Phoenix Racing Yamaha’s Joel Hetrick wasted no time in asserting his dominance, claiming the fastest qualifying time as well as winning his heat race. Hetrick’s dominance has proved to be nearly impossible to break as this incredibly talented racer usually can be counted on to shut down all challengers and continued his winning streak here at Daytona making todays overall his third straight. From holeshot to the checkered flag, Hetrick remained in full control as he faced a brief early race challenge from Ford Brothers Racing/FXR/SSi Decals/CST’s Bryce Ford. Like a light switch, Hetrick pulled a comfortable margin and never saw another rider in front of him unless it was a lapper he was putting behind him. With passing becoming even more difficult due to broken down machines, Hetrick rode smart and clean as those behind him settled in for most of the moto.

Ford had a solid seat to Hetrick’s win as he gave chase in second and like Hetrick, never faced a position challenge. Ford would comfortably take a well-earned second. Behind Ford however, riders were feeling the pressure as the lap count racked up. The time to make things happen was running out fast as WestLand Motorsports/JH Racing/PEP/GoldSpeed’s Brandon Hoag powered his way past GennUSA Racing/SSi Decals/Kenda/Action Off-Road’s Nick Gennusa for third and would round out the podium. Hoag has been one rider with all eyes on him as he has proven he can run upfront but has lacked the consistency in past seasons to be effective in busting up the continued Hetrick/Wienen battle. A solid showing here may be the catalyst to get him on track to be a threat this season.

JH Racing/Pep Performance/Shiffer Powersports’ Westley Wolfe had a solid showing, earning fifth on the day overall. For others, the ATVSX was not kind and found themselves running way back or not finishing at all. One rider that is usually in every corner either leading or challenging for the lead is Wienen Motorsports/Maxxis/SSi Decals/Fly Racing/Yamaha’s Chad Wienen. Wienen suffered a preseason injury and was not 100% heading into the opening round, 11010but his heart and determination had him on the gate, ready to do all he could and that’s what he did. After getting slammed around in the first turn, Wienen found himself holding the fifth spot for the early part of the moto before being passed by Max Lindquist. Shortly afterwards, Wienen was off the track and out of competition. At the time of this writing, there was no official word from the team as to a cause or reasoning behind the DNF. In any event, the season just stung Wienen yet again as he faces many challenges to get back into the elite group that lands on the podium.

The Pro Sport main was filled with solid racing from the first few turns to the last few laps. With crashes and mistakes taking out some of the biggest names, the fight back to the front was going to be tough. The switch lines offered little in the way of any advantages however Joey Norris and Jayden Londerville proved you could pass and that’s exactly what they did. It took nearly the entire moto, but Norris was soon overtaking the leader as Londerville marched through the class and now held second! It was an amazing race as these two left everything they had on the track and earned the right to stand victorious on the podium. Joining them to take the final podium position was Heath Hannah whose exhaustion showed just how brutal the moto was.

With the 2024 ATVMX season underway, the names have remained virtually unchanged up front as we look down the road and are left to speculate how things will unfold. The entire ATVMX program will unleash itself at Underground MX in Kemp Texas as this young season has already had the door kicked in here at Daytona.

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