Graves Danger Descends on ABA Series and the Con-Man Hooks Up Jr. Men Win.

Jared Graves was the infield favorite for the Reno win, as of the third round on Saturday at the season opener. Of course, we now know that the infield swamis were incorrect that day. But it put Graves back on the radar coming out of Reno, and riding on in to a dusty town of cattle ranches and rodeo clowns, known as Guthrie, Oklahoma (cue “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” soundtrack).

Saturday, Graves got as close as one can get without being the top-stepper himself, with a second to Stumpy. Sunday was no day of rest for this Aussie, as he dispensed with the motos efficiently, and set his sites on the one-lap dash for the cash. In the main, the above photo foreshadows the finishing order from right-to-left…as early as the first jump. No dramatic turns in this main, but still plenty of action and RPMs being laid down by the fastest eight guys in BMX galaxy on January 25, 2010.

If the elite and pro classes were salsa, the AAs would have been be “zesty,” on Sunday, while the Jr. Men would be “muy caliente!” Guthrie must have been a bit of a bummer for Northerner Tory Nyhaug. Though he, himself, had plenty of caliente going on in his own right throughout the weekend, the tumble gods had his number in both Saturday and Sunday’s main events, making him less than the “way up in the mix” finisher he always is. In fact, two of the three smiling faces on Saturday’s Jr. Men podium returned for an encore on Sunday, with Elliot McGrath and Tommy Zula, for a second and third, respectively on Sunday (it was the other way on Saturday). The Con-Man, Connor Fields kept traction in the action in the first turn, and delivered another Jr. Men victory for the Free Agent faction (the first was on Saturday in Reno).

Keeping with the salsa analogy, the combined Jr. Women/ Elite Women class on Sunday would be the interesting mild. Six laps into her new Intense sponsorship, and anticipated comeback, Arielle Martin went down in the second straight, in the first round on Sunday. It looked pretty bad at first, as she was down for a good 10 mins while honest-to-goodness paramedics were called to the infield to make sure she was well tended to. A backboard ride off the infield did not calm the nerves of all her friends and fans, and she was soon taken to an area hospital for a scan of one stripe or another. By sundown, word came down that she received some stitches to close a gash on her chin, but all else was right down the middle with her condition. No word on how long she’ll be out, if at all…but we’ll check with her and bring you a follow-up in “Latest Dirt.”

Other than the hand-over-mouth concern we all had for Ari on SUnday, the racing was solid, but similar in flavor to Saturday, with Dom Daniels racking up another win. This time, it was Ashley Verhagen on the “Camera-Left” two-step and Alise Post staying consistently in one podium position or another for the third.

It has been a fairly long 72 hours, 23 of it having been spent in a car (as many of you can relate). The BMXNEWS alarm clock has been hammered into a fine example of urban recycling, but we will have more on Guthrie after the Tylenol PM wears off sometime Monday, so check back.

Meanwhile, we did put the time (and recently purchased MacBook car adaptor) to good use on the return trip, and got all photos edited and prepped by the time we hit Rolla, MO.

Thus, the Sunday Photo Gallery for your viewing pleasure.

Download the mega-size version of the above image

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

2009 ABA Grands – Saturday

As always, Saturday at the 2009 ABA Grand National contained the first two rounds of motos. With 461 motos, this ABA Grands was 31 motos shy of 2008, but the action just seemed to hit a higher amperage this year.

Check out the Saturday Photo Gallery on PhotosArePosted.com