CLAY CITY, KY

The Hardwick Creek venue was first utilized in 2007, and it has been a racers' favorite ever since. The staging area is great, pitting is awesome, and the setting is just plain beautiful! Everyone was looking forward to the 2009 event, but heavy rain on Sunday morning kept many racers at home, thinking the venue would be a muddy mess. They should have loaded up and headed to Powell County, because the rain quit just before the start of the race, and instead of being muddy, the course conditions turned out to be nearly perfect!

The start of the event was delayed in order to reroute a portion of the course, and the starting area was reversed, thus pointing the racers straight into the slate-and-gravel-strewn creek that divides the property. When the flagged dropped, it was Chris Douglas (43, above) piloting his YZ250F down the creek bank and into water just ahead of Alan Westerfield (111, below) on his Gateway KX450F. The race was on, and the two navigated several hundred yards of the creek bed before climbing up the bank, across a field, and into the woods!

Everyone was being very careful as they navigated the creek section on the first lap, as the water was muddied from the heavy morning rains and it was difficult to see the bottom.

"Lap one went okay for me," commented Vet A racer Jeff Stoess. "I was third up the long creek section, which was fine, as I just wanted to hang back and see how slick that creek really was!"

One section was about 18 to 24 inches deep, and there were submerged logs or ledges that would jerk a rider's front wheel if he wasn't very careful. Even Westerfield succumbed to the creek.

"Lap two, I fell in the creek like a big dummy and went all the way under water," he lamented.

Course conditions continued to improve with each lap, and there were no real bottlenecks except one slate-rock bank at a creek exit. Course workers quickly rerouted riders around the problem area and kept the race flowing. With all the heavy morning rain, none of the racers anticipated such ideal conditions, with tons of traction.

Racers in the A class were jockeying for position all day long, but one young man from the Light B row sneaked up from behind and steadily moved forward. Cody Hardesty has been finishing in the top 20 during most races this year on his KTM 105, but this was his first race on his new KTM 200. Well, all we can say is: Watch this kid closely! Hardesty was in fifth overall (on adjusted time) at the end of the first lap, and he kept moving forward, eventually finishing third overall for the day.

"We upped the pace and were flying!" exclaimed Stoess, who raced with Cody a bit on the last lap. "This is the fastest I have ridden in a long time, and it felt great! We were having a ball, hooting and hollering at each other. We were going through lappers like a blur."

When the checkered flag came out, it was Douglas on top, with Westerfield in tow. Hardesty clinched third overall. Ryan Prince secured fourth, and Stoess scored fifth - his best finish ever. Light A racer Tanner Byarly grabbed sixth, just ahead of Sportsman-class racer Donnie Adams. YZ250-mounted Roger Spires edged out fellow Vet A competitors Glenn Portman and David McWilliams for eighth overall and second Vet A rider.

The efforts of the Kennon family, who hosted the event, and the KORHS crew, all the racers, and their families, who made this another great racing event in Kentucky, are much appreciated. Please visit www.kyharescramble.com/ for more information.

Results

O/A: 1. Chris Douglas; 2. Alan Westerfield; 2. Cody Hardesty; 4. Ryan Prince; 5. Jeff Stoess.

PRO AA: 1. Chris Douglas; 2. Alan Westerfield.

HVY A: 1. Ryan Prince; 2. Kyle Miller.

LT A: 1. Tanner Byarly; 2. Terry Roberts; 3. Rex Daugherty.

VET A: 1. Jeff Stoess; 2. Roger Spires; 3. Glenn Portman; 4. David McWilliams; 5. Andrew Tilford.

SR A: 1. Pete Redel; 2. Michael Cornett; 3. Travis Gray; 4. Kent Anness.

MSTR A: 1. Greg Prince.

SPTSMN: 1. Donnie Adams; 2. Bryce Gartman; 3. Wendell Gay.

HVY B: 1. Eric Fitzpatrick; 2. Jonathan Winkle; 3. Justin Rutherford; 4. Dylan Lawson.

LT B: 1. Cody Hardesty; 2. Joey Richmond; 3. Chris Johnson.

VET B: 1. Nick Hoskins; 2. Jason Cox; 3. Hank Salyer; 4. Earl Coffey; 5. Trey Ahlgrim.

SR B: 1. Clarence Mullins; 2. Jeff Little; 3. Robert Sheppard; 4. Mark Willis; 5. Greg Tucker.

MSTR B/C: 1. Greg Johnson.

HVY C: 1. Shannon Woods; 2. Austin Schaffner; 3. Zack Ott; 4. Brian Napier; 5. Duke Gayheart.

LT C: 1. Austin Jones; 2. Cody Spires; 3. Jason Brown; 4. Charles Hudgins Jr.; 5. Seth Prince.

VET C: 1. J.J. Brock; 2. Dave Helmle; 3. Chris Ott; 4. Ryan Aversman; 5. Scott Napier.

SR C: 1. Denver Gibson; 2. Hans Beck; 3. Dean Burke; 4. Gary Heitzman; 5. Marty Simpson.

OLD SCHOOL: 1. Greg Gividen.

BEG: 1. Wayne Johnson; 2. Kyle Ousley; 3. Jerred Newsome; 4. Zack Cornett; 5. Taz Newsome.

WMN: 1. Jennifer Roberts; 2. Sarah Redel.