It’s been a long time and a lot has happened. Haunted MX was a great event put on by Eddie and Aubrey Hernandez, TPQ 3 this summer was a success once again. Brandon Brown and Kenny Sanford won the Baja 500 and then teamed with Mike Bender for the 1000 where they placed 3rd. Jeff Stambaugh took home another UTV Championship and Alex Mininger took home 2 WORCS championships. Allie schooled the men-folk and won WORCS-X b class and that same round Mike Kelley III took home a solid 2nd place in the Pro-Am. Sean McHugh qualified for the Pro-Am and finished 12th at Mesquite. Now we are wrapping up the year and getting ready to welcome some new members.
Things to note: TM$ rider Reed “I Get Last Place Starts Why Don’t You” Petchnick will be racing at the Showare Center December 18th ON ICE! Keep your eyes peeled in the forums, we’re going to try and get group tickets to go watch!
Also, many riders will be gearing up for the Hangover Hare Scramble at Washougal. Come out and meet us for some fun in the mud!
Lastly, Pit Traffic hats and t-shirts are now available and we have a caption contest going on for an ODI hat. Check the forums for details on that too.
EMAILING FOR THE GREATER GOOD Join me
Riders going to Havasu were greeted with hot and windy weather. That means a dusty track in addition to the rough whoops! Reed Petchnick, Allie Shelman, Tim Shelman, Jeff Stambaugh, and Alex Miniger made the trek to Arizona for the race. Allie scored with 2 podiums for the weekend on her Raptor 250. Alex placed 4th in one of his races, but broke in his second race. Tim Shelman got a decent start in the Main, but lost a few positions over the course of the two hour race. Reed “One Footer” Petchnick had overheating issues with his YFZR, and DNF’d the Main. Jeff Stambaugh had a great race. He won his class and placed 7th overall out of 22 UTVs despite a mechanical malfunction.
Havasu this time around had a sweet surprise for the Pro and ProAms: A LAGOON JUMP! It was open during Pro practice, and was part of the race for Sunday’s event. Pro’s could either jump across the lagoon, clearing 60 feet of treacherous race-killing water, or take an optional line around the pond. Atvriders.com has some great footage of this jump, including a few shots of Reed Petchnick going over it. Reed is also seen going over the lagoon jump first thing in the fastest 5 minutes of motorsports.
Right now many of our riders are gearing up to go to Eddieville for the OTBG team race. 6 hours of racing! With the cancellation of the first and second rounds of the NWQN, local racing in April has been cut short. Many TM$ers will be heading out to Eddieville, then to the WORCS race in May, and keeping watch for the changes in venue WORCS is trying for in June.
See you on the Pit and at the track!
Team Moneyshot, MXN Nutrition, ODI grips Pro rider Reed Petchnick made a trip north of the border to see what the Next-traxx Arenacross Nationals had to offer.
The Heritage park event center was packed with Canadian Pro riders, including the Leading Edge Kawasaki factory rig.
The main event for the quads featured a full gate of riders including local favorite John Sommer on his KTM, Pit traffic regular Nicole Parker and Reed Petchnick on his brand new, stock Yamaha YFZ450R. The gate dropped and the riders all headed for a tight 180 degree first turn. Petchnick held the inside line, taking the Holeshot as Sommer and Jean battled for the #2 spot. Petchnick decided that he had to try the Pro double to put a little distance between himself and his pursuers.
The crowd cheered wildly as the YFZ450R sailed accross the huge gap. Petchnick held on for the main event win.
Round 1 of WORCS is quickly approaching! Our riders are hurrying to finish up bikes and getting prepared for next weekend.
Reed Petchnick will be down riding his YFZR for a workout before March, when he starts the trek to race all of ITP in 09.
Jeff Stambaugh will be racing his Rhino with the #6 this year, as well as sweeping again on the dirtbike.
Mike and Michael Kelley will also be down for WORCS. Michael had a great season last year and we look forward to seeing him do well again this year!
Dale and Alex Miniger will also be traveling to this one. Dale has been working on Project Firebird - a sweet hybrid for Alex to race combining long travel Kawasaki with a zippy Honda. Alex will be having a great season this year!
Tim, Maria, and Allie Shelman will also be making the Trek. Tim will be racing in the Pro class with the #9 this year, and Allie has a tricked out Raptor 250 for 09. Allie will be out smoking the boys for sure! Maria will take up her post again in registration as WORCS staff. Make sure to say hi when you go to sign up!
Brandon Brown will also be down for WORCS. Brandon had an ok year in 08, finishing 8th overall on his Kawasaki. This year, Brandon has traded the green in, and has gone back to riding red. You should expect Brandon to have a better year.
The competition in the Pro class is going to be fierce this year. Tim and Brandon headed down for the PIAA WORCS ATV Endurance race last weekend. 8 hrs of WORCS racing! Unfortunately, both riders had a heck of a time with their teams, and neither finished the race. Brandon also raced the Hangover Hare Scramble at Washougal on January 1st. You can read his write up - and be on the lookout for a sweet Baja 1000 writeup - on his website: quad75.com
In other news, Dan Wade, TM$ rider 757, has scored a sweet sponsorship with HMF Engineering. He will be rocking their pipe on his YFZ for the season, hitting some local races.
Thanks for checking us out! See you at the races!!
Have you looked at our POTM for January? What a way to start the year! It’s TM$ rider Mike Gingles at the Washougal Hangover Scramble on January 1st. Mud, deep puddles of water, and snow! Wish you were there, right? TM$ riders Allie Shelman and Maria Shelman took the Women’s Quad Class with a 1st place and 3rd place respectively - see pics on the Pit! Congrats to them both!
TM$ is gearing up for the ATV 8-hour race in Phoenix as well as WORCS round 1 in Phoenix this month. Other riders are planning their local season in Washington and prepping for some indoor racing and the FZA winter XC at PR (which took place in the snow a few weekends ago!). I’m sure the riders heading to Phoenix are looking forward to some warm weather and hoping not to repeat last year’s round opener!
In 09, look for TM$ at ITP, WORCS, and a few SCORE & BITD races, as well as around Washington and Oregon racing and riding. Check back for updates!