SOUTHWEST LORETTA LYNN QUALIFIER
	Author: Brian Wilkinson	Features | Wednesday, 10 June 2009 13:01

The A Class

250 Pro Classes

Blake Baggett was on fire this weekend. He proved that he is the real deal by winning every moto he entered. Even when he ran into some trouble, overshooting a turn and ending up off the track and dropping three positions, he rode smart and mature. He regained his composure and set his sights on making up lost ground. With only four lap motos, there wasn’t much time to make up position, but Blake managed to do just that. He would go from fourth to second within a lap and a half. It looked as if Travis Baker had the moto win wrapped up, but Baggett wasn’t going to take second place without a fight. He quickly made time on Baker, and in the last turn of the last lap, Baggett put a pass on Baker and would take the moto win. Baker rode solid all day long, but had a bit of bad luck with some bike problems. Trent Pugmire, Tommy Weeck, Tyler Sjoberg, and Austin Howell all battled for position throughout the motos, as well. The A class is stacked, and all of these riders will soon be looking for rides to take their skills to the big show. Loretta Lynn’s will be the proving grounds for these riders. This is their time to shine, and everyone will be watching to see who comes out on top!

250 A	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3
Blake Baggett	1	1	1
Trent Pugmire	6	2	2
Tommy Weeck	4	3	3
Tyler Sjoberg	2	4	5
Austin Howell	5	5	4

250 A/Pro Sport	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3
Blake Baggett	1	1	1
Trent Pugmire	4	2	2
Travis Baker	3	3	6
Tyler Sjoberg	2	5	7
Tommy Weeck	9	4	3

450 Pro Classes

Pro-Tec Yamaha’s Travis Baker proved that he is the man to beat on the 450’s. Travis has always ridden the 450 well, and he is proving that he is a top title contender this year. Baker was the most consistent throughout the day, but Trent Pugmire was right on his tail for most of the afternoon and would also take a moto win in the 450 A/Pro Sport class. Trent was slightly inconsistent, and if he could just keep within the top three at all times, he could be a serious threat. Austin Howell earned himself respective third and fourth place overall finishes on the 450’s. Austin can run up front at times, but he also seems to struggle a little with inconsistency. Consistency is huge with the three moto formats. It might be harder on the rider to race three 450 motos and three 250 motos in one day, but Baker raced both classes and proved to be on top of his game.

450 A	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3
Travis Baker	1	2	1
Trent Pugmire	2	3	6
Nick Schmidt	5	6	2
Austin Howell	7	4	4
Travis Bright	6	7	4

450 A/Pro Sport	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3
Travis Baker	2	3	1
Trent Pugmire	4	1	5
Austin Howell	6	5	2
Travis Bright	5	6	3
Laine Mungeam	7	7	4

The B Class

Honda of Houston’s Michael Leib is healthy and hauling once again. This kid never gives up, and might have the most heart in the sport. We’ve seen Michael go through the best of times and the worse of times as well. Right now, he seems to be the guy to beat in the B class this year. Leib rode incredible all weekend long. He would take the overall in the 250 B stock class, the 250 B Mod class, and the 450 B mod class. Red Bull’s Jessy Nelson was on hand and, as usual, was riding solidly. Nelson stayed consistent and looks to be a top guy once again this year. Bryce Stewart and Bryce Vallee also had great weekends. Stewart would take the third transfer spot in the 250 B Stock class, and the fifth transfer spot in the 250 B Mod class. Another rider to watch for at this year’s Loretta Lynn’s will be the #17 of Nick Paluzzi. Nick trains with Buddy Antunez, and they are looking to be a strong force this summer. Nick took third in the 250 B Mod class and was the overall winner in the 450 B Stock class. If Nick could solidify his starts, we don’t think he would run outside of the top three. Jeagher Lafountaine has been missing in action for some time now, but is back on the track and it looks as if he never stepped away! Jeagher took a very well earned 450 B Mod second place overall. He also took fourth in the 450 B Stock class. With a little more training and track time, Jeagher just might be a top contender in the very near future.

 

250 B Stock	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3
Michael Leib	4	1	1
Jessy Nelson	1	4	3
Bryce Stewart	8	3	2
Brian Sjogren	3	2	15
Dylan Mckee	7	6	8

450 B Stock	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3
Nick Paluzzi	1	2	1
Bryce Vallee	6	1	2
Cole Martinez	2	7	3
Jeagher Lafountaine	4	6	5
Dakota Tedder	5	8	4

250 B Mod	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3
Michael Leib	1	6	1
Jessy Nelson	2	3	3
Nick Paluzzi	7	4	2
Chris Plouffe	6	2	7
Bryce Stewart	3	11	4

450 B Mod	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3
Michael Leib	1	1	2
Jeagher Lafountaine	4	2	4
Preston Tilford	6	3	3
Dakota Tedder	2	4	7
Bryce Vallee	5	8	1

 

Schoolboy 1 (12-16) B/C

Austin “Bulldog” Burns is looking extremely good on the two-stroke in the Schoolboy 1 class and would one up Dillian Epstein for the number one spot last weekend. Epstein looked very comfortable on the bike all weekend, and is a threat in the schoolboy class this year. Jordan Booker also put in a solid showing, taking the third transfer spot. Jordan is good friends with new rookie pro Max Anstie, and was seen hanging out with him all day on Sunday. Jordan is looking to follow in Max’s footsteps and hopes to be winning motos very soon. To round out the top five, Davik Okon would take the fourth spot and Yamaha rider Brandon Scharer would take the fifth spot. Brandon always hauls on the 80’s, and he seems to be adapting to the big bikes pretty well.

Schoolboy 1	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3
Austin Burns	1	2	1
Dillan Epstein	2	5	2
Jordan Booker	6	1	3
David Okon	4	3	5
Brandon Scharer	3	7	7

Schoolboy 2 (14-16) B/C

What more is there to say about Eli Tomac other then this kid is a machine!? Tomac was untouched in the Schoolboy 2 (14-16) B/C class, and he is looking to achieve the same results at The Ranch. Eli is a great starter, and with only four lap motos, this was a huge help! Eli would put a gap on the rest of the field each and every moto, and nobody was able to match this kids speed and smoothness. Chris Plouffe looked comfortable and up to speed as well. Plouffe had some good battles with Yamaha rider Bryce Stewart, and would edge out Stewart for second overall. Bryce Stewart would go 4-4-2 to beat out Jessy Nelson, who went 2-3-5 for the fourth position. Nelson took home fourth overall, and Brian Sjogren finished a solid fifth overall. Eli Tomac seems to be the rider in charge of the schoolboy class this year, and all eyes will be on him come Loretta’s.

Schoolboy 2	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3
Eli Tomac	1	1	1
Chris Plouffe	3	2	2
Bryce Stewart	4	4	2
Jessy Nelson	2	3	5
Brian Sjobgren	5	6	4

Four Stroke

Kawasaki’s Dakota Tedder proved himself in the Four Stroke class. Dakota would take 1-2-2 moto finishes for the overall spot. Preston Tilford had consistent 3-3-3 moto finishes which was good enough to give him second overall. Again, Jeagher Lafountaine rode strong, even taking the third moto win. Jeagher finished this class out with a third overall. Dustin Pipes and Cole Martinez finished fourth and fifth, respectively. This class is stacked with competition, and we should see some great battles throughout the year from these racers.

Four Stroke	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3
Dakota Tedder	1	2	2
Preston Tilford	3	3	3
Jeagher Lafountaine	4	5	1
Dustin Pipes	6	4	4
Cole Martinez	5	6	5

The C Class

250 C Stock

250 C Mod

The C classes had the most competitors lined up on the gate by far. A lot of Loretta Lynn hopefuls were on hand this weekend, but each class would only award five transfer positions. Chris Carrillo and Christian Young were the two riders that we saw out front most of the time in the 250 C Mod class. These two swapped positions and battled constantly. In the end, Carrillo would come out on top, with Christian Young in second. Michael Polittle would take third, James Hertz in fourth, and Anthony Deas in fifth.

250 C Stock	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3
Christian Young	3	2	2
Anthony Deas	4	3	3
Chris Carrillo	1	1	11
James Hertz	2	6	10
Richard Sterling	2	6	10

250 C Mod	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3
Chris Carrillo	1	3	2
Christian Young	7	5	1
Michael Polittle	3	6	4
James Hertz	10	2	3
Anthony Deas	2	4	11

450 C Stock

450 C Mod

Christian Young was able to put it all together in the 450 C Mod class. Christian rode smart, and secured the overall win. Christian seems to be a west coast favorite in the C class. Kyle Silva would take a very well earned second place overall. Anthony Deas had a good weekend, and put together third overall. Damion Tackett was a front runner most of the day, he just needs to have a little more consistency and Michael Polittle would round out to top five.

450 C Mod	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3
Christian Young	4	2	2
Kyle Silva	1	9	3
Anthony Deas	3	5	5
Damion Tackett	14	1	1
Michael Polittle	9	3	4

85 (12-13) Stock

85 (12-13) Mod

Yamaha’s Chris Alldrege went untouched in the 85 (12-13) class. Alldredge is a strong 85 rider, and seems very confident within himself. Very smart and consistent riding would pay off for Chris. Most of the battles were taking place with Darian Sanayei, Brandan Leith, Zachary Commons, and Connor Pearson throughout the day. These riders all mixed it up in the front of the pack and swapped positions in each moto. Connor Pearson had a little bit of trouble his first moto, but put that behind him and came out swinging for moto two and three. He would end up fifth overall on the day. Zachary Commons ended up in the fourth spot. Brandon Leith took the third overall spot, with an impressive second place finish in moto three. Darian Sanayei would finish second, behind Alldredge. Hats off to all of these riders for riding their best, and battling hard throughout the day.

85 (12-13) Mod	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3
Chris Alldredge	1	1	1
Darian Sanayei	3	2	3
Brandan Leith	4	4	2
Zachary Commons	2	6	5
Connor Pearson	8	3	4

85 (9-11) Stock

85 (9-11) Mod

The 85 (9-11) Mod class was definitely up for grabs. Each moto would see a different winner, so the best consistency would play a huge part in taking one of the top five transfer positions. Kawasaki riders Chase Bell and Blake Green both saw moto wins, but neither would take a spot in the top three. The top three overall finishers didn’t even have to win a moto! Tristan Miller would stay the most consistent with 2-2-3 moto finishes, and earned first spot. Volcom rider Mark Worth put together a second overall upon salvaging an eighth place finish in moto two. Justin Hoeft would go 5-4-5 and secure the third spot. Blake Green, who may be one of the favorites in the class, had some tough luck and would go 4-1-10 for the fourth spot. He took the second moto win, so we know he has the speed. Green is a super fast rider but just needs to keep it on two wheels and he will be with the front of the pack. Chase Bell also saw a victory, taking the win in the third moto. The first moto was rough for Chase as he would only be able to muster an 11^th. He came back in the second moto and improved by six positions, taking fifth. Then he put it all on the line in moto three, and came out on top. Bell would take the fifth overall transfer spot in the 85 (9-11) Mod class.

85 (9-11) Mod	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3
Tristan Miller	2	2	3
Mark Worth	3	8	2
Justin Hoeft	5	4	5
Blake Green	4	1	10
Chase Bell	11	5	1

85 (9-11) Stock	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3
Blake Green	3	6	1
Chase Bell	4	2	4
Justin Hoeft	7	1	6
Tristan Miller	5	8	2
Jesse Sanchez	2	5	8

Supermini 1 (12-15)

Team Green Kawasaki’s Zach Bell is on a mission. This kid has some serious speed and talent, and is putting it all to use! If this kid keeps doing what he is doing, he might be the next big thing on a big bike here very soon. Zach took home the overall in the Supermini 1 class. He is no newcomer to running up front, and we expect him to keep doing what he is doing throughout the year. Behind Bell, there was some exciting racing between Allderedge, Eckman, Epstein and Colt Nichols, who all have a shot at a podium down in Tennessee.

Supermini 1 (12-15)	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3
Zach Bell	1	1	1
Chris Allderedge	2	2	2
Garrett Eckman	3	5	4
Dillan Epstein	6	6	3
Colt Nichols	4	4	7