Whitney

Whitney, Malatia, Lavens Continue Winning Ways at Megacross Finale

October 20^th, 2007

By Nikki Dixon (102)

Although the Megacross Shootout Series Championship round was pushed into late October due to rainouts, temperatures were unseasonably warm for the final night race, capping off a great year for Megacross. The 11-round Saturday night stadium-style series had an impressive average of more than 300+ entrants per round, backing up the slogan: "Megacross is the place to race". The track received some changes throughout the year to keep things fresh, and more changes are on the way for 2008. With full classes from 50 Beginner to the Women's class to the expert classes, both riders and fans enjoyed intense stadium-style race action under the lights, and a well-executed race program.

Derek Whitney (795) ended his Megacross season with two more wins in 125A and 250A, bringing his win streak to eight, against several of the Midwest’s best riders. Whitney’s results also earned him Megacross Championships in both the 125A and 250A premiere classes.

In 125A, Whitney grabbed the holeshot, followed by Brad Fabrizius, Kevin Markwardt, and Scott Zont. Whitney stayed out front for the win, while Markwardt quickly moved into second and held the spot to the finish. JR Garrett worked up to finish third, followed by Kyle White and Zont.

Whitney started out front again in 250A, with Markwardt and Daniel Holbus in tow. Whitney and Markwardt ran one-two for the whole race, and were the only riders jumping the redesigned south triple, as well as consistently doubling in the finish line section. Kyle White and Ty Tyrrell reeled in Holbus to finish third and fourth, and Holbus fifth.

Another rider that dominated Megacross this season is Maxx Malatia in 85 Senior and Supermini. Malatia raced 8 rounds, and won 15 of 16 of his main events. His only non-win was back in April, when he finished second to Brandon Pope in close Supermini battle.

At the Championship round, first time Megacross racer Dade Noones(326) grabbed the Supermini holeshot, but Malatia charged out front on the opening lap. After a lap, the running order was Malatia, Noones, Zach Martino, Rick Nichol, and Robbie Hyson. Martino reeled in Noones mid-race, then Noones, Nichol, and Hyson diced for third. Late in the race, both Martino and Noones suffered mechanical problems, resulting in DNF scores. Malatia cruised to the win, over Nichol, Hyson, Kyler Hyde, and Cory Catalani.

Nichol started out front in 85 Senior, with Erik Utech and Malatia in tow. Malatia moved past Utech for second in the big bowl turn on the opening lap, and started applying pressure to Nichol. On lap two, Malatia took the lead after the whoops, but Nichol closed the door. Malatia tried again in through the long straight and small whoop section, and this time he made the pass stick. Malatia sprinted to the checkers for the win, followed by Nichol, Utech, Tyler Simpkins, and Hyde.

When it comes to the most Megacross Championships, Burton Lavens (aka Turbo or Barney) is by far the leader, as he’s been around since the beginning. Lavens added three more Championships to his collection this season, taking the top honors in +25A, +30A, and Four-Stroke. Lavens also ended the season by sweeping all three classes for the second round in a row.

In +25A, Lavens picked up the holeshot, followed by Steve Perkins and Denny Hacker. Lavens checked out for the win, followed by Hacker and Andy Cole. John Conley reeled in Perkins for fourth on the final lap. Lavens also won +30A over Kevin Popaeko and Hacker, and Four-Stroke over Matthew Fabrizius and Brad Fabrizius.

Joe Kopecky dominated the Megacross track in +25B, earning the Championship by a large margin. Kopecky continued his winning ways at the final round, leading from start-to-finish, even finishing second among the +25A riders, as they started together. Alan Freedrich reeled in Tom Hayunga for second, while Scott Holmes and Bryan Goodin wrapped up the top five.

Colton Krska is another rider that had an outstanding season, including two Megacross Championships in 50 Junior and 50cc 4-8. At the Championship race, Krska led from wire-to-wire in the 18-rider 50cc 4-8 class for the win. Riley Gaul, Corey Eilers, Chase Blasing, and Nolan Dickinson completed the top five. And in 50 Junior, Krska diced with Mason Hulsey in a close race, with Hulsey taking the win, and Krska finishing second. Nick Harris, Shawn Thompson, and Zachary Blasing wrapped up the top five.

Logan Skaggs(997) earned two Megacross Championships in 85 Junior and 65 Senior. Skaggs took the win in his division of 85 Junior at the final round, over Conner Robinson and Sam Bandemer. In 65 Junior, Skaggs finished second after dicing with Sam Shamie the whole race, with Damon Quest completing the top three.

Coming into the Megacross Championship race, Chad Saultz and Nick Wallace were tied in 65 Junior points. When the gate dropped, Saultz got the jump and led the way, followed by Anthony Wallace, Jordan Cram, and Stuart Schwagerman. Saultz stayed out front to the finish, with Anthony Wallace second. Nick Wallace rallied to finish third after a bad start, followed by Cram and Schwagerman. Saultz’s victory locked in his Megacross Championship.

Keith Hicks put in solid rides throughout the season to secure Championships in +30B and +40. At the Championship round, Hicks finished second to Tom Hayunga in the 13-rider +30B class, and third behind Kevin Popaeko(180) and Jason Dollas in the 11-rider +40 class.

In 125B, Kyle Entwistle had what seemed to be a comfortable Megacross points lead over Denny Morsch coming into the final round. In order for Morsch to win the Championship, he would need to win, and Entwistle would need to finish outside of the top ten. Morsch did his part by nailing the holeshot in the 18-rider class, followed by Josh Provost and Zach Martino. Morsch, Provost, Martino, Dallas Devinney, Vini Provenzano, and Gordon Kaskin, Mike Crisos and Erik Utech raced like a speeding freight train for several laps, while Entwistle was buried in the pack, well outside of the top ten. Second place Provost tried to attack on the inside lines looking for a pass on Morsch, but came up short. Morsch secured the win, with Provost, Martino, Devinney, and Provenzano completing the top five. However, Entwistle rallied late in the race to pick off a few riders and finish ninth, good enough to secure the Megacross Championship by 3 points. Entwistle also took the top honors for the Megacross Championship in 14-24.

In his first 250C race at Megacross, Blake Couch pulled the holeshot in 17-rider class, trailed by Spencer Neurohr, Alex Zimmerman, and Adam Fusinetti. Zimmerman passed into second on the opening lap, and closed the door on Couch. The two diced all the way to the finish, racing side-by-side through several sections, but Couch held on for the win. Zimmerman finished second, and Neurohr held off Michael Goetz for third. Goetz and Cody Gehant completed the top five. Neurohr’s second place finish locked in his 250C Megacross Championship, over Fusinetti and Zimmerman.

125C was the final moto of the Megacross season, and a wild one nonetheless. John Pogliano picked up the holeshot in the 21-rider class, followed by Jake Linden, Goetz, Dade Noones, Jody Walker, and Couch. After a lap, Linden was the new leader, trailed by Goetz, Walker, Couch, Pogliano, Noones, Kyler Hyde, and Cole Johns, who were all clustered together and trading positions in the close race. At the end of lap three, you could still throw a blanket over the top eight riders. That is when several riders jumped bar-to-bar over the step-down triple, with the front runners colliding, claiming Linden, Walker, and Couch. Goetz, Pogliano, and Noones avoided the crash, and diced to the checkers, with Pogliano getting the win. Goetz, Noones, Hyde, and Johns completed the top five.