 Three
down, one to go for youth racers
July 3 – With
three of four events in the books Thursday for the youth riders of the AMA
Progressive Insurance Dirt Track Grand Championships, the points battles
firmed up, three riders held onto perfect scores in one class each, and
spectators were treated to a show of sportsmanship among competitors
separated by a single point going into the final round.
 Those
keeping their winning streaks alive included Michael Martin (left) in 65
Modified 7-11; Ethan Gilim in 50cc Pee Wee 4-8; and Ian Keith in 50cc
Senior 7-8.
Martin continues to make it look easy in his premier class, leading
from flag to flag again Thursday, while second-place finisher Hayden
Gillim of Owensboro, Ky., came up one position from his start and
third-place's Tony Davilia of Pleasanton, Calif., put on a charge to
finish third. The win gives Martin a perfect score of 69 in the class,
with Davila second with 49 and Gillim in third with 45.
In 50cc Pee Wee 4-8, Ethan Gillim of Owensboro, Ky., led flag to flag
despite a restart, giving him three wins out of three starts. He leads the
points, with Cole Anderson second with 50, and Nick McFadden third with
49.
And in 50cc Senior 7-8, Ian Keith battled from a third-place start to
take over the lead after passing early leader Jake Lewis of Princeton,
Ky., on the restart to win. He leads the class with a perfect score, while
Lewis is second with 57 and Bailey Spence is third with 48.
One of the best races of the day was the 85cc DTX 9-13 class, with a
tight battle at the front all race between Cody Anselmi and Austin
Greenland. Anselmi may have gotten the holeshot, but Greenland squirted underneath
him in turn two a few laps later. But Anselmi wasn't going to give up. He
hounded Greenland's rear wheel all race, nearly passing at the finish. In
a show of sportsmanship, winner Greenland did his victory lap with
Anselmi, with both riders holding the flag. Greenland leads the points
with 65, followed by Brad Baker with 54 and Cody Anselmi with 42.
A single points separates the two in the overall battle, with Anselmi
leading with 58 points to Greenland's 57. In third in points is Cory
Hildebrand with 49.
In the AMA Pro Racing-sponsored Pro Sport 505 class, it was none other
than last year's AMA Dirt Track Horizon Award winner again rising to the
challenge, besting the field by running flag to flag for the win. Ben
Morton of Farmington, Ill., was second and fellow 2002 Horizon Award
Winner Nicky Cummings finished third.
The youth riders finish up their week Friday on the TT course, after
which the amateur riders will also do the TT, following up with races on
the famed Springfield Mile on Saturday.
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The
Gunslinger arrives
Look over into the pits at the Grand
Championships Thursday, and you likely saw one of the sport's true heroes
— none other than Jay Springsteen, the Gunslinger himself.
"The AMA flew me in to help out the kids,''
Springer says, watching the 50cc juniors run their final "I thought
I'd come over here and see how the sport is doing."
He may be well known as a past Grand National
Champion and a current star on the AMA Progressive Insurance U. S. Flat
Track Championships, but back in the Stone Age, Springer was just another
kid coming up as an amateur.
"I remember I had a Harley-Davidson M50, a
little 50cc with a three-speed that shifted on the handlebar,'' Springer
says. "It was the first bike I ever raced — the first bike I ever
rode, period."
And while there wasn't an amateur national
championship like today, Springer did ride against some national-caliber
riders as a youngster in Michigan.
"There was a lot of fast guys when I was
coming up,'' he says. "I raced a 100 Kawasaki against Kevin
Atherton's dad at local races, then there were people like Randy Goss,
Keener, Rex Beauchamp and the Newton brothers and a lot of others. It was
fast even when we were kids."
And to think it all started with a Harley M50
that didn't even have enough power to slide sideways.
"It didn't have much,'' Springer says of his
M50. "But it got me third the first time I raced."
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The Rest of the Races:
85cc Modified 7-11: Brad Baker led flag to flag for the win,
with Michael Johnson second and Patrick Jacobsen third. The win keeps
Baker in the points lead with 62, followed by Ricky Boley with 4 and
Patrick Jacobsen with 44.
50cc Junior 4-6: Brandon Atkinson of Manquin, Va., took the win,
with Nicky McFadden in second and fellow Owensboro, Ky., rider Ethan
Gillim in third. Gillim maintains the points lead with 62, followed by
Atkinson with 50 and Springer Derosear with 48.
65cc DTX 7-11: Kevin Walter of Amery, Wis., took over the lead
for the win after Hayden Gillim crashed and remounted, with Michael Martin
second and Miles Thornton of West Point, Ga., third. Walter leads the
points with 61, with Martin in second with 56 and Tyler Whitecotten in
third with 47.
85cc Modified 12-15: Cody Anselmi put on a clinic in the class,
leading flag to flag, with Scott Baker of Chehalis, Wash., in second and
Andy Goodwin of Fults, Ill., in third. A single point separates the top
two riders in the overall battle, with Anselmi leading with 58 points to
Greenland's 57. Third in points is Cory Hildebrand with 49.
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