January 28th, 2009
Newbury Park, CA. The 2009 AMA Monster Energy Supercross series headed East to Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas on January 24th, 2009. It was the most successful outing yet for the MDK/Warthog Racing Academy as well as the extended organization of the Warthog Nation.
Once again, the backbone of the Warthog Nation, Mastercraft's Heath Voss put in an outstanding race. He finished a strong 3rd in his Heat race and backed it up with a 12th in the main, making him the first non-factory rider across the line. He now trails Paul Carpenter for Privateer of the Year honors by 7 points after skipping Phoenix to win 'The Uberman of Dortmund' title in Germany.
All seven MDK/Warthog Racing Academy riders easily qualified for the night show. Manu Rivas led the way in Supercross qualifying followed by Antonio Balbi, Eric Sorby, and Clayton Miller. In Lites action, both Vince Friese and Jacob Saylorqualified very strongly followed by young Logan Martin.
The Supercross Heat races saw Manu Rivas qualify for the first time this year. Manu has been nursing a separated shoulder as well as a dislocated finger and needed this momentum builder. Balbi had an unfortunate crash while in fourth place, putting a significant damper on his evening. Eric Sorby, after driving day and night from North Carolina to make the race, barely missed qualifying in his heat so it was off to the LCQ for Eric. In the LCQ, Eric gated well then fought very hard for a qualifying position. Alas, the endurance sapping road trip had just taken too much energy out of the one they call "Soreballs", though he put in an epic run in his LCQ that was talked about for days on the Internet!! Look for Eric to be fighting his way forward in San Francisco, damn the torpedoes!!
Both Vince Friese and Jacob Saylor qualified easily for the main from their Heat races. In the main, Vince ran as high as 4th before dropping back to a still stellar 6th place, where he stayed until two laps before the finish. A crash ruined his night but it was clear to everyone that Vince has a ton of potential. Jacob Saylor really came through; after less than one day on the bike, Jacob continued to find speed all day and night, improving every time he hit the track. He ran as high as 9th in the main before a bobble left him back in 11th, still the best finish of the day by a Hog
MotoConcepts Racing (MCRMX) a primary member of the 2009 Warthog Nation, had a very good night. Cole Siebler and Ben Coisy both made the Supercross main, finishing 14th and 16th respectively on their MDK Speed Equipment Honda race bikes.
Joining the Warthog Nation movement as the series swings East is the Privateers' Privateer Daniel Blair and his little buddy Jacob Locks. Daniel has been a symbol of the privateer lifestyle for now going on a decade. He is definitely a soldier to be honored, especially after tearing off a 9th place finish in the Lites main, the best finish of his career.
Needless to say, the Warthog Nation movement is growing rapidly. Philosophically, the Warthog Nation is really just the embodiment of a fundamental Warthog Racing principle -- Warthog Racing has always been about the "big tent" philosophy. We welcome partnerships with all like minded teams and organizations that want to work together to make the sport of Supercross and Motocross a grand sport for the Privateer racers. Said Scott Kandel, Warthog Racing's Chief Altruistic Officer, "Our philosophies have always been about racers helping racers; in today's economy, this approach is more important than ever."
This season would not be possible without our committed and actively engaged sponsor/partner group. For 2009, we have teamed up with the following entities: MDK Motorsports, MDK Speed, DeCal Works, Smooth Industries, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute (MMI), P-LoK, MotoConcepts, Transworld Motocross, Vanquish MX, DT1 Air Filters, MXResultz.com, Devol Engineering, Liquid Performance, LongShot Racing, CP Pistons, VP Fuel, Dunlop, The Plumber Inc., MB2 Raceway, Edgile Consulting, MX Sports, Vortex, MotionPro, Dana K Business Parks, The Whitaker Wellness Institute, Atlantic Promotions, NXTAgency, Relentless Media, MotoTees, RacerX Illustrated, Dirt Rider Magazine, MartialMoto, Honolulu Hills Raceway, L&M Racing, and Fire and Police MX.
With this fine group, anything is possible. And special thanks to Feld Motor Sports. Because of their full support, dozens of privateers get the opportunity to live their dreams.
Take care and we'll see you at the races!!