Marten, Lavens, Kloptowsky, and Everett Dahlberg ran out front, with Marten staying out front to the checkered flag.  After following Lavens the whole race, Kloptowsky rubbed some plastic with Lavens through the final turn, moving Kloptowsky into second.  Lavens, Dahlberg, and Arek Kruk rounded out the top five.

 Troy Quest led the 16-rider +30B class through the first turns, followed by Jeffrey Evensen, Ryan Moss, and Shawn Christen.  Moss reeled in Evensen for second mid-race, and hunted down Quest, eventually passing him for the lead with a lap to go.  Moss pushed ahead for the win, over Quest, Evensen, Shawn Palade, and David Henry. 

In the 250B main, Maxx Malatia (99) picked up the holeshot over the 12-rider field, trailed by Collin Licastro and Matt Hammond.  Hammond passed Licastro for second on the opening lap, and hunted down Malatia, closing the gap mid-race.  But Malatia picked it up and sprinted to the checkers, to capture the victory.  Hammond secured the runner-up spot, while third place Licastro ran into problems, dropping back to last place.  Zack Scott held off a hard charge from Matt Dissell to finish third, with Dissell and Denny Morsch wrapping up the top five.

Zach Coons had a big holeshot in Open B, chased by Malatia, Hammond, and Morsch.  Malatia took over the lead quickly, with Hammond all over him.  Malatia protected his lines, and stayed out front for another win.  Hammond and Morsch secured the final podium positions, while there was a five rider battle for fourth, between Jesse Keith, Gary Smith, Coons, Bill Chrisos, and Leland Bragg.  The five riders mixed it up, with Keith and Chrisos completing the top five across the finish.

 Malatia also topped the 11-rider 14-24 class.  Hammond trailed Malatia across the checkers for another runner-up finish.  125cc class winner Reese Miller rounded out the 14-24 podium, followed by Licastro and Kyle Entwistle.

 Nine riders lined the gate in Quad A, with Charlie Snow grabbing the main event holeshot, followed by Stephen Schenk and Neil Hambly.  Jason Wehrli was running fourth when he tipped on his side in a turn.  Wehrli quickly returned to four wheels, but the bobble dropped him to the back of the pack.  Snow and Schenk had a tough battle for the lead, with Schenk pulling the trigger on lap four, with an inside pass through the three tabletop rhythm section.  Schenk then sprinted to the checkered flag for the win.  A few turns before the finish, Snow slid out after the step-up, and went off the track, allowing Justin Medine and Jeremy Beetz to finish on the podium.  Snow and Hambly completed the top five.

 Shawn Parpart led the Quad C class around the first turn, with Joseph Vinachi and Derek Eiten in tow.  Parpart and Vinachi stayed close in the opening laps, while Charles Torres moved into the top three and closed in on the leaders.  Parpart, Vinachi, and Torres had a great race in the final two laps, going side-by-side in multiple sections of the track, such as the rhythm section and through the whoops.  Vinachi tried to make a pass stick on the inside through the big bowl turn, but Parpart closed the door and stayed out front for the win.  Vinachi and Torres rounded out the top three, while Eiten protected the inside line to hold off Brandon Chapman through the “S” turns at the finish.

 In the 11-rider 50 Senior class, Robert Copenharve started out front, followed by Shawn Thompson and Tyler Evensen.  Copenharve was on the gas, as he opened up a big lead over the field.  Thompson had a mechanical problem, and pushed his bike back to the pits, while Evensen and Nolan Dickinson ran in the top three.  Shane Reilly picked it up and passed Dickinson for third late in the race.  Copenharve captured a huge win, and Evensen held off a late charge from Reilly for second.  Dickinson and Kaile Williams wrapped up the top five.

 Jarred Berggren led the 10-rider 65 Junior class in the start, trailed by Copenharve, Austin Link, Noah Taylor, and Reilly.  Berggren cruised out front to capture the win, with Copenharve carding second.  Shawn Thompson had a bad start, but charged into the third spot by mid-race, and held the position to the finish, followed by Link and Reilly. 

In 65 Senior, Tyler Scott picked up the holeshot, with RJ Mackenzie and Tyler Spizzirri in tow.  Scott held off Mackenzie the whole race to take the win.  Keagan Cook moved into third early in the race, while Spizzirri and Vinny Cragin diced for position.  The top five were Scott, Mackenzie, Cook, Cragin, and Spizzirri as they crossed the finish line. 

Timothy Lowe and Patrick Murphy went bar-to-bar through the first turn in 50 Junior, with Lowe moving out front for the lead.  But Murphy answered back to become the new leader early in the race, chased by Lowe and Travis Wilkinson.  The top three stayed close as they raced around the track, with Murphy eventually pulling ahead for the win, followed by Lowe, Wilkinson, Radko Tomko, and Ethan Eslinger.

50cc 4-8 had a big turnout with 13 riders.  Nolan Dickinson led through the first turns, trailed by Wilkinson, Tomko, Garrett Ward (31), and Kyle Green.  Wilkinson (199) challenged Dickinson for the lead early in the race, but Dickinson picked up the pace to stay out front.  Ward reeled in Wilkinson, and the two traded positions multiple times for several laps in an exciting battle.  The top three stayed close to the finish, with Dickinson taking the win, and Wilkinson edging out Ward on the final lap.  Tomko and Green completed the top five.

 Robbie Hyson picked up the holeshot in the 16-rider Super Mini class, followed by Jordan Mackiewicz and Shane Johnson.  Mackiewicz made a mistake on the first lap, and dropped back in the pack, while Hyson and Johnson made their way through the rhythm section, trailed by Greg Rogers, Kody Smith, and Joey Fortune.  Hyson pulled away, while Fortune reeled in Johnson, eventually passing him for the second spot late in the race.  Mackiewicz climbed back into the top five on lap four, but had more problems on the final lap.  Hyson carded the win, over Fortune, Johnson, Jacob Wever, and Smith.

 Hyson started out front again in the 15-rider 85 Senior main event, chased by Mackiewicz, Fortune, and Wever.  Hyson never looked back, as he went wire-to-wire for the win.  Mackiewicz and Wever mixed it up for second, with Wever getting the nod.  Fortune dropped outside of the top five, allowing Tyler Simpkins and Smith to round out the top five.

 Seth Kuss led Open C through the rhythm section on the first lap, followed by Nicholas Broll, Joe Ahern, Tony Spizzirri, and Mike Milewski.  Kuss stayed out front, while Ahern and Spizzirri moved into the top three, and stayed close to Kuss.  Spizzirri (992) crashed in the bowl turn with a lap to go, but remounted quickly, holding onto the third spot.  But Spizzirri had more issues on the final lap, giving up positions to Broll and Garrett Mitchell.  Then Broll fell in the final turns before the checkered flag, losing the couple of spots he gained.  Kuss picked up the win, with Ahern, Mitchell, Spizzirri, and Broll wrapping up the top five.

 250C was the biggest class of the night with 20 riders.  Ahern picked up the holeshot, chased by Kuss and Zach Hochstatter.  Kuss took over the lead early in the race, trailed by Hochstatter, Mitchell, Cody Gehant, Spizzirri, and Broll, while Ahern dropped outside of the top ten.  Mitchell reeled in Hochstatter for second on the fourth lap, while Kuss pulled away from the pack.  Kuss captured his second win of the night, over Mitchell, Hochstatter, Spizzirri, and Gehant.

 The 2009 Megacross fair race was a big hit, and will likely be back on the schedule for next year.  With 10 rounds of the Megacross Shootout Series in the books, there is only one race remaining for 2009.  Don’t miss the September 26^th Megacross Championship!  The event is also double Megacross points, and will include the Thumper, Pit Bike, and Vintage classes.  There are a lot of tight battles in the Megacross points, as well as the Fox Valley Off Road/Megacross Iron Man Series, and the District 17 Stadium points, so make sure to catch all of the action at the Megacross finale!