The final shot to make it to the big dance, also known as Loretta Lynn’s, at the end of July took place this weekend at the famous High Point Raceway. Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania played host to the Loretta Lynn North East Amateur Regional, and the most accomplished riders from the east coast showed up to earn their spot on the gate in Tennessee. Just one week ago the pros and factory teams stormed the pits at High Point for the Lucas Oil AMA National, but this weekend it was all about the ones trying to get one step closer to their dream of one day racing the Pro National. With the exception of making a few jumps smaller and taking out the back woods section, the layout of racetrack was pretty similar to what the pros rode the week prior. With this being the last regional, and the fact that many riders had already qualified, the attendance and competition wasn’t normal to a typical Loretta’s regional. Yet for some this was the last shot to make it in, and they weren’t going let the opportunity to make it to Loretta’s pass them by without a fight.

We’ll start this thing off with the big boys. Most of the Pro classes at High Point had a full gate, with mainly local pros vying for their chance to make it to Loretta’s. From just over an hour away came local boy Brian Shuckhart. Shuckhart is a local pro who does it the old-school way and brought out his two-stroke for the weekend. Brian actually qualified the week prior for the National where he finished 35th in the 450 class. He came back this weekend to show the local boys how it’s done, and managed to put it to some of the top Amateur National riders in the process. He was ripping it up on his two-stroke and pulled some impressive leads over top riders such as Taylor Futrell, Lowell Spangler and Mike Mcdade. In the 250 A/ Pro Sport class Brian went 1-1-3 for the overall. He also took two seconds and a fifth home for the weekend. Brian has major potential and he demonstrated his talent in front of his hometown crowd. Consistency like this will get him recognized at the ranch for sure.

Pant Saggin Design’s Michael Mcdade has kept the ball rolling this year as he has stepped up his program and began to take things a little more seriously with his racing career. If you will recall from our report from the Red Bud regional a few weeks ago. Mike had sustained a broken fibula after a failed attempt at charging through the pack early into one of his motos. With a bit of nursing the past few weeks, he showed up this weekend with some bandages and tape ready to endure the pain and continue his quest of bringing home a title from Loretta’s. The plan was for Mcdade to just finish in qualifying position, but that wasn’t good enough as he apparently doesn’t like to lose. He left the first moto with a fourth in the 450 A/Pro Sport class, but managed to muster an impressive ride the next moto, bringing home the win. The final moto he and good friend Taylor Futrell went in tied, and Mike committed himself to taking the overall. The gate dropped and it was Mcdade and Futrell one and two. Futrell decided to make the early pass, but Mike wasn’t letting him go as he passed him back very quickly. The two battled the entire moto, but Mcdade was able to hold him off and take the overall with a 4-1-1. In the 250 class Mike had some bike issues, but was able to salvage a sixth overall, which was good enough for the big dance in August. If he can manage to keep himself healthy leading into Loretta’s, he’s got as good a chance as any at bringing home a title.

North Carolina’s Taylor Futrell showed up this weekend to qualify in the 250 A class after being disqualified from the regional at Mill Creek a few weeks ago. Taylor has been taking the talk and criticism about the whole situation very well and he’s still the same kind and caring kid he has always been. Despite threats of being protested, Futrell stated on the DMXS Amateur Hour last week that he would be running the same exact motor as he did at Mill Creek and would this time be bringing his own measuring tools to the track. Taylor managed to escape this one without drama and did exactly what he came to do by qualifying. He rode impressive all weekend and went home with the overall with a 2-1-1.

Kawasaki Team Green’s Lowell Spangler has already qualified, but showed up to High Point just to get some track time in. With a 1-1 leading into the final moto Lowell was on his way to taking the overall in the 450 A class, but got tangled up in a first corner crash and was only able to salvage a seventh overall. In the 250 A/Pro Sport class he took home second overall right behind Shuckhart.

Another impressive ride in the pro class came from Daniel Corbin, who sat in the third spot behind the top national riders in the 250 A and 250 A/Pro Sport class. Daniel has really stepped it up since last year when he made it to Loretta’s for the first time. He has a training program now with Coach Seiji and looks to be in much better shape. With support from Racer X, Daniel can focus on showing how far he has come. He could be a sleeper at LL this year. He’s a hard worker and when he’s not riding or training, he’s working to pay the bills to race. We can’t wait to see how he does this year at the ranch, and can easily say that he can be inside the top ten if all goes his way.

All the B classes were swept away this weekend by the #349 of Jason Brooks out of Connecticut. Swept isn’t an understatement either, as he took home all 4 B class overalls, including 9 out of 12 moto wins. Mr. Brooks may not be a familiar face quite yet, but by the looks of it, he’s looking to put his name on the map come August.

Next up, Zach Freeberg. Injuries have left Zach MIA since before Mini O’s, but he’s finally back. He didn’t necessarily look like the Freeburg of ole, but that’s not exactly what was expected of him, either. Keeping a top five pace wasn’t out of his reach this weekend, but he’s still got some work to do before we see him return to the front of the pack. It’s been a long, hard road for Freeberg over the last year and it’s good to see him still chasing his dream. Loretta’s might be too early for us to see what they young Canidae rider is really made of, but we are confident that he will return to the top of the podium before too long.

AJ Catanzaro took a Supercross title at Mini O’s this past year, and has done very well at the amateur nationals earlier in the Spring. He was on site this weekend looking for his spot on the gate at Loretta’s, and while he easily qualified, it doesn’t look as if he’s stepped up his program. Not to say that he doesn’t have blazing speed, but he’s been in the intermediate class for the last few years and was, at one point, looked at as one of the fast up and coming sleepers in the country; it seems as if AJ is at a standstill progression wise. Nonetheless, he was able to put in a solid finish in the 250 B Mod class where he finished 3-3-2 for second overall, but he’s going to have to find that speed we saw last year is he wants a shot at taking home gold from Loretta’s, which we believe is definitely possible for him.

MTF’s Nick Myers showed up this weekend and was the first rider to try the triple step up. If you’ve ever seen this jump in person you know why it’s such a noteworthy accomplishment. While it didn’t necessarily look that much faster, he made it work as he took home the top prize in the four stroke class with a 1-5-2 finish. He also took fourth overall in the 450 A class.

The C classes were wide open as a different rider took the overall in each class. In the 250 Stock class local boy Patrick Sharkey held down the fort; He rode impressive, and took him three moto win. Watch out for Sharkey at the National next month, as he looks to be a top title contender in the novice class.

In the 250 Mod class New York’s Kyle Jackson rode his way to an almost perfect weekend. A slight bobble in the final moto left him with a third, but his 1-1-3 was still good enough to leave him with the overall. Jackson was followed by Mike Miller and Aaron Lampi in second and third, respectively.

Another New Yorker by the name of Jake Scott showed up big in the 450 C class last weekend. He had a so-so start to the event by placing fifth in the first moto, but as the weekend went on things quickly began to turn around. Whether is was him getting better acclimated to the track, or just being able to calm his nerves, he turned it into an overall with a second moto win and a second in the final moto behind Pierre-Oliver Lavigne.

Multi-time National champion Keith Johnson had a perfect weekend in Mt. Morris. He may be over thirty five, but his riding and results do not show it. He put in six solid motos this weekend, taking the win in all six. He took the overall in Junior 25 Plus and Vet 35 plus class and should be a shoe in for a podium spot at Loretta’s.

The Senior 40 plus class was all Michael Treadwell. The first moto he had a little slip up as he took a third, but he rebounded in the second and third moto and finished off the weekend with back to back wins. Treadwell was able to take the overall in the Sr. 40 Plus class and fourth in Vet 35 Plus.

Veteran Ray Niebel almost swept the Senior 45 plus class, but Tim Coombs put a stop to that with consistent starts and smooth line choice. However, Ray acclimated to the track and found some good lines to help him take the overall win. Coombs would take third and fourth in the second and third motos, helping him take the final overall podium position.

That’s all from the final Amateur regional. The ones who did their homework and brought their A game earned a spot on the gate at the ranch, while the others will go home and work harder for next year. We will see you all at Loretta’s. It’s a little less than five weeks away, so go home and get ready!