Photo Report | Millville National 2024
Spring Creek Motocross | Round 7
First is a big word regardless of the style of racing you follow. For many, application of the word can be celebrated at many levels when looking into racing at a national level. A first time at a national, first time qualifying, first time in the top 10, first time on the podium, first win, all of those applications are huge and help highlight how significant Pro Motocross is for riders who chose to participate.
While Spring Creek is far from the first national of the season, it has a storied history of creating many firsts for riders who brave one of the most challenging tracks in the season. This year was no exception as we saw many new items go into the record books, and some instances may have fallen off the radar to the general public.
First Pro National - MN Native and District23 rider Brandon Espe made his pro debut at a track he grew up at. Though qualify times did not get him into the motos, his time with Alex Martin’s Troll Training sure did show some good results. Always a kid who had good form, and good spirit at the track, Brandon qualified 48th ahead of many other skilled riders, and put in a solid consolation race finishing in 13th.
First top group qualify time - While records for un-seeded riders are a bit harder to come by, I am fairly confident in reporting an awesome achievement for Waconia MN rider, Cameron Skaalerud. Like Brandon Espe, Cameron Skaalerud grew up racing at Spring Creek and is a rider we have known for many years. While not his rookie year at Pro Motocross, Cameron is far from a full time rider, but you wouldn’t have known it if you watched him rip through the first 450 qualify session. Sadly despite the great speed in session 1, Cam wasn’t able to put together a faster time for the 2nd session which saw him outside the top 36 to make it safely into the motos.
First Pro MX round with new Thor Logo - Thor MX is an icon of the motocross community and one of the best known gear manufacturers in the industry has dropped a new logo for the August 2024 line. Dubbed the Next Gen, the logo is definitely different than their iconic previous… well … icon.
First 450 Moto & Overall Win - Definitely not Chase Sexton’s first time to Spring Creek Motocross, this rider has been on the podium here before, however neither a moto, nor overall win has been achieved by this Illinois rider. While some may credit this win to an exit by one of his top competitors, I am personally not sure that would have made much of a difference as in this round.
Chase demonstrated significant speed in both motos pulling off quite a gap between himself and 2nd place Hunter Lawrence. In similar vein, leads by Jett (or Interval of time behind the leader) had not been as significant as compared to previous years. I don’t think Jett had slowed down in 2024, I think Chase upped his fitness, and upped his game!
First Moto Win at Spring Creek, First moto win of 2024, first overall of 2024 - Levi Kitchen is proving to be a calcuated, and relentless 250 rider still early in his Pro Motocross career. While overshadowed by others in some metrics, Kitchen continues to have a stable, yet calculated approach to his riding.
Speed is always there, and his style / attitude on the track reminds me of Tomac or Dungey as opposed to a sometimes less effective showboat style some other younger riders are known for. Regardless, Kitchen overcame the heat, changing track conditions, and with some great luck, mastered his first sweep of 2024.
First Podium after joining Star Racing - Perhaps known as the worlds most friendly British Moto dude, Max Anstie has switched brands and is now a member of Star Racing Yamaha. While his racing has been good overall, up until moto 2 at Spring Creek, a podium finish had escaped this talented rider thus far. Max looks like he will be earning his stripes on one of the most competitive factory teams in the sport.
First 2nd place pro Motocross finish, first 3rd overall - Casey Cochran is a rider I don’t know well personally, but I have had the opportunity to watch him for years at qualifiers as well as Loretta Lynn MX over the past few years. With his family being friends with my usual host at such events, I have always had interest in seeing this kid do well. Spring Creek 2024 was a great day for such a hope, as quite a few variables came together to give him opportunity to shine.
With rain causing a delay, and relatively difficult track conditions for Moto #2, a significant collision happened at the start which contributed to an already great start for this Florida rookie. Holeshot earned, it was Casey’s opportunity to sprint as fast as he could to evade the freight train of riders behind him.
Listening to clips I recorded early in the laps, series announcers really didn’t give much focus / thought to what was going on, focusing on where their usual subjects were further back in the field while Casey continued to pull a significant lead. It was 9 laps later that Levi Kitchen finally caught Cochran to take over the lead. That would be the only rider who made a pass on Cochran which solidified both his first podium as well as his first overall top 3 finish in his pro motocross career.
We had a great time covering this round and are looking forward to following the series to the next stop in Washington next weekend.
HardlineMX | Ironman MX
Ironman 2023 is a first for us at HardlineMX, for the first time ever, both Casey Hultgren and myself Matt Wellumson are credentialed to cover a round of Pro Motocross. We cannot thank MX Sports enough for the opportunity and hope to continue growing with this amazing motorsport!
For Friday August 25, Casey and I attended a special pre-race press conference where top riders and top teams attended a press conference to discuss the season and upcoming SMX chamnpionship.
Discussions within the press conference mostly focused on the upcoming Super Motocross season, with added salt of discussing individual achievements in the careers of the 250cc riders that are staged to graduate to 450 class in the next season.
We took to the mic to ask Jo Shimoda how it has felt being part of the international stage here in the US. We asked if he feels like he is here to represent his country ini this international stage, and if he enjoys the fanfare that is popping up for this great young Japanese rider. He responded that he doesn’t feel like an ambassador, but does enjoy the fanfare that has popped up for him, including unique ways to celebrate his nickname “Sushi”
What was interesting to hear from a few of the top riders, was how they commented on how long the season has become when you factor in the link between Outdoors and Supercross. Now with the final championship rounds that push us into fall, it will be curious to see how that factors into how much people put on the line for the final season payout.
Closing out, the media had an opportunity to talk to HRC team manager Lars Lindstrom regarding what could be a historic and first ever full sweep of manufacturers titles.
‘23 SCMX National | Amateur Day Gallery (MXMatt)
I was onsite for @hardlineMX on Friday July 14 2023. If you attended on this race day, there is a moderate chance I nabbed a shot or two of you. Please help support this site and my work and purchase a photo or two from this event!
Thanks!
ARMCA DISTRICT 23 EVENTS / MAY 6-7
There is 3 ARMCA AMA District 23 races going on this weekend. In motocross, the North region race is at Echo Valley Motopark in Brookston, Minnesota and the Central region race is at BCMX Adventure Park in Cambridge, Minnesota. No South region race this weekend either. Then the first D23 Hillclimb kicks off this weekend at Indianhead M/C in Red Wing, Minnesota. Here’s more details on the events this weekend!
MOTOCROSS
ECHO VALLEY MOTOPARK (BROOKSTON)
BCMX (CAMBRIDGE)
HILLCLIMB
INDIANHEAD M/C D23 HILLCLIMB
Indianhead M/C
521 Maple St, Red Wing, MN 55066
Make sure to get signed up online at imc.clubexpress.com
Gates open 8AM each day
Racing starts at 10AM each day
Late sign up is 8:15AM - 9:15AM each day
There will be a late fee sign up of $25 per class.
MOTOSPORT OAK RIDGE CORN BELT BATTLE PRO-AM
Motosport Oak Ridge Corn Belt Battle Pro-Am going down this weekend at Oak Ridge MX in Garwin, Iowa. Here is the weekend schedule for the race and everything else you need to know!
GATE TIMES/GATE FEES - Camping is FREE
Early Arrival - FRIDAY Gates Open 4PM-10PM
$35 per person - 4 and under free
Practice - SATURDAY Gates Open 7AM-10PM
$25 per person - 4 and under free
Racing - SUNDAY Gates Open 6AM
$15 per person - 4 and under free
MotoSport will be giving every single person that pays a gate fee $20 back!!!
SATURDAY OPEN PRACTICE
- 9AM-2PM
- No membership required to practice
- $35 Practice Fee (per class)
- Sunday Racing Sign-up 2PM-4PM
- Field of Dreams HAY RACK RIDES - WEATHER PENDING 5PM
- Staging behind start gate
- Stacyc Racing - 6PM - Stacyc Track
- MotoSport Pit Bike Straight Rythm - 7PM
NEW RULE REMINDER - Chest Protectors required for all youth classes! See AMA Rulebook!
SUNDAY RACING
- AMA CARDS REQUIRED
AMA Pro-AM Points
$5,000 Pro Purse!
PRO AM POINTS 450 Pro - 250 Pro - 15 minute motos - Pays per moto
SIGN UP 6AM-8AM
$45 per class ($20 back from Motosport!)
RIDERS MEETING 8AM
PRACTICE FOLLOWING
RACING BEGINS 9:30AM - Race order will be posted midway through practice announced over PA and posted to FB page - Track radio 87.9
Oak Ridge MICRO TRACK
Riders Meeting 8:30AM
Practice starts 9AM
Racing begins around 10AM
Pit Pass $5 - all pit vehicles must have a sticker
Pit area speed limit 5 MPH
NO pit vehicles after 8PM
No riding on the road or in ditches
Must have pit pass on pit vehicle at all times
2 Pitbike tracks open during daylight hours free of charge
Full face motocross helmets must be worn
STACYC ONLY track is open all day free of charge
NO REFUNDS AT THIS EVENT
MOTOSPORT WILL BE GIVING AWAY SPECIAL AWARDS THROUGHOUT THE WEEKNED TO SELECT CLASSES! Stay tuned for more!
Class List
2 Stroke Open - 122 cc-500cc Motorcycle; A, B, or C rider
250 Pro - 122cc-250cc Motorcycle; A rider
250 B - 122cc-250cc Motorcycle; B rider
250 C - 122cc-250cc Motorcycle; C rider
Open Pro - 122cc-OPEN Motorcycle; A rider
OPEN B - 122cc-OPEN Motorcycle; B rider
OPEN C - 122cc-OPEN Motorcycle; C rider
25+ A - 25+ years old; A rider, 122cc-OPEN
25+ B/C - 25+ years old; B or C rider, 122cc-OPEN
30+ A - 30 years and older; A riders, 122cc-OPEN
30+ B/C - 30 years and older; B or C riders, 122cc-OPEN
40+ A - 40 years and older; A rider, 122cc-OPEN
40+ B/C - 40 years and older; B or C rider, 122cc-OPEN
50+ - 50+ A,B,C rider 122cc-open
14-24 B/C - 122cc-OPEN; B or C riders
Women 12+ - 99cc-250cc 12+ years old; A,B, or C rider
65cc (7-9) - 59cc-65cc Modified. Age 7-9 yrs. old
65cc (10-11) - 59-65cc Modified. Age 10-11 yrs. old
65 Open 7-11 - 59cc-65cc 7-11 years old
85cc (9-11) - 79-85cc Modified. Age 9-11 yrs. old
85cc (12-15) - 79-85cc Modified. Age 12-15 yrs. old
85 Open - 79-85cc 9-15 years old
Supermini (12-16) - 79-112cc 2 stroke, 75-150cc 4 stroke, 12-16 yrs. Old
Schoolboy 1 (12-17 yrs old) 86cc - 125cc 2-stroke 75cc - 150cc 4-stroke
Schoolboy 2 (12-17) 122cc - 150cc 2-stroke 126cc - 250cc 4-stroke
1- 51cc SR 7-8 years old - Main Track
2- 51cc Open - 4-8 years old - Main Track
3- Mini E 7-8- Main Track
MICRO TRACK
4-51cc JR 4-6 years old - Micro Track
5-51cc 4-6 years old 2 stroke shaft drive - Micro Track
6- 51cc 4-8 years old Special Limited -Micro Track - 51cc 2-stroke 50cc - 51cc 4-stroke Class limited to the following models: Cobra P3, Cobra PW3, Cobra GI, DRR DB-50 JR, Honda XR50, Honda CRF50, KTM Mini Adventure, KTM 50 SX Mini, Suzuki JR50, Kawasaki KDX50, Yamaha TTR50, and Yamaha PW50.
7-Yellow Jackets 12-15 years old +- Micro Track
8- Hornets 7-11 Years old (Beginners)- Micro Track
9- 51cc – 4-8 years old – oil injected - Micro Track
10- Mini E – 4-6 – Electric - Micro Track
For more info on Oak Ridge MX visit - www.OakRidgeMX.com
And I will be in attendance for this race so stay tuned to our socials this weekend for live updates from the race!
NASHVILLE SX TEAROFF
Photo: Matt Wellumson / @mxmatt
Nashville Supercross is done and dusted! Lots happened in the Music City and we are here to break it all down with our thoughts from round 15 of the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series.
First off, I think Nashville is an awesome city to host a Supercross! The city is tons of fun and your within walking distance from the stadium to downtown Nashville. I’m hoping the series makes Nashville an annual stop and my opinion, if we can’t go back to Las Vegas for the season finale. I think we should use Nashville as the new last round of Supercross just because of the downtown scene, how close it is to the races, and it’s not called NashVegas for a reason!
Now on to the races, let’s start with the track! Rain was in the forecast for the weekend and looking be another mudder so the Dirt Werx crew covered and sealed the track early in the week. It did end up raining later in the week but when they peeled off the tarps for Friday’s track walk, it was bone dry with soft, wet spots in the transitions of the jumps and whoops. Then, Saturday kicked off. Track seemed to be in prime condition for practice and qualifying. Good lines were developed and track got faster as the day went along. Unfortunately, the track claimed a few racers in practice like Jason Anderson in the whoops and few more but was setting up for a awesome day of racing!
250 CLASS
Factory Honda’s Hunter Lawrence had a hefty points lead in the 250 East heading into this round but we wondering which Hunter we would get? Race-winning Hunter Lawrence or championship conservation Hunter, which all he had to do was start in the main event and he was champion. Hunter grabbed the holeshot but got passed by Jordon Smith in the second corner. Hunter kept calm for the first 5 minutes until Smith make a mistake thru the sand section and going off track which gave Hunter the lead. He then managed his lead the rest of the race and picked up his 7th win of the season. Hunter would claim the 2023 250SX East Championship and hold up that AMA number 1 plate for the first time in his young career! Congrats Hunter!
Video: Motorsports on NBC YouTube
Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Jo Shimoda also benefited on Jordon Smith’s mistakes moving up to second place and keeping tow with Lawrence. Shimoda picked up his first podium of the season in his third race coming back from injury. The #30 looks to be close to top form and will be a title contender come outdoors for the Pro Motocross season in the 250 class.
Jordon Smith did rebound after his near crash in the sand section and finishing the race on the 3rd step of the podium on his Star Racing/Yamaha. It’s been a great comeback season for Smith after a few years of setbacks and injuries which has been awesome to see!
Star Racing/Yamaha rookie, Haiden Deegan puts in another top 5 performance in what has been amazing season for him as he keeps clicking off the laps and gate drops in the Pro ranks. I wouldn’t say this is an out of reach prediction but I see him as a possible title contender in Pro Motocross.
In other notes from the 250 class, Minnesota’s own Jeremy Martin finished 6th after running in the top 5 majority of the race. He took East Rutherford off after a bad crash in Atlanta. Martin continues to keep building this SX season with gate drops and I think we will see vintage J-Mart come outdoors! Fellow Minnesotan, Henry Miller once again clicks off a top 10 finish in Nashville with a 9th on his TiLube/Storm Lake Honda. We’re also working on a upcoming Block Pass Podcast with Henry so stay tuned on that!
450 CLASS
The 450 class has been all out war since the Easter break between Eli Tomac and Cooper Webb and it’s been very exciting to watch this season! In 450 heat 1, we saw the two championship contenders go head to head. Tomac got the early holeshot with Webb in tow. Cooper took Eli high in the next corner and no contact was made but made the pass. They both went thru the whoops side by side with Eli on the inside coming into the corner and nicely returned the favor in that corner and Cooper had nowhere to go besides high in the berm then his front tire washed out over the top of the corner causing him to go down.
Video: Motorsports on NBC YouTube
Unfortunately, Adam Cianciarulo ran it to the back of Cooper Webb and that is the end of Webb’s 2023 Supercross season with a concussion which shows anything at any moment in time can happen in this sport. Now the question is when will we see Cooper on the gate again? Outdoors? World Supercross? Next season? And will it be on KTM or a different brand? We will have to wait and see but in the mean time best wishes and a speedy recovery to Cooper Webb!
Chase Sexton picked his 4th win of the 2023 season in Nashville. Sexton seems to have finally turned it around from his early season mistakes and is running flawless the last few rounds heading into the final two. Once Tomac got the holeshot in the main event and started checking out up to a 5 second lead with Chase running in 4th behind Ken Roczen, Justin Hill, and Barcia. Once he got around those guys he sprinted showing his raw speed once again catching Eli which I was impressed by! Of course he wasn’t going to put up much of a fight with Chase he didn’t need to beat him for championship. Once Sexton got around Tomac, he kept chugging comfortably along to a 15 second lead never looked back til the checkered flag. Its hard for me to bet against that Chase Sexton will win these last two rounds of Supercross while Eli just manages to be ok with second place the next two weekends to win the 2023 championship but anything can happen as we’ve seen the last couple rounds. FUN FACT, this is also the 3rd time this season that Honda HRC doubled wins in the 250 and 450 class in the night. Detroit, Atlanta, and Nashville.
Video: Motorsports on NBC YouTube
With Webb out and Sexton 18 points back, its almost a for gone conclusion that Eli Tomac will be your Supercross champion but we can’t rule out anything just yet! Either way the Star Racing/Yamaha rider has done what he needs to wrap up his 3rd Supercross championship. Will he be able to wrap it up in his home state of Colorado this weekend in Denver?
Photo: Matt Wellumson / @mxmatt
Ken Roczen continues to trend upwards here in the second half of the Supercross season on his Progressive/Ecstar/Suzuki with 3rd place finish in Nashville. It’s been very exciting to have Roczen on a Suzuki up in mix for podiums and race wins this season. Kenny rode a smart, clean race and now with Barcia out with injury, is he a shoe in for 3rd the next two weekends?
Props to Honda HRC’s Colt Nichols and Team Tedder’s Justin Hill with their first 450 top 5’s of the season! Nichols started out the season with a 6th at Anaheim 1 then it has been up and down season since and recently just coming back from an injury so this has got to feel good for Colt especially as a fill-in rider. Hopefully someone sees the potential and picks him up for Pro Motocross or at least the 2024 season! As for Hill, he’s been slowly building into this all season after not racing at all for 2 years, becoming a cop, and coming back. He was in 3rd majority of the race until Roczen caught him got caught up with a lapper to send him back to 5th where he finished. Good job Justin Hill! He’s another one that needs to be looked for a ride in 2024!
Video: Motorsports on NBC YouTube
Of course, I want to send a shout out to Justin Barcia. Bummer he went down over the dragons back in the main event which resulted in a broken collerbone. Sounds like he will be 100% for outdoors but dang! He was have such a good second half of the season since Daytona and saw as a threat to win these last 2 rounds! Get well soon Justin!
Photo: Matt Wellumson / @mxmatt
NEXT UP DENVER!
Revived and Relaunched!
We’ve done it!
New site, new look, HardlineMX is now relaunched as Hardline Media. After years with the same and somewhat limited site, we are happy to showcase that both Casey Hultrgren and myself Matt Wellumson are doing well, and still have high interest in the world of extreme motorsports.
Launched in 2011, HardlineMX started off as a collaborative venture between a few like minded individuals that had the shared goal of promoting the sport of Moto. Many have since moved on to bigger and better things, however Casey and Matt are still committed to the local scene, and and sharing the story of local and national motorsports we know and love.
Please keep tune to this site for more content, and activity as we finish both the 2023 Snowcross & AMA Supercross series at various sites across the country!
RYAN DUNGEY FOUNDATION RIDE DAY PHOTOS
It all begins with an idea.
Now live on my Photo website, is the full gallery from the Ryan Dungey Foundation ride day at BP Moto Ranch in Chisago City Minnesota. This event was the 2nd running of this fundraiser, from which all proceeds are offered up to St Jude to benifit children fighting challenging illness such as Cancer.
It is an honor to again be invited to shoot, and my request to everyone who attended is to purchase some digital photos, prints, or merchendise from the site. All proceeds will be donated to St Jude, and I will match every dollar spent with my own donation to the cause.