Lavens and Sewell Sail at Megacross Finale

October 4^th, 2008

By Nikki Dixon

The Megacross Shootout Series had another great season, with a solid race turnout just shy of 300 entrants per round.  The track received some minor changes throughout the season, including a larger starting gate to help the already top-notch race program flow even better.  Turnouts were strong throughout the race order, giving the riders and fans action-packed stadium-style racing under the lights at every round.   

Some of the Megacross championship battles came down to the final round, with a couple of spoilers along the way, while other riders had championships wrapped up before the final race.  Burton Lavens (763)dominated this season in the +25A, +30A, and +35 vet classes, adding three more Megacross championships to his record total. Don't forget  November 16th will be the Awards presentation and play day held at Fox Valley Off Road which is always a great time!

In the +25A/B main event, Lavens muscled his way through the crowded first turn to take the lead, followed by Everett Dahlberg, Chad Johnson, and +25B rider Zeno Molteni.  Lavens opened up his lead, as Dahlberg tried to hold off the hard charging Johnson.  Lavens secured the win, as Johnson stuck a last lap pass on Dahlberg for second.  Dahlberg, Paul Gerke, and Matt Entwistle wrapped up the top five.  Lavens made a clean sweep for the night, by also topping the +30A and +35 classes.

 Molteni and Jesse Keith diced early in +25B, until Keith dropped back in the pack.  Molteni then cruised to the win, followed by Jim Cherry, Gary Smith, Brian Goodin, and Scott Holmes.  Molteni’s win earned the +25B championship, over Keith, Holmes, Smith, and Cherry. 

In the 250A class, Scott Zont (923) grabbed the holeshot, followed by Travis Sewell (86) who moved into the lead at the end of the first lap.  Sewell started pulling away as Zont, Derek Whitney, Anthony Westergaard, and Justin Kelly diced for the second spot, and James Garrett was on the move after a first lap bobble.  Whitney charged into the second spot mid-race, as the battle continued behind him.  Sewell cruised to the win, with Whitney holding on to the second spot.  Zont, Westergaard, and Kelly completed the top five. 

 Sewell led the 11-rider Open A class around the first turn, chased by Whitney, Zont, and Dylan Martin.  Kelly charged past Martin, and pressured Zont in the opening laps.  Sewell inched away from the field, with Whitney running a solid second, followed by an intense five rider battle for the third spot.  Westergaard crashed out of the mix on the last lap, as Sewell picked up his second win of the night.  Whitney, Zont, Kelly, and Martin wrapped up the top five. 

 Shawn Thompson has been on fire in the 50 Junior class, and wrapped up the Megacross championship a round early.  Thompson led the 10-rider class around the first turn, trailed by CJ Kuhter.  Gage Stear moved past Kuther for second, followed by Corey Eilers and Riley Gaul who raced side-by-side.  Gaul stayed on the gas, and moved into third by the white flag.  Thompson carded the win, over Stear, Gaul, Kuhter, and Eilers.

In the 11-rider 50 Senior class, Chase Sexton started out front and never looked back.  Anthony Wallace followed Sexton around the first turn, trailed by Jarred Berggren, Robert Copenharve, and Ryan Oseroff.  Wallace suffered a DNF early in the race, as Berggren took over the second spot.  Copenharve and Zack Tatar mixed it up for third, with Copenharve getting the edge.  Sexton was way out front at the checkered flag, followed by Berggren, Copenharve, Tatar, and Oseroff. 

65 Senior and Junior had a combined gate drop, with 65 Senior riders Alex Nagy and Logan Skaggs leading around the first turn, followed by 65 Junior riders Sexton and Nick Wallace.  Nagy held off Skaggs for the win in 65 Senior, followed by 65 Junior winner Sexton (486). Nick Wallace, Anthony Wallace, Austin Kukla, and Colton Krska rounded out the top five in 65 Junior.

 In Supermini, Jordan Mackiewicz (19)had a great jump out of the gate, and rounded the first turn in the lead, chased by Adam Petmuch, Kyle Poska, and Jake Seibert.  Petmuch and Poska had a solid battle for second, with Poska leading on the final lap.  But Petmuch answered back, as he went inside in the whoops to regain the second spot, and held it to the finish.  Mackiewicz captured the win, trailed by Petmuch, Poska, Tyler Simpkins, and Greg Rogers. 

Jody Walker, Kyle Entwistle, and Collin Licastro lined up for the 14-24 main event nearly tied in points for the Megacross championship.  When the gate dropped, Licastro grabbed the holeshot, trailed by Entwistle and Brett Grantham, while Walker was buried back in the pack.  Licastro hammered down with the championship in sights as he sprinted to the checkers, while Entwistle and Jakub Baker mixed it up for runner-up spot.  Licastro carded the win, while Entwistle edged out Baker for second, followed by Walker and Kyler Hyde.  Licastro’s win sealed the Megacross championship with 166 points, over Entwistle (162 points) and Walker (156 points). 

Denny Morsch looked to have the 250B Megacross championship wrapped up coming into the final race, as he led Reese Miller by more than 20 points.  But Miller didn’t give up, as he led the 11-rider class around the first turn, with Mike Chrisos, Entwistle, and Morsch in tow.  Miller cruised out front, airing it out over the huge triple on the far side of the track, while Chrisos and Entwistle raced bar-to-bar for second.  Morsch diced with Licastro for fourth, until making a mid-race mistake, and dropping outside of the top ten.  Miller carded the win, Entwistle edged out Chrisos and Licastro for second, and Gary Smith wrapped up the top five.  Miller’s win combined with Morsch’s bad luck earned Miller the 250B championship.

 In Open B, Jesse Keith (69) started out front, trailed by Morsch and Zeno Molteni (473).  Kyle Lindahl moved into the top three on the first lap, as Morsch took over the lead from Keith.  Lindahl then blitzed the whoops to get around Keith for second, and Molteni moved into third with a lap to go.  Morsch pushed ahead for the win, over Lindahl, Molteni, Keith, and Dennis Witte.  Morsch’s win secured the Open B Megacross championship, followed by Keith and Molteni.

 Jeremy Beetz grabbed the holeshot in Quad A.  Jason Wehrli and Derick Skaggs rubbed plastic through the first few turns, with Skaggs taking the second spot.  Beetz opened up a solid lead on the way to victory, as Skaggs and Wehrli diced the whole race, with Skaggs getting the nod.  Wehrli, Mark Hambly, and Jory Dalsanto wrapped up the top five.  Beetz also carded the Megacross championship, over Wehrli, Skaggs, Justin Medine, and Dalsanto.