NBL ELITE SERIES CHECKPOINT - NEXT UP: ALL-AMERICAN NATIONALS 4/28/2009
2009 NBL ELITE SERIES
CHECKPOINT - HOME TRACK ADVANTAGE
FOR STUMPFHAUSER IN FRESNO
After
another wild weekend of racing at the Easter Classic, the 2009 NBL Elite Series is headed to the West and the chase for the
coveted NBL National Title is more exciting and entertaining than ever. Next up
on the stage, the highly anticipated, All-American National, held at FBX in Fresno, California
and it promises to set the stage for the 2nd half of the series.
Free Agent's Maris Strombergs, the Olympic and
World Champion, continued his winning ways at the Easter Classic winning Elite
men both days. His team mate and 3-time NBL Elite Champion, Kyle Bennett, made his first NBL appearance of the
year and ended up scoring a pair of 2nd's, making matters worse for GHP's
Randy Stumpfhauser. Stumpy, who is still ranked 2nd
on the year, was kept off the podium both days and will now have to use home
track advantage in Fresno
to narrow the gap from Strombergs. Clayborn'sBarry Nobles is becoming a regular on the podium and his 3rd
on Saturday earned him enough points to move up in the standings just behind
Free Agent's Cristian
Becerine. A mere 9
points now separate 2nd from 4th and this should change
after the All-American Nationals for sure.
In Elite Women's action,
current leader Dominique Daniels
(Formula) rode to victory on Day 1 and looked poised for the double-win until a
case of heatstroke sidelined her the rest of the weekend. A handful of valuable series points were up
for grabs on Sunday and it was AFH's Mariana
Pajon who collected the pay dirt. She beat out Redline's Alise Post
and BMXTruth/Fly's Madison Pitts for
top spot on the podium. Race Place BMX's
Stephanie
Barragan had an off weekend, dropping to 3rd
overall on the season and now has her sights set on Fresno for redemption. Daniels continues to
lead the series but Pitts and Barragan are close and Post has two races in
hand.
Six different riders have
won a Super-Ex main this year but only one rider, Excalibur/TLD's Josh Meyers, has been able to do it
more than once. Meyer's doubled at the
Gator Nationals and came into the Easter Classic with intentions to do the
same. And as luck would have it, Meyers
would be denied both days - His only trip to the podium, a 3rd on
Saturday. Dan's Weston Pope captured
Day 1 beating out Free Agent's Fausto
Endara and Meyers but on Sunday, the tables were turned once again. In a crash-filled final, Morphine's Tyler Faoro rode his best lap of the
year and took home an emotional win for his home state beating out Geico
Powersport's Matt Kelty
and Pope - The highlight race of the Classic for sure. Meyers has the series lead but Kelty, Pope
and Endara are too close for comfort.
In Master's action, Free
Agent's Dale Holmes, who is
4-for-4 on the season, was back in Britain and this left the door wide open for
the challengers. Intense Dyna-Pep's Tommy Opincar took
home the big win on Saturday ahead of Formula's Tim Dinger and
Profile's Percy Owens. With
Holmes away, Opincar has assumed the series lead but Free Agent's TM has a
couple of races in hand. On Sunday,
Owen's took matters into his own hands and won the main, his first of the year,
beating out Crupi's Domingos
Lammoglia and Rennen/Intense's Will Murray. The
win catapulted Owens into third overall in what could be his best season in
recent years. Holmes will be back in
action in Fresno
looking to regain the lead.
This marks
the first time that FBX has hosted a National event and their track has already
generated a good buzz. The track, with downhill straights, is similar to the famous South
Park track in Pennsylvania and features pro sections on
both the 2nd and 3rd straights and newly paved turns. The
talent-laden Free Agent team will host a pre-race
clinic on Friday from 11am-2pm and all participants will get a chance to
meet Olympic Gold Medalist, Maris Strombergs, and learn new skills. UGP
Opens are in full effect and the winners of each class will get cool UGP
gear.
