Starting Off The Season Right!

February 26, 2012


By Erek Kudla

Photos By: Falconer Photos

Round 1 of the 2012 US Desert Racing Series is in the books and it was a definite SUCCESS!

Starting with the Kids Races Saturday Afternoon which were more then exciting. In the Pee Wee Race defending champion Andrew Mrozik Jr. and series new comer Zack Babcock put on a great show trading paint and bumping elbows. After a race long battle Mrozik would come out the victor with both riders barreling through the finish line side by side!



Kids 1 would also see an amazing battle between Kyle Fike and Logan Deckert. Fike would get the hole shot and kept the lead to the finish but Deckert didn't give it to him easily. He stayed within seconds of Fike making him stay consistant and smooth all the way to the finish.

Kids 2 would be the hilghlight of the afternoon races with 2011 Champion Joey Shoeningh and up and comer Dylan Delgado lining up side by side. The Two would go back and forth with Shoeningh in the lead for the first half. Lappers would play a big part in the race helping Delgado make the pass but Shoeningh would push hard to take back the lead litterally inches before the checkered flag. This will be Shoeningh's final race in the Kids 2 class as he has graduated up to the Mini Novice class.

The Inagural USDR Team Race was a HUGE hit with 35 teams lined up comprosied of Families, Quads, Minis, 40+'s, Open's all the way up to the T1 premier Class featuring some of the fastest Pros racers in the series!

The Two hour long format would lend to some great strategy on the team's part. While The AS Racing team would get the hole shot it would be short lived as the team of Nick Burson and Zack Dodson and the Kudla Racing Team would both get by before exiting the track. Burson would do 3 laps to streatch out a lead on a track he was more then comfortable on then would hand it off to Dodson to put in some solid laps. The Kudla Racing Team featuring Ryan Kudla and 2011 Open Champion Michael Allen would hold it down in second with the AS Racing team of Junior Delgado, Austin Keys and Tyler Hemme would come in a solid 3rd.

Sunday would start off with past Senior 2 Champion Steve Williams returning to the series aboard his trusty KTM 300. Williams would get the jump and stay out front to the finish. Defending Champion AS Racing's John Sides wouldn't let him out of sight though staying within striking distance the entire hour long race. JT Racing's JD Lavincil who had pulled the holeshot would come in third followed by the first overall Quad of Frankie Esquivel in forth and first overall Open Beginner Shane Bowen in 5th.

Finally the day would end with one of the best battles of the weekend. No, not that of Purvines Racing's Nick Burson running away with the win aboard his good ol' KX450f, or even that of team mate Purvies Racing's Justin Morrow staying just ahead of 3 Brothers KTM's Ryan Kudla... it was the battle for the Lites Intermediate victory that everyone was watching.


The entire Lites Intermediate class has been battleing through every rank, from the kids races and up into the big race and this day was no different. AS Racing's Steven Lazar (9x) would get out the lead he had been looking for all of 2011 and was followed closely by the entire field. Taylor Stevens (4x) would stay with seconds of Lazar followed by Jeff Harper(2x). Lazar would actually be able to put time on Stevens by the half way point but Stevens would make the move on lap 5 and did his best to run away with the win. Harper would stick right to his tail all the way to the finish following Stevens through the checkered flag just 4 seconds back. Lazar would come in only another 9 seconds back from the pack. 




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