AMA Pirelli Moose Parts Unlimited White Brothers

Mid-South Championship Winter Hare Scramble Series

Gibson Wins Box Hollow

By Debbie Allen

Round 9: Box Hollow

New Johnsonville, TN, Mar 3

Dustin Gibson made all the right moves at the ninth round of the Pirelli Tire, Moose, Parts Unlimited, and White Brothers sponsored series. During his second lap, he made the fastest lap time, moved in for the lead, and battled to keep it until the finish. The Pro Action of Kentucky / Sarge’s Cycles / KTM / Moose / Smith backed Gibson rode his KTM 450 EXC into the victory lane and won his first Mid-South Championship this season.

“It was awesome all day,” said Gibson. “I rode smooth and stayed out front for most of the race. Maschino, Cregg, and I swapped during the last lap, but other than that, it was pretty smooth.”

Off the start, eight riders were lined up on the AA line. Sarge’s Cycles / Team Green Kawasaki’s / Pro Circuit / Renthal / IMS / P. A. Allen took the lead with Mike Sampson and John Maschino at his side. Allen took the inside line and was the first rider to enter the creek section. The riders disappeared but shortly thereafter, they came back into view. This time Allen was still in the lead, but Gibson was moving in from the rear. Towards the end of the nine miles raced, John Robbins was pulling the AA lead.

Throughout the race, the lead was swapped by several different people. During the first lap, Timmy Pool, in 250 /Open A, was in the lead for overall. He rode so fast that he thought he missed a turn somewhere. When he checked his whereabouts, he noticed Sampson, Bersano, and Westerfield were not far behind him. With that in mind, he felt like everything was okay and continued his charge into the second lap.

P. A. Allen, John Maschino, and Jeff Cregg also fathomed first place for a short while, but Gibson hung tight and gripped the throttle for the long haul. He rode smart and was out front when it counted the most. He came through the score tent in first place for the rest of the race. He is currently in second place in overall and in the AA class for Mid-South points.

Second place in overall went to Kawasaki / Bloomington Power Sports / Pro Action of Kentucky / Scott backed Jeff Cregg. He said, “We switched places so many times I really don’t know who had the lead where or when. I had a good ride and stayed in second and third place for most of the race but was also in the lead for a short while too. ” Cregg was flying in second and was only a second down from Gibson at the checkered flag. Cregg is currently in third place in points, and his goal is to keep it.

Off Road Group / Bridgestone Tire / Thor supported John Maschino got third place in overall. He had a bad start and was last off the line. He moved into sixth place during his first lap and held it on the next. By the third lap, he took off and pushed his way into second place. He said, “I knew Dustin was right ahead of me because I had just passed Cregg who was stuck on a hill. I picked a better line and passed Dustin on the third mile marker; but later on, he did the same.”

While going up a hill, Gibson swung wide to make it up a hill, and Maschino just charged in and got stuck behind a lapper who was having trouble. In order to avoid the situation, he veered into the thicket and was forced to go back down the hill. From that point on, Maschino thought it was best to just maintain third place since he had lost so much time and only had a few miles to go.

Bersano and Allen also struggled with their share of the elements. They had one of those days where things weren’t going their way. During the last two laps, they rode together and held on to forth and fifth place. FMF Susuki and Lowe Racing backed Bersano snuck into forth place a few miles from the finish and Allen finished got fifth.

Meanwhile, Pool took a chance on a big down-hill, and the big hill won. He smacked a tree and could hear the birds chirping for quite a while. After Alan Westerfield stopped in to check on him, he felt better and got back on his bike, but this dropped him back to second place in his class. After that, he never got back the same momentum as his first lap. He finished in eighth place overall.

Alan Westerfield won 250/Open A and was in seventh place in overall. He said, “I’d really like to thank God for keeping us all safe. And, I’d like to thank Suzuki for giving me an incentive to ride. They pay $400 a win for Mid-South races, and that’s kind of nice.”