Creamer Wins at Dirt Days, Wimmer Claims Championship
Monster Energy Kawasaki‘s Josh Creamer bested the field at the Dirt Days National at the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn., the final round of the AMA ATV Motocross Championship. However, it was Dustin Wimmer of Rockstar Makita Suzuki who won the series championship.
Wimmer finished fourth overall on the day, behind Creamer, Honda’s Joe Byrd and Warnert Can-Am’s John Natalie, but it was more than enough to secure his second straight title.
“It feels great,” says Wimmer. “It was a really hard year for the team with me getting injured the fourth race in. I had to work hard and come back strong from the injury. I had a six moto win streak going up to this race. I really got back on top of things.
“At first, I didn’t think I could come back. After I raced the first race back I was like ‘this is pretty impossible if I race like this again’ but then I got some recovery time. All three of us (contenders Chad Wienen and Joe Byrd) could have won it this year. We all had our share of bad luck but we came out on top.”
Creamer took the first moto from start to finish, not letting up on his lead after he took the holeshot. Creamer was able to create breathing room as behind him two-time champion Joe Byrd worked his way up from a midpack start to take second place, while Natalie took third. Wimmer, who only had to grab five points to secure the championship succeed in the first race by coming in fourth in moto one. After the first moto he was rewarded with the AMA Pro ATV MX number one plate. Wienen tangled with Yamaha’s Thomas Brown on the start, causing him to finish all the way back in 13th place.
In Moto 2, Wimmer took it with the championship already in hand. Creamer didn’t fare quite as well when Honda’s Harold Goodman beat him to the punch off the line to grab the holeshot. He led until he got a rock caught in his caliper and had to exit to the mechanic’s area. Creamer took over the lead and began to battle with his teammate Wienen. Wienen made a late pass on Creamer to take the moto. Byrd, who had won on his home track at Loretta’s several times, took third despite a solid start off the line.
“I felt really good,” says Creamer. “I took the overall win for the last race of the year. When Chad got around me I wasn’t that worried about it. I knew he wanted to win that moto but I wasn’t going to try to get in his way. The track was good, they finally changed it this year and I liked it. It got good and round. Everything worked out good for me.”
“I love the track,” says Byrd. “I love the heat. But we didn’t have the right setup this weekend. I’m satisfied. I came out here to win. With our results up and down all year, I’ll settle for second.”
Former Pro Am Production competitor Cody Gibson made his Pro Race debut at Loretta’s but had mechanical issues.
Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Bobby Ross took home the victory in Pro Am Production, followed by ATP Racing’s Josh Williams in second and Rath Racing’s Casey Martin in third.
| Dirt Days National Results | Final Pro ATV Motocross Standings | ||||||
| Pos. | Rider | ATV | Motos | Pos. | Rider | ATV | Points |
| 1. | Josh Creamer | Kawasaki | 1 – 2 | 1. | Dustin Wimmer | Suzuki | 419 (6 wins) |
| 2. | Joe Byrd | Honda | 2 – 3 | 2. | Joe Byrd | Honda | 376 (1 win) |
| 3. | John Natalie | Can-Am | 3 – 4 | 3. | Chad Wienen | Kawasaki | 373 (2 wins) |
| 4. | Dustin Wimmer | Suzuki | 4 – 5 | 4. | Doug Gust | Suzuki | 356 |
| 5. | Doug Gust | Suzuki | 7 – 6 | 5. | Josh Creamer | Kawasaki | 345 (2 wins) |
| 6. | Cody Miller | Can-Am | 6 – 7 | 6. | Josh Upperman | Honda | 329 |
| 7. | Chad Wienen | Kawasaki | 13 – 1 | 7. | John Natalie | Can-Am | 296 |
| 8. | Josh Upperman | Honda | 5 – 9 | 8. | Jeremy Lawson | Can-Am | 257 |
| 9. | Brandon Smith | Can-Am | 12 – 10 | 9. | Cody Miller | Can-Am | 244 |
| 10. | Keith Little | Kawasaki | 11 – 12 | 10. | Thomas Brown | Yamaha | 221 |
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