JACKSON COUNTY, KY

The season finale for 2009 was held at the venerable Big Hill venue in Jackson County, Kentucky. It's hard to know what to expect at this course, where the weather and ground conditions can play a big role. Big Hill has a little bit of all the elements typically found in a Kentucky race course. Vet A racer Jeff Stoess (102, right) summed it up well: "I've always enjoyed Big Hill, as it has a little bit of every type of terrain Kentucky has to offer, from hard-pack to mud to loam to rocks, hills, creeks, roots, single-track and two-track!"

With the season winding down, some racers knew they must finish well in order to secure the points necessary to win their respective classes, while others moved up a class, knowing that they had already clinched their class championship. Nick Hoskins secured the Vet B championship and moved on up to the Vet A line

"I wanted to see what it was going to be like next year getting to start up front!" said Hoskins.

When the green flag dropped, Marty Michels was just ahead of Alan Westerfield and Chris Douglas as they dropped into the woods and onto the leaf-strewn course. Michels used his position well.

"As we wound through the trees on the first lap," Michels recounted, "it was kind of nice being out front, because I could control the pace and stay clean."

This strategy worked well for Michels on the first lap.

Heavy A racer Ryan Prince had a goal for the day.

"I had my mind set that I wanted to try and catch the Pros, or at least not fall more than a minute behind them," Prince said, "so I took off down the trail, trying to ride smart and not crash on the first lap."

By the midpoint of the first lap, Prince had the Pros within view as they made it past scoring. This only lasted for about a half lap, as Westerfield took over the lead and the pace quickened. Prince said it was like a light switch.

"I was cruising down the trail with them," Prince said. "Then they were gone."

From that point on, Westerfield controlled the race and didn't let up until he saw the checkered flag. He could have won the championship by making one lap and going home, but he finished up the right way: with a win. Chris Douglas grabbed second overall on his new Gateway Cycles KX250F, with the Yamaha-mounted Michels close behind.

Prince kept his pace and rode smart to a fourth-place finish overall, just ahead of YZ250-mounted Roger Spires (923, left) from the Vet A class. Like a freight train, Vet A racers "Big Dave" McWilliams, Jeff Stoess and Nick Hoskins rolled in behind Spires, taking the sixth through eighth positions. And once again, from the Light B row, it was Cody Hardesty, on his new KTM 200 XC, finishing in ninth place, in front of Sportsman racer Donnie Adams.

The hospitality of the property owners who hosted the event is much appreciated, as is the participation of the KORHS crew, all the racers and their families, who made this another great racing event in Kentucky. Please visit www.kyharescramble.com/ for more information.

Results

O/A: 1. Alan Westerfield; 2. Chris Douglas; 3. Marty Michels; 4. Ryan Prince; 5. Roger Spires.

PRO AA: 1. Alan Westerfield; 2. Chris Douglas; 3. Marty Michels.

HVY A: 1. Ryan Prince; 2. Kyle Miller; 3. Jon Boruff.

LT A: 1. Terry Roberts.

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

SR A: 1. Travis Gray; 2. Kent Anness.

MSTR A: 1. Greg Prince.

SPTSMN: 1. Donnie Adams; 2. Randy Boyd.

HVY B: 1. Leyton Childers; 2. Jeremy Caudill; 3. Jason Cruse.

LT B: 1. Cody Hardesty; 2. Joey Richmond; 3. Shane Ward; 4. Austin Jones; 5. Vincent Davis.

VET B: 1. Jason Cox; 2. Earl Coffey; 3. Duane Napier; 4. Calvin Barnett; 5. Tony Butler.

SR B: 1. Clarence Mullins; 2. Mark Nichols; 3. Mark Willis; 4. Robert Sheppard; 5. Bill Boyd.

MSTR B/C: 1. A. Paul Parker; 2. Ben Tyler; 3. Bob Latter.

HVY C: 1. Brian Napier; 2. Josey Cruse; 3. Matthew Mills; 4. Ricky Ward; 5. Michael Bell.

LT C: 1. Seth Prince; 2. Cody Spires; 3. Neil Netherly; 4. Tyler Barrett; 5. Charles Hudgins Jr.

VET C: 1. J.J. Brock; 2. Dave Helmle; 3. Chriss Ott; 4. Wayne Christopher; 5. Ryan Aversman.

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

OLD-SCHOOL: 1. Harvey Whitaker; 2. Chris Clark.

BEG: 1. Joseph Cunningham; 2. Craig Clark; 3. William Kopp; 4. Mitchell Bowling; 5. Nathan Jackson.