AMA Mid-South Championship Winter Hare Scramble Series

Round 3: Box Hollow

Summers Shakes Up the Mid-South

BY DEBBIE ALLEN

New Johnsonville, TN, November 2

Scott Summers came and conquered in his usual style at the third round of the Mid-South Championship Winter Hare Scramble Series. Like times before, he got a bad start, passed everyone, and made it to the front just in time to be scored in first place by the end of the first lap. Without any real mistakes, he continued his up front, near score tent relay until the last lap and claimed first place in overall.

Nothing much has changed except for one major thing. This time, he signed up for Mid-South points, and those riders who have endeared high hopes for the AA Championship may need to dig a little deeper, or they might have to kiss their chances goodbye. Summers has won multi-championships in national events. Luckily, he did have some hopeful things to say. He was not really planning on coming to every event.

He said, “I may be moving to warmer climate for the winter season which would put me out of several of the races, but I did sign up for points.” So what’s the weather like in the Mid-South these days? The first week of November encountered beautiful skies and temperatures reaching the mid eighties in Tennessee.

Today Summers entered the Box Hollow event with a purpose in mind. He wanted to sit back and enjoy a great race while at the same time put in some practice time for upcoming national events.

Off the start, twelve riders in the AA class rolled onto a course consisting of ten miles per lap. John Robbins got the holeshot with P.A. Allen and Charles Mullins traveling a bike’s length behind him. The AA riders meandered through some tough trail and by the end of the first lap, Summers moved into the lead with Allen and Blair Bersano following closely.

He said, “I kind of tried to ride a good pace, and I think I only made one mistake where I killed the engine on the third lap. I actually thought I had a bigger lead than what I did, but Charles [Mullins] was right there with me. I’d really like to thank my Dad for making me a part of his new company called Tire Balls. I’ve now ridden three years without a flat.”

American Honda / Honda Riders Club / Honda Pro Chemicals / Arai / Tire Balls supported Summers stayed out front for the remaining three laps. He said, “It’s really hard to pull away when you have so many lapped riders on the same trail, but the course was good, and I really enjoyed myself out there.”

Meanwhile, the riders from the rear swapped continually for second and third place. Allen, Mullins, and Bersano were fighting for the podium the entire race. Toward the end of the first lap, Allen dropped back to second and stayed there for another half of a lap.

FMF Suzuki backed Bersano and KTM mounted Mullins took over the remaining two laps. They picked up their pace considerably during the last lap and charged a minute and a half faster from their previous lap’s time. On the last lap, Mullins passed Bersano and finished in second place, just seconds from Summers.

“I took a different line around Blair [Bersano] and got around him. I could see Summers in front of me, but there was no way to get around him,” said Mullins. “I had fun, and I wanted to thank my Dad for helping me.”

Bersano also had that same problem of not being able to get around his opponent, but he rode an impressive race and finished with a third place podium finish.

The next three riders were also battling within seconds from one another. Dustin Gibson, John Maschino, and Allen freight trained about a minute behind the top three riders. They moved back and forth and finished the race with Gibson taking fourth and Maschino and Allen coming in fifth and sixth place.

“My bike didn’t start off the line, but it worked out okay because I took the inside line and moved ahead,” said Sarge’s Cycles / KTM / Moose / Pro Action of Kentucky / Smith sponsored Gibson. “On the first lap, I was in eleventh. After that, I just had to do what I had to do, and I finished in fourth place.”

Robert Patterson and crew laid out a very good race in New Johnsonville, Tennessee, for 573 riders. They created a tough track with large hills and tight woods that made it a challenge. Hats off to three riders from the third round, they claimed their third win for this season. They were Charles Cunningham in Vet C, Jake Fiddler in 200 B, and Steve Gordon in Vet A.

After winning today’s event, Jeffery Holland, Ryan Creasor, and Scott Summers manipulated a tie in points for their classes. Holland won Open B and is now tied for points with Gavin Hunt. Creasor finished in first place and is now tied with Kenny Judd in 4 Stroke B while Summers won AA and is presently tied with Bersano in the AA class.

The next round will be in Lynnville, Indiana. The Indiana Rider’s Club puts on a great race, but they never seem to move the boulders. It’s a great trail on the home track of the Black Coal National, and you will enjoy the ride in spite of the usual flat tires. Maybe a few Tire Balls from Scott Summers’s Dad would help. Good Luck!