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Mid-South Championship Winter Hare Scramble Series
Summers Back to School Win
By Debbie Allen
Great weather set the stage for the tenth round of the Mid-South Championship Winter Hare Scramble Series. The sun was a welcomed sight, and many riders
broke out the
After overcoming a few problems at the Pirelli Tire, Moose, Parts Unlimited, and White Brothers sponsored series; Summers made the fastest lap and took the lead for his third win this season. Off the start, he was the fourth rider into the woods and things slowly got worse for him. He dropped back to tenth and by the end of his first lap; he came through the tent in sixth place. After one log jam, two crashes, and ten miles of technical trail, he progressed to third place.
“I felt like my biggest problem was myself,” said Honda Riders’ Club / Factory Connection / Honda Pro Oils and Chemicals / Summers Racing Components supported Summers. “Every time I started making progress, I would start charging too hard and would make a mistake and would start crashing.” Three laps later, he finally quit crashing and started reeling guys into view. He passed the leader, Jeff Cregg, and finished the race in first place overall.
“I’ll take second to Scott Summers any day,” said Cregg. “I had a great ride and ran second for most of the day behind Dustin [Gibson].” On the next to the last lap, Summers caught us, so I let him by me.” Shortly after that, Cregg ran into a tree, and Dustin Gibson got back around him.
Team Green Kawasaki / Moose / Scott / Lidz by Fid / Pro Action of Kentucky backed Cregg stuck it out riding on two flats. In spite, he rode smooth and proved he was the fastest Mid-South man for round ten. He got around Gibson when he was least expecting it. Afterwards he cranked his KX 250 into high gear and finished twenty seconds under Summers in second place overall.
Sarge’s Cycles / KTM / Smith / Bike Pedlar backed Gibson was the front runner for the first three laps. He battled for the lead on the first lap with Kawasaki mounted P. A. Allen in charge. About three quarters of the way into the lap, Allen blew a corner and Gibson pulled into the lead. He stayed out front for the next two laps, and then he drifted back due to fatigue while Summers and Cregg gained momentum. Gibson said, “My bike beat me to death because it still has stock suspension, and I have only had a couple of hours on it. I just got tired, and I didn’t know Cregg was that close. They both were riding real fast.” He finished in third place in overall and is currently in second place in overall point for the series.
Meanwhile, Allen crashed in a creek and dropped back to fifth place. He finished three minutes behind OffRoad Group / Leader / Bridgestone / TM / Thor supported John Maschino who got fourth in overall. They both rode a fairly lonely race and finished within a respectable five minutes from Summers. No doubt, this battle with Allen and Gibson will find its way into the next race as both will be gunning for this year’s championship.
“It was rough and fast,” said Maschino. The track consisted of older trail with deep ruts and big roots that made it one dangerous, hare scramble for everyone. Off the start, the riders were forewarned by a AA class collision when Mike Sampson went down on a straight-a-way. The riders toughed it out even though there was more than a fair share of riders dismounted from their bikes. Sampson finished in tenth place in AA class.
Team Green’s Harvey Whitaker won Vet A class and clenched the Championship with his seventh win this season. He said, “I struggled today and did everything including spit, kick, and cry to get the lead. I settled down after a while and things finally started to happen. It’s been a good year, and I appreciate everything about the Mid-South races.”
While making a move to the Intermediate class, Jeffery Welch earned the 250 B win and came in twenty-second place in overall. He’s not bad for starting this season in a Novice class. After seven rounds, he became the 4 Stroke C Champion. Now, he’s making things more interesting for 250 B points’ leader, Eric Meeks and second runner up, Brandon Jones. Hayden Moore got second place at this race, and Meeks followed in third place while Brandon Jones came in a respectable fourth place.