Sewell puts on a show in Mendota Mendota, Illinois - June 30 By Neil Dornik
A
fter a long night of showers, and more possible in the forecast, the riders at Megacross nervously unloaded their bikes, got them prepped and ready for what the night had in store for them, and I’m sure every rider there was praying it was nothing like the last race! The 14-24 class got the ball rolling with Logan Skaggs taking an early lead, while close behind was another Honda rider, Nate McLeese. The top two had a trail of green following, Jordan Mackiewicz, Mark Marincic, and Nate Hornung rounding out of top five on Kawasakis. Skaggs held off McLeese for a few laps, but half way through the race, Nate found a quicker line and took the lead. From there, he held on take the win. Hornung dropped back a few spots, while Travis Ward worked his way up into fifth. The +35 class launched off the gate next with Burton Lavens pulling off the holeshot. David Hayes, Roy Nafzger, James Rossi, and Troy Quest were all keeping it tight early. Lavens opened up some breathing room toward the end of the race, as the riders finished just as they started, but was in no way a snooze! The 50Sr class took off, and it was Ryder Schnowske with the holeshot. Second around the first corner was Hunter Billingsley on
#62 Travis Sewell gets the jump on the Open A class.
his KTM, just ahead of John Perovic. These three put on a show, pulling away from the rest of the group. Great race guys! Krystian Janik rocketed off to a great start in the 50Jr class. After finishing second in the heat, he now had a clean track ahead of him, and with family, friends, and fans screaming, it was time for a win. Janik led all five laps and took the win. Zachery Johnson finished second, and Hunter Savage landed the last spot on the podium. Open A rider Travis Sewell nailed the holeshot and led the riders until he made a small mis-
Ricki Williams battles in the always cool 125cc class.
48
CYCLE USA, August 2012
take just before the finish line in the first lap, costing him a few positions. Behind him off the start was Kevin Markwardt, Tommy Hofmaster, and Kyle White. But things were just heating up… After lap three, Sewell had gotten around Scott Zont and moved up into fifth. Hofmaster got by Markwardt after the straightaway, moving into the top spot. The fourth lap was intense between Justin Kelly and Zont, Sewell and White for third. White flag out, and within a few turns Sewell was able to get by Markwardt to take over second. He had about three-quarters of a lap left to see if he could edge out Tommy and make a comeback win. They were side by side over the double double step-up section, Sewell on the inside. He made the move, and made it stick. The checkers waved for Sewell followed closely by Hofmaster, and Markwardt. Now for the most distinct sounding class, the 125 twostroke class. Taking the holeshot and starting out with a commanding lead was Cory Catalani on his Yamaha. Jordan Mackiewicz grabbed another good start with a few KTMs behind him, piloted by Robbie Hyson and Brian Krohn. The riders fin-
ished how they started with Kyler Hyde rounding out the top five. Tommy Hofmaster took the holeshot in the +30 class with Burton Lavens right behind him on the first lap. Roy Nafzger got by James Rossi, moving up to third. On the next lap some bad luck struck Hofmaster and a chain break left him out of the race. David Hayes went down off the start but was really charging hard! In fact, he charged all the way to second behind new leader, Lavens. To finish off the night, Trevor Hayes pulled a holeshot in the 250C class, and led a fully packed (20+) class around a well rutted up track. It was a clean start, not one rider down, and Kyle Mitchell and Jono Mandelkle were right with Hayes. Also, Nick Blumer and Kallob Kite battled up toward the front until Kite went down after the infield. The top three, Hayes, Mandelkle, and Blumer, sat pretty comfortable in their positions, and took the checkers that way The real battle was for fourth. Dustin Bartz was coming through the pack, and with only about a lap to go, he made the pass on Mitchell. Well, I don’t see it getting