And no, it wasn't very sunny. In fact, even after an all-night rain, the skies over Washougal apparently saved something. Because as Pepper dropped the ONE MINUTE board, the clouds opened up and DUMPED on the Pro final. Morning racers were slightly luckier, but only slighly.

First off bright and shiny at 8:00 am were the C and Utility riders. What they got was relatively calm skies, but a very slick track. Utility racers Josh Frederick and Dean Waters could have just gone for a Sunday ride, if it wasn't for the two dozen other riders on the track insistent on repeatedly getting stuck, sliding off the track, or skidding sideways through corners. Dean and Josh are just such nice guys that they spent most of their race pushing and pulling. The total race was only four laps but each one was continually modified by WORCS as they cut more and more sections out of the track, roping off hills that were too steep or mud bogs that were too deep. Racers had to stay alert to course changes on the fly.

CanAm? You bet they can! Frederick and Waters rolled out the Outlander 800's for their trip around Washougal. Waters said even with aggressive tires and 4WD, it was still "slick as ice."

Race 9 Podium Winners

200cc Stock
1st - Eric Frentress
2nd - Tyler Woods

Open C
1st - Dale Mininger
2nd - Coby Klingonsmith
3rd - Derek Garza

Production C
1st - Daniel Grodski
2nd - Michael Ellsworth
3rd - John Lorence

12-15 200cc Open
1st - Alec Trujillo
2nd - Joseph Sheble
3rd - Dominic Depalma

Race 10 riders were all lined up and ready to stage, then WORCS threw another twist in the plan and moved them off for a grass start, cutting out a couple more of the hills as the sky continued to drizzle and keep things challenging.

Aaron Wentz took an unexpected ride through the woods, but still managed a win in the 40+ B class.

Podium Winners:

Sport 15 - 29 A
1st - Joey Wyngaev
2nd - Jarid Lorenzen
3rd - Zachary Grodski

Sport 15 - 29 B
1st - Shane Dunn
2nd - Cody Mitchell
3rd - Nick Mauro

Vet 30+ A
1st - Roy Bloodworth
2nd - Jason Perkinson
3rd - Barry Bennett

Vet 30+ B
1st - Jason Strotner
2nd - Ray Aycox
3rd - Paul Pogue

Master 40+ A
1st - Tony Henkel
2nd - Jon Wayment

Master 40+ B
1st - Aaron Wentz
2nd - Rick Ellsworth
3rd - Lonnie Sortor

The PeeWees in Race 11 seemed like they might get the first nice break in the weather but just as the green flag dropped, the rain started again. They ran a very modified course with almost none of the MX track, instead using a good portion of the grass field and a stretch through the woods. Most were able to negotiate it with little help from mom and dad, but there were plenty of bodies scattered around to cheer and push when needed.

#19 Nate Wilson had to have a little help on several laps - and with 11 laps in the race, that's a lot of help!

Race 11 Podium Winners:

51-70cc Open
1st - Kyle Gillespie
2nd - Nick Klein
3rd - Cody Engelhart

50cc Stock 4 -6 years
1st - Buddy Williams
2nd - Kiersten Buffaloe
3rd - Chase Higgins

50cc Stock 7 - 8 years
1st - Caide Hunt
2nd - Ryan Holz
3rd - Riley James

70cc Stock
1st - Kristen Wentz

And then - the murmurs began. Almost as soon as Pro Doug Eichner opened his trailer Sunday morning, there was a crowd gathered to see - TIRE STUDS. What? What kind of unfair advantage was this?!

After a long debate with crew chief Leonard Duncan and even a call back to the Duncan Racing shop to consult, they carefully read WORCS rules (confirming no mention of tire studs, either allowing or disallowing) and decided to go for it. Measuring tread depth and calculating tire pressure and flex, they completely studded a set of ITP Holeshots. Despite loud protests from some other racers and their support teams, and some from racers not even on the track for that event, the team got the nod from WORCS officials that they could in fact run studs. There was nothing that said they could not.

Sean Reddish said it was not a matter of bending a rule or swaying an interpretation of a vague rule - there was in fact no rule whatsoever coming into that race. He admitted that he personally used studded tires in some instances and in fact they are used by MX racers on the Washougal track specifically in this type of muddy conditions. He did say, however, because the majority of riders had concerns about safety with studs on the track, he would certainly take a look - expect it to be the last time it is permitted, but nothing "official" was announced at race time.

The only time he would consider changing a hard-and-fast rule was if it was a safety issue, which was one of the concerns brought up about Doug's studs. Sean said that if it was a flat track event where tire rubbing and close racing was the norm and studs could easily cause damage or injury, he would not allow it. Or if the rider was unfamiliar with studs and their set up, he'd be less likely to allow it. However, he reiterated, there was no rule to interpret, so it was a mute point.

One hour later at Post Time, Josh Frederick was sporting a set of quickly studded tires as well... Would they be a factor in the ongoing Eichner/Frederick battle? We were about to find out.

As we said, just as the Pros got final warning of gate drop, the skies dumped their hardest buckets of the day. However, same as a sunny day in the desert, it was an Eichner Holeshot. For the next 90 minutes, it was Eichner-Frederick, Frederick-Eichner. They swapped the lead back and forth as each made goggle stops or scheduled pit stops. Frederick had several unplanned misfortunes, with a flat, a crash and one really good STUCK. However, each time he rode his ass off to catch back up and be there to take the lead when opportunity arose. At the end, it was Eichner by just under 2 minutes.

Both riders chided each other from the podium about their studs, rather tongue-in-cheek. Kidding, but probably not totally...

Third place on the podium for the first time this year was our favorite wild man Tim Shelman, #30. Tim is just one of those guys that everyone knows, has probably helped nearly every rider out on the track at least once, and is never without a smile. (Though you'll find him pretty often without a shirt.) His wife Maria helps run the WORCS sign in trailer and their daughter Allie races as well. Good people, and the crowd was hugely supportive of Timmy's showing for the day.

ProAm was an all-Washingon affair, with local boys Reed Petchnick, Drew Lattimar and Paul Wilkerson sweeping the podium. Drew said that the evening before he decided if it would just rain a little more, Sunday's race would be great for them. He definately got his wish, and the many hours of deep mud racing those boys have put in paid off. Reed got the holeshot with Drew right behind and they stayed that way until the checkers. Paul had a little more battling to do with a couple Utah riders, but at the end, he was on the box. All gave a nod to the weather with their list of podium Thank You's. It will certainly begin to squeeze the ProAm points chase closer for the top 5.

Next on the WORCS schedule - Burnt Ridge WA in August. Expect the general track topography to be similar to Washougal, though in August you may have a better chance for a dry weekend in the Pacific Northwest. The track is quite a bit smaller, a local dirtbike venue for the most part, so the facilities should play an interesting dynamic.

Check back here later this week for the photo gallery - or at least what we could capture between rain storms! And we'll get you the wrap up from Saturday's afternoon races that we didn't yet cover.

-ptw