Slaw Dog
Annnnnnnnnddddddddddd we’re back at the Ranch for the 2020 Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship. While most of the motos are live on RacerTV all week, we know you have jobs and such and can’t watch them all, so we’ll be spotlighting some classes each day throughout the week—Slaw included.
Here’s 6 ½ things we saw from the third day of racing.
1. 250 B is the Class to Watch
Slaw told you boys and girls on Tuesday that the 250 B class was going to be the best racing of the week. And guess what? Slaw hit the damn bullseye. You’re welcome!
The second moto was a damn wild one. Nicholas Romano had the holeshot but was quickly gobbled up by Matthew “the guy from Friends” (Slaw tm) LeBlanc and “Kenny The” (Slaw tm) Jett Reynolds. These two threw down for a while, with approximately 3,000 changes (exact science) for the lead. Reynolds finally was able to open a small gap on LeBlanc but threw it away with a huge crash in the 10 Commandments on lap 8 (of 11). Reynolds would not return to the race and DNF’d, ending his chances at the title.
After showing major speed early, LeBlanc looked to take the moto win, but…
Oh, hell, that’s Nate Thrasher’s music!
Thrasher had other ideas and put in a HUGE charge from sixth (on lap 1) to pass Romano and pull onto the rear wheel of LeBlanc for the lead, eventually taking over the no. 1 spot on lap 9.
Despite his win, Thrasher’s title chances are close to nil, as a crash while running fourth on the final lap in the first moto led to a ninth-place finish. LeBlanc is in control of the title with 1-2 finishes.
Moto 2 Top 5
- Nate Thrasher
- Matthew LeBlanc
- Nicolas Romano
- Kaeden Armerine
- Chance Hymas
Top 5 Through 2 Motos
- Matthew LeBlanc 1-2
- Chance Hymas 2-5
- Nate Thrasher 9-1
- Kaeden Amerine 7-4
- Tommy Rios 5-7
2. Old Faces, New Places
The opening moto of the 25+ class was a barnburner between former pros Jesse Wentland and Brandon Scharer, with Wetland edging Scharer by less than a second (.558) thanks to a pass in the final turn, on the final lap.
They were back at it again on Thursday with Scharer getting the better of Wentland to setup a winner-take-all showdown in the final moto.
Scharer got the holeshot in the second moto and fended off an early challenge from Robby Marshall (Marshall had bike problems later in the moto and DNF’d) while Wentland was stuck in eighth.
Scharer led the second moto start to finish while Wentland saved his championship hopes with an eighth to second place run. Luke Vonlinger rounded out the podium.
Moto 2 Top 5
- Brandon Scharer
- Jesse Wentland
- Luke Vonlinger
- Jake Loberg
- Brad Smith
Top 5 Through 2 Motos
- Brandon Scharer 2-1
- Jesse Wentland 1-2
- Luke Vonlinger 4-3
- Brad Smith 5-5
- Jake Loberg 7-4
3. Maximus the Greek
Big day for Maximus (Slaw refuses to call him Max, Maximus is too bad ass of a name to shorten it to just “Max”) Vohland.
He began the day with a hard-fought win in the second 125cc (12-17) B/C moto over Gage Linville. Vohland got the holeshot over Linville, but Linville passed him back and held the lead on lap 2. Vohland didn’t relent though and charged back to retake the lead a lap later. Linville was within striking distance until late in the moto when Vohland pulled away.
Later in the afternoon, in the second Schoolboy 1 (12-17) B/C moto, Vohland had a much easier time, leading start to finish over Talon Hawkins and Larry Reyes Jr. Vohland is now a perfect 4-for-4 on the week and looks to capture the 125cc (12-17) B/C and Schoolboy 1 (12-17) B/C titles.
125cc (12-17) B/C Moto 2 Top 5
- Maximus Vohland
- Gage Linville
- Talon Hawkins
- Larry Reyes Jr.
- Matti Jorgensen Jr.
125cc (12-17) B/C Moto 2 Top 5 Through 2 Motos
- Maximus Vohland 1-1
- Gage Linville 2-2
- Larry Reyes Jr. 3-4
- Talon Hawkins 7-3
- Matti Jorgensen Jr. 5-5
Schoolboy 1 (12-17) B/C Top 5 Moto 2
- Maximus Vohland
- Talon Hawkins
- Larry Reyes Jr.
- Matti Jorgensen Jr.
- Avery Long
Schoolboy 1 (12-17) B/C Top 5 Through 2 Motos
- Maximus Vohland 1-1
- Talon Hawkins 2-2
- Larry Reyes Jr. 3-3
- Crockett Myers 5-7
- Avery Long 8-5
4. Starting Line Costs Robertson
I would expect Stilez Robertson is pretty heated after the second Open Pro Sport moto on Thursday. Prior to the gate drop, a track worker appeared to be trying to hold the moto and was in front of a few riders. There was obviously miscommunication and the gate dropped. It took a few riders by surprise, one being Robertson, who got a terrible jump. He made his way to sixth by the end of the first lap, but the start made a huge difference in this moto.
Mason “Mike Alessi” (Slaw tm) Gonzales, who we think has gotten every holeshot this week (exact science), got the jump on everyone… AGAIN. With Gonzales putting distance between himself and Preston Kilroy, Robertson was left to charge through the pack. It took until lap 7 for him to get to second and he even made a run at Gonzales for the lead. Robertson was pressuring him until the last corner, but Gonzales held on for a less than a second win.
The two are now tied (Gonzales 2-1; Robertson 1-2) heading into the third and final moto.
Shoutout to Dilan Schwartz, who can’t seem to catch a break this week. After rounding the first lap in 21st (!) he charged to inside the top 10, before tangling bars with another rider heading into a turn and went down. He refused to give up though, and made it all the way back to fourth (!) at the end of the moto.
Moto 2 Top 5
- Mason Gonzales
- Stilez Robertson
- Preston Kilroy
- Dilan Schwartz
- Jyire Mitchell
Top 5 Through 2 Motos
- Mason Gonzales 2-1
- Stilez Robertson 1-2
- Preston Kilroy 4-3
- Dilan Schwartz 3-4
- Vincent Luhovey Jr. 5-6
5. Jarvis Closing in on Title
Jordan Jarvis is closing in on the Women title, after a dominating second moto on Thursday. Jarvis started second behind Tayler Allred, but wasted little time moving to the front. A few laps later, she had already stretched her lead to over six seconds. It only grew from there, as Jarvis went on to win the moto by 17 seconds over Allred. She is one moto away from the title after 1-1 finishes.
Moto 2 Top 5
- Jordan Jarvis
- Tayler Allred
- Tayla Jones
- Sophia Phelps
- Hannah Hodges
Top 5 Through 2 Motos
- Jordan Jarvis 1-1
- Tayler Allred 3-2
- Hannah Hodges 2-5
- Tayla Jones 6-3
- Viviana Contreras 4-8
6. Hanging with the Keefers
PulpMX/Racer X/test rider/podcast host/King of the Basement Husbands Kris Keefer won his second straight 40+ moto on Thursday. He had to work around Jimmy Jarrett, but he held on for the win by 7.8 second over Gregory Pamart.
Kris’ son, Aden, captured third in 250 C Jr. (12-17) Limited on Wednesday, making it the first time (in 2020? Maybe? We don’t know) that a father and son have podiumed this year—we think!
Moto 2 Top 5
- Kris Keefer
- Gregory Pamart
- Jimmy Jarrett
- Michael Treadwell
- Barry Carsten
Top 5 Through 2 Motos
- Kris Keefer 1-1
- Jimmy Jarrett 2-3
- Barry Carsten 3-5
- Kipp Posey 5-6
- Robb Floth 4-7
6.5. Photos of the Day
Whoa, boy. This was a big one. Crash sequence of Jett Reynolds crash while leading the second 250 B moto in the 10 Commandments.
Photos by Mr. Blake Keith
