Story: Kaeley Porter // Photos: Mark Kariya
August 24th, 2019 – After a well-earned Summer break for our racers, the KENDA SRT AMA National Hare & Hound Championship Series resumed with its return to Panaca, NV. for the 8th Annual Muley Run; round 6 of the 2019 race season. Contrary to previous years, the area has not seen much rain this season; making the course dustier than usual. Nonetheless, the Silver State Trail Blazers worked hard to put on an awesome race, with the NHHA staff and our racers having a blast throughout the one day event.
YOUTH
Getting our race day started bright and early, the pits fired up around 6:00am to prepare for the first race of the day, the Pee Wee class. Twenty three Pee Wee racers lined up on the starting line ready for the banner to drop. It was not long after the banner drop that Maddix Park had stolen the lead and would remain there for the entirety of the race. Behind Park in 2nd OA was Taeson Smith and Kooper Carter racing in a 3rd OA position. The top 3 held a steady pace to finish out the race in the positions they had worked hard for throughout the race. The Pee Wee podium ultimatelu saw Maddix Park in 1st OA next to Taeson Smith in 2nd and Kooper Carter in 3rd.
The next youth race of the day saw all of the remaining Youth classes, including Micro Mini, Jr. Mini, Mini, Girls, Jr. Girls, and the Big Wheel class. The Micro Mini class saw a win from Caleb Tate after leading his class the entire race, ahead of Brennen Watson in 2nd and Max Pearson in 3rd. Although Watson finished 2nd in his class, he felt as if the dust hindered him in the way he could have ridden, a difficulty that several racers faced in the dry and silty desert terrain. While Watson and Tate were holding a steady pace and racing their own race, Max Pearson and Malcolm Pearson were racing within inches of one another, battling it out for 3rd in class. Max took home the win in this battle, landing himself a 3rd place position on the Micro Mini podium.
This race also saw a win from Jack Williford in the Jr. Mini class next to Mikey Wayne in 2nd and Kayden Lynn in 3rd. Williford started off the race in a 3rd in class position and was able to race his way to the lead of his class by the second lap. Wayne and Lynn also raced their way from mid-pack to the top 3 in their class. While the Mini class saw an awesome win from Breckin Beard, who also finished 3rd OA for this race, next to Jett Lessing in 2nd in the Mini class and Ryan Stephens in 3rd. The top 3 in this class held a steady pace throughout the race, with minimal battles, finishing in the same spots that they had raced in for all 4 laps.
For the Girls class, Megan Ashley led the entire race with Ari Myrdal only seconds behind her for the first 2 laps putting the pressure on. For the first lap, Raelenne Lindamood was racing 2nd OA ahead of Myrdal. Eventually, Alexandra Livreri took over 3rd in class after battling with Myrdal. All girls well deserving of a spot on the podium, Megan Ashley topped the Girls podium in 1st OA next to Ari Myrdal in 2nd and Alexandra Livreri in 3rd. The Junior Girls class saw a win from Addison Myrdal next to Jacie Levie in 2nd and Sara Conaway in 3rd to round out the Jr. Girls podium.
Racing in his local territory, Otto Pearson continued his winning streak for the Big Wheel class and overall win in this race. Pearson, with fast racers running in the family, stole the hole shot off of the start and continued pushing from there to remain in the lead and out of the dust. Behind Pearson in 2nd OA, Lane Forbes raced an awesome race. Forbes was 2nd off of the start and tried to put the pressure on Pearson but found Pearson gaining more speed with every lap. Forbes decided to race his own race while holding his 2nd OA spot on the podium, favoring the sand washes where he was able to hold it wide open and continue to have a blast during the race. The Big Wheel podium saw an overall win from Otto Pearson next to Lane Forbes in 2nd and Karson Boyce in 3rd while the overall podium saw Otto Pearson in 1st, Lane Forbes in 2nd, & Breckin Beard in 3rd.
After a short break in the day, it was now time for the Big Bikes. With a dust and brush filled bomb run, these racers were careful when choosing their lines. Purvines Racing backed Tyler Lynn, teammate Axel Pearson, and Factory Beta’s Joe Wasson all happened to choose the same line as the banner dropped, adding to the difficulty of maneuvering through the dust. Pearson was able to make it out front in this battle until Wasson made the pass on him, pushing Pearson into 2nd OA. Wasson was able to grab a hold of the lead quickly, and remained there due to the amount of competition putting the pressure on behind him.
Coming off of the first loop, our top 5 racers were Joe Wasson, Axel Pearson, Off-Road Support’s Jacob Argubright, Tyler Lynn, and Factory Beta’s Chance Fullerton. On the second loop, Pearson found himself struggling with pace and fell behind. Argubright was not off to the best start off of the bomb run but was able to make that up as Pearson started to fall behind and take ahold of the 2nd OA position. Argubright only gained more speed from there, trying to decrease the time gap between himself and race leader, Wasson, who only appeared to get faster and more focused as the race went on. Wasson took a long break from racing over the summer due to a surgery on his wrist that was severely injured a few years back. This made Wasson a little uneasy heading into Round 6 with the points lead, but it seemed to only light a fire under him. Wasson raced his way to the top spot on the Pro podium, and continues to stay in the lead for the 2019 Championship . Off-Road Support’s Jacob Argubright finished 2nd OA and Purvines Racing backed Axel Pearson finished 3rd OA to round out the Pro podium.
Continuing his winning streak in the Pro 250 class, and currently leading the points in his class, Factory Beta’s Zane Roberts finished on top of the Pro 250 podium yet again. Although Roberts had a blast out on course, the virgin territory posed a challenge for him while the dust ultimately affected his OA finish, he feels. Behind Roberts finishing 2nd in class, Daemon Woolslayer found strength in the dust, finding that it pushed him harder to get out of it and make some passes. JCR Factory Honda backed Preston Campbell was racing in a 2nd in class position up until Woolslayer made a pass on him and remained there for the finish of the race. Campbell had one of the best personal starts and landed himself a hard earned spot on the podium in 3rd. The Pro 250 podium saw Factory Beta’s Zane Roberts on top next to Daemon Woolslayer in 2nd and JCR Factory Honda’s Preston Campbell in 3rd. Roberts is currently leading points, next to Woolslayer in 2nd and Campbell in 3rd.
The Women Pro class saw another class win from Brandy Richards. She started off the race pacing herself to get through the thick haze of dust and remained in the lead, finishing 1st in class and 18th OA. Behind Richards in 2nd OA, Factory Beta’s Morgan Tanke battled it out with Rachel Stout and Britney Gallegos before tacking over 2nd in class. A dusty terrain was not all that she was expecting, which made it a little more difficult to get comfortable but once she found her groove, she was able to stay there and race her own race. Gallegos continued the battle with Stout while testing out the 4-stroke she borrowed from Richards. Gallegos was able to take over the battle with Stout and finish top 3 in the Women Pro class. Brandy Richards topped the Women Pro podium next to Factory Beta’s Morgan Tanke in 2nd and Britney Gallegos in 3rd.
The Masters 60+ podium saw an overall win from James Miller next to Larry Engwall in 2nd and Geff Grossan in 3rd to round out the Masters 60+ podium. The Vet A class saw Eric Holt in 1st next to Nate Glass in 2nd and Justin Harelson in 3rd.
Krista Conway topped the Women A podium for the first time in her career, next to Liz Karcz in 2nd and Allie Dorsey in 3rd.
The 250A class saw Corbin Mcpherson in 1st next to Karson Thomas in 2nd and Miles Holt in 3rd.
The Open C class saw Tyler Young in 1st next to Steven Mitchell in 2nd and Cory Francies in 3rd.
The NHHA sends a huge thanks to the Silver State Trail Blazers, our racers, their families, and our sponsors enough for a better return from summer break and into racing season. We hope to see everyone out at our first Point to Point of the 2019 race season in Lovelock, NV. on September 14-15th. Details coming soon.
