Joe Byrd Captures Overall at Steel City ATVMX National
Delmont, Pa. (May 23, 2011) - Round six of the 2011
AMA ATV Motocross National Championship Series presented by DWT traveled
to Steel City Raceway for yet another exciting weekend of racing.
Saturday's podium celebration saw fresh faces as American Honda's Joe
Byrd claimed his first overall win of the season, while Ballance
Racing's Thomas Brown took a season-best second and Motoworks Can-Am's
rookie Chase Snapp finished an impressive third overall - marking his
first ever podium finish in the Pro class.
Current points leader Chad Wienen grabbed the ATVRiders.com Fastest
Qualifier Award in the morning before carrying that momentum into moto
one, capturing his very first SSi Decal Holeshot Award of the season.
John Natalie tucked in behind his Can-Am teammate right away, launching
what appeared to be the beginning of another classic Can-Am battle to
the finish.
 Joe Bird went 4-1 to take his first overall of the season Wienen set his own pace out front, about fifteen seconds ahead of the
second place battle between Motoworks Can-Am's Snapp and Ballance
Racing's Brown. Brown put the heat on Snapp towards the end of the moto
but wasn't able to make the pass after Snapp went double, double,
double in a tricky rhythm section. Snapp went on to secure an
impressive second place finish in his first year of Pro ATV racing.
"My Can-Am is working awesome this year," said Snapp. "Thomas and I
were pretty close all weekend, he rode tough out there. I knew he was
behind me in the first moto but I just tried to keep my focus and ride
hard. That second moto I messed up in the second corner and just
couldn't hang with him," Snapp added.
 Wienen grabbed his first SSi Decals Holeshot Award at Steel City Yamaha's Thomas Brown turned his mid-pack holeshot into a season-best
second place finish after powering past Moore and Upperman early on,
where he then set his sights on Byrd for the lead. Brown put his Yamaha
within two seconds of the race-winner on the last lap, but wasn't able
to seal the deal for the win. Byrd went on to take his first race-win
since his win at Red Bud in 2009, giving him the overall with a 4-1.
"The track was real fast and hard packed this weekend. I came off
the line in second and once I got the lead I knew I needed to keep some
cushion but I didn't want to ride too hard and make a mistake," Byrd
said. "We had some bad luck earlier in the season but American Honda
has been really supportive. We made some changes with suspension and
motor work, I guess some ATVs work and some don't. It's been a while but
I'm happy to be back on top of the box," Byrd added.
Brown secured a second overall with a 3-2 in front of rookie Chase
Snapp who went 2-7 for third, his first ever Pro podium. Walsh
Racecraft Suzuki rider Jeremy Lawson went 6-4 for fourth overall while
Baldwin Motorports' Josh Upperman rounded out the top five with 9-3.
"I couldn't get around Chase in that first moto, he was riding good.
The second moto I got a better start and just put my head down and
tried to stay focused," Brown said. "The Ballance Racing team works
hard, we've been building off each moto and we're moving forward every
weekend. Moto Experts has my motors running so smooth right now and
Maxxis had my tires hooking up good this weekend, I'm just really stoked
right now," Brown added.
 Brown, Byrd and Snapp - all fresh faces on the podium this weekend Rastrelli edged out Meyer for the moto two holeshot with Casey Martin
close behind in third. Rastrelli pulled away from Meyer and Martin in
the first half of the race as they were immersed in a two-way battle for
second. Near the halfway point, Mark Madl kicked it into high gear,
quickly gaining two positions from Meyer and Martin before eventually
catching the leader Rastrelli. With only two laps to go, Madl reeled in
Rastrelli through the downhill straight and took over the lead just in
time to secure the moto two win. Rastrelli still got the overall with
1-2 and Madl took home second with a 3-1 for the day. Casey Martin went
2-4 for third in front of Ohio's Aaron Meyer who went 4-3 for fourth
overall. Nicholas Moser of Pennsylvania rounded the top five with a 6-5
finish.
Things heat up as Casey Martin now sits only two points ahead of Mark
Madl in the Pro Am Production Championship point standings. Aaron
Meyer sits 23 points behind the leader in third place while Rastrelli
only trails Meyer by three points in fourth. Ronnie Higgerson holds a
comfortable fifth overall.
The AMA ATV Motocross Championship Series heads to Spring Creek MX in
Millville, Minn., June 4 and 5, with Pro class racing starting at 1
p.m. Saturday, supported by 37 amateur classes throughout Saturday and
Sunday. For more information, please visit www.atvmotocross.com.
AMA Pro ATV Results
1. Joe Byrd (HON)
2. Thomas Brown (YAM)
3. Chase Snapp (CAN)
4. Jeremy Lawson (SUZ)
5. Josh Upperman (HON)
6. Chad Wienen (CAN)
7. Travis Moore (HON)
8. Devin Heimes (SUZ)
9. John Natalie (CAN)
10. Harold Goodman (HON)
Pro Am Production Results
1. Jeffrey Rastrelli (SUZ)
2. Mark Madl (SUZ)
3. Casey Martin (HON)
4. Aaron Meyer (HON)
5. Nicholas Moser (HON)
6. Jesse Barnes (YAM)
7. Jamen Davidovich (HON)
8. Ronnie Higgerson (SUZ)
9. Ryan Beaven (SUZ)
10. Drew Spence (SUZ)
AMA ATV Motocross Championship Pro Point Standings
1. Chad Wienen (250) 2. John Natalie (240) 3. Josh Upperman (221) 4.
Jeremy Lawson (205) 5. Joe Byrd (180) 6. Chase Snapp (176) 7. Thomas
Brown (157) 8. Nick DeNoble (155) 9. Travis Moore (144) 10. Joel Hetrick
(142)
Pro Am Production Championship Point Standings
1. Casey Martin (145) 2. Mark Madl (143) 3. Aaron Meyer (122) 4.
Jeffrey Rastrelli (119) 5. Ronnie Higgerson (94) 6. Jesse Barnes (88) 7.
Nicholas Moser (67) 8. Kyle Fix (62) 9. Chad Reed (49) 10. Cole Henry
(45)
About the AMA ATV Motocross Championship
The AMA ATV Motocross Championship is the nation's premier amateur
and professional ATV motocross series, hosted at top motocross
facilities nationwide. The 11-round series features the Nation's best
racers, teams and sponsors, and is America's largest and longest-running
ATV national motocross program. Since 1985, the series continues to
expand and produce top talent from the amateur ranks, while premiering
the professional class. For more information, please visit www.atvmotocross.com. | 
