Empire State Nationals Race Report

Filed under General on July 26, 2013 | Comment(s)

WORDS AND IMAGES BY: JASON “SHOOTER” MCGUIRE

While driving through town on the way to Kingston Point BMX, it makes you feel as if you are driving right through a main street brought straight from the early 1900's. Small and quaint but very beautfiul and loads of history were sunken into the walls of the old colonial buildings and in 1777 Kingston served as New Yorks very first capital. Just outside of town you arrive at Kingston Point BMX track while great views of the Hudson River are just across the street. Nestled back in the trees and adjacent to a modern day ball park, Kingston Point BMX was primed and ready for the 2013 USA BMX Empire State Nationals.

FRIDAY:

Friday Nights pre-race kicked off with 52 motos and gorgeous weather. The pits were starting to fill and many families took full advantage of the weather by firing up the grills for some track-side BBQ action. With the smell of steaks and burgers in the air, the gates started falling at rapid pace. 

The 14X class was the largest of the evening with riders having to fight their way through semis in order to make a main event appearence. There were 15 of these shredders and it was a battle all the way to the stripe in the main event. It would be Josh Samells from Milton, Ontario, Canada who whould nab the win and put Canada on the map early in the weekend. 

Friday night left us with some great races and an awesome opener for the what is sure to be a good weekend. Tomorrow is expected to bring even more fireworks as the riders in attendance are still trying to obtain a few more national points as the summer tour is starting to wind down. Check back tomorrow for all of the latest updates and photos. 

SATURDAY:

Riders arrived bright and early for the 8 a.m. practice start time. It was very intriguing spectating during practice as the riders were taken drastically different lines to gain the most from the track. As the riders got older, the lines shifted more to the outside in order to slingshot them through the asphalt corners.

The A pro class helped start things off with a bang as Answer~Rennen's Max Egdorf, Roadkill Bicycles Daniel Smith, and Factory Yess' Nick Fox were in an all out war for the cash. Their first round gate hit the ground with authority and Nick Fox quickly led the pack into turn one. Egdorf and Smith were fighting for position and that would leave things wide open for Fox. Fox would take the first round with Smith for the two and Egdorf rounding out the top three. In the second round it would be Smith leading both Egdorf and Fox into the first corner and after a little too late attempt by Egdorf, Smith would grab the second round win. The third and final round was underway. Smith led with three points, Fox with four and Egdorf with 5. It was still anyone's race and Fox was the shining start under pressure. Fox would steal the holeshot and the overall win after holding off a late finish line push from Daniel Smith who would take an overall second and Egdorf would have the final podium slot.

One of the great battles of the day was in the 15-16 girls class. Elida Beeman, who is fresh off a trip to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA, had a fierce fight for the win against "Jammin" Jenna Sagendorf from New York. These two were going at it all day long but in the end it would be Elida Beeman taking the win. However, Sagendorf would come back to edge out Beeman on cruiser. 

The 28-35X class also had a killer main event during day one of the Empire State Nationals. Headed into the first corner it was tighter then a 1983 Geo Metro. Luckily everyone came out clean and as they rumbled down the third straight, it looked to be four wide going into the final corner. Blackcrown Products rider Patrick Parker would hammer down a few extra ponies to take the lead and the overall win as Brian Santos and Greg Custer finished off the top three after a little bumpin' in the last turn. 

Saturday turned out to be a great day of racing with awesome weather and 159 action packed, rubber burnin' motos. Tomorrow should make for some interesting races as most riders will leave it all out on the track to make sure they do not go home empty handed. Check in tomorrow evening for the final weekend recap and more action packed race images. 

SUNDAY

The skies were leaking on Sunday morning when the USA BMX crew had arrived to Kingston Point BMX.

That would not hold us back as we race no matter what, rain or shine! The first two rounds of quailfying went pretty smooth given the light amount of rainfall but heading into the semis and mains it was a completely different situation.

In the matter of minutes we went from a wet race to a full-blown mud bowl! Did anyone happen to pack a set of Comp 3’s? However, the show must go on and that is exactly what happened. The track was holding up great but all of the riders had to use extreme caution in the slippery parts.

For the day, there were plenty of upsets due to the weather but one of the greatest and cleanest showdowns was in 13-14 open as Dodge “D-Money” Munson and Kendal Wong battled it out. Both of these guys are on the Alltown Wrecking Crew/Yess Factory team and two of the faster up and comers. Heading into turn one, Munson and Wong were bar to bar but the inside line gave Wong the advantage. Through turn two it was bar to bar again but Wong would pull away and hold Munson off the rest of the way for the win.

In the expert ranks, it seemed as if every other moto had riders hitting the ground for being too aggressive in the slick conditions. The award for the most riders to hit the mud in one round goes to the 36-40 year olds. Down the backside of the first obstacle, all but three guys hit the ground and slid up the double leading into turn one. At the line, Christopher Diaz from Plainfield, NJ would keep it clean and take home the win. Maybe today would have been a good idea for flats?

The Answer~Rennen crew definitely found out some scientific MIT grade formula in order to stay clean because their riders would go on to dominate on Sunday during the mud bowl. Justin Knapper, Derik Burgh, Niles Austin, Nathan Coyman, and Nolan Colborn all picked up wins for the George Costa powered crew and that would give them the overall factory win for the day.

As the weekend in Kingston came to an end, it was great to see all of the attendees making the most of the weather. Some had made a walkway into a mud-powered slip and slide and others were getting out of the rain quicker then the animals heading for Noah’s Ark. For a mud race, the track held together superbly and the racers had more fun then they usually do. A huge thanks to the whole Kingston Point BMX crew for helping us out in aiding the track all weekend and getting the races of without a hitch. See you all in Toledo...or Tucson if you prefer the indoor southwest side of things. Signing off... 

SHOOTER