miles to claim their stake in the great prize money and plaques at the 6th
round of the 2011 Megacross Shootout Series.
However, at the end of the night, it was the local Illinois racers that
took home the gold.Gibson and Browning invade Megacross..... Hofmaster Conquers.
Results Here August 6th, 2011 Story by David Henry,
Photos by Brett Wilkinson and Sam Holland. (click for huge photo pages)
In the movie “Field of Dreams” they say “if you build
it they will come”. Well, in
District 17 Stadium Motocross, if you build it in Mendota IL, they will come. Racers came from as far away as 465
miles to claim their stake in the great prize money and plaques at the 6th
round of the 2011 Megacross Shootout Series.
However, at the end of the night, it was the local Illinois racers that
took home the gold.
Pearl City IL racer Tommy Hofmaster(110) wasn’t about to be intimidated by the showing
of current Arenacross champion Jeff Gibson or Arenacross and Lucas Oil AMA
outdoor motocross weekly competitor Willy Browning. The soon to be 32 year old racer showed
them the fast way around the Megacross circuit by winning all 4 classes he
entered. Hofmaster on his Rock
River Powersports Yamaha’s took home wins in 250A, Open A, 25+ A and 30 + A. Any time you enter and win 4 classes in
one night, that is impressive, but to do it against the competition that comes
to Megacross is nothing short of amazing.
Other racers showing their competition the fast way around the track, with multiple class wins were Kevin Huddleston Jr in 50 Jr and 50 4-8, Tommy Fortune Jr in 50 Sr and 65 Beginner and Jesse Keith in 25+ B and 30+ B/C.
The biggest and one of the most exciting races of the night
was the Open C class. With 24
racers lined up on the gate, the holeshot appeared to be Honda racer Trevor
Hayes’ to lose. Lose it he did,
as about 20 feet before the corner, he looked back to check his competition and
Yamaha mounted Andrew Magiera took full advantage. Yamaha mounted Patrick Doughty was all
over Lucas Hayes for 3rd. As
they completed lap 1 it was Magiera followed by Hayes and Doughty. Hayes was not about to settle for second
as he was all over Magiera for the lead on lap 2, but Magiera was giving it up. As they entered lap 3 you could throw a
blanket over the top 3 with Doughty now having moved into 2nd. Lurking in the background, now up to 4th
after a rough start was Brayden Copeland on his Copeland Trucking Kawasaki. In 1 lap of intense
racing a lot can
happen in approximately 1:15 seconds. Doughty
has now taken the lead over Magiera and Copeland is into 3rd. As the white flag came out it was now
Doughty on his Yamaha, leading Copeland, who has picked up another position and
now into 2nd and Trevor Hayes back up to 3rd. On the final lap as the racers head
towards the back straight away known as the “double, double, step up”
Copeland is on the move and has made a pass for the lead over Doughty as they
enter the left hand bowl turn at the end of the straight. As Copeland and Doughty look to exit the
corner and keep the battle going, they enter the next right hand bowl turn and
collide. They both are down with
less than a third of a lap to go! As
the others look to work their way around the carnage, it is Trevor Hayes working
his way into the lead with Kody Smith now in 2nd. At the finish that is how they ended up,
with Hayes taking the win on his Kawasaki and Smith 2nd on his Honda. Coming home in 3rd was Tyler Kincaid on his
Yamaha.
Super Mini and 85 Sr offered great racing and many common
competitors. Pulling the holeshot
in 85 Sr was RCR Kawasaki backed Jordan Mackiewicz followed by Yamaha mounted
Jimmy Epifanio. At the end of lap
1, Brian Krohn on his KTM had worked his way into 2nd and was
mounting a charge on Mackiewicz. At this point Mackiewicz and Krohn were pulling
away from the rest of the field and were so close you could throw a blanket over
the two of them. Neck and neck into
the whoops, Krohn dives to the inside of the next corner and moves in on
Mackiewicz, but Jordan slammed the door. Krohn
bobbles and Mackiewicz was able to stretch it out a bit, but Krohn was not
giving up. As the white flag came
out the top two now had lappers to deal with and that gave Krohn his final shot
at catching Mackiewicz. As they
entered the back straight away and worked their way through the “double,
double, step-up” and into the left hand bowl turn it was Krohn now emerging
with the lead as they came out of the whoops and into the right hand bowl turn. As Krohn and Mackiewicz went over the
announcers tower table top and into the final S turns they were side by side. Up the face of the finish line jump, it
appeared that Mackiewicz might have gained enough drive to take the lead, but it
was Krohn on his KTM taking the win in a photo finish. WOW, what a finish!!
In Supermini the holeshot once again was close between
Mackiewicz(19) 
and Epifanio, but the holeshot went to Jordan Mackiewicz. As the race progressed, it was
Mackiewicz on his RCR Kawasaki stretching out a nice lead over Kyle Nelson on
his KTM in 2nd and Brian Krohn in 3rd. The real battle on the track was this
battle for 2nd as Krohn was all over Nelson for 2nd. Krohn was slicing and dicing, but in the
end, just couldn’t make a move stick and brought home 3rd place for
the night. 2nd went to Krohn and 1st to Jordan
Mackiewicz.
In 35+ it was Rock River Powersports Yamaha mounted Burton
“Turbo” Lavens (763) 
with the holeshot. Lavens,
who has been working his way back up to speed from a shoulder injury last year
had his Borelli suspension dialed in and led wire to wire for the win over a
very competitive field. Coming
across the line in 2nd was Kawasaki mounted Dave Hayes and rounding
out the podium was Honda mounted Larry Dean “Rev” Bank.
Open B saw a newcomer to the class as 250 cc Yamaha mounted
Tony Spizzirri on his Sunrise Powersports ride moved up to the Open class. Tony, who was possibly competing in his
last Megacross event of the year due to his departure to college went into the
race with the mentality of “if you can’t run with the big dogs, stay on the
porch” This motivation of wanting to finish the season on a high note and
prove that he could run with the bigger “dogs” in the Open class lead to his
1st win of the season. The
race started off with a holeshot for Honda mounted Jesse Keith, but once the
racers entered the backside whoops, it was Spizzirri blitzing through them and
into the lead. At the finish it was
Spizzirri followed by Kawasaki mounted Ricki Williams and Honda mounted Adam
Petnuch. The battle for 2nd
was tight as Williams and Petnuch traded paint at the line, but Williams held on
for 2nd.
In 250 B it was Jake Cook and Jody Walker side by side down
the start straight followed closely into the first corner by another Honda racer
Connor Robinson. Robinson was able
to dive to the inside and come away with the holeshot. As the pack made its way towards the
back straight it was Walker followed by Robinson with Nate McLeese all over
Robinson for 2nd. This
battle of the top 3 would continue for most of the race. As they were midway through lap 3
McLeese made his way past Robinson down the “double, double, step-up” which
is 3 very nice table top jumps along the back straight by staying very low and
carrying much better speed between the jumps.
As the white flag came out it was Walker followed by McLeese and
Robinson. McLeese is on fire and working his way towards Walker for the
lead. Down the back straight
McLeese once again stays low and pulls aside Walker, but Walker slams the door
in the next turn. As the 2 racers
work their way around the final few turns and over the last table top they are
still neck and neck. As they
approach the last corner Walker and McLeese bang bars, but Walker hangs on for
the win. Robinson brings home 3rd.
In the 125
class Nate McLeese(483)
would get his redemption for the runner up spot in 250 B. Nate pulled the holeshot and was
followed closely by Tony Spizzirri(992) on his Sunrise Powersports backed Honda. As they completed lap 1, it was
Spizzirri now in the lead, followed by McLeese, Robbie Hyson (4) on a 2012 KTM and
Dirk Roper(93) on a Honda. As the front
of the pack completed lap 2, you could throw a blanket over Spizzirri, McLeese
and Hyson. On lap 3 the order would
change as Spizzirri had to navigate around a downed racer and that was all that
Nate McLeese needed to take the lead. As
the race wound down and the white flag came out, Robbie Hyson was all over
Spizzirri for 2nd, with McLeese holding on to the lead. At the checkers, it was McLeese taking
the win, followed by Hyson in 2nd and Spizzirri in 3rd.
As I look to finish up this race report, I can’t end
without giving a report on Open A. So,
here we go folks! With 13 of the
fastest Open A racers on the line the holeshot was Jeff Gibson’s all the way
on his Tuf Racing, Venning Motorsports, Factory Connection, Thor, Dunlop and
Scott backed Honda. Following
closely behind Gibson was Tommy Hofmaster on his Rock River Yamaha YZ 450 and
Scott Zont on his Tom Zont Racing, Club 57 backed Honda. As they make their way down the back
straight and across the start straight into the next left hander, it was Gibson
in the lead. As Gibson comes into the turn he is on the brakes too hard
and stalls his Honda. As they
finish lap 1 it is Hofmaster in the lead, followed by Zont and fresh to the A
class Corey Catalani in 3rd. Gibson finishes lap 1 in 12th
place. Lap 2 would hold the top 3
in the same positions with Gibson working his way up another spot to 11th. Lap 3 shows the top 3 once again the
same with Gibson coming across the stripe now up to 10th. Willy Browning after a poor start is now
working his way through the pack on his Honda of Fairfield, Spine chillers
racing, Williams Motorworks, One Industries, Von Zipper backed Honda. As the race progressed it was Hofmaster
way out front with a nice battle for 3rd shaping up between Catalani
on his Yamaha and Mad Maxx Malatia on his 2012 KX 450. When the checkers came out it was Hofmaster cruising across
the line with the win, followed by Zont in 2nd and Mad Maxx Malatia
rounding out the podium. Making his
way up to 4th after a bad start was Ohio’s Willy Browning and
fighting back from a 12th place lap 1 to finish 7th on the
night was Ohio’s Jeff Gibson.
Be sure to make plans to attend round 7 of the Megacross Shootout Series on August 27th. With consistently 300 + racers and competition from all over the Midwest, you are sure to be in for a treat.