Rockford Race Report, Part I: Power to the Pros

“The Rock,” as it is lovingly called, is one of those must-attend races each year. A geographically-desirable location (relatively close to both Chicago and Milwaukee’s airports), as well as a masterfully-groomed facility which is constantly, and meticulously maintained by Track Operators Jake and Candy Karau, plus the 60-acre park that the track sits in, are all ingredients in making the annual Midwest Nationals a deliciously-spicy BMX soup.

Jumping right in to the meat & potatoes, Elite Men/AA Pro was about as stacked as it gets, with 28 of the biggest names in the sport winging on into RFD from places as far-flung as South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and even Ohio. South African, Sifiso Nhlapo, was truckin both days, with wins in two of three motos both days, as well as a main event slot that did not quite come up roses (a fifth and a seventh)…still nothing to sneeze at.

Rockford 2010 served as the coming out party for Nic Long riding his new Haro hardware. Hard to tell them boys apart, as they are both way-fast and are equally decked out in TLD threads (Nic is the one with the white bike). No main spot for Nic on his first outing in the new duds, but Sunday would be different.

AA Pro main on Saturday had Strombergs coming out of lane 8, and immediately challenging Marc Willers and Denzel Stein for the lead. Willers got the first call from the tower, but Stein had been going fast all day, and got right to it. By the backside of the first set of doubles (formerly, the dropoff), Stein had the lead. Into the first turn, Strombergs held an impossibly high and tight line and railed the razor-thin real estate between glory and “goombye” to zoom past Denzel into the second straight. Denzel’s front wheel got as close to the lead as Maris’ bottom bracket in the last straight, but the results were written on this one as soon as they entered the second straight. Final order, Strombergs, Stein and Willers. And yes, Maris did pump his fist into the air, for those of you keeping score at home.

On Sunday, the deck was shuffled a bit, as Nic Long, Khalen Young and Jason Rogers took the place of David Herman, Denzel Stein and Randy Stumpfhauser in the Main. Stumpy had strong showings in the motos, with two second places and a first, but a sixth in the semi sat Stumpy on the sidelines for the big lap. Herman also made it to Sunday’s semi, after a third, a first and a fifth in the motos, but got sealed out of the main with a seventh in the semi. Denzel also made it happen in the motos, with a 2-1-2 on the sheets, but a snowman in the semi marked an end to the story for this go-round.

Sunday’s Main had Long and KY coming out of gate 1 and 2. The pack balled up early, and took out Marino and Rogers who were in lanes 3 and 4. Willoughby was out in six, and vectored out of the carnage in a hurry. Into the first turn, Willoughby had about a half a wheel on WIllers, but also had that cool and crisp inside line. Nic Long went into turn one a half a wheel behind Strombergs, who was in third…and lookd, for a nanosecond, like he might light the afterburners and swoop the whole pack. He came out of the turn in third, and Strombergs gave chase. Pretty much the end of the story where that main is concerned, except for KY running off the track out of turn two while battling with Nhlapo. The podium would go Willoughby, Willers and Long.

The Women.

On Saturday, the Jr. Elite Women class made, with five riders, including reigning National Numero Uno, Dominique Daniels. Not much to report that we could not copy and past from any number of other race reports where the Jr. Class was made…Dom won it handily. Alaina Henderson, Keely Kortman and Crystal Kalogris made up the balance of the main.

Elite Women…now that’s a different box of chocolates altogether. Oh sure, you had all the familiar faces of Post, Geving, Tomei and Lilly, but toss in Kiwi cutie and reigning world champ, Sarah Walker, into the mix, and you know it’s a gonna get good. Sara said that her and her Team New Zealand mates are here in the Nifty Fifty for some training at the OTC in advance of the worlds next month. “It’s miserable, cold and raining at home right now, so tough to train” she said in a pre-podium chat on Sunday (sounds way better with the accent, trust me).

On Saturday, Alise and Sarah were in the same moto for first round, and Sara got the win. She would ace the remaining two laps as well, as would Alise. So the stage was set for a showdown in the main, and the dames did not disappoint. From the gate to the first turn, Post and Walker were as close as peas & carrots. Alise had the inside, and glided into the turn, picking up a bike length on Sarah. She quickly made that up, and was back to buzzing the Redline decal off Alise’s chainstay by the middle of the second straight. All held their breath as the second turn unfolded. That turn can be tricky, as “a little high/low” often turns into a little “high-and-bye” as the high gal propels over it. Not to be this time, thankfully, as Sarah rails the outside and is back to near-even with Alise down the third straight. Nothing of note in the last turn, but Alise starts to stretch out a bit of a lead in the last straight, and hits the stripe a good bike and a half in front of Sarah. Courtney Tomei scooted her Supercross 20-year retro jersey in for the third.

The Jr. Women class did not make on Sunday, with the absence of Dom Daniels, so the rider count in Elite Women got a bump from 12 to 15 for day two. Four of the six sistahs in Saturday’s main made a second appearance on Sunday. We swapped out Kim Hayashi and Baylie Kortman for Aussie Redliner Ziggy Callan and Baylie’s little sis Keely (who got second behind Dom in Jr. the day before).

In a bit of “groundhog day” charm, Alise and Sarah were bar bangin and hard chargin for the lead. This time, it was Sarah on the inside, coming from gate three. Alise was in lane four, and busted out an impressive muscle move on the world champion at the mid-point in the first straight. That move made Sarah ride the white line for 10 feet or so, just long enough for Alise to settle in to the top spot coming into turn one. Amanda Geving gets some ups at this point for getting to turn one in third, from the way outside.
Alise lead the race down the third straight. But Sarah did on Sunday what she did not do on Saturday, which is set herself up early and often in the third straight for a last turn attack. As if there was a crew chief saying “get to the inside” Sarah zips to the inside, and immediately challenges Alise for the lead at the midpoint in the third straight. Sarah had the primo inside line going into the last turn, and that was the proverbial ballgame, as she scooped it low and deep and glided right into the lead. Alise put the ponies down to try and make up the lost ground, but she ran out of track. Final order: Walker, Post, Geving.

Jr. Men

Whoa…this class has quickly become one that you come to the fence to see. Every lap, it’s a battle royale between the Con Man and Corben. Either guy can win at any time, and these guys are so fast that you’d have to be on a controlled substance not to put them both squarely at the top of the US talent pool for London 2012. Both guys raced two classes (for Connor it was Jr. Men and 17-18x, for Corben, A Pro and Jr. Men). A Pro runs as the first main, and Jr. Men runs seventh. About an eight-minute recovery time from a wicked fast lap to prep for a hyperdrive lap. How DO they do it?

Saturday’s six-man main blasted off like a rocket sled on rails. Corben had a paper thin lead over the first jump, and into the first turn. Connor had the outside, so making the move for the lead might be a tough do. The race stayed Sharrah-Fields into the last turn, but Connor punched the nitrous button in the last straight, and came within a valve stem of the lead over the last table. A the stripe, it was Corben, Connor and Tommy Zula.

On Sunday, the class dropped four riders and it was down to seven, with a six-man main. This time, Connor had the inside gate, coming out of four (which, at Rockford, is preferable for most to either one or two, due to the dogleg to the outside in the first straight). Corben was way out in lane seven. All that really didn’t matter, because by the first obstacle, they were bar end to bar end and raging up the middle. Corben almost got a taste of the tar on turn one, as Austin Loebe came into the turn high and hard and almost took Colby Landon on a trip over “bermzilla.” No paint was traded though and Austin slid in to the third slot. Connor laid down about as perfect a lap as we had seen that day, and parlayed all that inertia into a two second lead (using the “one-one-thousand” method, not Swiss Timing) by the stripe. The podium mugs were Fields, Sharrah and Loebe.

—Mike Carruth

BMXNEWS will bring you highlights from the Amateur side on Thursday morning, so stay tuned!

Meanwhile, occupy the time by browsing our 200+ photo gallery from Sunday’s race.

Editorial: Is it Time For a Parental Code of Conduct in BMX Racing?

The concept for this editorial, the first in BMXNEWS history, has been percolating for a couple months now. Thus, it is not in direct response to any incident which may or may not have happened in the past 48 hours.

By and large, BMX Racing is a sport for kids. Sure, we may joke about “overgrown kids” grunting their way through a 41-over main event, but the general intent is to give our little ones a different flavor of fun from traditional stick and ball sports-—the proverbial Rocky Road, in a world of Vanilla and Chocolate. And it works. Boy does it work. One reason those 41-over types are giving it their all out there is because BMX Racing is such a profoundly positive and rewarding experience that decades can pass, and the compulsion to race remains.

The object lessons of competitive sport is that it helps mold character—for youth in particular. It helps keep them away from the smoking, and the drinking and the fighting that they encounter on the mean streets of Anytown USA. It shows them how to win with grace, lose with dignity, and work to be better next time, whatever the outcome. At least that is what is SUPPOSED to happen.

Like anything in life, we bring our own personal quirks to the party. Maybe I am an overanalyzer, who counts the teeth on my son’s cogs, just to make sure there are as many as advertised in the stamped metal before me. Maybe I am a “devil-may-care” type who doesn’t look at the bike for weeks, then grabs it and puts Junior on the gate (with a flat tire). Dip the ladle in anyone’s everyday life, and you’ll probably find their BMX life pretty well mirrors their M/O on the Monday mornings and Wednesday evenings between last week’s main and next week’s first round.

But if my propensity is to solve conflict “like men,” with fists of fury, or to viciously belittle the efforts of my five year old when he just isn’t performing like the Little Einstein I was promised by those videos we purchased when he was born, then a BMX track may prove an unfortunate outlet, both for the participant, and all those playing witness to such behavior.

I think we forget sometimes that, though they may be world-class competitors, performing at a level far above their peers (both athletically and socially), the bottom line is that BMXers are kids–little people soaking up experiences and modeling behaviors of those they admire, for better or worse.

It’s tough to address this without sounding like I’m lecturing people on how to act—I’m not (though even playing it in my head, it kind of sounds that way). BMX Racing is not charm school, I get that. But it is the opinion of this writer that a “Parental Code Of Conduct” be drafted and enacted in addition to, and separate from, the “conduct” provisions in each sanction’s rulebook. This should not be a “hidden way in the fine print” thing; it should be shouted from every starting hill and announcers tower in the land. This document would resemble a “contract” (not in a legal sense, but in a “we expect you to read and follow this” kind of way), which all parents would sign as part of the membership process each year. The document would set forth how each governing body expects its participants and their parents to act (and it might not hurt to have it issued to local tracks as a poster, and hung near the registration window, as a reminder).

In making such a statement, I am lobbying for a few specific behaviors to be addressed. These are:

* Leave the smokes at home. A BMX Track is an athletic facility, surely the same as a velodrome or soccer pitch. True, most tracks are outside, and some are on public lands (and as such, people often take up a “I pays my taxes, so I can come on out here and take a piss on it if I want to” posture), but people seem to forget that BMX racers are ATHLETES, many breathing heavily after vigorous competition, and require fresh air to do their thing. I’m not a smoker, so I guess I could be painted as biased, but to see parents smoking in staging, adjacent to the finish line and, yes, even in the infield at a recent national, had me dumbfounded, and hopping mad. Some people speak out, as one dad did in the finish line example just stated. He was met with a single-finger-salute and instructions on where to take his advice (more on that behavior later). Look, you may roll all the windows up with your baby strapped in her car seat and smoke up a couple packs of Marlboro Reds, that’s between you and child services. But please, leave the cancer sticks on the kitchen counter when you’re coming to the track, and advise your posse (aunts, uncles, neighbors coming to cheer on little Cindy) to do the same. And if you don’t, then try not to get all torqued off when someone courteously asks you to refrain while standing on the starting hill. Take a two-minute walk in a straight line in any direction and light em up, if you must.

* Never scream at another person’s kid. No matter how right you think you are, you have no place coaching, much less screaming, your riding tips, admonitions and down right insults, at someone else’s kid. Think of racers like rockstars…you need to talk to their “agent” if you want anything out of them. Johnny Nagrider cuts over on your little Billy DeAngelino and causes him to grab a handful of brake? Fine…walk off your frustration, then re-focus yourself on why you’re here (the kids…positive influences…breathe…say it with me now… the kids…positive influences…). “You’ll” get ‘em next time, champ. If you require a sit down with another dad due to repetitive stress, cool, do that thing. But if you know you’re a hot head, who is likely to melt down and go Chernobyl on the guy, then maybe an intermediary is in order. Have the TO or a race official do the talking, lest your reputation, and that of your rider, become radioactive for the next 45,000 years.

* Race day anger don’t last, but Google’s forever. Maybe you’re a “pen’s mightier than the sword” type, who decides to posit a pointed post to punctuate your position, post haste, post-race. And so you take to the forums and get it out of your system. Problem is that once it’s OUT of your system, it’s IN someone else’s (computer) system. Your online persona can easily leak into your real-world business, such as when a prospective employer does a Google search on you. Think before you write (LOL…maybe I should have acted on that advice this morning at 5AM when I started writing this).

* It’s the pit area, not “The Octagon.” There once was a time, when citizens of Illinois and Missouri disagreed, they met on “Bloody island” — a towhead in the Mississippi River to “settle it like gentlemen,” in a classic duel. The YouTube-age equivilent is to ask a “second” to hide behind that SUV with a video camera while you go find the guy who crossed over from lane 8 to lane six on your little Jimmy (notice how I said “the guy,” meaning this is surely a duel among adults, and not the riders, themselves). How it goes from “something has to be done about this” to “Your honor, the defendant enters a plea of ‘No Contest’ in this matter” is anyone’s guess. Is it one too many slugs of “Gator & Goose?” Or just that frontier spirit that never evolved beyond the “let’s take this outside” school of diplomacy? No matter. Fighting, of any kind, should not be a part of your race day experience. People need to feel safe at BMX Races. If there is a chance that the dad of the second place rider in the 12 novice class is going to go find the winner’s dad and start “throwin them thangs” in the parking lot, how long will people want to come back?

* What kind of “coach” are you…Tony Robbins or Bobby Knight? The factors at play in national BMX Racing are a volatile mix. You have the financial cost involved in being there, the time off work, family sacrifices, adrenaline, testosterone, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat and maybe, for some, a little bit of “If I couldn’t get there, I’m going to make sure S/HE will.” In Reno this year, a younger class had just finished on the track (I’m not going to say which one), and the dad of the fourth place rider (they were taking three) basically ripped the little tyke off his bike and hurried him out of the arena and into the parking lot. There, the already-hysterical kid got ten minutes of the most vulgar mix of four letter words, insults, put downs, degradations and hostile treatment I have ever seen. He was pushed to the ground, his $2000 bike hurled 20 feet into a fence, his helmet skipped over the asphalt in the parking lot like a stone on a pond. I can’t imagine what kind of life this little guy has to endure at home, but I gotta tell you honestly that it nearly made me cry thinking about it. Is it my place to jump in? I don’t think so, lest the lesson above regarding duels be introduced into the situation. “Who else wants some?” is definitely this dad’s tack.

The organizers of our sport put their hearts and souls in to making the sport what it is today. They have made countless sacrifices, spent every holiday away from family and (non-BMX) friends…and in some cases literally put their life’s work into making BMX Racing a better sport. How are you honoring their commitment? And with our national titles and Olympic Dreams, all participants and their families need to reflect on what this is all about: offering your children a safe, spirited venue for competition, fun and family time.

As BMX parents, we need to ask ourselves: Is it time for a Parental Code Of Conduct in the sport of BMX Racing? Both sanctions have rules governing “conduct” in their rulebooks. But I’m talking about much more than “Riders may be penalized and may be suspended from the track or may have their license suspended for their own failure or for the failure of those in their company to meet these standards or for engaging in unsportsmanlike conduct” and “A rider may be disqualified or suspended for his/her actions or the actions of his/her parent(s), or accompanying party.” I mean an honest-to-goodness “here’s how BMXers and their parents are expected to behave” Code Of Conduct.

Take, for instance, the Little League Code of Conduct. It states, for example, “I will never ridicule or yell at my child or other participants for making a mistake or losing a competition.” and “I will demand a sports environment for my child that is free from drugs, tobacco, and alcohol and I will refrain from their use at all sports events.” As passionate and delighted I am about my son’s involvement in BMX racing, I have to give a tip of the visor to that kind of culture-making.

Naturally, the term “Little League Parent” did not materialize out of thin air—a collection of incidents brought it about. And the league responded in-kind with the above-mentioned document, in order to preserve the future of Little League Baseball and set up a “culture” document to which future generations would be expected to adhere. I feel we are at this place in BMX racing today.

Even if some BMX families scoff at it for the first year or so, the very existence of such a document, and the parent’s signature on same makes it a “you gave us your word” kind of thing (for riders over the age of 18, they would be required to sign it on their own behalf). As demonstrated, this is a group that is all about honor. OK, so let’s formalize it, then.

—Mike Carruth, May 3, 2010

Walmart goes Hyper with Donny Replica

BMX Racing has a rich history of “replica” bikes, dating back to the mid 1970s. The definition of a “replica” is, traditionally, a bike produced during the career of a famous rider or team, in the style and image of the bike that the rider is actually riding at the time. Hyper Bicycles has stayed graphically true to that tradition with the forthcoming release of a Donny Robinson Replica complete bike, out this March. The added bit of news on this project is that the bike will be marketed through Walmart stores nationwide. With millions of shoppers per day chain-wide, the dR Replica has a chance to put BMX Racing in front of a massive audience.

Though the initial rollout this March will be a market test to gauge consumer interest, it is still hitting 314 stores, which is bigger than most chains, in itself. Based on this test, Walmart will evaluate whether the bike gets a chain-wide rollout.

According to Donny, himself, on last week’s episode of our “Announcers Tower” Podcast, “This is the lightest bike on the (mass) market…I could easily run the frame—it’s an aluminum frame.”

It is clear that, by way of this model, Hyper hopes to sell some bikes. Commerce is a beautiful thing. But it goes beyond that. We see them making efforts to move merch, yes…but also to promote the sport of BMX Racing to a broad, general interest audience, who may not otherwise know about the sport.

And when promoting the sport is the topic of discussion, you know the ABA is never far off the lead. They have joined with Hyper to create a hangtag to go on all of the bikes on Walmart’s floor. The hangtag offers a free 30-day ABA membership with purchase of the bike—helping break down barriers to getting new wheels on the gate at the local track. Check out the hangtag.

For his part, Donny will be promoting the bike, and the sport in general through his “In Motion” Youth Mentoring talks at middle schools in places like Oldsmar, Phoenix, DeSoto, TX an other ABA National cities throughout 2010.

The bike will retail for $99—which makes it an irresistible starter bike for Joe and Jan Novice. On Vintage, over the past couple days, the forum has been alight with great ideas from people wanting to join in the fun. Tracks are talking about buying a few of them for loaner bikes, and some of the collector types have their eye on it as a “timecapsule” buy of BMX, circa 2010.

BMXNEWS will be keeping our eyes on the progress of the bike, and will show you first-photos when the time comes.

Meanwhile, here is the complete list of Walmart stores where the Donny Robinson Replica will be showing up next month.

NBL Flips the Switch on New Website

BMXNEWS got a glimpse of it last week, but today marked the day when the NBL officially flipped the switch on their new website. With eyes toward providing a reasonable alternative to their now-defunct print publication, BMX Today, the new site has a few solid “Web 2.0″ bells and whistles which will hopefully bring info-seeking members and prospective members to the site a time or two each month.

The “BMX Today” section was jumped on, in fairly short order, by Vintage members. But we think the site deserves some runway before the serious criticism is leveled. One aspect we find interesting, however, is the fact that stories served up online should probably not be as long as the ones that used to be published in the print version of the BT. The Christmas Classic story was fairly tedious to get through, reading at times more like prescription drug instructions than entertainment copy. That is the nature of the beast in the online setting. The story is probably better told in photo/caption form (but, we also noticed that the photos in the gallery were devoid of captions, so that may be tricky).

All in all, we commend the NBL on their efforts to polish up their online offerings. The old technology maxim “ship, then iterate” will undoubtedly be applied here as we start to see some of the other features NBL touted in their lead-up to the new site launch. We especially like the “Rider News” section this week, where you can find links to BMXNEWS Announcers Tower Podcast episodes featuring Arielle Martin and Donny Robinson.

Check out the new site at NBL.ORG

“Wish We Thought of That” File: Cobra “No Tools” Tubes.

True Story: With literally two minutes til the A Pro main at the Christmas Classic in Louisville, Logan Collins comes over to the finish line with terror in his eyes. Dad Robert Campbell is standing around shooting the bull with a bunch of us. Logan says, with surprising calm “blew a tire!”

Suddenly, in a moment inspired by watching too much NASCAR, seven people spring into motion. One is finding a tube, one is unbolting Logan’s rear wheel and popping the brakes, one is finding a pump (and the other four of us are standing around looking at the bike—like a union road crew). It all came together, in time for Logan to get third in the main. But if he were just Joe Novice, who knows?

Well, all the drama could be averted next time with a few of these bad boys close at hand. Fly Bikes out of Spain has spent the past two years developing a “no-tools” innertube. This invention does not require removal of the wheel, and comes in one strip that can easily be looped around the sick wheel, and fastened into place using a loop into which the valve stem gets inserted (see above). You may need a couple tire levers, and you’ll definitely need a pump, but the rest is a cakewalk, as shown in the video on their site.

We called a couple popular mail order vendors to see if they had them in stock (or had ever heard of them, for that matter), and the answer was zero-in stock and one on the case to get them in soon. Rumored retail is USD$8.99, but the convenience far outweighs any added cost. They are available in 20″, 24″ and 26″ sizes.

BMXNEWS will try to get our hands on some and bring you a more complete product spotlight on them in the coming weeks. How many inner tubes does it take to buy a Ferrari? We think the guys at Fly Bikes are about to find out.

ABA Announces First-Half 2010 Air Dates

ABA has released air dates for the first half of their 2010 Versus Network shows. Those of you without TiVo can rejoice, in that they will be re-running the many of the 2009 races. They will also be expanding their coverage per race to include more than just the pro classes (a total of two hours of programming per covered race). Here is the schedule:

ABA BMX “Versus” Network Air Dates – First Half 2010
February 03, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Tulsa, OK 2009	(re-air)
February 10, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Guthrie, OK 2009	(re-air)
February 17, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Oldsmar, FL 2009	(re-air)
February 24, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Reno, NV #1 2010	(new)
March 03, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Lake Perris, CA 2009	(re-air)
March 10, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Reno, NV #2 2010	(new)
March 17, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Desoto, TX #1 2009	(re-air)
March 24, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Reno, NV #3 2010	(new)
March 31, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Rockford, IL 2009	(re-air)
April 07, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Reno, NV #4 2010	(new)
April 14, 2010	4 or 4:30 PM EST	Reno, NV #1 2010	(re-air)
April 21, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Oldsmar, FL #1 2010	(new)
April 28, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Desoto, TX #2 2009	(re-air)
May 05, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Oldsmar, FL #2 2010	(new)
May 12, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Reno, NV #2 2010	(re-air)
May 19, 2010	3:30 PM EST	Oldsmar, FL #3 2010	(new)
May 26, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Desoto, TX #3 2009	(re-air)
June 02, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Oldsmar, FL #4 2010	(new)
June 09, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Milford, DE 2009	(re-air)
June 16, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Reno, NV #3 2010	(re-air)
June 23, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Reno, NV #4 2010	(re-air)
June 30, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Oldsmar, FL #1 2010	(re-air)
July 07, 2010	4:30 PM EST	Oldsmar, FL #2 2010	(re-air)
July 14, 2010	4:30 PM EST	Rockford, IL 2009	(re-air)
July 21, 2010	4:30 PM EST	Oldsmar, FL #3 2010	(re-air)
July 28, 2010	5:30 PM EST	Desoto, TX #3 2009	(re-air)
August 04, 2010	4:30 PM EST	Oldsmar, FL #4 2010	(re-air)

Watch for more dates as the calendar gets thinner.

NBL Faithful Make Their Way To Louisville For Christmas Classic

With a paid pre-practice the week before, riders drove from as far away as Texas, some in the biggest Winter storm of the season, to get some laps on the Christmas Classic track in Louisville. Some were stranded on snowbound Interstates for as long as eight hours before turning back. Of the people who were in the house, the feedback was generally positive, with a lot of predictions that fortunes would rise and fall in the last turn.

There is more news and discussion about the X-Mas Classic on the VintageBMX.com forums. Check it out now.

Also, NBL announced today that they would be conducting some trials of a new RFID system that would automate registration and scoring. Check it out on the NBL Web site.

BMXNEWS will be covering the Christmas Classic, beginning Saturday, December 26. Keep an eye here for the lastes news, and our sister site, BMXNOW.COM for photos.

Above photo courtesy of VintageBMX.com user, Kevin Garrett

Young Guns Barrel Into Steel Wheels

With 19 racks of riders ranging from six to 13 years in age, the second installment of the Answer BMX Young Guns Shootout went off with a bang today in Hobart, Indiana. Cars, cold cuts and coolers were loaded up from as far away as Dallas to make the trip to Steel Wheels Indoor BMX on a “warm” winter day (36 degrees at race time outside, about 60 inside—so similar to San Diego, trackside).

“The Juice” Justin Richmond and “Dirt Diva” Mikenna Koth took the top spots in the 11-13 “Elite” Boys and Girls classes, respectively. Justin won the 10 and under class at last years inaugural Young Guns Shootout, and ran the table today. Mikenna has her own unique story on her route to the top of the podium. That route, in this case, involved over a thousand miles of Interstates, US Highways and State Routes, as well as the Steel Wheels straightaways. Mikenna’s dad, Tim, rallied as only a BMX dad could after a full Friday of business, and set out for Hobart from Dallas, TX last night at 6PM. They arrived in the parking lot just in time for the opening of registration at 11AM. As we said, only in BMX Racing! The 100+ mile journey earned Tim and Mikenna the “longedst trip” honors, and a $25 gift card.

Full results are forthcoming, but BMXNEWS wanted to get the winners, and the photo gallery from today’s race posted (includes both the Young Guns Shootout racks, as well as the single pointer that ran as well).

2009 Answer BMX Young Guns Shootout Winners
7-Under Boys winner…..”The G-Man” Gavin Freewalt
10-Under Girls winner…..Mattie Pusateri
10-Under Boys winner…..John Jilbert
11-13 Girls winner…..Mikenna Koth
11-13 Boys winner….. “The Juice” Justin Richmond (11x)

Check out the photo gallery on PhotosArePosted.com

2009 ABA Grands – Awards

As we noted earlier, all major ABA titles were up for grabs as of the start of the mains on Sunday. ABA does this awesome “rolling” format where they announce the person in each main who is in contention for a National title (National Number one Amateur, Girl, Cruiser, Girl Cruiser, Pro, Girl Pro and Pro Cruiser). It really makes a great show of it, with people rooting for (or against) the person on the gate now, who has the chance, with a win, to snatch the title out of the hands of the person who just took over the points lead in the previous race.

This was huge in the National Number One Girl title, as BA announced that Kristin Hokit had the title locked up with a win in 17-27 Girls. Kristin lead the race to the last turn, where Samantha Bretheim slipped into the inside, and made the pass to take the trophy of the day, and hand the National Number One Girl title back to Jordan Nopens for another year.

Major Title Recap:

2009 ABA National Number One Pro: Randy Stumpfhauser (GHP BMX)
2009 ABA National Number One Gril Pro: Dominique Daniels (Avent Bombshell)
2009 ABA National Number One Vet Pro: Kenth Fallen (Supercross BMX)
2009 ABA National Number One Pro Cruiser: Danny Caluag (Intense/Bawls)
2009 ABA National Number One Amateur: Corben Sharrah (Redman/Rockstar)
2009 ABA National Number One Girl: Jordan Nopens (VRP/Bike Alley)
2009 ABA National Number One Cruiser: George Goodall (Redline Factory)
2009 ABA National Number One Girl Cruiser: Carly Dyar (Team Inseino Racing)
2009 ABA National Number One Trophy Team: Holeshot/Elite
2009 ABA National Number One Bike Shop Team: VRP Bike Alley
2009 ABA National Number One Factory Team: Intense/Phantom/OnTrac

Check out the Awards Ceremony Photo Gallery on PhotosArePosted.com

2009 ABA Grands – Sunday

Sunday brought the third round of motos, the qualifying rounds and the main events. All ABA titles were on the line going in, with not one “lock” in the house. BMXNOW was on duty at the stroke of eight Sunday morning to get the third round of pros, and a few select am classes. The competition was so thick that even some that you’d never see after the first round were waking up early to get their transfer slot.

Check out the Sunday Photo Gallery on PhotosArePosted.com

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