Download the PDF E-Zine version of this article rich with new, full resolution photos and more
to save the pdf file to your computer.
When I left for the San Diego airport I checked the weather forecast for Albuquerque. It said slight chance of showers but mostly sunny. I thought "Awesome, this is going to be a great outdoor national". Well, I found out on the flight, while talking to a parent of a rider, that the national was indoor. "Oh man" I thought, "there goes my air shots (indoor tracks are notoriously small and mellow) and the photos are going to be all grainy because I'm going to have to shoot at high ISO" (digital camera equivalent of shooting with fast film).
Well, when I got to the track I was pleasantly surprised to find a brightly lit facility with a track setup that included some good jumps on the second straight and a rhythm section on the third that can be taken various different ways. We (ISTV) also found the people at the facility great to work with and they did all they could to get us what we needed to provide great video of the event. Judging from the facility the Governor was showing was to be built for upcoming events, the 505 will be hosting some great races in the future.
One of the features of the track that was more favorable to the audience (excitement) than the riders (ouch) was the tightness of the turns. The track was an M shape as opposed to the familiar U in a U. That means every turn was tight. This lead to some great moves and some WWF style slams. A few of the riders that ran out of turn before their ascent stopped were Jerret Kolich, Kris Fox, Renato Silva and a few others. The second turn took it's share of victims as they flew over the top and into the crowd at the finish line below. Check out the news-center footage for a great shot of Fabio going over that turn.
Girl pro on Saturday had an even eight riders. That meant the first race is basically a warmup lap and the next three would be their mains. In the first main Redline's Kim Hayashi got the pop out of the gate but then the throttle got stuck as she wheelied out of control and almost went off the track. That Jeff Hayashi training program must be working a little too well. Staats' Arielle Martin took advantage of the bobble and took the first main. Second main, Arielle needed no help as she got a great snap out of the inside gate and took the lead over Hayashi by the first corner. It would remain that way with Hayashi in second and MCS's Amanda Geving in for the third. That's the way the overall would go as well. Martin took top spot, Hayashi took the overall second and Geving the third.
Vet pro is getting intense. You know that when two of the nicest guys in BMX (Renato Silva and Todd Parry) are bashing each other in the turns. As Mike Redman pointed out, we might have a new rivalry going in the vet pro class. Silva (incredibly still looking for a sponsor) threw the glove down early in the weekend with a commanding win in the first main on Saturday. Renato popped the gate and lead from start to finish with a full half straight lead by the finish line. Second main Redman/Yamaha's Darrin Mitchell decided to let the guys know to never count him out. He took the win in the second moto in the same fashion that Renato did in the first. Start to finish - all Mitchell. Silva would settle for a forth and Parry got the second. The points were all jumbled going into the third moto. Supercross rider Todd Parry decided he'd like his share of the first place finishes and took the last main. With his second place finish in the second main and the first in the third main the points would be tight with Renato. However, Renato's first in the first moto and consistent finishes in the following mains gave him the overall for Saturday.
The BMX HEX/Avent/Bombshell team came to NM in force this weekend and their A pro Adam Treadwell was on his game. The game had a few other players though. Arturo "Crazy Freak" Carrasquero was on a mission this weekend. The guy is intense and was seen/heard in the infield cheering and screaming for many racers in other classes. Also in the mix was another Haro representative from OZ Jamie Gray. First moto Carrasquero took the lead out of the first corner. However, Treadwell was on his back and when they hit the rhythm Treadwell worked it passing Arturo. Arturo set up for what looked to be an aggressive pimp in the last turn but took the high road and held his line. Sometimes nice guys don't finish first though and the clean move left Arturo in second for the first main. Second main Gray took the lead and looked to win until "Gentleman" Justin McLintock decided to leave his manors behind and plowed into Gray in the last turn. Almost the entire class went down and Redman/Yamaha's Drew Downey survived the mayhem to take the win. Treadwell got the second and retained his points lead over Carrasquero. Gray set to prove the lead was no fluke in the main before and took the lead in the third round. This time he was untouched and won. Right behind him was the two contenders for the overall. Arturo and Adam battled elbow to elbow through the last turn and down the last straight. Treadwell edged out Carrasquero for the win and the overall.
I knew from the onset that AA pro was going to be great. Revtec's Greg Romero took a strong win early on in one of the motos. Avent/Fly's Donny Robinson was flying. His first straight was incredible. Then you've always got the ever consistent Randy Stumpfhauser looking strong as well. Haro's Warwick Stevenson is still nursing a knee problem that has his riding on an up/down swing. Mongoose rider John Purse has two major motivations; One being the record for the most wins in a career and the other the recent birth of his son Jaxson. John recently set the record for most seasons (16) and is on track for the most career wins (77). You can't rule out a win from the pumped up AA pro Kenth Fallen. Kenth rides for the 505 Racing team and as this is their hometown they were in full effect and deafeningly voicing their support of Kenth in the mains. Avent/Bombshell's Jason Rogers Six Million Dollar Man (a reference to the hardware in his body and not his salary) was in the mix. And, of course you had the grom's favorite Redline's Bubba Harris.
Stumpy would set the pace first main on Saturday as he shot out of the gate on the inside and never looked back. Robinson was rode high and put out of the mix in the first turn. Bubba was on Randy's back tire the whole lap but couldn't get in a move. Stumpy's power out of the middle in the second moto was phenomenal. He proved the first main win was no fluke and again lead from start to finish. Stevenson and Robinson avoided mayhem in the first corner for the second and third but it looked to be shaping up as Randy's day for the top podium spot. Now, no race would be exciting with out a little mixing it up. Our "Ask a Pro" man Donny Robinson would take it upon himself to make sure that happened third main. Donny snapped out of the gate and pulled down the first straight with the power of a rider who's definitely looking one hundred percent. That lap was all DR as he towed the rest of the class around the track. Harris got the second and Stumpfhauser got in some mixes that put him mid to rear pack. Randy's first two main wins gave him the points needed for the overall and DR's power and consistency gave him the second podium spot. Harris had the points needed to be included in the podium shot.
Sunday Redline's Master Yoda gOrk must have put a call into his minions as the entire Redline pro force stepped up to take the wins in Girl Pro, Vet Pro and AA Pro. In Girl Pro Hayashi got that throttle cable fixed and took a commanding win. In Vet pro Carnes took advantage of the Parry/Silva feud and got the win. In AA Bubba not only won but did it putting on a Jeff Upshaw like riding clinic. He manual, double, manualed the second straight (check the video to see how Gnar that is) and then proceeded to manual the entire third straight rhythm section. This all with some accomplished AA pro athletes trying to work their way around you at every chance. DR again looked strong and I can't wait to see how he finishes in Rockford. For now though, it was a Redline sweep with the only exception being A pro where they had no riders.
Avent/Fly's Donny Robinson could not be touched in Pro cruiser. Donny won both Saturday and Sunday beating riders like AA pro's first place winner on Saturday Randy Stumpfhauser and Answer/Supercrosse's Jerret Kolich.
A pro Sunday would be the Ozzie's day. Jamie Gray put his Haro over the line first and took the overall. Phantom/On Trac/Intense's Kyle Cushman put in a great showing for second and the "Crazy Freak" took the third. Announcer Mike Redman and myself would like to thank some of the A pros for bringing their own cheering section with and in turn upgrading the scenery.
As you probably saw in the news center there have been some late season team changes. One of the most noteworthy on the weekend was Phantom/On Trac's acquirement of Jake Trevino. Jake had been ripping it up lately and with the demise of the Hurricane/Crupi team was easy pickings for the Phantom/On Trac family. I just read that another pickup (but not at the races) for Donavan's crew is Derik Bergh. Now THAT's another awesome pickup and I can't wait to see how DB does for his new team in Rockford. Look for Jake's fellow Texan bro-brah Cameron Lowery to be in new colors by hopefully Rockford as well. That will be a great score in the 10 year-old class for whoever signs that deal.
I'd like to take a personal break here to let any team know that Lee Lewis is consistently kickin' butt and could use help getting to races. Lee rides for the team I used to actively run and gets some GREAT help from Ray over at Fly. However, my new position honestly takes up too much of my time to appropriately run a team. It would be great to see the winner of 15 cruiser Saturday get hooked up with a team that could give him what his hard work and determination deserve.
At the risk of repeating what Matt Hendershot (see I spelled it right this time!) pointed out, Brew/Promax rider Andrea Dressler went above and beyond the call this weekend. Andrea recently turned 9. Team Manager Jeff Glynn told me he was reluctant to put Andrea into open as it was 9-10 open. He thought having recently just turned 9 that might be a little much. Keep in mind mixed open is 9-10 girls and boys. Andrea proved she could step up to the challenge and forcefully won 9-10 mixed open, 9 girls and 10 and under girl's cruiser. Make sure to check out the interview with Andrea and Matt on Sunday as Matt tries to pump Andrea up to the level he expects of a triple/triple winner. Andrea proves to Matt that her power lies in her power of calm concentration.
Big Ups to Conner Fields for his domination this weekend of the 12 year-old classes. Conner said it had been a while since he'd won a national and he definitely put himself back on track by winning both 12 expert and cruiser both Saturday and Sunday. Conner has good size for his age but also phenomenal riding skill. He's one of my favorite photo subjects and it's great to see his confidence back up.
I have to give a big "Get Well" to Fernie Jacquez who went down hard at the finish line and is out for a few weeks. Fernie and fellow Texan Brandon Elmore make shooting practice fun and when both of them put the fun and games away are hard to beat.
The upset of the weekend has to go to Colby Landin of Scottsdale, AZ. for his win over the seemingly unbeatable Chad Kerley. Colby got a great gate in 11-12 open and held his lead over Kerley to the finish line. I'd honestly never heard of Colby Landin before but with that showing I'm sure we'll be hearing quite a bit of Colby in the future.
Answer had a number of riders there. However, on Sunday they seemed to be hitting the ground like Mike Tyson. Check the news center video and you'll see Kris Fox take a hit in the second corner and swan dive his way to the ground. Herman and Brabant then proceed to use the third turn as a gym mat and roll around on it. The dirt used to build the tracks had a wood splinter like substance in it that seemed to make the turns a bit loose. That put in with a tight layout made for some interesting and crash filled racing especially on Sunday.
Phantom/On Trac's Joseph Szurek was wreaking havoc on the 17-24 open and 19-27 expert classes. His only loss on the weekend went to team-mate Sergio Pena and their victories led to a Factory win by the Phantom crew on Sunday. Everybody's favorite track builder/racer Steve Spencer doubled on Saturday for the Staats crew. Sunday he might have been able to do the same by putting an aggressive move on Pro Concept's David Archibald in the last turn. However, Spencer kept it clean and that's the way he'd prefer it being the great person he is. A great representative of the Utah riders.
So, the weekend ended with some great racing and my doom and gloom prediction for the indoor national being shot all to heck. Fact is the facility was great, the track was great, the Albuquerque people are second to none and the involvement by city officials in the proceedings shows that the sport and the families involved are thought of very highly. The new building they have planned is fantastic and I can't wait to return to cover the next event here.
Next stop Rockford. I can't wait to say "what's up" to all my friends there and visit my old home track. The race is epic in scale and I'm sure the coverage will be epic as well.
Talk to ya in Rockford.
