Muddy Creek Raceway Hosts Round 2 of ATV Motocross
After opening the 2012 AMA ATV Motocross National Championship Series by sweeping both motos in Round 1, Chad Wienen will be sporting the red number plate on his Wienen Motorsports/SSi Decals/Walsh Race Craft/ Yamaha YFZ450R this weekend at the newly renovated Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville, Tenn. But you can bet defending champ John Natalie and teammate Joel Hetrick will be more than ready to avenge after round one, as both Motoworks/ Can-Am racers came close to winning in Georgia.
It wasn’t actually Wienen who lead the most laps at Aonia Pass MX, though, as Natalie dominated most of Moto 2 until Wienen put an exciting pass on the defending champ on the final lap just before the finish line stretch. And Baldwin Motorports/PEP’s Josh Upperman led the early stages of Moto 1 before Wienen and Hetrick took over the lead battle until Hetrick was sent off the track crashing and was forced to watch the remainder of the race as his ATV was towed out.
Needless to say, round one provided some of the best race action in ATVMX history and with tension high amongst the stacked field of AMA Pro ATV racers, round two should only be a continuation of the intensity. Muddy Creek Raceway boasts several changes to both facility and race track for this weekend’s national, including an all-new 90-foot step up camel back—dubbed the FMF Sky Jump—which is safe for all amateur racers, while still challenging the Pros to jump the entire thing. Additionally, Muddy Creek now hosts a Pro Paddock, complete with a new road and loads of dirt to create a more fan and racer friendly facility.
TBROWN Yamaha powered by Moto-X-Perts’ Thomas Brown has been recovering from a pre-season injury but managed to finish fourth in the opening round, giving him a solid start to the points chase this season. Rookie Mark Madl put in an impressive fifth place finish in his debut Pro race and will head into the weekend inside the top five on the leader board.
Hetrick experienced some bad luck after crashing in the first moto in Georgia, but the young gun salvaged an eighth overall for the day and sits tied with rookie Jeffrey Rastrelli for the eighth place position in points.
The pro riders will run Saturday as part of a full schedule of amateur racing, including classes for Youth, Women and Veteran riders. Amateurs will practice on Friday and race on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets on Saturday are $20 for spectators ($10 for ages 6-11), and admission includes full pro-pit access and an autograph session.
To get to the track, go to exit #63 off I-81 and follow the signs to the track. The track address is 450 Ridgeway Drive, Blountville, TN 37617For more information, please visit www.atvmotocross.com.
I have been working exclusively in digital media since 1997. I started out with TSN.ca, spending nearly nine years creating and editing content on Canada's leading sports website. I left to join VerticalScope, Inc., one of the world's largest online publishers, to start a number of powersports publications. While at VerticalScope, I've helped create and oversee content for a wide variety of different publications, including ATV.com, Off-Road.com, ArcheryTalk.com, Tractor.com, RVGuide.com, and many more.
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