REPORT | Jeff Crutcher
PHOTOS | Jeff Cox
Over the weekend, our friend Jeff Crutcher lined up for one of the first motocross races that we know of since the nationwide shutdown began. A competitor in the Pro Classes, Crutcher was more than willing to recap the night of action at Oklahoma Motorsports Complex that drew 400 entrants and got local photographer Jeff Cox to snap photos of the elite class for a write-up. With the fate of the 2020 Monster Energy Supercross Series and Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship seasons still uncertain, this could be the summer that local motocross racing bounces back in a very big way and we’re excited to see what happens at tracks around the country. If you have some insight on big events in your area, drop us a comment…
A month and some days after a nationwide closure of all non-essential business, local motocross comes back in record numbers at Round One for the Hot Summer Nights series at Oklahoma Motorsports Complex. Promoter Rodney Berryhill and GAME company moto coach Gregg Albertson wanted the return to normalcy to be a full-scale scorcher of an event, knowing there would be a large attendance by the fact of it being a rebound from lockdown. Berryhill changed from standard two moto format to a two-lap Heat Race and six-lap Main Event to entice more spectators and called on his colleague Albertson to hit the Rolodex of regional pro racers for an invite.
Always looking to do things a little differently, Albertson announced the Pro Stimulus Shootout, a crowd-sourced pro purse to help top riders in the area that typically race for a living bump-start their bank account. He, Rodney, and a litany of core moto fans turned their pockets inside out for a total purse of $3730, a massive cash payout for a local Saturday night race. The Stimulus program worked with great success, as the two Pro Sport classes had a total of 32 entries combined, and we all know the amateurs follow the endorsement of the pros for over 400 race entries with as many or more spectators. It’s worth mentioning now that both Pro Sport classes were open to all big bikes, with one Main Event that paid 100% for a six-lap brawl and a 10-lap Stimulus Shootout feature would spoil the top three with the large purse, plus 100-percent.
Justin, Texas’s Grant Harlan took gold in both Pro Sport mains aboard his TiLube/Storm Lake Honda CRF450R. Nothing about the double victory was easy, as he had Answer Racing backed Dustin Winter and Maxey’s Motorsports Chase Marquier to fight with. Both Pro Sport classes were similar in result sharing the same podium finish, and the doublet mains had barnburner action through the entire field. As a whole, the entire event was a great success and a fantastic start to the motocross season with top talent drawn to the race from as far as both California and New Jersey. Many on the coasts may consider this part of the nation to be flyover country, but rest assured the sport is healthy in the midwest as it farms up national-caliber racers from local races just like these.
Open Pro Sport Top-10 | $680 payout
1. Grant Harlan – Honda
2. Dustin Winter – Kawasaki
3. Chase Marquier – Honda
4. Michael Hicks – KTM
5. Preston Taylor – Kawasaki
6. Brett Greenley – Yamaha
7. Jeff Crutcher – KTM
8. Nick Maret – Suzuki
9. Gavin Delker – Honda
10. Giancarlo Clouser – Husqvarna
Pro Stimulus Shootout Top-10 | $3,730 payout
1. Grant Harlan – Honda
2. Dustin Winter – Kawasaki
3. Chase Marquier – Honda
4. Brett Greenley – Yamaha
5. Michael Hicks – KTM
6. Nick Maret – Suzuki
7. Preston Taylor
8. Jeff Crutcher – KTM
9. Zachary Butkiewicz – KTM
10. Giancarlo Clouser – Husqvarna
