This weekend veteran motocross racers converged on Fernley.

(FERNLEY, APRIL 17): The Old Timer Nationals brought riders from Canada and across the west here for a weekend of racing and fun. Riders came from as far away as Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Washington, Oregon and even British Colombia.

The series is for riders over 40 years old and they are grouped into classes by age and experience. And on Sunday a rider’s finishes are added up and that score is where they are ranked in their class.

When the second series of motos started on Sunday the first group were riders in the 60 plus year range. And the first to reach the finish line was Steve Law, from Manteca, California.

“In the first race went down and ended up second,” he said. “This race went fine, I knew what I had to do, which is stay on two wheels so I kind of backed her down a little bit and rode comfortable. The track is as good as it gets, I love the sand, we don’t have much of it at home, the sand takes care of itself, it gets rough on its own.”

Then he thanked Modesto KTM and his wife.

When the gate dropped Law was in command and led from gate drop to finish. But it wasn’t a cakewalk as he was chased by another rider for the entire race.

Other winners were Al Whipple, in the Expert class and Michael Mosca, an Intermediate rider.

Second set of final motos had quite an age spread, from 60 plus to a trio of 80 year olds although most were in the 70 plus class.

In the end Bart Kellogg, a 70+ Expert rider reached the finished line first after being chased by fellow expert Bruce Hoover.

After the race 72-year-old Kellogg said, “The amazing thing is that I’m riding a 250 but everybody else is riding 450s. I’d like to thank the club for putting on an awesome race, I got sponsors but I pay most of the bills.”

Other winners were Wayne Obleness, in the Intermediate group, and Bud Abbott in the Novice group. There was a 75+ Class member and that was Doug McCaleb.

And apparently the most senior rider, even though we didn’t get to talk to him, was 87-year-old Richard Lyons from Phelan, California.

Taking the 80 plus was 81-year-old Wayne Young from Lewiston, Idaho.

“I had a few falls, was behind a few times and just worked her up,” he said.

Before the Sunday motos began this reporter had a chance to talk further with Young about his racing past.

“I won my first race in 1955 all it was English bikes, no Japanese bikes at all. And we would ride them to the race and ride back home on them,” he said. “The weekend is going good, riding hard in this deep sand which I’m not used to, I’m used to dirt.”

The next race was for the “youngsters,” in the 40 plus and 50 plus classes. Racing the checkered flag and scoring the weekend victory was Mark Kaestner from Cleelum, Washington.

After taking the checkered flag he said, “The race went well and the track held up real good. I need to thank the Lord above, my family and the guys that keep me sponsored and help me.”

Other winner were 40 Plus Master Ian Hamilton and in the 40 Plus Expert class the winner was local rider Tony R. Fagundes from Fernley while the Over The Hill Gang president Layne Kolbet came in fourth overall for that class.

Next up was another “youngster class,” race with the 40 Plus Intermediates and 50 Plus Experts. Right after the start Dave Harden from Grants Pass, Oregon was on point with Reno rider Gilbert Chick giving chase followed by first moto winner Dave Mozingo.

Chick was unable to close the gap although he did close the gap on the final lap so he had to settle for the runner up spot while the win gave Harden the overall victory for the meet.

“It looks like it might give me the overall,” Harden said, “It’s good, I’m all used up so it was a good weekend. And I thank the Lord for keeping me safe.”

After congratulating Harden on his win Gilbert Chick said, ” I think I could have caught him but I got tired, yes I did, I got tired,” he said. “Had a great day, loved every inch of the track and there was not one corner that I did not like, I loved it.”

Then he thanked Al McElroy and Nevada Old Timers and the Fernley Lions Club.

Next up was the 50 Plus Intermediate racer that began the weekend with probably the largest field as they had 19 riders that started Saturday morning.

In a long meet like this attrition will come into play either from problems with the bikes or injuries that, while not significant, can put a rider on the sidelines. In Sunday’s final moto seven of the class did not start that race.

When the gate dropped on the final moto two Washington riders, Chris Clark and Greg Smith lead the pack. They would be followed by Ron Clark and Bret Eckert, from Oregon and California.

Lap after lap they flew around the track until the checkered where Clark claimed the victory and swept the weekend.

Asked if the win would give him the overall victory he said, “I believe it does. The guy I was really neck and neck with had a buddy that got hurt unfortunately. He’s a good racer so that’s a bummer.”

Then he thanked the Nevada club for what they’ve done.

When the final Old Timer’s moto for the weekend began both riders sported the number “42,” on their bikes with the same background. And they stayed close together during the entire race.

At the end Clayton Ross III, who rides in the 40 Plus Novice class, won the day and swept the weekend while Mark Dugan from Eugene, Oregon was second overall with Lisa Moore, from Hillsboro, Washington ending up third.

“I’m from Reno, this is my local track and yea it will give me the overall,” he said. “You know the track is awesome, I love this track, ridden out here since I was a little kid, took a 25-year hiatus off the bikes so I’m just getting back to it. This is my first, first since I came back seven races ago so I finally earned a first place.”

He added special thanks to his 74-year-old father Clayton Ross, who got him started as a kid and now has gotten him back out on the track.

“He wanted to do the Old Timer series so pulled me off the couch, put me on a bike and now we’re traveling all the western states, going to all the races,” he said.

In addition to all the Old Timer classes there were racers supporting the event. Everything from big bikes to a few Pee Wee racers and their results are listed below this article.

It’s a long weekend with three motos on Saturday but only two on Sunday, which allows for an early end for those that have traveled a long distance.

As for the medics, while some riders suffered injuries none of them had to be transported although a few might have visited the hospital after leaving the track.

Next up for the local Old Timer’s chapter is on the weekend of April 30th to May 1st when they host the next round of the 775 Spring Classic Motocross Series.

OTHER RACING NEWS

• NASCAR’s top two divisions were at the Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend. In Saturday’s Xfinity event Kyle Busch started fifth and finished second breaking his string of wins while Brendan Gaughan started 11th and ended up 16th.

In Saturday’s Sprint Cup event both Busch brothers were racing but had different outcomes. Older brother Kurt started 26th but charged his way to 3rd while Kyle, who started fifth, was taken out in a wreck and ended up 38th.

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

Subscribers receive articles as soon as they are posted on the website.

If you’re into the riding life style or race a motorcycle please support our sponsor, Reno Motor Sports, as they help keep this site going.

We are also looking for more sponsors so if your business wants to support a site with the racer/fan demographic please contact us, either through the comment section or our Face Book site.

There will be a gallery of photos after the result section.

 

RESULTS

Old Timer Nationals

Fernley/Wadsworth Motocross Track – April 16, 17

Overall Finishes

80+ Class: 1. Wayne Young, 2. Sonny Neff, 3. Richard      Lyons.

75+ Class: 1. Doug McCaleb

70 Plus:

+ Novice: 1. Bud Abbott, 2. John Fridlund.

+ Intermediate: 1. Wayne Obleness, 2. Roger Knight, 3. Jim Patterson*, 4. Dave Witz.

+ Expert: 1. Bart Kellogg, 2. Duane Quick*, 3. Bruce Hoover, 4. Paul Budai, 5. Ronald Ryer, 6. Clayton Ross*, 7. Edgar Perriton.

60 Plus:

+ Novice: 1. Mitch Alden, 2. Derek Currie, 3. Steve Pratt, 4. John Craft, 5. Rick Carl*, 6. Russ Greenfield

+ Master: 1. Steve Law, 2. Ron Hudson, 3. Rick Herbst.

+ Expert: 1. Al Whipple, 2. Tom Baugh, 3. Steve Parker, 4. Steve Bader, 5. James Neff, 6. Kerry Barnes*, 7. Michael Gorel, 8. Jim Moe, 9. Rick Hoopkins.

+ Intermediate: 1. Michael Mosca, 2. Ted Griffin*, 3. Ray Schmucker, 4. Mark Moore, 5. Steve Moore, 6. Bob Hooker, 7. Lonnie Manning, 8. Randy Bruce, 9. Dan Fleming, 10. Bill Schultz, 11. Mike Costello.

50+:

+ Novice: 1. Dave Neitzel, 2. Peter Chapin, 3. Brian Swanson, 4. Kevin Roach, 5. Gary Dyrr, 6. Jeff  Mitchell*, 7. Ed Dattilo, 8. Michael Villa, 9. Dave Martell, 10. Colt White, 11. Michael Ward, 12. Danny Frisbie.

+ Intermediate: 1. Chris Clark, 2. Greg Smith, 3. Ron Clark, 4. Bret Eckert, 5. Carmen Ogino, 6. Brent Allen, 7. Joe Bruhus, 8. Butch Garza, 9. Michael Fowler, 10. Gregg Flood, 11. Jeff McCollum*, 12. Jim Stroup, 13. Grant Saunders*, 14. David Kohler, 15. Daniel Anderson, 16. Bill Buttrum*, 17. Don Ellinsson, 18. Mark Ensign, 19. Jay Heying*.

+ Master: 1. Mark Kaestner, 2. Craig Christian, 3. Robert Austin.

+ Expert: 1. Dave Harden, 2. Dave Mozingo, 3. Leon Capps, 4. Gilbert Chick*, 5. Richard Cervantes, 6. Stacey Rowe, 7. Mike Voegele, 8. Al McElroy*, 9. Carl Chadwick, 10. Scott Chick*, 11. Peter W. Mayforth, 12. Bill MacDonald.

40+:

+ Novice: 1. Clayton Ross*, 2. Mark Dugan, 3. Lisa Moore, 4. Michael Furlong.

+ Intermediate: 1. Paul Park, 2. Chuck Heckman, 3. Brad Peters, 4. Dennis Child, 5. Paul Hamman, 6. Jeff Greenwood, 7. Wes Hare.

+ Master: 1. Ian Hamilton.

+ Expert: 1. Tony P. Fagundes*, 2. Kevin Roach, 3. James Beckett, 4. Layne Kolbet*, 5. Darrel Farmer Jr.

* – Local chapter riders.

Support Races:

• Sunday, April 17:

+ Pee Wee Open: 1. Joesph Mitchell, 2. Rylan Skulason

+ 65cc Open: 1. Cruz Bauer, 2. Charlie Grubb.

+ 85cc Open: 1. Tyler Crittenden, 2. Garrison Dyrr, 3. Hayden A. Fugundes.

Big Bike:

+ Open A/B: 1. Dylan Ellingson, 2. Dylan Galliett, 3. Dalton Smith, 4. Nolan A. Rudd, 5. Mikey Chick.

+ Open C: 1. Tim E. Trainor, 2. Keith Allen, 3. Tommy Jackson, 4. Lucas Jones, 5. Colton L. Scudder, 6. Kyle W. Zinda, 7. Nicole M. Carlson, 8. Danny Rudd, 9. Brandn Jacober.

30+:

+ A/B Support: 1. Clint Magnine.

+ C Support: 1. Scott R. Chick, 2. James Anderson, 3. James Moss, 4. David Bauer, 5. Bryan Ensign.

Vintage: 1. Michael Fowler, 2. Jay Heying, 3. Paul Park.

Bomber: 1. Robert Austin.

• Saturday, April 16.

Big Bike:

+ Open A/B: 1. Nolan A. Rudd, 2. Dalton Smith, 3. Dylan Ellingson, 4. Ean A. McElroy.

+ Open C: 1. Tim E. Trainor, 2. Keith Allen, 3. Lucas Jones, 4. Tommy Jackson, 5. Brandon Jacober, 6. Colton L. Scudder, 7. Kyle W. Zinda, 8. Jesse Bergen, 9. Anthony C. Monachelli, 10. Chance Morran, 11. Danny Rudd, 12. Nicole M. Carlson.

30+ Support:

+ A/B Support: 1. Clint Magnine, 2. Chris J. Leone.

+ C Support: 1. Caleb Richey, 2. Scott R. Chick, 3. Sedanna Losey, 4. James Moss, 5. James Anderson, 6. Bryan Ensign.

65cc Open: 1. Charlie Grubb.

Pee Wee Open: 1. Joesph Mitchell, 2. Rylan Skulason.

Photo Gallery: