"That's the first time I've...
"That's the first time I've ever won anything!" shouted Josh McLevy at the finish.
Before round two of the 2004-2005 Parts Unlimited Off-road Motorcycle and ATV Nationals, Josh McLevy had exactly no wins on his resume despite being known as one of the speediest riders aroundand one who'd suffered a number of injuries that probably prevented him from showing his full potential.
But after round two of the series, the Powersport Grafx Wildcat 100 held in Decatur, Arkansas, McLevy finally had that long-sought first victory, and it felt sweet. "That's the first time I've ever won anything!" he yelled after getting the checkered flag. "Everyone at Throttlehead.com Kawasaki's going to be thrilled. We're just getting the ball rolling," he promised.
Garrahan led the first few...
Garrahan led the first few laps, but ended up third after tangling with Nathan Kanney.
The Throttlehead.com/Kenda/Moose KX250 racer lurked behind the Maxxis/FMF/Moose RM250 of Brian Garrahan for the first couple laps, but from that point on in the two-hour event yesterday, it was McLevy in or near the front thanks to an almost flawless ride.
Garrahan had his hands full most of the day. After losing the lead to McLevy, he tangled with KTMHutt.com/Fun Mart Cycle team riders Nathan Kanney and Shane Watts. The three banged bars in the closing miles, and when Kanney and Garrahan went down, Watts went on to take the runner-up spot on his 200 E/XC, closing to finish just four seconds behind McLevy.
Watts rode poorly the first...
Watts rode poorly the first couple laps, but raged to finish a closing second.
Garrahan would emerge from his battle with Kanney to complete the podium, Kanney picking himself off the ground to claim fourth; YZ250-mounted Justin Williamson rounded out the top five.
Defending OMA series number one Jimmy Jarrett got off to a great start in the race. Though he trailed KX250 racer Chris Robertson to the first turn, a few turns later on the flat grass track below the pits, the Andrews Cycle/Kenda/Moose RM250-mounted champ had the lead and took the $1000 holeshot bonus, courtesty of Bill Eddy, Action Honda, Dick Lane Motorcycles and Red Bull.
After that, however, Jarrett's day took a turn for the worse. While dicing for the lead, something on the trail sliced a hose, immediately draining the bike's coolant and giving him a DNF for the day.
After his pre-race lunch,...
After his pre-race lunch, defending champ Jimmy Jarrett took the holeshot but would later DNF.
1. Joshua McLevy, Kawasaki
2. Shane Watts, KTM
3. Brian Garrahan, Suzuki
4. Nathan Kanney, KTM
5. Justin Williamson, Yamaha
6. Chris Robertson, Kawasaki
7. Christopher Bach, KTM
8. D. R. Atwood, KTM
9. Alan Westerfield, Kawasaki
10. Steve Leivan, Yamaha
11. Matt Lane, NA
12. Jesse Bloomberg, Gas Gas
13. Chad Cook, Honda
14. Tracy Bachman, Honda