Media Allstar Riders Clinch National Championships at Loretta Lynn’s

2013 has been one of those years where it seems nothing goes right.  Mother Nature has given us fits all season long.  At all but one race this year it’s rained at some point during the weekend and most of the time it’s during the races.  Combine that with some bad luck and misfortune and you’ve got a recipe for a long year.

Coming into the final round of the 2013 ATV Motocross National Championship presented by Mt. Dew Team Media Allstars had 2 riders that were within reach of taking home a number 1 plate.  Dane Heilman #07 found himself just one point out of first place when the racing started Saturday morning at the ranch.  Dane is no stranger to championship pressure as he’s been there and done that before.  A multi time National Champion Heilman took care of business in both of his 30+ motos and when the checkers flew on the last moto of the season Dane had gained the points he needed and took home the title by a mere 2 points!

Not to be out done Graham Gardner #22 had an even more remarkable charge to the championship.  Graham was down almost 15 points in the Production A class coming into round 9 at Redbud but his amazing performance there put him just 5 points down going into the final round at Loretta Lynn’s.  A poor start in Saturday’s moto 1 found the #22 having to pick riders off to come from an 8^th place start to finish the moto in 3^rd leaving his championship fate up in the air heading into Sunday’s second moto.  Roughly 5 races before Graham was set to take off Mother Nature dealt her final blow of the season by soaking the race track.  A last second decision by Gardner and his team to run larger Maxxis XC tires on his machine paid dividends as Graham rocketed out of the hole and rounded the first turn in 2^nd place. The hard charging #22 machine put the pressure on and was able to pass for the lead at the end of lap one and never looked back earning the points he needed to take both the overall for the weekend and secure his first National Championship!

Both Dane and Graham proved that they would not be denied and used their heart, skill and determination to overcome the odds and their competition.  Team Media Allstars now can add 2 more names to the long list of Champions we’ve produced. When Loretta Lynn’s 2013 came to a close it marked the 10^th year that Team Media Allstars has been providing up and coming Amateur racers with top notch support, with the addition of Graham and Dane’s 2013 championships the MAS machine has now accounted for 36 championships in those 10 years. And with our GNCC, TQRA and NEATV efforts we may just eclipse the 40 mark before years end.