Kendall Norman got a great start and rolled to his third win of the season after missing much of the first part due to a knee injury.

Though his year of wearing the number one plate in the AMA Racing/Kenda National Hare & Hound Championship Series didn�t start well for Kendall Norman, he finished with flourish. Since his return from knee injury to ride the final four rounds of the series, the Johnny Campbell Racing Honda standout has been a regular atop the podium, and it was no different at the 100s Motorcycle Club�s Long Way Home/44th Annual Johnson Valley Championship, the ninth and final event of the series. Just as he�d done at the previous round, Norman led from start to finish for his third win of the season, though it wasn�t without incident.
 
Previous 2011 Hare & Hound Races:

Round 8

Round 7

Round 6

�I rode pretty aggressive and ended up crashing coming into the pits the first [of four loops],� he said. But that was about the only mistake he made. Though he lost a little time, he had enough of a lead to stay well ahead of Monster Energy Kawasaki�s Destry Abbott, who, like last round, had his hands full holding off Kawasaki of Simi Valley�s Jacob Argubright all day.
 

Second off the start only to Norman, Destry Abbott put in a solid performance to claim runner-up for the day and, unofficially, third for the season by one point.

The 100s laid out a four-loop race--20, 20, 40 and 10 miles in length--giving spectators and pit personnel more viewing opportunities than normal. But the only view Norman provided for his competition was a cloud of dust. His little spill at the end of the first loop allowed Abbott to draw to within seven seconds, but after that, the Honda racer pulled away--he had a minute and six seconds after two loops, 2:15 after the third and 2:57 at the finish.
 

Sporting his homemade super-hero cape as well as a broken foot from two weeks ago, Jacob Argubright was a little rusty, fell twice and still ended up a strong third.

Fourth place wasn�t what he�d hoped for, but it was likely good enough to give David Pearson second in final series points.

With Halloween approaching, Argubright added a short, green cape to his chest protector and dubbed himself �Super Jake.� However, it didn�t give him super powers and he once again couldn�t find a way past the more experienced Abbott, though it didn�t help that he hadn�t ridden since the last National two weeks ago because his smashed foot turned out to be a broken foot.
 
�I don�t know; I just wasn�t riding great, then I went down,� he related. �I slid out and it woke me up and I got on it. Then I caught up to Destry and went over the handlebars. After that, I just cruised.�
 
Purvines Racing Honda�s David Pearson ended up fourth after another slow start and having to work his way through the dust. But that was enough to maintain second in the final series points over Abbott, 193-192, unofficially.
 
JCR Honda�s David Kamo was another of the many who suffered from a poor start and it took him a long time to break through that wall, eventually finishing nearly eight minutes behind Pearson for fifth place, his best result of the season.
 

With Kurt Caselli on the sidelines due to injuries suffered at last week�s WORCS race (he already had the H&H title locked up after round eight), Mexico�s Ivan Ramirez got a guest ride on the factory bike and made the most of it, winning Open A seven minutes and finishing sixth overall after a horrible start. Actually, it could be considered a preview as KTM will likely contest all three SCORE Baja races next year with Caselli and Ramirez.

Results
1. Kendall Norman (Honda CRF450X)
2. Destry Abbott (Kawasaki KX450F)
3. Jacob Argubright (Kawasaki KX450F)
4. David Pearson (Honda CRF450X)
5. David Kamo (Honda CRF450X)
6. Ivan Ramirez (KTM 450 SX-F)
7. Justin Morrow (Honda CRF450X)
8. Nick Burson (Husqvarna TXC 449)
9. Skyler Howes (Yamaha YZ250)
10. Ryan Smith (Yamaha YZ250)