The 2013 Maxxis Tires Bluegrass ATV Motocross Nationals this past weekend at Ballance Moto-X in Oakland, Kentucky proved to be a race of epic proportions as expected. While riders and families rolled into the beautiful South Central Kentucky farm country and settled into a weekend of racing, so did the rain. Local weather warnings read that nearly 2 inches of rain fell over the course of the weekend.

Saturday morning it did not take long before the rains set in. The first Pro timed qualifier the track was actually the best it would be all weekend. Shortly afterwards the rain set in and the second qualifier times did not even match the slowest of the 23 AMA Pro ATV riders times from the first qualifier so the top 20 times from the early qualifier stood as the pros rolled into moto 1 that afternoon.

Once again the site of a full gate rolling into turn one made for the types of excitement not seen in ATVMX in several years. The battles waged from 1st to 20th as the mud flew. Joel Hetrick who had some of the fastest times of the day struggled in the muddy conditions and even blamed having too much motor for the conditions could have been his biggest down fall.

Inconsistence finishes from throughout the field pro riders proved to make the overall a fun thing to watch throughout the race. In the end a 1-3 for Wienen netted him the win while a 5-1 from John Natalie scored him 2nd overall and a 2-7 landed Thomas Brown on the podium with his Yamaha teammate for the third consecutive round of racing.

The rains fell on and off throughout the day and then nearly all night Saturday. No one expected Sunday racing to even to take place after nearly 2 inches of rain came down heading into moto 2 for Sunday amateur racing. The track was remarkably hard packed from the days of riding before and shielded most the rains that fell and left a fairly nice racetrack.

There were several big things taking place over the course of the weekend as several riders mentioned that this was their first ever national win. I may be wrong but I think history may have been made this weekend. If not all time history at least it will be recent history. If anyone knows any differently with our record keeping, please feel free to correct me at [email protected].

Chloe Buerster and fellow Women and Open B class competitor had another heated battle that Katie Mette was able to come away with win in the Women class. However it was Chloe finally etching her name into history as she took her Robert's Racing backed ride to the winner's circle in the B class extending her points lead and on her way to possibly being the first ever Woman to win a male dominated championship in National ATV Motocross competition. Way to go Chloe! I expect this to not be the first we will see of this and Mette can't be far behind in this feat.

John Natalie may actually gained a little extra advantage in moto 2 after he spent a big part of the time between motos at the Mtn. Dew Hospitality tent signing autographs and handing out samples of the new Mtn. Dew Kickstart energy drink. You could tell by the love he received on the podium that the fans surely enjoyed their visit with the former champ.

Pro Am hopeful Brent Sellers who finished third at Muddy Creek had some struggles in the muddy conditions on Sunday at Ballance Moto-X in the Pro Am class. Sellers was hopeful heading into the weekend with a lot of confidence that may attributed the fact that he stayed only minutes away at the Jeremiah Jones Compound in Bowling Green. He spent some quality training time with the likes of Thomas Brown and Champ Chad Wienen getting some good riding in as well as some good workouts and motivation. Brent sent a big shout out to his race team Root River Racing and all the guys involved and all their sponsors Rage, FTR, JB racing, Motowoz, Pepsi, Yoshimura, ITP, PT welding, and everyone who has supported and helped over the years.

As the season really heats up there is one thing to remind you of as we head into the heart of the season. This year round 5 at Birch Creek Motorsports in Danville, Virginia will mark the return of ATV MX there in a few years. This was our late referee Bob "Smitty Smith's favorite race of the year. A lot in part due to he lived nearby but I think more so because he did really love this facility. Everything from TT to MX Smitty would often reminisce with me about. That being said, it is also the race that we have deemed to be the "Smitty Memorial" race. There will be a celebration of life, auction, dinner and benefits all weekend long. All proceeds will go directly to Smitty's family. There will be more details coming soon and I think this will be a good time to celebrate a good man.

That's it for now. Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs!