The UTV 170 class came out in full force, racing solely on the MX track. On lap one, it was Lucas Johnson and Ian Kowalski battling side by side over the step-down, where both cars kept on the gas and flipped end-over-end right next to each other, followed by third place Vincent Riccitelli doing the same exact thing. All three cars flipped onto their wheels with their forward momentum and kept going. With a bent cage, Kowalski held off the pack as well as he could, but was overtaken by Tj Siewers and Lucas Johnson. Siewers would put a bigger lead on Johnson lap after lap, eventually taking first place 18 seconds ahead of Johnson, who finished two seconds ahead of Kowalski.
The UTV 570s followed, this time running the same track as the Mini Quads. The three girls of Ellie Koester, Grace Vinagro and Riley Hein finished top three respectively, making an all-girl podium sweep. Zach Anderson, Jessie Owens, Landen De Sousa Dias and Damien Rockhill rounded out the class, all putting in their two laps and finishing the challenging course.
In the Pro UTVs, it was Tom Wilson with the early lead, followed by James Moore. After one lap, Wilson’s ball joints broke, nearly shearing his tire off as he landed a jump. This left Moore to cruise another seven laps uncontested, keeping a steady pace for a first overall in his new Can-Am.
Todd Waling put in a few laps in his 850cc Polaris before pulling off. Clay Winiecki, Chase De Sousa Dias and Evan Striplin were all doing well on lap one, until Striplin tried to let Moore pass him, and ended up in a water pit up to his neck. Chase was putting in good laps until a tie rod broke, ending his day on lap five. That left Winiecki to take the win in the 900cc class. In the 1000cc Non-Turbo class, it was all Kody Winiecki for four laps, with Barry Bennett and William Miller hot on his tail. On lap five, Womoecki had a mechanical issue that ended his day, leaving Bennett to take the lead, and Robert Olander to make the pass on Miller and take second, with Miller trailing in third. The trip would finish in those positions as John Nix and Hailey Hein would also be taken out of the race. Bruce Kennedy and Neil Carse were close together until lap four, where another mechanical break would end Carse’s day, leaving Kennedy to take the win in 1000cc Turbo. Overall finishes are as follows: James Moore, Bruce Kennedy, Barry Bennett, Robert Olander, William Miller, Clay Winiecki, John Nix, Chase De Sousa Dias, Kody Winiecki and Hailey Hein.
Quad Races
The Peewee Quads were the first to take to the track Sunday, with a cool morning setting the scene for their race. In the 50-79cc 4-6 Years Old class, Lane Johnson of Thin Air Offroad Park dominated, finishing 11 laps in 30 minutes. The 80+cc Beginner class was stacked as usual, with Brayden Earlewine taking the lead and putting in eight solid laps before hitting the inside lip of a turn and sending him into the ground. After getting checked out, he was all smiles as he was safely taken off track. With Earlewine out, it was Brendon Turner finishing the race in first, followed by Shay Anderson and Sarah Tsosie.
In the 80+cc Advanced class, Landen Johnson put the hammer down and took the victory, with Points Racing’s Gabriel Simmons right behind him. Tavin Freeman put on a good race, but fell a lap behind, taking third.
The Mini quads were the first to tackle the new ATV/UTV track, with Caliber Racing’s Carly Senter taking the early lead and holding it all race in the 250-400cc class. Carly represents the youth ATV crowd as well as the Women ATV crowd, showing that the youth are the future of ATV racing, and that girls can be just as competitive. Tyler Tsosie took second, pushing hard to catch up to Senter the entire race. Dirt Halo Racing/CMPFoto rider Dakota Hibler struggled on the rough terrain, but still kept pace and finished third, still finishing three laps. Brian Jackson of Jackson Bros Racing and Wyatt Rock of Caliber racing battled all race in the 91-300cc 10-15 Year old class, with Jackson ultimately taking the top spot, followed by Rock and Tyler Savage. The Blud Lubricants/CMPFoto rider Kolbie Lang put in a solid first lap, but a break in the bike ended his day early. Overall finishes are as follows: Brian Jackson, Carly Senter, Wyatt Rock, Tyler Savage, Mason Sabatina, Tyler Tsosie, Dakota Hibler, Kasey Snyder and Kolbie Lang.
The Big Quads were up next, with the ever-dominant Andrew Simmons taking the lead in the Pro class and never letting off. Erin Simmons and Rick Ellsworth were hot in tow, pushing each lap to close the gap that Andrew had made. After eight laps, Andrew finished first with a four minute lead over his brother Erin, and Rick Ellworth seven minutes behind him. In the Expert class, Deshawn Tallsalt was an early contender for the win. Deshawn took the lead and led Todd Ellsworth for seven of the eight laps, but a battery malfunction killed the bike and left him watching Ellsworth take the win. After getting the bike going, Tallsalt took second place and Austin Snyder took third. In the Sportsman class, it was Francisco Lizarraga out front, followed by Michael Mack and Nick Helton. Lizarraga led most of lap one, but the water crossings added an extra challenge and he started to lose one of his grips. After falling back to fourth trying to fix it, he made a pit stop to remove his other grip and race without them. Lizarraga made his way back to second place when a nerf bar broke and sent him to another pit stop. After his final stop, he made his pass to second place and stayed there until the checkered flag flew. Mack was running well until he lost his fourth and fifth gears, and as his other gears started to slip he pulled off on lap four to save his bike. As the checkered flag came out, it was the steady pace of Nick Helton that led him to victory, followed by Lizarraga and Logan Heath. Top 10 finishes are as follows: Andrew Simmons, Erin Simmons, Rick Ellsworth, Todd Ellsworth, Nick Helton, Deshawn Tallsalt, Austin Snyder, Travis Tarno, Michael Tosie and Francisco Lizarraga.
Overall, the Lynx Creek Hare Scramble was an incredibly tough race, whether on four wheels or two. The next race is Oct. 13-14 in Payson. More info at AZOPRacing.com.
