Damon Huffman won the final round of EnduroCross action in Las Vegas, but his Monster Kawasaki teammate, Ricky Dietrich, claimed the title. Huffman finished second on the season.
Team Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ricky Dietrich wrapped up the 2008 AMA/Maxxis EnduroCross Championship Series presented by Lucas Oil by finishing second to his teammate, Damon Huffman. Huffman lead the main event from the start and rode a flawless race in front of the sold out Orleans arena. Dietrich battled hard with Red Bull KTM’s Blazusiak in the early laps before opening up a safe lead to wrap up the Championship. Blazusiak struggled with the tough EnduroCross track and eventually gave up the final podium position to Geoff Aaron, riding his Christini two wheel drive KTM. Blazusiak held onto fourth position, just ahead of Canadian KTM rider, Bobby Prochnau and World Enduro Champion, Mika Ahola from Italy. Patrick Smage, Destry Abbot, Kyle Calderini, Kyle Redmond and Mike Brown finished from sixth to eleventh. The expert class was packed with talent and it was difficult to just make the main event. Former World Motocross Champion Sebastian Tortelli, Ty Davis, Kurt Caselli, Jamie Lanza, Jason Raines and Nathan Kanney were among the top riders that did not qualify for the main event.
Geoff Aaron put his AWD Christini to good use in the talent-packed expert class and finished on the podium.
Dietrich, the only rider to make all six EnduroCross main events, wrapped up the championship with 136 points over Huffman, who won three main events and finished with 131 points. Blazusiak finished in third with 99 points, Aaron wrapped up fourth with 96 and Lucas Oil backed Colton Haaker took fifth with 86 points after sitting out the Vegas event due to a broken collarbone suffered at the World Indoor Enduro event in Spain.
In addition to the Expert class, the Vegas event included the finals for the AMA EnduroCross Grand Championships for four support classes. Similar to motocross’ Loretta Lynn’s championships, and designed specifically for amateur level racers, the EXGC winner-take-all format allows a competitor to qualify at a regional event, then earn a #1 plate by winning at the Las Vegas Finals. The 2008 Champions are: Taylor Robert, open 4-stroke; Ryan Dudek, Open 2-stroke; Tod Sciacqua, Vet 35-plus and Patrick Smage Trialscross.
Las Vegas is always sold out. The Orleans Arena was packed for a full night of championship racing.
EnduroCross tracks incorporate various elements of Off-Road racing into a supercross-style setting, including rocks, boulders, logs, sand, mud, a water-hole… and even a few special obstacles like giant tires! Known as the “toughest racing on two wheels,” this indoor version of extreme off-road racing will keep you on your feet! The series, presented by Lucas Oil Products, will be captured by the Versus Network, to be aired on the popular grassroots racing program, the Lucas Motorsports Hour. With its excitement and unpredictability, the series championship has come down to the wire and looks to be an amazing event in Las Vegas! Don’t miss your chance to see AMA/Maxxis EnduroCross and be sure to log-on to www.Versus.com for local airing dates/times for the Lucas Motorsports Hour.
To catch the action on TV, tune into the Lucas Motorsports Hour on the Versus Network on Sunday, December 7th. For more information, go to
www.motorsportshour.com.
