Thursday at Dodge all the buzz was about the pros hitting the track and who was going to win what.  With names like Howell, Weigand, Vallee, Ingalls and Casillas on the sign up sheet, it was anyone’s game heading into the first round of motos.  The pro races produced some good battles throughout the field, but there was plenty of other racing on the track to take note of as well. Here is the way things unfolded yesterday.

Jesse Casillas showed everyone what he is made of in the 450 class as he took over the lead about half way through the moto.  He put a charge on and looked like he had the moto wrapped up but was not able to hold off the hard charging Timmy Weigand.  Casillas was able to hold onto 2nd in the 450 class and finished 5th on the 250.

 

Topher Ingalls jumped out of the gate quick in the 250 class and had a 10 second lead before the end of the first lap.  He checked out early and ran his own race until about three laps to go in the race.  Austin Howell was then able to chase Ingalls down. Despite an aggressive charge by Howell, Ingalls was able to hold him off and take the win.

 

Austin Howell was on the gas in both the 250 and 450 classes today.  He did not get off to ideal starts in either moto but he was able to work his way forward to put himself in 2nd in the 250 class and 3rd in the 450 class.  Austin is looking strong, if he gets a good start it will be hard to take a win away from him.

 

Timmy Weigand looked good on board his JCR Honda 450 as he worked hard to get himself within striking distance of Casillas.  He found his spot to make the pass and took advantage of it, once he took the lead he pulled a gap and took the win.  He also looked good on the 250 as he got off to a bad start but charged to a 3rd place finish.

 

Bryce Vallee put in some solid laps in both classes today, which marked the first big pro race of his career.  He got a mid pack start on his 250 and was able to find his way into the 6th spot and right to the rear wheel of 4th and 5th, but it was too late for him to make anything happen and he had to settle for 6th.  When the gate dropped for the 450s he jumped out and was in 3rd before he hit a big breaking bump and wrapped his foot around his foot peg.  He said he was in a lot a pain and dropped back to about 8th, he then pulled things together and was able to finish in 4th.  After the race Bryce was hobbling around and said he was in quite a bit of pain but will be back in action tomorrow for his second set of motos.

 

Jeagher Lafountaine is making his last intermediate race count, he has taken a number of wins this week and is ready to start his mains.

 

This kid is on a mission and is showing that he is the real deal.  Tyler Bereman is on fire and is ready to go.  Bereman is in line for a number of titles this week.

 

It was an awesome race in the 85 7-11 stock class today. Cole Barbieri got out front early and was on the gas.  Barbieri, Justin Hoeft, Ryan Surratt, and Tristan Miller all went to war, though not one pass was made the four riders went at it.  It was the best battle of the week thus far and one we truly hope will continue into the final motos.

 

Alec Mellick came out from Texas to do battle here in CA and he is elated at his choice to make the trek.  Mellick has been impressive all week and took another win on Thursday; if things go well he will be taking a few titles back to Texas with him.

 

Chris Alldredge has been the fastest 85 on the track all week long, but he has not been able to stay off the ground.  Today he found his way to the checkers first and was able to keep it on two wheels.

 

Carson Mumford showed the rest of the boys around the track today to take the win on board his Cobra.

 

Gared Steinke was on the gas in the 450 pro class today, he lead about half the moto before Casillas made a pass on him.  Steinke fought hard for a podium spot but fell one spot shy by the time all was said and done.

 

Jesse Masterpool put in some solid motos again today.

 

Brandon Scharer was holding down 3rd in the 125 class but went down and finished just outside the top 5.  Two motos later he jumped on his supermini and was able to bounce back and finish 3rd in the moto.

 

Derek Drake and Michael Mosiman have been the guys to watch for in the 65 classes. Look for these two to battle it out for the top spot on the podium as the week comes to an end.