ome guys have all the luck, and such was the case for several riders at Mid-South’s ninth round of the Cross Country Motorsports Championship. Pro Action set the stage in Crofton, Kentucky. There were perfect conditions for a perfect setting. Yet it was not a perfect ending for Summers. In the end, Summers ran out of gas while Team Green Kawasaki / Fox / Shift / Tire Balls / Dunlop / Smith supported P. A. Allen was on it.
"The track was awesome," said Allen. "I had a really good ride today, but it was pretty much back and forth the first two laps. I got the holeshot and about a mile in John Robbins passed me. I was happy because I didn’t want to lead the first lap. It was pretty messy, and I fell about half way through it. That moved me back to last place."
By the second lap, the Allen and Summers charge was under way. Allen caught up to Summers who was in first place, and they pulled away from the rest of the twelve men in the AA pack. Allen took a better line going down a hill, passed him, and then pulled away until he was slowed down by a bottle neck. Afterward it was Summers turn to take the lead.
Summers said, "P.A. passed me in that same exact line that he did the lap before, so then we rode together for a while. I passed him, and we separated by about thirty seconds" Then he crashed hard with another rider. While on his side, he realized that he had probably lost just enough gas to lose the race.
Sure enough, two turns from the finish, Summers was stuck and ten seconds later, Allen cruised by him.
"P.A. rode really well today," said Summers, "so I’m happy for him. It was my fault because I normally take a little bottle of gas with me at the start, and I didn’t do that; plus you normally burn a little more gas when it’s muddy."
"I gave it all I could to catch him," said Allen. "On the last lap, Summers ran out of gas about a hundred and fifty yards short, so I beat him. I would really like to thank my sponsors, and it was fun racing with Summers."
The remaining front runners were John Maschino, Robbins, and Brett Zofchak. OffRoad Group / Gas Gas /Hebo / Leader supported Maschino got second place while Cycle Shed / KTM / Thor / IMS sponsored Robbins made third and Zofchak finished in the top five.
"This was a fast course," said Robbins. "You really had to watch your lines and be there at the finish."
Kyle Wisdom, 250 C winner, was the fastest among his novice competition. He led his class the entire time and wanted to thank Mom and Pop’s Racing. He said, "It was fun. A little muddy and a little slick, but the faster you went the smoother it was."
In the Masters class, Charles Vanway had an awesome ride. He said it was tough and very demanding but he loved every minute of it. He finished in third place while Foster Pearson got first and Lonnie Waston got second.