PALMDALE, CA

The Vet X Fall Series shifted into high gear, with the second round taking the track at Los Angeles County Raceway. Unseasonably high temperatures put extra pressure on the racers as they battled through the sandy pit of the LACR circuit. The Xtreme Prize Series is annually the most competitive and well-attended series on the Vet X calendar, and this race brought out 249 racers to do battle, resulting in great skirmishes in most classes.

One of the most competitive classes, the VX1 class, is for Intermediate-level racers over age 28, and it's typically one of the most hotly contested classes at every round. When the gate dropped for the first moto, Crower Power/Ready Filter-backed John Rhodes (31, above) took command from the beginning, leaping out into the lead as the pack emerged from under the Hunter Dodge bridge. As the race took shape, he had Dusty Marvin and MPI Properties/Ride MX-sponsored Chad Hubbard in hot pursuit. With Hubbard and Marvin battling for second place, this gave Rhodes a chance to stretch out a lead.

By lap three, Hubbard had made the pass to claim second place, and he leveled his sights on Rhodes. Hubbard put in the fastest lap of the moto on that lap and was able to catch Rhodes and pressure the leader. Over the next four laps, the riders never separated as they battled for the lead, but Hubbard wasn't able to make a pass and Rhodes crossed the line to claim the win with Hubbard close in his shadow. Marvin held on for third.

The second moto of the VX1 class got under way with Rhodes again taking the lead. This time Hubbard wasn't going to settle for second, and he pushed hard to make a pass on the second lap to claim the lead. Once past Rhodes, Hubbard never looked back and cruised to victory with a big lead over Rhodes. When the checkers flew, Hubbard took the win and, with his 2-1 performance, the overall victory. Rhodes was second in the moto as well as overall. Marvin was on the final step of the podium with 3-3 scores.

A recent graduate from the VX1 class, Pascal Barth made his debut in the Over 36 Pro class. The Mission Motorsports/Dr. D/O'Neal/FX rider did it in style, as he pulled off a pair of moto wins. Schmidt Performance/Gaerne/661-backed Dave McCown battled for the next podium step with NCY/Torco/Scott-sponsored Todd Flaming; the two riders, both hungry for the points, pushed through both motos, but McCown was able to hold off Flaming both times to claim second overall with his 2-2 scores, with Flaming (3-3) ending up in third.

In the 43-49 Novice class, Gary Ivin split moto wins with Pat Samudio. Ivin was able to back up his win with a second-place finish, behind Samudio, in the second moto, which edged out Samudio's 3-1 tally for the overall victory. Third place overall went to Mike Kinney (454, below), who posted a 4-3 score.

Results

P/W OPEN: 1. Jacob Ortiz; 2. Cayden Hubbard; 3. Brandon Smith.

65 BEG: 1. Jarad Palmer; 2. Jasper Kadlec.

65 (9-11): 1. Tyler Vasquez.

85/150F BEG: 1. Hayden Joseph; 2. Alex Hernandez; 3. Kyle Vizzo; 4. Eddie Ayala; 5. Michael Sorensen.

85/150F (0-11): 1. Chase Felong; 2. Joseph Morales.

85/150F (12-13): 1. Michael Hazlett; 2. Andres Jaramillo; 3. Derek McConnell.

85/150F OPEN: 1. Blayne Thompson; 2. Michael Hazlett; 3. Chase Felong.

BEG NEWBIE: 1. Andres Jaramillo; 2. David Thibeau; 3. Adrian Valdez; 4. Albert Gonzalez; 5. Thomas Spalliero.

250F BEG: 1. Ryan Hernandez; 2. Brandon Heald; 3. Ian Langmaid; 4. Chris Meza; 5. Ryan Hildreth.

250F NOV: 1. Eric Blankenship; 2. Chet Fair; 3. Kyle Rutherford; 4. Tyler Aker; 5. Alex Durkin.

250F INT: 1. David Okon; 2. Cody Martin; 3. Dylan Bennett; 4. Ryan Trenholm; 5. Jordan Eubanks.

250F PRO: 1. Josh Greco; 2. Andrew Couto.

450F BEG: 1. Brandyn Thompson; 2. Cade Crippen; 3. Mitch Ellington.

450F NOV: 1. Eric Blankenship; 2. Ryan Gould; 3. Derrick Hernandez; 4. A.J. Madrid; 5. Scott Kranyak.

450F PRO: 1. Trent Pugmire; 2. Michael Sleeter; 3. Sean Kranyak; 4. Drew Gosselaar; 5. Jake Hulett.

OPEN (NON-PRO): 1. Shawn Rhinehart; 2. David Okon; 3. Cody Martin; 4. Ryan Trenholm; 5. Eric Ballejos.

WMN BEG: 1. Natalie Schons; 2. Christine Stutson.

WMN AM: 1. Hannah Minderhout; 2. Monica Somers; 3. Chelsy Swenson; 4. Chandler McCorkle; 5. Paige Turpin.

28+ NOV OPEN: 1. Zac White.

28+ INT OPEN: 1. Jonathan Rhodes; 2. Dusty Marvin; 3. Mike Diorio; 4. Chad Hubbard; 5. Jason McGuidwin.

28+ INT VX1: 1. Chad Hubbard; 2. Jonathan Rhodes; 3. Dusty Marvin; 4. Nick Mairose; 5. Mike Diorio.

28+ INT VX2: 1. Jason Klements; 2. Paul Kuehnel; 3. Rick Johnson; 4. Janson Turner; 5. Curtis Hanson.

28-39 NEWBIE: 1. Finnian Murray; 2. Heather Brown; 3. Robert Paquette; 4. Jami Henderson; 5. Joe Ceja.

28-39 BEG: 1. John Heath; 2. Michael Hildreth; 3. Grant Lewandowski; 4. Jehan Tetangco; 5. Josh Guay.

28-35 NOV: 1. John Ortiz; 2. Scott Terrell; 3. Mike Snodgrass; 4. Dan Ciesla; 5. Zac White.

28-35 AM: 1. Travis Cory; 2. Rick Kozlik; 3. Mike Ausec; 4. Brian Packer; 5. Mike Vasquez.

28-35 PRO: 1. Ricki Gilmour; 2. Michael Sleeter.

36-42 NOV: 1. Jim Butts; 2. Mike Davis; 3. Mike Gee; 4. Bernard Daily; 5. Gregg Schellack.

36-42 AM: 1. Jim Wyckoff; 2. Tim Ellis; 3. Dan Gill; 4. Pete Ferraro; 5. Dan Osborne.

36+ PRO: 1. Pascal Barth; 2. David McCown; 3. Todd Flaming; 4. Craig Davis; 5. Chris Smith.

40+ NEWBIE: 1. Ron Lingo; 2. Arold Schreuder; 3. Don Bedford; 4. John Pratt; 5. Greg Charles.

40+ BEG: 1. Jimmy Matiasevich; 2. Robert Marmolejo; 3. Chris Williams; 4. Steve Downs; 5. Taylor Hodoose.

40+ INT: 1. David Fontes.

43-49 NOV: 1. Gary Ivin; 2. Pat Samudio; 3. Mike Kinney; 4. Kenard Lipscomb; 5. John Anderson.

43-49 AM: 1. Randy Davis; 2. Carlos Neves; 3. Adi Sahar; 4. Mike Borowski; 5. Vince Laker.

50+ NOV: 1. Garry Conner; 2. Milton Mize; 3. Bill Booth; 4. Kevin Evans; 5. Steve Hinckley.

50+ AM: 1. Jason Wallis; 2. Steve Ellington.

50+ EX: 1. Jim Butts; 2. Joel Harriott; 3. Rick Johnson; 4. Joe Pena; 5. Kenny Neitzel.