BUCHANAN, Mich. – The 2013 Mtn. Dew ATV Motocross National Championship Series, sanctioned by AMA, has been filled with action packed racing and full of excitement. This weekend RedBud MX in Buchanan, Mich. hosted Round 9 of the 10-race series and it proved to be no different as the series crowned Chad Wienen the 2013 Pro National Champion after going 1-1 for the overall win of the weekend.

After going 1-1 for the day, Wienen not only took his eighth overall win of the season but secured his second consecutive National Championship a round early aboard his Wienen Motorsports SSi Walsh Yamaha presented by Maxxis Tires & Team Vollmer machine.

“It hasn’t really hit me yet. This season has been so surreal and now that I’ve clinched my second consecutive National Championship it’s more than a dream come true. I’m still looking forward to one more round of racing but I’ve been working my entire life to win a Championship and now that I’ve done it two years in a row I can’t believe it, makes me even hungrier for more,” said Wienen.

As the pros hit the RedBud track for the first time in 2013, it was Joel Hetrick who came out of the morning practices with the ATVRiders.com Fastest Qualifier Award. Practice portrayed a day full of tight racing as the top four riders were all within one second of each other.

“The track was really fun out there and I knew going out for practice I need to put good times down to get a good gate pick to start the day out right. I knew the day was going to have some great racing after the front of the field was all within a second for their fastest lap but I’m happy I was able to grab the ATVRiders.com Fastest Qualifier award and get myself a head start for a day full of racing,” said Hetrick.

As the full pro gate dropped for moto 1, it was Wienen who crossed the SSi Decals Holeshot Award line first. Wienen spaced a four second lead on the field by the end of the first lap and was able to maintain a similar distance until he crossed the checkers first in moto 1.

Thomas Brown didn’t come out of the first turn with as good of a start and fell into the field just inside of the top ten. Brown had to make up a lot of ground and set out to do so quickly moving up to fifth by the end of the first lap. Brown’s determination kept him pushing the entire moto and he was able to go from fourth to second with less than three laps to go. Brown finished out moto 1 three seconds behind the leader in second. Corrosion Hetrick Racing’s Joel Hetrick came off of the gate inside of the top ten and sat in the third place position from the end of the first lap up until Brown made the pass and he moved into fourth. Hetrick’s endurance kept him pushing and he made a pass back into the third place position with two laps to go and rounded out the podium finishers in moto 1.

“I always really look forward to coming to RedBud their facility and track is always top notch and really suits my style of riding. I’ve been looking forward to getting closer to the top of the box all season and I really had to work for it but it left me really pumped to continue to work to lead the field,” said Brown.

BCS Can-Am rider Josh Creamer came out of the holeshot right behind the leader and maintained his second place position despite pressure from behind until Brown and Hetrick came racing through the field with a few laps to go. Creamer finished out moto 1 in fourth with a fifteen second advantage on the rest of the field. John Natalie had a top five start in moto 1 aboard his MotoSport.com Motoworks DWT machine. Natalie showed true to his nickname “Ironman” by holding onto the fifth place position despite pressure from behind numerous times throughout the moto.

“The track was really technical and I made a few mistakes that cost me some positions but the front of the field had a great battle going on the entire moto and I was having fun out there, I know I need to go out there and work on a few things before the final round in a few weeks,” said Creamer

Rookie of the Year contender Tyler Hamrick had a standout race aboard his Vechery Racing finishing well inside the top ten in the eighth place position after battling with several other riders for his position.

As the gate dropped for moto 2 it was veteran Joe Byrd aboard his Dasa Joe Byrd Quad Riding School machine who snagged the SSi Decals Holeshot award. But with a raging field behind him, it was Wienen who found himself at the front of the field within a few turns. Once out front, Wienen put his head down and increased his lead on the field with each lap he put down going 1-1 for the weekend and securing the 2013 National Championship.

“I’ve been waiting to snag the holeshot award all season and I’m glad I was finally able to find the front of the field off the gate,” said Byrd.

Brown came out of the first turn in second and was in third by the end of the first lap. Within four laps Brown was able to make clean pass into second and continued on to finish a step higher on the podium in 2013, grabbing the second place overall for the weekend. Brown increased his points lead on the third place championship points rider to twenty-two points heading into the final round of racing. Hetrick had a lot of work ahead of him after coming out of the first turn just inside the top ten. Determined to find the front of the field, Hetrick starting picking off the field one by one advancing into the third place position by the halfway point. Hetrick went 3-3 for the weekend taking third overall for the weekend and his best finish at RedBud MX so far in his pro career.

Natalie was consistent in moto 2, starting the moto in the fourth place position and ending in the fourth place position. Natalie fell back into fifth for two laps of racing but it wasn’t long before the Ironman made his way back into fourth and take fourth place overall for the weekend. Baldwin Motorsports PEP Upperman Racing’s Josh Upperman had rough start to moto 2 but wasn’t going to let that hold him back from salvaging valuable championship points. Upperman sat in eleventh at the end of the first lap and put his head down to work through the field. Upperman never gave up picking through the field and making his way up to sixth by the halfway point and making his last pass of the day stick with two laps to go to secure fifth for moto 2.

“I missed the morning’s first practice with some mechanical issues but was really able to turn the day around with all of the support from my team and mechanic we were able to pull our program together and keep to the top five for the weekend,” said Natalie.

The series will conclude at Round 10 of the 2013 Mtn. Dew ATV Motocross, sanctioned by AMA, National Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Dude Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. on August 10. For more information, please visit www.atvmotocross.com.

AMA Pro ATV Results
Chad Wienen (YAM)
Thomas Brown (YAM)
Joel Hetrick (HON)
John Natalie (HON)
Josh Creamer (CAN)
Josh Upperman (HON)
Nick Denoble (SUZ)
Jeffrey Rastrelli (CAN)
Tyler Hamrick (HON)
Joe Byrd (HON)

AMA ATV Motocross Championship Pro Point Standings
1. Chad Wienen (410) 2. Thomas Brown (346) 3. Josh Creamer (324) 4. John Natalie (304) 5. Joel Hetrick (297) 5. Josh Upperman (289) 7. Nick Denoble (227) 8. Jeffrey Rastrelli (221) 9. Joe Byrd (190) 10. Tyler Hamrick (173)