2009 NBL ELITE SERIES CHECKPOINT - HOME TRACK ADVANTAGE FOR STUMPFHAUSER IN FRESNO, CA

May 01, 2009

Written by Bart de Jong

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After another wild weekend of racing at the Easter Classic, the 2009 NBL Elite Series is headed to the West and the chase for the coveted NBL National Title is more exciting and entertaining than ever. Next up on the stage, the highly anticipated, All-American National, held at FBX in Fresno, California and it promises to set the stage for the 2nd half of the series. Free Agent's Maris Strombergs, the Olympic and World Champion, continued his winning ways at the Easter Classic winning Elite men both days. His team mate and 3-time NBL Elite Champion, Kyle Bennett, made his first NBL appearance of the year and ended up

scoring a pair of 2nd's, making matters worse for GHP's Randy Stumpfhauser. Stumpy, who is still ranked 2nd on the year, was kept off the podium both days and will now have to use home track advantage in Fresno to narrow the gap from Strombergs. Clayborn's Barry Nobles is becoming a regular on the podium and his 3rd on Saturday earned him enough points to move up in the standings just behind Free Agent's Cristian Becerine. A mere 9 points now separate 2nd from 4th and this should change after the All-American Nationals for sure.

In Elite Women's action, current leader Dominique Daniels (Formula) rode to victory on Day 1 and looked poised for the double-win until a case of heatstroke sidelined her the rest of the weekend. A handful of valuable series points were up for grabs on Sunday and it was AFH's Mariana Pajon who collected the pay dirt. She beat out Redline's Alise Post and BMXTruth/Fly's Madison Pitts for top spot on the podium. Race Place BMX's Stephanie Barragan had an off weekend, dropping to 3rd overall on the season and now has her sights set on Fresno for redemption. Daniels continues to lead the series but Pitts and Barragan are close and Post has two races in hand.

Six different riders have won a Super-Ex main this year but only one rider, Excalibur/TLD's Josh Meyers, has been able to do it more than once. Meyer's doubled at the Gator Nationals and came into the Easter Classic with intentions to do the same. And as luck would have it, Meyers would be denied both days - His only trip to the podium, a 3rd on Saturday. Dan's Weston Pope captured Day 1 beating out Free Agent's Fausto Endara and Meyers but on Sunday, the tables were turned once again. In a crash-filled final, Morphine's Tyler Faoro rode his best lap of the year and took home an emotional win for his home state beating out Geico Powersport's Matt Kelty and Pope - The highlight race of the Classic for sure. Meyers has the series lead but Kelty, Pope and Endara are too close for comfort.

In Master's action, Free Agent's Dale Holmes, who is 4-for-4 on the season, was back in Britain and this left the door wide open for the challengers. Intense Dyna-Pep's Tommy Opincar took home the big win on Saturday ahead of Formula's Tim Dinger and Profile's Percy Owens. With Holmes away, Opincar has assumed the series lead but Free Agent's TM has a couple of races in hand. On Sunday, Owen's took matters into his own hands and won the main, his first of the year, beating out Crupi's Domingos Lammoglia and Rennen/Intense's Will Murray. The win catapulted Owens into third overall in what could be his best season in recent years. Holmes will be back in action in Fresno looking to regain the lead.

This marks the first time that FBX has hosted a National event and their track has already generated a good buzz. The track, with downhill straights, is similar to the famous South Park track in Pennsylvania and features pro sections on both the 2nd and 3rd straights and newly paved turns. The talent-laden Free Agent team will host a pre-race clinic on Friday from 11am-2pm and all participants will get a chance to meet Olympic Gold Medalist, Maris Strombergs, and learn new skills. UGP Opens are in full effect and the winners of each class will get cool UGP gear.

Standings:

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