FERNLEY (May 28) – A Memorial Day weekend tradition is the annual Over The Hill Gang National race at the Sandbox, or the Fernley-Wadsworth Lions Club Motocross Track.

Riders from several Gang chapters make this journey for two days of racing, comradeship and a darned good BBQ at the end of Saturday’s competition. And once again the hosts was the local OTHG chapter.

Scoring is kind of like golf as a rider’s finish in a moto gives them the number, which is added up after all four have been run. There are two motos each day.

Looking over the final results there were three ties while five other classes had first and second separated by only two points. Then in 58 Expert the top four were only one point apart from each other for a four-point difference between first and fourth.

All in all there was some hard racing both days.

When the 38 Intermediate Class ran it’s final moto Chris Wallace and Shami Potratz were tied in points. While she won their first moto her fourth place Sunday morning broke the tie that went to the Bay Chapter rider Chris Wallace.

In the 45 Master class the tiebreaker went to Troy Cardiel as he won the final moto while Kevin Williams ended up second. So even though they swapped first and second place finishes it was the final race that decided the title.

The final tie came in the 65 Intermediate Class and Tommy Pearl’s two wins Sunday gave him the overall victory over Duane Quick, who was the runner up in both of Sunday’s motos.

Looking over the results there were five classes where the difference between first and second was only two points.

Dustin Miller on his way to winning the overall for the 30 Master Class.

In the 30 Master Class former X-Games competitor and Reno rider Dustin Miller used a trio of firsts to take the win but by only two points over Ronnie Raymond. It wasn’t easy as Miller had to catch another rider before taking the lead.

After taking the final checkered flag Miller said, “I had a little crash in the second turn there and luckily I wasn’t hurt or anything so I got up and tried to go fast as long as I could but I was pretty tired. The track was actually really good and I think the water helped.”

When asked, who he needed to thank the answer was, “Visa and Master Card.” Miller allowed that he plans to race more locally and is an apprentice with the local Operating Engineers so he’ll have weekends off.

Another two-point spread came when Greg Anderson beat Ron Horner for the 52 Expert win. Same results when Mark Stirling topped local Brent Allen for the 58 Intermediate overall.

The 45 Intermediate Class was a Reno one-two as Allen Blanco just beat Chris Dyer by two points. And finally two of the older riders, Perry Black and Reid Franke were one-two in the 65 Novice Class with another two-point spread.

The tightest spread in points for the top four came in the 58 Expert class. Eric Watt won followed by Arnie Davis, John Traverso, and Mike Subocz where each rider was separated by only one point.

At the other end of the scale there were several classes where the difference was only four or five points. Then four other classes had an even great difference in points between first and second.

In 38 Novice Andrew Durkin was first by six points over Craig Owens while, in 45 Beginner Mike Anderson topped local Joe Breed by six points.

Ted Griffin, riding out of the local chapter didn’t do too badly as he won by a seven-point spread over Steve “Viva Las Vegas.”

After his final moto Griffin said, “I didn’t get a sweep as I was second in the first moto. I need to thank the guys from the club and all the guys that came up from the other chapters and our sponsors and my family of course.”

But the largest point spread was in the 45 Novice Class where South Chapter rider Robert Haaverson bested local Bob Woebbeking by nine points. But at the end he didn’t think he won the overall and in this moto he had to work his way to the front.

Robert Haaverson on his way to winning the 45 Novice Class had to hold off Bob Woebbeking, who wound up second for the weekend.

“No I rarely am in the lead, my starts suck all the time I’m consistently bad at starts,” Haaverson said. “I started on the outside and was able to get in the middle but wasn’t held up too long. I basically waited for everyone to fall off cause I just try to keep it smooth and last to the end.”

One of the winners with a five-point cushion as well as winning his final moto was Barrett Kiick from the South Chapter.

After taking the final checkered flag, and sweeping the weekend the Santa Maria based rider said, “When I first started riding motocross I actually learned how to ride sand first. They say if you can ride sand you can ride anything. This is probably the best track I’ve ridden here and on the circuit for the Over The Hill Gang.”

Then he thanked the Over The Hill Gang, girlfriend and those that support him. And he added sponsors Pro Circuit, 100% Goggles, Style Graphics And ASV Levers.

Another rider winning by a five-point spread was local chapter member Chris Ober who topped the 52 Novice Class.

Catching his breath after the final moto he said, “One, one, one, one. But it wasn’t that easy, I got knocked down in the second turn in the first race, came from dead last, didn’t know if my body was hurt but I caught everybody and passed them. So that was a confidence booster right there.”

Then he thanked Rich Thorwaldson at Moto Source for dialed his bike in and helping get it ready.

Valley Chapter rider Dustin Schwindt was another five-point winner, who swept all this motos in the 30 Beginner Class.

After his final moto he said, “The key wasn’t so much the start for me as it was more towards the first couple of turns. I try to take it easy on the start especially with all the ruts and all that stuff. And I want to thank my wife and my beautiful daughter, if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be out here.”

Riders from the host chapter are usually defending their turf against the visitors and it appears the two that usually race at the Sandbox did pretty well. The Reno chapter had eight victories while the Sierra Chapter had five.

Scoring the most wins was the Bay chapter with nine while Valley had two and the South had three.

There were also support races and those are included in the results section.

Fortunately, despite all the hard riding, the medics really weren’t that busy although the did check on a few riders. One did get hurt Saturday and another Sunday earned himself a ride to the hospital to for further checks.

At the time this article was posted the condition of the rider Sunday was unknown.

Finally after the final checkered flag had waved and dust settled local OTHG chapter president Layne Kolbet was asked about the weekend that really started Friday with practice sessions.

“The weekend was awesome, I believe we had 165 riders on Friday, 228 for the weekend and 190 vets if I remember correctly,” he said. “Very good turnout, all over the ages of 30 in that category. Good turnout, good barbeque, good raffle and I’d like to thank all the people that help us out. The girls in the trailer do a wonderful job and without them we couldn’t do it.”

REPORTER’S NOTE: First there is a photo gallery after the results. Second for those interested in motocross and want to get involved, no matter if they ride or not, there is an opportunity.

The clubs need lap checkers and they get paid for their time. If interested please give Ronda Gentry a call as 775-742-2914.

If you enjoyed this article please “like,” and share it as widely as possible. Comments are welcome.

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We now have five very appreciated sponsors that are helping support this site.

Our newest is Big Valley Honda and is the first dealer we have as a sponsor. They sell everything from motorcycles, UTV’s, ATV’s and about anything else things one could want.

They are located at 2225 Market Street in Reno and their website is www.bigvalleyhonda.com and they have a Face Book page, www.facebook.com/bigvalleyhondareno.

Our first sponsor is a full service motorcycle shop, Reno Motorsports and they too have a full service shop as well as about anything a rider could want.

They are located at 964 Terminal way, by Mill Street and their website is, www.rms-renomotorsports.com.

Sponsor PJ & Co Restaurant and Saloon located at 1590 Wells Avenue in Reno is familiar to most in the riding lifestyle.

Good food, great place and they have Bike Night every Wednesday. For further information please check their website at, www.pjandco.net.

Concours Body Shop, owned by racer and race supporter Gil Grieve, is a business doing quality repair work on cars and trucks.

The business is located at 240 Telegraph Street in Reno and their website is, www.concoursbodyshop.net.

If you are into karting or want the most cost effective way to start racing then check out Nevada Kart Sport, our only full service kart shop in this region.

They are located at 1220 E. Greg Street in Sparks and their website is, www.nevadakartsport.com.

Have a business targeted toward the motorcycle, motorsport or off road demographic? Well we are looking for more sponsors.

You can contact us either through the comment section of the site or our Face Book page.

RESULTS

Over The Hill Gang Nationals – Round 2

Fernley/Wadsworth Motocros Track – May 28

OVERALL RESULTS:

30:

+ Beg: 1. Dustin Schwindt, 2. Steve Lerma Jr., 3. Kelly Licon, 4. Kimie Raymond, 5. Brenna Van Atta.

+ Nov: 1. Barrett Kiick, 2. Alex Murray, 3. Ben Edwards, 4. Daniel Van Luchem, 5. Rob Dooley, 6. Ry Davis, 7. Alexandra Clark.

+ Intrm: 1. Chris Wallace, 2. ShamiPotratz, 3. Matt Sorhouet, 4. Mike Wilson II, 5. Matt Wilkins, 6. Sedric Robinson.

+ Exp: 1.Walker Martin, 2. Brad Crouse, 3. Jason Augustson, 4. Josh Paloma, 5. Nick Van Atta.

+ Master: 1. Dustin Miller, 2. Ronnie Raymond, 3. Reece Honea.

38:

+ Beg: 1. Michael Vieira.

+ Nov: 1. Andrew Durkin, 2. Craig Owens, 3. Chris Trelut, 4. James Brown, 5. Dennis Matthews, 6. Rich Harrington, 7.Andrew Jones, 8. Richard Young.

+ Intrm: 1. Kirk Sego, 2. Chad Olson, 3. Sedanna Losey, 4. Aaron Bissell, 5. Mike Benninghofen, 6. James Van Duinwyk, 7. Stan Griffin.

+ Exp: 1. Kevin Hargett, 2. Jeff Whitaker, 3. Kenn Kibby, 4. Marty Smith, 5. A.J. Turnage.

+ Master: 1. Scott Stillmock.

45:

+ Beg: 1. Mike Anderson, 2. Joe Breed, 3. Russ Lowery, 4. Jim Shepard, 5. Fred Biagini, 6. Greg Provencio, 7. Jason Deryckz, 8. Theresa Stephens.

+ Nov: 1. Robert Haaverson, 2. Bob Woebbeking, 3. Sean Jackson, 4. Don Hart, 5. Kim Kinslow, 6. Ronald Medlock, 7. Garry Cook, 8. Robert Stemen, 9. Rich Hurtado, 10. Jesse Horne, 11. Edward McIlree, 12. Paige Marciel, 13. Blake Johnson, 14. Sean Anderson, 15. Chris Gaarenstroom, 16. Jeff Stephens, 17. Dan Lawson.

+ Intrm: 1. Allen Blanco, 2. Chris Dyer, 3. Mike Maciel, 4. Chris Ow, 5. Mark Harris, 6. Darren Townsley, 7. Brian Miller.

+ Exp: 1. Brad Peters, 2. John Lombardo, 3. Marcus Gentry, 4. Brent Workman, 5. Sam Hawley, 6. Eugene Spoor, 7. Ryan Ford, 8. Layne Kolbet, 9.Randy Jones, 10. Dave Harden, 11. Bryan Gambill, 12. Jerry De Baca.

DNS: Keith Brockmann.

+ Master: 1. Troy Cardiel, 2. Kevin Williams, 3. Sven (Butch) Stillmock, 4. Eric Tyler, 5. Kon Baur, 6. Matt Drury.

52:

+ Beg: 1. Mike Newman, 2. Marion Tucker, 3. Eric Call,4. Gregory Kendrick.

+ Nov: 1. Chris Ober, 2. Steven Ulle, 3. Michael Clark, 4. Chuck Wallace, 5. Jim Stillwell, 6. Mike Sommer, 7. Glenn Delatorre, 8. Matt Nichols, 9. Guy Eatchel, 10. Steve Rasmussen, 11. Jeff McCollum, 12. Michael Thomas, 13. Kerry Wallace, 14. John Porgie.

DNS: Steve Machado.

+Intrm: 1. Rich Wilson, 2. Brad Putnam, 3. Steve Allen, 4. Peter Mayforth, 5. Brad Huffer, 6. Marc Condon, 7. Richard Van Dky, 8. Ross Robertson, 9. Joe Lozowski, 10. Greg McRae, 11. Jev Velez, 12. Shaun Condon.

+ Exp: 1. Greg Anderson, 2. Ron Horner, 3. Richard Cervantes, 4. Matt Itamura, 5. Dan Jones, 6. Jim Tappan, 7. Michael Renner, 8. Gilbert Chick, 9. Bill Webb, 10. Greg Kamholz, 11. Ron Thornton.

+ Master: 1. Tim Tynan, 2. Matt Elkins, 3. Dean Adkins, 4. Robert Austin, 5. Dave Mozingo,6. Craig Christian.

58:

+ Intrm: 1. Mark Stirling, 2. Brent Allen, 3. Mike Wilson, 4. Darin Lundquist, 5. Mark Olmstead, 6. Brian Leetham, 7. Dave Alley.

+ Nov: 1. Ted Griffin, 2. Steve “Viva Las Vegas,” 3. Don Martin, 4. David Drake, 5. Linda Thomas, 6. Michael Nitkin, 7. Jeff Mitchell.

+ Exp: 1. Eric Watt, 2. Arnie Davis, 3. John Traverso, 4. Mike Subocz, 5. Scott Sligar, 6. Tim Crossfield, 7. Michael Butler, 8. Duane Joice, 9. Mark Lane.

+ Master: 1. Randy Law, 2. Chris “Super Corn,” Cur, 3. Steve Law,4. Terry Huffer.

65:

+ Nov: 1. Perry Black, 2. Reid Franke, 3. Russ Greenfield, 4. LeRoy Francard, 5. Bob Kosovilka, 6. Jim Patterson.

+ Intrm: 1. Tommy Pearl, 2. Duane Quick.

Women:

+ Beg: 1. Deanna Sorhouet.

+ Nov: 1. Ginny Hooper, 2. Lynn Velez, 3. Charlene Spoor, 4. Tammy Horner.

National Support:

+ 65cc: 1. Connor Gaarentstroom, 2. Joseph Mitchell, 3. Kai Newman, 4. Seth Smith, 5. Rylan Skulason, 6. Hub Losey, 7. Hudson Losey, 8. Tyler Haroldson, 9. Charles Grubb.

+ 85cc: 1. Landon Wilkins, 2. Colby Olson, 3. Trent Smith, 4. Cody Zimmer, 5. Grant Bergman, 6. Brianna Thornton, 7. Ollie M. Bonner.

National Support:

+Beginner: 1. Trevor Hargett, 2. Bryce A. Stapelton, 3. Cory K. Sego, 4. Daniel Tanttum, 5. Cameron Munter, 6. Sharon Mowell, 7. Marcus Condon, 8. Gizele Spoor, 9. Zanden Rockenstein, 10. Voe O’Brien, 11. Connor Johnson, 12. Logan Holms, 13. Rhiannon Whitaker.

+ Novice: 1. Tim E. Trainor, 2. J.W. Thompson, 3. Keith Allen, 4. Sean Botelho, 5. Mike Haisten, 6. Zach Howell, 7. Jeff Wilson, 8. Tristen Mathisen, 9. Tyler Gunn, 10. Scotty Chick, 11. Justin Amos, 12. Corey Mathisen, 13. Phil R. Fell, 14. Ashtyn Shepard, 15. Kyle J. Zimmer, 16. Chris J. Leone, 17. Greg Anderson, 18. Jace Newman, 19. Jamie Bonner, 20. Nate Rogne, 21. Ryan Matthews, 22. Sean Jackson.

+ Intermediate: 1. Avery Dyrr, 2. Evan Ford, 3. Layne Hornback, 4. Tyler Spoor.

+ Expert: 1. Nolan A. Rudd, 2. Matt Manha, 3. T-mo Moore, 4. Chris Cumbo.

PHOTO GALLERY: