First Grand Champions Crowned; Michael Martin named Youth Dirt Tracker of the Year

July 4 – The AMA Progressive Insurance Dirt Track Grand Championships drew to an end for half its entrants after TT competition Friday, with six riders earning the overall points battles that makes them Grand Champions — two of them earning double championships.

And one of those double winners — Michael Martin of Lockeford, Calif. (left)  — went home with the youth group's highest honor: the title of AMA Progressive Insurance Youth Dirt Tracker of the Year.

It was the hottest day yet of competition, both literally and figuratively. With three of four races in each class out of the way (a half-mile and two short-tracks), the five lefts and a right of the TT course in the beautiful Illinois State Fairgrounds would decide overall placings. And, right on cue for the July 4 holiday, the firecracker-hot temperatures arrived. With unofficial thermometers registering 95 degrees and hotter in the shade, the temperature on the track had to be at least 10 degrees above that — and it felt every bit of it.

But the racers of the Grand Championships didn't let the heat slow them down.

First up from the youth group were the racers of the 65cc Modified 7-11 Premier class, where Mike Martin came to the line with a commanding 20-point lead in the overall over second place's Tony Davilia, with Hayden Gillim another 4 points further back. Needing only finish 13th or better to clinch the championship, Martin only had to finish the race among the 12-rider field. Not one to play it too safe, though, Martin passed from a fourth-place start into third by mid-race to finish on the podium. An unstoppable Hayden Gilliam led flag-to-flag for the race win. Second place overall was Hayden Gillim, 17 points back, with Tony Davila other five points further back.

Martin's second test of the day came in 65cc DTX 7-11, sponsored by KTM Sportmotorcycles. Coming in 5 points down to overall leader Kevin Walter, Martin had to win and hope that Walter didn't finish second. But Walter found himself out of the main, giving a bye run to Martin. Leaving nothing to chance after a red-flag restart, Martin powered around early race leader Hayden Gillim on the white flag lap to take the win and the class championship. Second place overall was Hayden Gillim, 13 points back, with Tyler Whitecotten another 4 points back.

The day's other double winner was none other than Ethan Gillim, youngest of three sons of a cousin of the road-racing Hayden brothers of Owensboro, Ky. Gilliam came into today with the  points leads in 50cc Pee Wee 4-8 sponsored by Cobra Motorcycles and 50cc Junior 4-6 sponsored by Polini Motorcycles. He again won both races handily, giving him a perfect 92-point score in Pee Wee 4-8, and the points lead in Junior 4-6. Second overall in 50cc Junior went to Springer Derosear, 18-points back, with Brandon Atkinson a single point further back in third. Second place in Pee Wee 4-8 went to Cole Anderson, 23 points out of first, with Nick McFadden in third another 8 points back.

In 85cc Modified 12-15, the points battle was tight as the final day dawned. Cody Anselmi of Lodi, Calif., held a 1-point lead over Austin Greenland of Spring Mills, Pa., with Cory Hildebrand of Milford, N.H. in third overall — meaning whoever won on the track would take the Grand Champion title. Anselmi proved he wanted it bad by taking the holeshot, and Greenland crashed in the first turn, bringing out the red flag. A series of red-flag restarts Greenland work back as high as fourth at one point, until another crash late in the race put him back to 7th. In the end, Anselmi took the title by 11 points over Greenland, with Scot Baker another 3 points back in third.

In 85cc DTX 9-13, Greenland enjoyed a 9-point margin coming into the TT over second-place Brad Baker, meaning he only needed finish fourth or better to win. But in the toughest race of the day, Greenland again found himself on the ground in the first turn. Starting from the penalty line several more times after various red-flag restarts, Greenland consistently launched into the top five or better, and in the start that stuck, he came around in fourth. While that would have been good enough for the championship, Greenland wasn't satisfied, he worked his way up to second by the finish to win the title by 7 points over Baker, with James Rispoli another 22 points further back.

In 85cc Modified 7-11 Premier sponsored by American Suzuki, Brad Baker started the race with a 17-point margin over second-place points-sitter Ricky Boley, who didn't make the main. With an 18-point margin over third-place Patrick Jacobsen, Baker needed only finish 11th out of 12 racers. Not one to relax that much, Baker worked up to fourth place on the second lap, trailing hole-shotter Jeffrey Carver of Alton, Ill. Carver held onto the lead for the race win, and Baker passed one more rider for third place, taking the championship by a wide, 21-point margin over Jacobsen, with Kyle Anselmi another 10 points back.

Lastly, in 50cc Senior 7-8 Premier, Ian Keith started the day with a 12-point margin over second-place Jake Lewis and a 19-point gap over third-place Bailey Spence. A safe fifth-place finish to Bailey Spence's win gave him a 12-point margin over Spence, who worked himself into second overall with the win. Rounding out the top three was Lewis.

For a complete list of the overall points placings, click here.

Group two and the Pro Sport 505 riders were scheduled to take to the TT course Friday, with their Grand Championships ending Saturday on the famed Springfield Mile.

© 2003, American Motorcyclist Association