The 2016 ProX ATV Motocross National Championship presented by CST Tires heads west this weekend to the ATV Showdown at Sunset Ridge. The stage is set for fireworks even though we are still a couple of weeks from Independence Day and the air in the ATV Racin’ Nation feels nearly electric.

The intensity of the battle is starting to build as the battle for the championship begins to weigh heavy in many classes. Things appear to be getting a little more serious now that we have reached the halfway point of the season and turn toward the battle for championships. The idea that so many are still so undecided right now brings excitement in the air but also a feeling of serious business. The fun games may be over for many as the rain soaked season and canceled motos have left some feeling behind the eight ball. At the same time it has inspired confidence in others and will make the road to winning the championship for anyone a tough one.

The fuse for the AMA Pro ATV class may have been lit a few rounds ago and the two-moto sweep by Hetrick in Alabama may have been a prelude to the big show about to happen. As mentioned last week, anyone that was around knows that tensions were high for a few moments at the podium and even though they seemed to calm, I feel that it may have been a moment of ignition to Chad Wienen’s fuse which likely sent him home on a mission to come home to Walnut, Illinois and raise the bar to the next level. At the same time, Joel knows he poked the bear and may have woken the beast but also seemed confident that he was ready for the fight. The ATV Showdown should be just exactly that.

Though many eyes will be on the battle between Wienen and Hetrick there may be some others ready to fireworks of there own. Thomas Brown may be one packing a big boom this weekend. He has done well at Sunset Ridge on more boom this weekend. He has done well at Sunset Ridge in the past and after the luck he has the past few rounds he is due to turn things around. Aside from Brown there is Jeffery Rastrelli who has shown not only speed but consistency this season. He has yet to get the illusive win he is looking for but the sandy terrain the riders will face this weekend could be just what the doctor ordered.

Another couple factors you cannot overlook are John Natalie and Josh Upperman. Though Uppy has not had the season he had hoped each race shows more positives toward leaning in the right direction. It may be a good time for him to breakout and show the speeds he has yet to unleash. It’s been a learning curve for him but it seems like it may fall into place. As far as Natalie is concerned he is always the super threat each race. He is capable of holeshots; moto wins and even overall wins. It seems to go without mention each week that he is going to be a factor in the race no matter what. Even though he had the horrible injury last season he hasn’t let it stop him and the “Ironman” may be in a good position to pull one off this weekend.

Then of course no one can forget about Ronnie Higgerson. Higgerson is set to play spoiler himself. Whether or not he can get the win at this moment is not the question. Ronnie is working to find that consistent flow that will keep him upfront. Even though Alabama was not as kind to him as he had hoped, it was a good solid performance after his first podium at High Point. It may not have been what he or many had hoped for but it was solid and he stayed on the path to progression. This week should be another good week for the “Almost Evil” one and all the hard work is starting to pay off. 

The Pro Am and other amateur and youth classes are going to be off the scale and will pack a pre Independence Day fireworks display of their own. It will be curious to look at the points after this weekends racing. The points already are very tight in many classes and the progression and confidence levels of the riders will make this one again hard not to watch every gate drop type weekends.

As far as special things for this weekend, the folks at Sunset Ridge MX, Jan and Bob Pistole will host the annual Pink Out and Track Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness. This will be the sixth annual track walk and really is becoming quite a tradition of sorts for folks to have fun while participating in a good cause.

You will see lots of interesting ideas that folks have come up with to help bring awareness to the cause and they will all be trying to help raise money for the Susan G. Koman Foundation that has done a lot for the advancement of awareness and ultimately working toward a cure from disease that has affected us all in some way shape or form. 

The folks at 88 Live to Ride and JB Racing have some fun things planned. Debi Bartosek sent some information on a fun game that I think many will have some fun with and it should help to raise some funds for the cause as well. 

Join 88 Live to Ride at the JB Racing pits this weekend at Sunset Ridge MX in the fight against breast cancer. 88 Live to Ride and the JB Racing team will be doing their part to help raise funds – it’s called BRA PONG!! Very similar to another Pong game some of you may be familiar with as the object is to get the ping-pong ball in the cup!

For a donation, you will get three tries to get the ball in a cup, and make it or not, everyone will win a prize. To make it more interesting, when you give your donation you will be asked which

Pro you want your donation to be credited to. The Pro who raises the most money will have the honor of having all the money donated in their name (or team name) to Breast Cancer Awareness. 

Bra Pong will be set up to play starting Friday and will continue till after the Pro autograph session. This will give the Pros plenty of time to encourage their fans. Team members and supporters to play the game!! 

That’s it for me for now. Let’s check in with Gloop’s Loop and Ken “off the injured list” Hill. Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs. 

In The Loop with Gloop:

It's Chad Wienen's home race this weekend at Sunset Ridge, and I bet he is excited to see his home crowd!

Grayson Eller has been getting ready for Sunset Ridge this week. 

Keeping up with Ken Hill:

It is hard to believe we are rolling into round seven of the 2016 season and we actually stand a great chance of a beautiful weekend weather wise! Just keep in mind it is thunderstorm season and they can pop up and if one does it is Harv Whipple’s fault! In all seriousness, it sure looks like a great weekend awaiting us as we hit Sunset Ridge, which should be another highly contested race in the pro class. This big sandy track has played well into Chad Wienen who calls this track home and you know full well that Joel Hetrick would like nothing more than to show up and kick sand in both motos to take another win. On the other hand, you know Chad wants nothing more than to grab two moto wins and make his own statement. Two of the fastest guys on the planet poised once again to do battle and both have the ability to make it all happen. I am pretty sure the mental side of this is nerve racking especially for the defending champion who has repeatedly stated he couldn’t wait to get to the rounds that favor him. A loss here or at Spring Creek could be an issue for Wienen and a benefit to Hetrick who really has nothing to loose. It will be interesting for sure so stay tuned as the weekend unfolds! 

I was talking with my wife the other day when we were spending some quality time weeding one of the gardens about John Natalie. Here I am just a tad older than John and can barely go a month without some illness or injury hitting me and he is still out there like he was a twenty year old. It is always in amazement that many of us watch him do his thing every weekend and just stand there in awe as he truly inspires so many. I do not need to be in super shape, but I would like to be able to plant some seeds in the ground without feeling like a train ran me over. Then we have John over there tending a busted wrist going wide open over huge jumps and landing on the podium! I saw him slam Rastrelli at Ironman and knew he still had that fire and drive to win after all these years. This is not supposed to be how it’s done! Once a racer hits a wall they tend to retire or end up racing for 12th place, and not battling for wins and podium finishes! If you follow John on social media you will know he has no problem calling it likes he sees it regarding unmentioned pro riders who aren’t cutting it and I think he has a pretty good leg to stand on regarding the issue!

My message folder has been getting slammed as we head into the weekend with requests to bring some veggies to the race and I would love to, but I do not have any yet! The weather that has been punishing the series has also put a hurting on my growing efforts with cool then hot, wet then dry and throw in a late frost and well, I am struggling to get things fired up! I showed up last year at Spring Creek with literally a truck full of stuff and it will take a miracle to repeat! I had to take some of the advice I have given you all regarding a plan, sticking to it and always striving to do more and I hope this helps. My gardens are being built up in layers from here on out, starting at the bottom and working my way up through the stages of turning nothing into something. In the end, hopefully I end up with what I need to do what I want which is what you should be doing if you are an amateur coming up through the ranks. Lay the groundwork, work on it non-stop, control what you can, learn from your mistakes and succeed. Pretty simple! And yes, I make mini motocross tracks in the garden from time to time so remember to have fun in all that work! 

The halfway point of this season is drawing near for many of us with the GNCC season getting ready to go into the summer break. Sunset Ridge for the ATVMX and then the Snowshoe GNCC and back to Spring Creek, then it will be like a mini vacation as I get a weekend off here and there before the huge push as we hit Redbud, then the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National and finally our series finale at Loretta's. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago I was zipping across Florida trying my best to catch the series top riders for pre-season photos which I hope to do again in 2017 as it seemed to work out well. By mid February I am ready to get the heck out of here and enjoy some of the weather down south, and try to get caught up on who is doing what for the new season. I can still hear Chad Wienen chuckle as he commented on the upcoming 2016 season and the fight he knew he was in for. Not one bad word about his competition, just the passion to win and looking forward to a good fight. I am pretty sure Sunset Ridge will be just that so follow us on social media this weekend as we dive into another round of ATVMX!