2015 SUNSHINE STATE NATIONALS RACE REPORT

Filed under General on February 14, 2015 | Comment(s)

WORDS AND IMAGES BY: JASON MCGUIRE 

Charlotte BMX in sunny Punta Gorda, FL plays host to the first annual Sunshine State Nationals this weekend for stop number four of the 2015 USA BMX National Series. Track Operator and Elite Woman Pro Amanda Carr has been working day and night, along with her dedicated crew, in order to have Charlotte BMX ready for such an awesome weekend. 

When we arrived in Punta Gorda, the city, Charlotte BMX track crew and us were invited to a special dinner on the gulf at Laishley Crab House. For Charlotte BMX, the creation of one of the premier BMX facilities in Florida would not have been possible without the help of the city, and they have seen the huge dividends it has paid since their initial investment. The night was filled with laughter, BMX talk and more pumping up of the entire national weekend! We definitely cannot thank the city and the owners of Laishley Crab House for the generous sponsorships – all for the betterment and growth of BMX.

After a rockin’ dinner, we decided to swing by the track for a quick peek before the action kicked off on Friday. After reaching the top of the starting hill, my first thought was, “Wow, this is definitely different than your tradition BMX track.” Charlotte BMX features a big amateur size hill, a pro set, a decision maker that takes you over or under a bridge and last, but certainly not least, a pretty dope fountain and pond. Something that only one other track in the country has (Waterford Oaks). It is also out of the ordinary as there is only one hairpin turn on the track. The rest are all ninety-degree corners that make for a very interesting layout. After doing a track walk, I was certain that the racing was going to be unreal, especially all of the different opportunities to create some rad images for PULL!

SATURDAY: 

When I found out I was attending this race in Florida, I was thinking that the weather was going to be awesome! Little did I, or anyone else know, the morning temps dipped into the 40’s and for us living in warm weather climates, it is a bit of a shock. Nothing a jacket couldn’t fix though. Luckily by the time we blasted through qualifying of 146 motos, the sun was shining and temps were joyous. 

As we have talked about time and time again in 2015, the A Pro class is better than many of the recent years. With rookies Trae Proctor, Cole Tesar, Ryan Pettigrew and Kody Wong making an appearance, the veterans of Will Grant, Jeremy Smith, Mike Caldwell and Justin Riddell were all out to keep them off the top step. Out of these riders, Smith was the only one to miss the cut. When the main events loaded up, Proctor was ready to prove his worth to the class and would do just that after picking up the first round win. Unfortunately in that same round, Tesar would suffer a light injury that kept him sidelined for both the remainder of the day as well as tomorrow. The second round had another big push by Proctor, but he would come unclipped and fall to the back. Picking up the slack was My Radar’s Will Grant. This guy has had plenty of ups and downs in his career, but 2015 seems to be a year that he is ready to really step into a main leader of the class. When the final round came to surface, Proctor was ready for anything thrown his way. Once again the rookie proved his dominance by grabbing a solid win. For him though, it would not be enough as his sixth place second round finish would be similar to the plague. That one lap, along with the consistency of Grant was enough to give Grant the win and Proctor the overall second. “Muscle” Mike Caldwell was the sleeper and staid silently consistent and beat who he needed to in order to secure the third overall position for the day.

Earlier in the year when Crupi announced the hiring of their new Team Manager Gary Whittington, he made a promise that his changes would be focused on bringing Crupi back to one of the front-runners of the Factory rankings. Well after we saw some of his new rider picks for the year, we knew he was not kidding around. Today we saw another glimpse of what is to come for the newly revamped Crupi team. Their Florida based rider William Parker has been putting in a ton of work and today was a huge payoff after winning one of the tougher cruiser classes of the day in the 13-year-old age group. He would than put the cherry on top by taking home the top spot in 13 Expert. If he continues his winning ways as with the rest of the Crupi team, these guys have some serious game-changing potential in 2015. 

Not many people know this about the amateur girl classes, but the east coast has a ton of talented ladies that are all ready to be the next big rider. The 15-16 class is one of those highly contested groups. No matter where you race, the level of competition within the class is first rate. Power’s Bike Shop rider Kristen Klein had a huge weekend in Louisville and looked to continue that momentum into today. Unfortunately for her, Sae Hatakeyama from Kanazawa had plans of her own. Sae made the trip from the western coast of Japan and after beating out some of our strongest competition in the class; the trip must have been worth it. Klein finished second behind Sae and is definitely looking for redemption come tomorrow. 

11 Expert pulled in the largest rider count of the day with 33 riders. Like any other race, only 8 of them made the main event to fight for the win. Making the trek all the way from the west coast of Carmichael, CA was one of J&R’s newest riders, Josh Veron. Coming from the other side of the country, dealing with a time change and climate change, then getting into the gate with all of the other riders but one being Florida natives is certainly a lot to handle. For Veron, he just handled business as needed and walked away with the win. If he can do it again tomorrow, everyone form Florida will certainly know his name.

Day one of the first annual Sunshine State Nationals wrapped up in awesome fashion with great racing. The weather could not have been better and we are all certainly looking forward to day two of this event. Be sure to check with us throughout the day on Facebook for updates and as always, you can follow all the action on the live audiocast at usabmx.com/webcast.

SUNDAY:

Day two arrived and during breakfast I was contemplating on how the day could get much better than yesterday. After Pro warm-up wrapped up and they had gone back up the hill to prepare for the first round of qualifying, the crowd was ready to rock! After the thunderous boom of “this is your wake up call…” echoed throughout Charlotte BMX, it was time to go racing!

With 132 motos on the docket, the qualifying rounds flew by and before we knew it, we were getting ready to set the A Pro class off on their journey to take home the cash. Staats rider Trae Proctor was seeking redemption after the tough loss to Will “The Thrill” Grant on day one. He would leave no doubt that he was not there to mess around as he went on to win all three main events and take the overall. Day one winner, Grant, found himself on the ground early in the day, which left him struggling. The youngest rookie of the year Ryan Pettigrew had a great back and forth bout with GHP’s Justin Riddell. In the end, Riddell would come out over Pettigrew for second. As the season is still early, it seems like there is a lot of back and forth between the veteran and rookie riders of the A Pro class. Certainly at some point one of the two factions will take control and show their dominance. 

Amateur racing was once again in desperation Sunday mode. Riders were putting everything on the line, which left for plenty of ‘bow throwing and paint scraping.  While it may have been some aggressive battling for wins, there are always a few that stick out. 

The Yockelson sisters are two young girls that have some serious dedication to going fast. Piper (10) and Ava (9) are under the coaching of Ride Like a Girl’s Carley Young. These two always seem to have smiles on their face, even when they are battling back and forth with each other. While sisters may not always get along, they do make for great training partners. Piper was successful in grabbing a pair of wins in their cruiser class, while Ava took third. In class, the two had really solid showings that should leave them with a lot to work for and show their competition that they are the real deal.

If it were not for Facebook, I would have no clue that Raul Gomez no longer rode for MCS Bicycles. It was released earlier this week that Gomez would make the switch over to Full Tilt – a team that has built a pretty beefy roster for 2015. This weekend we did not get to see him in the new threads, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t reppin’ the team strongly. Gomez went the entire weekend without dropping a single lap in both 41-45 Cruiser and 41-45 Expert. Could Full Tilt be the next team on red alert for being a contender? While that is entirely possible, Raul Gomez made sure to add validity to their argument. Congrats to Raul on the big double-double as well as the new ride.

The 17-20 Women’s class has a girl that is not just capable of winning, she is capable of doing it anywhere in the country. The Kansas based rider Adrian Sanders, reps the Ssquared~Answer colors and there is no slack in her riding. I actually have a photo of her from yesterday’s main event win and when you zoom in on her face, you can see how serious her race face is. The race face is not just a look, it is a real showing of how much passion the rider has for the sport as well as their determination to win. Sanders had no issues handling business yesterday and today was once again another one of those days. Sanders grabbed the win ahead of Florida’s Michelle Huey, who has also been putting in a ton of work in order to become a serious contender in 2015. If ladies like these continue to push their progression, the Women’s Pro class could become a really deep level of competition.

The 19-27 Expert class has a new name that everyone should become familiar with – Doc Johnson. My friend and Team Owner of Extreme Team, Wayne Brown, had told me about him a while back, but I did not know a lot about ol’ Doc. Turns out that the kid could rip on a bike. Yesterday in the main, Johnson found himself in second all the way until the fifth and final straight. In that rhythm section he powered through on the inside line, keeping it silky smooth and made the pass at the line for the overall win. Once again Doc found himself on the outside looking in for the lead in the main event. Heading into turn two, Doc hugged the chalk line and squeezed underneath the leader and ran him up the turn to shut the door. It was definitely a textbook move and it was worth every pedal as it secured him the double for the weekend. End point, this kid could be a serious contender in 2015. We will wait to make a final judgment until he can face some more of the class’s top riders. Until then, be on the lookout for the doctor!

The final race crossed the line and the Sunshine State Nationals had officially ended. It was a bit of a bittersweet moment. Amanda Carr and her track crew absolutely killed it and helped us put on a pretty awesome event. One thing is for sure, if you have not had the opportunity to ride Charlotte BMX, be sure to do place it on our east coast bucket list – it is definitely a hidden gem. We also want to take a moment to thank all of those dedicated families and racers who made the trip out this weekend. We could not have such a success without any of you. Be sure to join us in sunny Phoenix, AZ next weekend at the all-new Black Mountain BMX for the Winter Nationals. Not only will it have some of the fastest amateurs in the world, it will also mark stop one of the 2015 USA BMX Pro Series. You won’t want to miss it!