Story: Kaeley Porter // Photos: Mark Kariya
May 4th, 2019 – The KENDA SRT AMA National Hare and Hound Championship Series returned to Jericho, Utah for the Sage Riders Desert Devotional National Hare and Hound at Little Sahara OHV. As the last race of the series before we head into the summer break, the NHHA and the Sage Riders MC closed out the first half of the season with an awesome event.
YOUTH
The first race of the weekend kicked off early Saturday morning and saw the Pee Wee class. The banner dropped and the line of racers were off of the bomb run. Coming through the scoring chute off of the first lap, Maddix Park was in the lead and would remain there for the entire race. Behind Park in 2nd was Taeson Smith and TJ Wasson, racing not too far behind one another.
The Pee Wee podium would see a well earned win from Maddix Park next to Taeson Smith in 2nd and TJ Wasson in 3rd. The second youth race of the day saw the Big Wheel, Mini, Jr. Mini, Micro Mini, and Girls classes. With a large turnout of youth racers, spectators were eager to see the banner drop on this race and who would be the first racer through the scoring chute off of the first lap. To no surprise, Otto Pearson was holding an untouchable lead off of lap 1. Behind Pearson in 2nd OA was Braxton Wallgren with Karson Boyce racing in a 3rd OA position.
The top 3 leaders for this race remained in their positions through to the finish, gaining more speed and competitiveness on each lap. Otto Pearson would be the first racer to cross the finish line with Braxton Wallgren finishing 2nd and Karson Boyce finishing 3rd to round out the Big Wheel podium.
Not too far behind out on course, racing in 5th OA, Jack Williford was leading in class for the Jr. Mini’s. Mikey Wayne and Rayce Jenkins were behind Williford, remaining within the top 10 racers for this race. Williford would be the first of these three to see the checkered flag, ahead of Mikey Wayne in 2nd and Rayce Jenkins in 3rd to round out the Jr. Mini podium.
For the Mini class in this race, Jett Lessing would come off of the first lap in the lead, on his way to his 4th consecutive podium of the 2019 race season. Lessing was able to remain in the top spot with the help of 2nd place, Cole Caldwell, after Caldwell pulled over to help Lessing out of a ditch on course. Caldwell raced 2nd in class from that point on with Alex Lawrence in 3rd. Jett Lessing finished 1st in class next to Cole Caldwell in 2nd and Alex Lawrence in 3rd to round out the Mini podium.
The Micro Mini class saw another awesome race from Brennen Watson as he led the class for the entire race. Another class that saw the same three leaders throughout the race, Caleb Tate and Ryker Sperry raced behind Watson to secure their spots on the podium. Tate is currently sitting 2nd in points behind Watson as the first half of the 2019 race season comes to a close.
Lastly, the Girls and Jr. Girls classes. Allie Stambaugh raced in the lead for the first two laps with Cately Jensen behind in 2nd in class. It was not until lap 3 that Ari Myrdal stole the lead, pushing Stambaugh back to 2nd and Cately Jensen into a 3rd in class position. Ari Myrdal finished the race in 1st next to Allie Stambaugh in 2nd and Cately Jensen in 3rd to round out the Girls podium.
BIG BIKES
The banner was ready to drop for the final race of the day; the Big Bikes. The Sage Riders hare was released and the racers were given their two minute warning, eager for the banner to drop. 3Bros/SRT/Husqvarna backed Dalton Shirey was the first racer ahead of the dust, with Jacob Argubright in a close 2nd as they raced towards the holeshot flags. The two racers came through the flags side by side but it was not long before Shirey stole the lead.
A few miles in, the pits received word that Shirey had remained in the lead and Factory Beta’s Joe Wasson had now joined in on the battle with Argubright for 2nd OA. Argubright and Wasson headed into this race tied in points for the series and the stakes were high, as we would close out this race and head into the summer break.
Coming up on the alternate gas stop, Wasson and Argubright were now racing wheel to wheel and the pressure had kicked in as the two racers hit top speed through the desert only inches apart. Shirey was the first racer to come through the pits in the lead and head out on the second loop, as Argubright made a pit stop and headed out onto the second loop in a 2nd OA position ahead of Wasson.
Racing 5th OA and leading the Pro 250 class, Utah native Joshua Knight came through the pits after battling it out with Purvines Racing backed Nick Burson. Behind Knight, Factory Beta’s Zane Roberts was racing 2nd in class and 6th OA. Roberts has been absolutely killing it this weekend so it was no surprise seeing him head out on the second loop, ready to charge for the lead. Daemon Woolslayer threw himself into this mix as he raced to secure a podium spot, coming in shortly after Roberts.
In this same race, the Women Pro class was ready to see another win from Brandy Richards as she came into the pits off of the first loop in the lead. Behind her in 2nd was Factory Beta’s Morgan Tanke. After having a good start, Tanke was able to push her way up to 2nd in class, but would need to make a quick stop in the pits to fix her clutch lever. After repairing her bike in the pits, Tanke was feeling ready as ever, prepared to race to her full potential.
The spectators gathered around the finish now, patiently waiting to see who would prompt the checkered flag first. With the points standings being tied between Argubright and Wasson, the pressure was on, as it would only take this one race to bump either one of these racers to the top.
3Bros/SRT/Husqvarna backed Dalton Shirey was the first racer to cross the finish line for a well deserved win. It was only a matter of seconds before we heard the next bike coming through the trees. Factory Beta’s Joe Wasson was the next racer through the scoring chute, finishing 2nd OA and earning himself a 4 point bump as we close out the first half of the 2019 race season. Sounding a little louder than usual due to a blown exhaust, Jacob Argubright crossed the finish line in 3rd to round out the Pro podium.
The Pro 250 podium would see a change up in racers as Factory Beta’s Zane Roberts would finish the race 1st in class next to Daemon Woolslayer in 2nd and Joshua Knight in 3rd. Roberts will remain in the points lead with Woolslayer 35 points behind in 2nd. The Women Pro class would see another victory from Brandy Richards as she topped the Women Pro podium next to Factory Beta’s Morgan Tanke in 2nd and Britney Gallegos in 3rd after having a rough time out on course due to bike difficulties. Gallegos finished to prove that the women racers in this series are by far the toughest. The current points standings for this class see Brandy Richards only 6 points ahead of Morgan Tanke as they head into a long summer break.
The Women A class saw another awesome race from Ashlee Gage as she finished 1st in class next to Allie Dorsey in 2nd and Kari Erickson in 3rd. Our Loop 1 finishers would see a win from Ty Woolslayer, taking home the win for the Women C class as well as the goggle bag for this round sponsored by 100%. Steve Pitts would finish loop 1 in 2nd next to James Miller in 3rd. For the Masters 60+ class, Steve Pitts would finish in 1st next to James Miller in 2nd and Larry Engwall in 3rd. James Miller continues to lead the championship in points. The Pioneer 70+ class saw a win from Dan Bringard next to Larry Barlage in 2nd.
The Open A class podium was topped by Kael Silvers in 1st, McQuin Hair in 2nd and Payton Gerber in 3rd. The Open B class podium saw Davin Rhodes in 1st, Eric Murray in 2nd and Braxton Workman in 3rd. Lastly, the Open C class podium saw Taylor Brown in 1st, Cory Francies in 2nd and Matthew Cutchen in 3rd.
The NHHA would like to thank our racers, families, staff members, and most of all, Sage Riders MC for helping us with such an awesome race weekend. We hope all of our racers enjoy a well earned summer break and we hope to see everyone back out at Round 6 in Panaca, NV on August 24th.
