David Pearson is one race away from reclaiming the title he first won in 2007: king of the AMA Racing/Kenda National Hare & Hound Championship Series. The THR Motorsports / Monster Energy / Precision Concepts Kawasaki KX450F-mounted racer maintains his lead in series points after a strong runner-up finish at round eight of the series on October 14 at the Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Area outside of Lucerne Valley, California, behind Kurt Caselli. Purvines Racing Kawasaki’s Nick Burson rounded out the podium in third.

Caselli of the FMF/KTM Factory Off-Road Racing Team got the holeshot and immediately tried to gap the field with Pearson sticking close, the two title rivals never far apart. In fact, Pearson made a few passes that put him in the lead during the first two 40-mile loops of the So Cal Motorcycle Club’s three-loop race. Their battle would separate them from the rest of the pack as the race wore on, the pace they ran a brisk one.

As they headed out onto the final 40-mile loop (the club is toying with the idea of making it four, separate 40-mile loops next year!), Pearson said, “The last loop, I went out there kind of charging, trying to catch him, and I swapped in the rocks and tipped my bike over and stalled it.”

Pearson couldn’t restart his bike right away, with Caselli taking advantage to gap the Kawasaki rider until he was out of sight. “After that, it was back her down a little bit and settle for second,” he explained. “I didn’t want to have to settle for second, but in all reality, Kurt needed to win today and I needed to get second to stay in the championship points lead. If I would’ve won, that would’ve been awesome, but I got second. It’s the same scenario next round: If Kurt wins, all I have to do is get second to win the championship. It’ll be close. Kurt’s a great competitor and it was fun battling with him. I don’t know if he had fun, but I had fun!”

And you know that Pearson will have lots of fun if he does indeed close out the season by winning the championship in two weeks so stay tuned.

For more information and updates on the THR Motorsports Team, visit the THR Motorsports Web site at www.thrmotorsports.com.

Photography By: Mark Kariya