Mid-South Hare Scrambles Youth Series Cross Country Motorsports Championship

BY DEBBIE ALLEN

High on top of the Tennessee Mountain Trail, 69 racers gathered for the tenth round of the Mid-South Hare Scrambles Youth Series. The TMT hosted the Cross Country Motorsports Championship, and it was nothing short of a true hare scramble. The racers dodged through tight woods, creeks, mud bogs, roots, and ruts to finish the four miles of trail. While more than half made four or five laps, one thing was impressive. Everyone finished.

In the first race, the Junior A and B winners were Jordan Ashburn and Tanner Byarly. Mid-State Motorsports sponsored Ashburn worked his way up to the lead after getting a close to last place start. By the creek section, he was mid-pack. Shortly thereafter, he got around Dustin Milam and Dylan Ritter when they were stuck in a rut. He then moved into first place when he passed Adam Creasor on a straight-a-way and then pushed for the finish.

Creasor said, "No one can catch him [Ashburn] anymore; he’s so fast."

The two front runners had a flawless ride while third place, Shane Pena, fought with the elements. Ashburn had forty seconds lead over Creasor who was consistently pacing himself in second place. On the other hand, Pena had a different story. After the race, he was covered in mud from head to toe.

He said, "There’s a lot of mud out there. I would have caught up to them if I had another pair of goggles. But, it was rough because I was hit with a lot of rocks."

In Junior B class, Sarge’s Cycles / Sinsalo supported Byarly had the best ride. He was in third place off of the start and navigated the lead by the third turn, racing faster than many of the A riders. He came in first place with Zach Nash taking second and Tyler Carter finishing in third.

Thor Pro Taper RK Chains Effex Graphics supported Nash said, "I had a good ride and was closing in on first. I passed Tyler [Carter] several times, but I could never really make it stick until the last lap. I passed him, and then he hit somebody."

In the Mini class, Bridgestone / Renthal backed Dylan Cox got the holeshot and then had to work for his win. He suddenly lost the lead and five riders passed him when his bike started to give him problems. He said, "I think my choke was on so after I fixed it, I passed three of them on the straight-a-way, and the rest I had to tight squeeze them through the woods."

Not far behind him, Cody Shoettmer, Dylan Majors, and Wesley Bolton freight trained into the top four positions. Going through the creeks sections, Anderson Power Sports/ Tire Balls / Safety Tech backed Schoettmer was at his best. He just put his head down and charged for a splash into second.