Hall, Finefield, and Vance Victorious at Fox Valley Off Road
Fox Valley Off Road, Wedron, IL – August 21 Rnd
4 By Nikki Dixon, photos by Jennifer Wamhoff
The Fox
Valley Off Road crew laid out a “flatter” course than normal for round 4 of
5, due to 2 inches of rain the day before the race. The course was fast and fun, with
excellent traction, and still had the typical FVOR trademarks, including the
finish line spectator logs, a spin through rock creek, some motocross track,
off-cambers, and of course hills. Anyone
that missed this race because of the rain missed out on a great course.
65cc Beginner was the first race of the day, with Jay Pelka (150)
grabbing
the holeshot, and leading the first three laps, chased by Kale Cline and Autumn
Torres. Cline took over the lead on
lap four, and led through the checkpoint for the remainder of the 11 lap race,
turning the fastest lap of the class with a 2:45 on lap five. Eli Otterbach charged through the pack after a last place
start and had a couple of 2:46 laps to finish second, just 13 seconds behind
Cline at the checkered flag. David
Herman, Torres, and Pelka rounded out the top five.
The Supermini, 85cc, and 65cc race
had 18 riders total, with Luke Kelly(214)
leading the Supermini class into the woods. Jarred Hall(250) moved out front on the
opening lap, with Jeff Gourley (231) right behind as they went through the
transponder checkpoint. Hall turned
six consistent laps around the nine minute range, his fastest an 8:57 on the
final lap, to stay out front for the Supermini and overall win, with Gourley and
Kelly wrapping up the Supermini top three.
Mason
Schuhler picked up the 85cc holeshot and led the first lap, trailed by Blake
Ryan, Matt McDonald, Ethan Greve, Jake McCarrens, and the rest of the 8-rider
field. McDonald moved into second
on lap two, and hunted down Schuhler, closing the gap to three seconds through
the checkpoint after four laps, and the race was on! Schuhler and McDonald matched each other’s lap times the
final two laps, with 8:56s on lap five, then the fastest time of the race with
8:48s on the final lap. But
Schuhler maintained his three second lead through the scoring tower, to capture
the win in the close race, followed by McDonald, Ryan, Greve, and McCarrens.
Luke
Wamhoff led the 6-rider 65cc class in the start, with Tanner Whipple and Thor
Rick in tow. Whipple took over the
lead on the first lap, but Wamhoff stayed close behind, as Garrett Ward cracked
the top three. Wamhoff regained the
lead on lap three, with Whipple on his rear fender through the spectator section
through the next two laps. Wamhoff
turned the fastest lap of the class with a 10:09 on lap five to pull away from
Whipple, and put him around just in time to complete a sixth and final lap. Whipple, Ward, Doug Propper, and Rick
completed the top five, all completing five laps.
In the 50cc classes, Kale Cline
picked up his second win of the day, leading wire-to-wire in 50 Senior, with
Micah Alleman and Blake Hoffman rounding out the podium. Ian Murphy put in a great ride in
50 Junior, coming from a last place start, to race through the pack and move
into the lead late in the race, to capture the win. Mason Greve finished second, after
leading most of the race, with Seven Tonga, Jason Bahnik, and Hunter Savage
wrapping up the top five.
64 riders filled the starting area
for the morning big bike race, with
+50A, +50B, +30C, Open C, and 200 C
running 90 minutes, and Thumper, Women, and Vintage running 60 minutes. Wally Mika (619) led +50A and the entire
field right from the start, with Rick Mahrt (6004) a few seconds back. Mika and Mahrt were flying on lap three,
with Mika logging a 9:31, which would be the fastest lap of the class, and Mahrt
with a 9:35. Both riders dropped
off the pace on the next lap, as Mika opened up a small lead over Mahrt. Kevin Finefield was on the move, reeling
in Mika around the one hour mark. Fienfield
turned his fastest lap of the race with a 9:34 on lap 10, to take the lead
through the checkpoint with a lap to go. The
two battled to the end, with Mika trying a different line over the spectator
logs on the final lap, but Finefield stayed ahead to earn the win, snapping
Mika’s undefeated streak at FVOR in 2011. Mahrt finished third, holding off a late race charge from DJ
Ryan.
The new FVOR +50B class had 11 riders, with Glen Kaszynski leading
the opening lap, chased by Dale Buffo(691), Duane Buffo (671), and Jeff
Whittington, who were all within a few bike lengths. Whittington got around the top three on
lap two, leading through the scoring barrels, with the top four still in a
cluster. Dale Buffo was the new
leader on lap three, and had Whittington on his rear fender for two laps, until
opening up a 15 second lead around the halfway mark of the race, and eventually
a minute lead over Whittington with three laps to go. Sam Mertes was on the move, dropping his
lap times in the second half of the race, and reeling in Whittington for second
with two laps to go. Dale Buffo
held onto the front spot for the win, with Mertes 18 seconds back at the finish,
followed by Whittington, Kaszynski, Duane Buffo, and Gary Martyn, with the top
six all completing 10 laps.
Peter Kavsky dominated the 201-Open C class, leading through the checkpoint on
all 10 laps, and opening up a six minute lead over the battle for second between
Nolan Fritz and Mark Sticha. Fritz
edged out Sticha by a couple bike lengths at the checkers, while Mike Norris
caught and passed Eric Knight for fourth late in the race, with the top five
riders each finishing 10 laps.
98-200 C shaped up as a rematch between Supermini riders Jarred Hall and Jeff
Gourley. Riley Schuhler led through
the transponder tower on the first lap, with Gourley, Hall, Mitch Ternes, and
Logan Kelly in the hunt. Gourley
took over the lead on lap two, with Hall right behind, and the two ran nearly
identical lap times for the next three laps, with Hall registering one second
back through the checkpoint on each lap. Finally
Hall cracked the 10-minute lap mark with a 9:56 on lap six, to move into the
lead, with Gourley six seconds behind. Hall continued to push ahead, and logged a 9:50 on lap eight,
the fastest lap of the class, then extended his lead to almost a minute by the
white flag. But Hall had troubles
on the final lap, dropping from first to fourth,
as Gourley regained
the lead and captured the win. Schuhler,
Ternes, Hall, and Colton Saylor rounded out the top five.
+30C was the biggest class of the day, with Shawn Alleman (1007) leading the
17-rider field on the first lap, trailed by Jack Hansen, Vince Ternes, Mike
Dwyer, and Mike Hogan. Tobi Peters
climbed through the pack on lap two, gaining 10 positions to move into second
behind Alleman. The top three of
Alleman, Peters, and Hansen held on to their positions for the duration of the
10 lap race, with Hansen withstanding late race pressure from Dwyer in the final
three laps. Ternes, Hogan, and
Edward Bator wrapped up the top seven, finishing within 15 seconds of each other
at the finish.
The A/B
big bike race had 50 riders, and a few extra challenges on their course,
including a longer run through rock creek, a downhill log section, and a steep
uphill. The new split program at
FVOR with the +50/C in the morning, and A/B in the afternoon has been well
received, especially for reducing congestion and lapped traffic.
Kyleer Vance (14) hooked up down the starting line, and led the
6-rider AA class into the timber. Steve
Willis (33) got around Vance on the opening lap, and led at the scoring tower,
with Vance, Ryan Moss (24), and Matt Dissell (90) all within a couple bike
lengths. Vance regained the lead on
lap two, with Moss and Dissell right on his rear tire, as Willis dropped back to
fourth. Dissell and Vance swapped
the lead back and forth through the checkpoint for the next three laps, until
Dissell strung together the lead through the scoring barrels for seven laps in a
row, with Vance right behind, never more than 10 seconds back, usually three or
less! The top two were riding at a
blistering pace as they raced through traffic, running laps in the 8:30-range,
and opening up a six minute lead over third place Willis after 11 laps, coming
through the barrels with time to complete a 12th and final lap. Vance
wicked it up on the last lap with an 8:32, the fastest lap of the day, and took
advantage of lapped traffic to get past Dissell, and capture the win. Dissell finished just one second back at
the checkered flag in a disappointing upset, after leading most of the race. Willis reeled in Moss around the one
hour mark for third, with Moss and Jason Kloptowsky wrapping up the top five.
John
Siekman(125) nailed the Open A dead engine start, but Timothy Reid moved out
front by the transponder tower, chased by Steven Daniels, Jeff Snedecor, Stephen
Stuenkel, and the rest of the field. Reid
led the a couple more laps, but had company, eventually handing over the lead to
Snedecor on lap four. Alec Perry
regrouped after a last place start to move into second on lap five, and caught
and passed Snedecor after a couple laps. Once
out front, Perry put in several laps in the low 9-minute range to slowly pull
away, including the fastest of the class 
with a 9:23 on his final lap.
Perry carded the win, with Snedecor the runner-up. Reid, Stuenkel, and Daniels mixed it up
for the third spot the entire race, with Daniels getting the nod at the
checkered flag, over Stuenkel and Reid, who were less than 10 seconds back. The top five all completed 11 laps.
Nolan Schuhler led the 98-200 B class to the first turn barrel, but Travis Ward
snuck by on the outside, and led into the timber. Ward hammered out 10 laps around the 10 minute range, his
fastest a 9:42, to capture the win, followed by Schuhler and Anthony Steinhauer. Ward was also was the top finishing
overall B rider, edging out Open B winner Matthew Walsh by almost a minute after
the 10 lap race.
In Open B, Walsh grabbed the holeshot, and was chased by Nick Blacklaw for the
first few laps. Walsh opened up a
minute lead by lap five, then sprinted ahead to the checkered flag, with his
best lap a 9:58. Blacklaw and
Andrew Gore rounded out the top three.
Jesse
Keith led +30A through the scoring barrels on the first lap, chased by John
Ryan, Travis Held, Shane Harmon, and the rest of field, with less than 10
seconds separating the leader from sixth place.
Keith crashed coming out of rock creek on lap two, allowing Held and Ryan
to move into the front two spots. Held
led through the checkpoint through the remaining 10 laps, but Ryan was within
striking distance almost every lap. On
lap 10, Ryan turned a 9:28, his fastest lap, to pull within two seconds at the
white flag. Held withstood the
pressure and answered back with a 9:28 of his own on the final lap, to secure
the win over Ryan. Steve Simpson,
Patrick McClure, and Keith completed the top five.
Robert
Koscielski led +40A into the woods, trailed by Kenny Otterbach and the rest of
the class. Otterback passed into
the lead on the opening lap, with Koscielski, Jim Perry, and Greg Gourley in
tow. Gourley picked it up on lap
two, moving into the lead, and opening up a 25 second gap over Otterbach. Gourley led the next several laps, until
Otterbach caught back up around the one hour mark. They battled the next three laps, within a bike length
through the spectator section, until Otterbach put in his best lap with a 10:07
to open up a small lead with a lap to go. Otterbach
pushed ahead for the victory, followed by Gourley, Perry, Greg Vroman,
Koscielski, and Jay Hall.
In +30B,
JJ Cones (546)
picked up the
holeshot, but Jerimy Hanlin led at the first checkpoint, trailed by Cones,
Everett Dahlberg, John McCarrens, and the rest of the 9-rider field. Cones regained the lead from Hanlin on
lap two, as Brian Smith, Dahlberg, and McCarrens mixed it up for third. Hanlin dropped out of the race on the
next lap, as Cones opened up a lead over Smith, and McCarrens moved into third. Cones continued to put in consistent
laps, his best a 10:13, to extend his lead to nearly two minutes at the white
flag. Smith ran into problems on
the final lap, dropping from second to fourth. McCarrens moved into second, but had his hands full with
Brandon Norris, who made a late race push for the second spot. McCarrens held off Norris by just a
couple bike lengths at the checkers, with Norris, Smith, and Dahlberg rounding
out the top five.
Shawn Val Alsburg (799) led
wire-to-wire in the +40B class, as he grabbed the holeshot and never looked
back, logging the fastest lap of the class with a 10:29. Matt Wamhoff held down the runner-up
spot the entire race, until Jeff Oldenburg ran his fastest lap with a 10:52 on
the final lap, to edge out Wamhoff for second.
Wamhoff, Andy Garecht, and William Horsley wrapped up the top five.
In Quad
action, A-rider Scott Burkitt led the A and +30 
class on the first lap,
chased by +30 class leader Dan Burkitt. Scott
Burkitt opened up almost a 40 second lead on lap two, but then lost almost four
minutes on lap three, dropping towards the back of the A and +30 classes. Dan Burkitt was the new overall leader,
followed by +30 rider Kevin Johnson, A-rider Chris Brietwieser, and +30 rider
David Johnson. Dan Burkitt and
Kevin Johnson battled for the lead on lap four, running side-by-side through the
spectator log section, with Burkitt eventually opening up a small lead on the
next two laps. But on lap seven,
Dan Burkitt had company, as +30 rider David Johnson charged up to the second
spot, after a near last place start on the opening lap. The two riders mixed it up for the
remaining four laps, trading positions several times. David Johnson led through the scoring
tower at the white flag, but Dan Burkitt edged him out on the final lap to take
the +30 and overall win, with David Johnson four seconds back. Scott Burkitt won the A class and
finished third overall. Brietwieser
and Todd McGuire rounded out the podium in the A class, and Kevin Johnson
rounded out the top three in +30.
Fall is
fast approaching, so mark your calendars to catch the action for the final
events. The FVOR Championship race
is September 11th, which is also a District 17 bonus race, and free
t-shirt day for all entered riders! Then
October 30th is the first ever FVOR Sunrise Powersports Grand Prix,
which will be a two moto race format, with a blend of hare scramble and
motocross type terrain. This will
also be the final race of the new District 17 GP series, which is ramping up
this fall. Finally, the year end FVOR and Megacross Rider Appreciation
play day and awards will be in 13th of November. And as always, Fox Valley has open
riding throughout the year. Check
the website for more information on open riding and details on the upcoming
events.