This past weekend marked the first of, and from the general consensus, hopefully many battles at Alabama’s Monster Mountain MX Park. Even though the skies opened up Saturday night after a phenomenal day of racing, Friday’s practice and Saturday’s moto 1 left racers with a lasting impression of good times. Tom Brinkman and the Monster Mountain staff rolled out the red carpet and were amazed at the racing that took place. I know watching Tom’s face during the racing he was purely satisfied at what he was seeing. He even put a new pro section featuring a massive uphill triple dubbed “The Face of Frankenstein” for the weekend followed by another big air hip jump into a massive air triple that made the racers look like they were literally flying through the air. It was fun to watch and according to riders fun to ride.

The early morning amateur racing was a great prelude to the AMA Pro ATV battles that were to be waged in the Alabama sunshine. Joel Hetrick finally nailed two moto wins and was able to chip a little away at the points lead held by Chad Wienen. The very rare mistake of Chad Wienen on lap one of moto one led to one of the most visibly remarkable passes we have seen is some time. You may have seen the video from a close up shot on RacerTV, but the sight from a distance was about as spectacular as any pass you may have ever witnessed. The way Joel flew over and past Chad set the crowd on hand in a frenzy of cheers and awes. The battle ensuing after was equally as exciting as the two battled to the checkers.

Then in moto two John Natalie impressed the ATV Racin’ Nation again. The class veteran and two-time champ showed yet again his true Ironman spirit. If you saw him on the podium or listened to his speech you would say that he seemed pretty spent, and the behind the scenes story on that is that he was. It’s not often you seen John tired, but this week he was. It was not from a lack of training or his age or anything like that. It was the simple fact that he had driven all night the night before arriving to the track at just past nine on Saturday morning. He had attended his daughter’s graduation on Friday evening and loaded the family and drove the entire way. So again it shows he is still truly an Ironman in life as much as racing, setting an example that everyone of us should follow as not only a racer but as a family man and father.

The battle in moto two was a very strategic one. Anyone that has ever raced John Natalie knows that if you get around him you have earned your position. Even Chad Wienen who pulled into second early was very cautious of this and didn’t push the envelope. Hetrick laid back in third occasionally showing some wheel, but more than anything watched what happened. Chad finally got around John and then it was time for Joel to make his moves. He was able to work his way by Natalie and began to a chase on Chad. Eventually catching Chad, they came together in a racing incident, which left Chad upended and some ground to make up and now behind John in third. In the end Chad was able to get around for second and salvage a handful of points in his fifth championship bid.

There were a few heated words exchanged amongst the two after the race but obviously cooler heads prevailed and the situation seemed to calm down. As Joel put it, “this is a championship battle” and Chad even said it was a “racing incident,” which was a good indication the rest of their disagreements will be handled on the track. It’s very unclear what’s going to happen in the end but at this point Joel Hetrick is making it look possible that he may position himself to make the best run so far at winning the title he has dreamed of for so many years.

As far as Sunday goes, it didn’t. The rains that fell overnight and coming in from the Gulf of Mexico left promoters with no other choice than to cancel moto two and Pro-Am racing. There were a few ideas tossed around possibly moving the event to the AMA Pro ATV final round at the Edge of Summer Motocross at Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in September. The promoter said he was willing to donate the purse to the event to increase the payout. It is still unclear what exactly will happen for sure for the round but the ATVPG is working to secure the best possible solution. An announcement will be made soon according to Harv Whipple.

So with no racing on Sunday, the moto one scores once again counted toward the championship. This week there were only two classes with divisions so the results may be leaning toward what we can see in the latter half of the championship.

One thing I would like to mention before I go though is Noah Mickleson. Noah may quite possibly be one of the quickest advancing riders of the year. He has all but dominated every time he is on the track and shows speeds now nearing A class riders in the Open B and 450 B classes. Both Cody Ford and Grayson Eller whom we have mentioned a few times this year are both keying on his speeds. Grayson who has seen steady speed increases said, “He’s so fast that if I look up and can see him in the same straight I feel like I’m doing good. He is as fast as any A class racer out there right now.” And that makes sense to see the improvements like that when you consider he has been training and focusing on achieving exactly what we are witnessing. Noah is racing the B class but right now he looks like he is training for the A class and this will help the rest of the contenders as they have something to strive for. These B class battles are going to get even better this season and again you can’t afford to walk away from the fence for even a moment or you might miss something big.

That’s it for me for now. Let’s check in with Gloop’s Loop and with Ken “watching my garden grow” Hill. Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.

In The Loop with Gloop:

Federico Palacios was having some fun at the Monster Mountain ATVMX National.

Make sure to check out the highlight video and stay tuned for one exciting full tv show from Monster Mountain.

Keeping up with Ken Hill:

Now I couldn’t have been hurt for the High Point mudfest, but I had to be hurt for what looks like one of the best races in the Pro class so far this season! It hurt me so bad not being at this round seeing how cool the track looked and then of all things, Hetrick and Wienen in another epic battle! I can only hope we go back to this track because watching the video clips from RacerTV and seeing my man David Smith’s pictures had me singing the blues as the weekend unfolded! The track looked prime, the action looked like some of the best of the year and the sick jumps were just making me want throw things or turn off the laptop! Also, how about that airborne assault that gave Hetrick the lead as he flew over Chad to take the lead or moto two where it was again a dogfight! 

I know many of you can relate to my hurt, and man was it strong as the day played out as I sat home brewing and stewing in my own misery. The social media updates were just killing me, but I wanted to be ready if the series needed help with updates and to try to keep tabs on what was going on and I was dying with this not being a live feed weekend so I apologize to those I messaged as I tried to get some info! I do thank all of those who asked if I was dead! It is an awesome season to be a fan as the championship points battle looks to be going full boil as another round was a pressure cooker! I know Rodney will be all over the racing side of this and I can’t wait to see what his thoughts were as the events played out in front of him. 

Sitting this one out also gave me a chance to see things from a different perspective and I was happy and then sad as Friday and Saturday there seemed to be a flurry of activity but it was inconsistent. I know Gloop was like one lone sheep out there as he updated social media for the series and literally worked that side of it all by himself this weekend. I think that is something we need to work on and make sure that we have someone dedicated to the updates because I know how hard it is to try and get your job done and do the social media stuff so kudos to him for his continued efforts!

And of course, Sunday was a bust due to the rain that moved in. While a few images posted around were funny as people got towed out it is indeed no fun at all, but everyone seemed to make the best of it. The posts I read from the majority were upbeat and positive even if the weekend ended short for the bulk of those who attended. It is just one of those seasons and we just have to roll with the punches. One thing that I knew is that it was hot as virtually every post from Friday had a mention of the 100+ degree temps and skin blistering sun! That part of it I did not miss and with my decision to stay home and heal up I was confident that if I had tried to hump in that heat hurt I would have been destroyed so my hats off to everyone who sucked it up and did what they had to do! 

Next up is Sunset Ridge and then on to Spring Creek, two tracks that have proven to be major Chad Wienen strongholds so I fully expect to see another great pro race as things should get real if Hetrick can bring the fight to Chads home town track and out muscle him at Spring Creek. Hetrick is riding very strong and getting his bell rung last year at Spring Creek did nothing for him as far as giving Chad the race I know he wanted to take to him. Those two tracks could play well into John Natalie and Jeffrey Rastrelli, who both saw podium finishes in Alabama so hold on to your hats folks, it isn’t over till its over!