2015 USA BMX Mid America Nationals Race Report

Filed under General on June 05, 2015 | Comment(s)

Friday

Raytown BMX is the gracious host of the 2015 USA BMX Mid America Nationals. It's been a few years since the USA BMX big rig has pulled in for an event and despite nearly a month straight of heavy rain the track is in great shape. The second turn has been resurfaced with fresh asphalt and local track operator Scott Morrow and his crew gave a crack at the new slurry technique that is all the rage across the country. There is gonna be some great racing here for sure!

As 71 motos were posted we saw a few pros including 2015's most impressive A-Pro Kenneth Gustafson taking a few hot laps in practice. We'll see if a couple more show up by tomorrow to make a class.

Also spotted was legendary announcer Jim Reilly who will be bellowing out many of his classic lines throughout the weekend. We've missed ya Jim! 

Not a drop of rain fell all day despite the naysayers and the forecast is looking pretty darn good for tomorrow as well. Get ready for some hot Midwest racing action Ra/      ytown. The Mid America Nationals are finally here.

Saturday

Our resident meteorologist Bill Morris was watching the skies all morning long and predicted our sprinkles near to the minute. After a short delay the track was uncovered and practice resumed. The sun came out and the race action lit up as well. 

A-Pro made with five riders and the race was to see who could stay the closest to Kenneth Gustafson. During round 2 of their main's Lindenwood's Madison Pitts was reeling in 2 Cycle Michael's Devin Walter like nobody's business. As she neared him on the third straight, she got a bit too far over the front end and went OTB. Check out her Facebook page for pics of the aftermath. Kenny G went uncontested for the win, Jarrod Adcock nabbed the deuce and Speedpeddlers Skylar Prather picked up the third. 

The Mixed Open classes had an awesome display of girl power. Hailey Sinclair got the job done in 11-12 Mixed Open and Haro~Promax's Addison Finch led a trio of young ladies in 13-14 Mixed Open for the win there.

9-10 Open had two national standouts quickly seperate themselves from the rest of the pack. Crupi's Jack Bakken and SSquared's Kaynen Burg diced it out and went 1 and 2 at the line. The next group saw Haro's Gavin Freewalt put a serious gap on the rest of the 11-12 Open group. Staats' Zach Jacobs secured the second for Alberto Ciari and the gang.

Supercross rider Anna Johnson has looked unbeatable all day long and has had nothing but a clear track in front of her. Put her down for a double on the day as she was also victorious in the 14 Girls Class.

One of the best races of the day was in the 17-20 Girls Cruiser between two KC area locals. Adrian Sanders snuck by her SSquared teammate Jamie Windholz for the win.

The lead rider in 7 & Under cruiser was able to avoid the big time pileup in the third straight. The Full Tilt crew cheered on their guy Cole Frederick as he crused in for a victory.

8 Cruiser looked like a near repeat of the 17-20 Women's Cruiser class. Clayborn's little ripper Devin Gracey lunged at the right time and nipped Nolan Colborn at the line.

Heartbreak in the 11 Cruiser group as Doublecross' Sammy Nichols won the race handily but was called for a 30 foot infraction out of the gate. He was able to shake it off come class time and won 11 Expert with conviction. Staying positive in the face of adversity always works out for the better.

The National #1 Cruiser looks like he's grown 6 inches since winning the cup in Tulsa. Pearlberg is on a whole nother level here in Raytown and easily wins 12 Cruiser. One of our favorite riders from around these parts Brock Shaw was back in second. This kid is a master outdoorsman and even has a Browning inspired jersey to prove it. The best thing about him and that he still does it for the worlds greatest sponsor, Mom and Dad.

If you haven't heard the name Braxton Elsen yet, don't worry you will. The Blaze factory hotshot dominated 14 cruiser all day long. Jack Plummer kept him honest and got himself a second in the process. He took a huge dirt sample earlier in the day but came back strong.

We had a few kids move up to Intermediate during todays mains which is always good. 12 year old Jett Birkett (man thats a cool name) won his tenth main and will move up for day 2 along with Speedpeddlers' powerhouse 14 Novice Tuan Burnett. Congrats gents and good luck on Day 2! 

We weren't finished with the move ups as 11 I Jesse Hauck will be facing the big dogs on Day 2 in the Expert class. 19-27 I Jordan Hasti also will be moving up to Expert for day 2. Exciting times for these two lads for sure.

Phantom Devo's Zack Valderrama had a nice lead in 14 Inter but a wild manual attempt over the triple step going into turn two scrubbed away all his speed. St. Peters BMX local Kane Mitchell took full advantage of the mistake and made the pass for the win.

Little Lola Jonjevic came to Raytown to win! No one was going to defeat this young lady and she took top honors in the 6 Girls Class

In 15-16 Girls Cassidy Crotty laid down the power all day long and took the win. Courney Atwater came from Arizona to take the two and Blaze Factory’s Shelby Schumacher took the third.  

Cole Frederick made it a double for the day and held off a hard charging Cane Wood. Rumor has it that Cole talks in his sleep about racing techniques. Now that is dedication.

Gavin Freewalt got the pop on Bam Bam Perlberg in 12 Expert and never looked back. Kiegan had to settle in for second place stamps while Brock Shaw rounded out the top 3.

Remember a little earlier when we mentioned Braxton Elsen? Well he wowed the crowd again in 14 Expert by edging out Haro’s Jesse Welch at the finish line. The kid is the real deal.

One of the first rules that you learn in BMX is that you don’t sit down until after the finish line. We’ve all heard it right? Well SSquared’s Nick Deters had temporary memory loss and did just that. The “Oak Tree” Taylor Riedemann flew right on by and took advantage of Deters Mistake. We can bet there won’t be any more sitting down by the Dynamite one tomorrow.

19-27 Expert was the race of the day as Brady Lavoi looked to claim victory early on but he had a hard charging Andre Norles breathing down his neck on the second straight. Norles rode the 2^nd turn near perfect and exited with more speed than Lavoi. As Norles began to pass him on the outside of the third straight, Lavoi’s front wheel made contact with the rear wheel of the former KC local and he went down in flames. Norles picked up the win for the Bay Area Bmxers squad. David Lujan was able to avoid the carnage and get himself a second.

Day one ended with the trademark open face Protec helmet of Scott Bega in 46 & Over Expert. We finished up just in time to grab some vitals from one of the awesome food trucks in the parking lot. Strawberry smoothie please…..

Saturday Doubles

KADEN RODRIGUEZ – 6 & Under Mixed Open & 6 Intermediate

DWYER ZULFER – 9-10 Mixed Open &10 Intermediate

HAILEY SINCLAIR – 11-12 Mixed Open & 12 Girls

ISAIAH HOLMES 31 & Over Mixed Open & 16 Intermediate

JACK BAKKEN 9-10 Open & 10 Expert

GAVIN FREEWALT 11-12 Open & 12 Expert

RUBY PLUME 10 & Under Girl Cruiser & 10 Girls

LILLY CAMPBELL 11-12 Girl Cruiser  & 11 Girls

ANNA JOHNSON 13-14 Girl Cruiser & 14 Girls

ANNA APPLEBY 51-55 Women Cruiser & 31 & Over Women

COLE FREDERICK 7 & Under Cruiser & 7 Expert

CANNON WOOD 9 Cruiser & 9 Expert

BRAXTON ELSEN 14 Cruiser & 14 Expert

TAYLOR RIEDEMANN 16 Cruiser & 16 Expert

SHAWN MCGOVERN 36-40 Cruiser & 36-40 Expert

GERALD GRIEVE 41-45 Cruiser & 41-45 Expert