Kit Palmer | May 31, 2005
Am-Pro Yamaha’s Jason Raines came away with the win a the Funky Chicken National Hare Scrambles in Elkton, Oregon, May 29. Raines put his Yamaha into the lead after passing KTM rider Shane Watts early in the race. From there, Raines, the defending champ, rode off to victory, his first of the 10-round AMA Sports National Hare Scrambles Series.
Watts finished second, but it was close. After crashing a couple of times while running second, Watts had to work his way back up into the position he had previously held, only to have problems with his bike on the last lap. He quickly figured things out but not before Suzuki rider Brian Garrahan had caught up to the Aussie. From there, it was a battle to the finish with Watts finishing just ahead of Garrahan.
Third went to Garrahan’s KTM-mounted brother, Pat, who was followed across the finish line by KTM riders Kevin Bailey and Billy Russell, and Kawasaki pilots David Pearson, Ricky Dietrich, Lance Smail and Brendan Ritzman.
After three rounds, Brian Garrahan leads Kawasaki’s Chuck Woodford by three points in the series championship, 51-48. Pat Garrahan is third with 44 points, followed by Raines with 41 points, and Dietrich with 31 points.
Kit Palmer | Off-Road Editor
Kit Palmer started his career at Cycle News in 1984 and he’s been testing dirt and streetbikes every since – plus covering any event that uses some form of a knobby tire. He’s also our resident motorcycle mileage man with a commute of 120 miles a day.
