The FMF Racing Blue Grass National, round two of the second annual Parts Unlimited Off-road Motorcycle and ATV Winter Nationals, turned out to be a thrilling battle for more than two hours at the Thomas family farm outside Dawson Springs, Kentucky, on November 7. It pitted rookie Pro Shane O’Banion’s off-road experience against two-time Arenacross champion Chad Johnson’s speed.
Neither enjoyed much of an advantage throughout the two-plus hours of racing on a cool, dry autumn day, and the outcome came down in favor of experience. After leading for over an hour with O’Banion hanging on relentlessly a few bikelengths behind, Johnson finally stopped just past the two-hour mark and just before the white flag came out.
At that point, O’Banion had almost given up: “Then I saw the white flag and he stopped for gas. Then I knew, ‘Yeah, okay; I’ve got this.’
“I knew unless I did something dumb and wrecked, he couldn’t pass me [back] because of the dust,” Pro Action KTM/Eric Gill/Fox KTM 300 XC-mounted O’Banion noted. “Of course, I was glad to see him stop for gas! I about ran out of gas [myself on the last lap].”
In only his third-ever off-road race and first National, Johnson said, “I pulled back [some ground] towards the end of the last lap, but…. It was a great race out there. I had a great time.”
At the end, less than three seconds separated them, with O’Banion edging the Arenacross star, 2:17:31.7 to 2:17:34.1.
Third overall went to Open A winner Zac Nash, who had to recover from a poor start and running off the course early in the race. As the overall A winner for the event, the Performance Supercycle KTM/Motorex/Moose 250 XC rider also earned a $250 bonus, which was also paid to the overall B- and C-class winners.
Michael Williams finished fourth overall and third Pro after a bad start and a big crash aboard his Barry Heath Racing/Pro Logic/Fox-backed KX250F, followed by Open A competitors Ryan Lenth and Spencer Burke. Alan Westerfield claimed seventh overall en route to winning 30-39 A while Taylor Downs picked up $250 for eighth overall and the Lite B victory. Open A Kyleer Vance and Lite B Colin Brasher rounded out the top 10.
