After a couple so-so performances in the last couple nationals, rookie Blake Wharton snatched his first holeshot of the nationals in the first moto and led the first half-dozen laps on his way to third in the moto. Then, in the second moto, another good start
landed him another third-place finish and second overall on the day.“It feels good to get back up (on the podium),” Wharton said. “I got the holeshot in the first moto and led for five or six laps, and that’s something I haven’t done in a while. Hopefully, I’ll be doing more of that. In the second moto, I got a good start again. I didn’t get the lead, but I was up front, and I held it together for second overall. It was a good day. The last race I led was a supercross, in St. Louis, and that was a long time ago, so hopefully now that I’ve got my starts back, I can get back up there next week, and the week after that, and get up there consistently.”
Wharton’s teammate Brett Metcalfe found his way to the front in both motos as well, going 4-4 for fourth overall.
“Today, I just got bad starts,” Metcalfe said. “I don’t know. I’m not really happy with a 4-4, but it’s a lot better than it could be. I need to get good starts. I can’t pull it off without it, so if I get a bad start, that’s not going to happen for me. Starts have been good for me lately, but today there were two shockingly bad starts, so I need to make sure tire selection and everything is good for the gate, then go for it. A 4-4 at this track is pretty good, though, because I don’t really dig this race. I’m looking forward to the next few rounds.”
And finally, rookie Justin Barcia had a tough day with some falls, but still recovered for a strong finish in moto two.
“I just told everyone to look out for me at Unadilla,” Barcia said. “I just haven’t been myself since my crash at Texas and I needed some time to get back to myself. I had a meeting with the team and we know what we have to work on and we are going to be ready for the last four nationals.”
From here, the AMSOIL sponsored team has a couple weekends off from this series before it returns to action in New Berlin, N.Y., for round nine of the series at Unadilla. However, Wharton and Kevin Windham will be taking part in the X Games this weekend in Los Angeles. In addition, multi-time Women’s MX champion Jessica Patterson will be on board a GEICO Powersports Honda machine at the X Games in the Women’s Moto X event at the Home Depot Center. Barcia will also be making an appearance at the AMA Amateur MX Nationals at Loretta Lynn's Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. AMSOIL is the Official Oil and presenting sponsor of the event.
Wharton’s teammate Brett Metcalfe found his way to the front in both motos as well, going 4-4 for fourth overall.
“Today, I just got bad starts,” Metcalfe said. “I don’t know. I’m not really happy with a 4-4, but it’s a lot better than it could be. I need to get good starts. I can’t pull it off without it, so if I get a bad start, that’s not going to happen for me. Starts have been good for me lately, but today there were two shockingly bad starts, so I need to make sure tire selection and everything is good for the gate, then go for it. A 4-4 at this track is pretty good, though, because I don’t really dig this race. I’m looking forward to the next few rounds.”
And finally, rookie Justin Barcia had a tough day with some falls, but still recovered for a strong finish in moto two.“I just told everyone to look out for me at Unadilla,” Barcia said. “I just haven’t been myself since my crash at Texas and I needed some time to get back to myself. I had a meeting with the team and we know what we have to work on and we are going to be ready for the last four nationals.”
From here, the AMSOIL sponsored team has a couple weekends off from this series before it returns to action in New Berlin, N.Y., for round nine of the series at Unadilla. However, Wharton and Kevin Windham will be taking part in the X Games this weekend in Los Angeles. In addition, multi-time Women’s MX champion Jessica Patterson will be on board a GEICO Powersports Honda machine at the X Games in the Women’s Moto X event at the Home Depot Center. Barcia will also be making an appearance at the AMA Amateur MX Nationals at Loretta Lynn's Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. AMSOIL is the Official Oil and presenting sponsor of the event.
Until then, we'll see you at the races.
