Darla Attix has been telling me for years how awesome this track is. She is right. Budd's Creek, is the Attix family's 'home' track. The facility is top notch. There is quite a bit of pit area that is relatively flat and the pro-pits are literally right at track side. Spectators can see dang near the entire track from almost any viewing area. There is only one small area at the back of the track that is hard to see. The track lies down in a 'bowl.' The start line is up on top then the track winds down into the bowl back up on the ridge and around the edge of the bowl. The pits line the ridge of the bowl. The ridge has great shade trees that proved to be our haven for the weekend. Grandma Charlotte and Grandpa Jim chose to come to this race with us.

We came out a day early so we could bum around Washington, DC. We had never been there before. It was cool. We did the driving tour and tried to get into all kinds of places that tourists used to be able to go to but can't now because of 'heightened security.' Of course we fit the profile of a suspected terrorists. I know they must have Jim's name on the list because the TSA (Traffic Safety Association - in the airports), who of course are highly trained for their positions, AND are usually hired not only for the fact that they have a green card, but also that they are just chock full of common sense, anyway, they pick Jim out at EVERY checkpoint and nearly have this nice 70 year old white haired man, who wears suspenders and a divisionfour.com baseball hat, disrobe in the airport just to make sure that he is not concealing anything that would threaten national security. We can count on at least 15 minutes for his security check each time.

Our drive through and around Washington included trying to find a restaurant for dinner that was near our hotel. We could have simply gone upstairs and eaten at the hotel restaurant but we thought it would be nice to go somewhere else. After an exhaustive search, we decided to get back on the freeway and look for those signs that say 'Gas-Food-Lodging' near the off ramps. We found one! Of course it only said 'Food' on the sign and we had to make six turns (all clearly marked) to find the dining area designated by the signs. What we found was one Ethiopian drive through restaurant that was in a seriously scary part of town (probably the reason it was a drive-through as opposed to a sit down restaurant). We backtracked to the hotel and ate upstairs. Actually it was a great view. We could literally hold up our traveler's map that Charlotte had held onto for many years and compare it to the nicely lit monuments that we could see from our table. The next day we went through the Smithsonian Air-Flight museum. I wanted to do the Holocaust Museum and the Spy Museum but we will have to save that for another time.

We stayed in Waldorf which is about 30 minutes from the track. There were some closer hotels (I am using the term 'hotel' loosely here...), but there aren't really any closer restaurants. So if we stayed closer to the track we would still have to drive into Waldorf for meals. It worked out good like we were. The traffic on this little thoroughfare is incredible. Evidently there is a bridge down at the bottom of this little finger of land that connects back to Virginia and a lot of people that work in Washington or Baltimore commute. I wondered why there were so many restaurants and shopping avenues when there was no obvious industry in the area.

Skip and Jim went out to the track early Friday towork on the bikes. And there was plenty to do. Charlotte and I slept in.

I would classify Budd's Creek, as a track, a freeway. There were a few off-camber corners and some minor technical areas, but there was no serious air and no other real challenging parts to the track. Short of operator malfunction as, and as long as the bike held together, and as long as the rider kept the gas on, and his bike was comparable to the other quads in the moto, there wasn't much passing to be had after the first half lap or so. There were areas to pass on this track but they were few. Of course the really good riders can pass anywhere, but that is something that comes with time (and necessity). This track was pretty skinny in places and it was blue-grooved. It needed maintenance and track personal that had a clue. For instance during the Pro-Production moto one of the track guys decided it was time to feed and water the flagmen by loading up the milk crate on the back of his 4X4 Utility quad and cruising around the track and tossing grub to the flagmen. Big mistake. He figured it wasn't any big deal; it was a small moto, a mere 11 guys out there. How hard could it be to avoid those riders? So, mark one against the track promoter: lack of common sense among the guy organizing the flagmen. Next biggie, was the fact that the flagmen were all under the age of 11. OK, OK, maybe they were over 11 years old (some of them). The ones right by us, that would be right by the jump that broke 6 or 7 axles on Saturday, and the same jump that bounced well over 30 riders that I personally saw, was manned, err, boy-ed by a kid that still had rabbit teeth and slept on the flagman's platform. We went through three kids over the weekend. It was unfortunate they didn't leave the same kid there the entire weekend, since we would have to go through the 'flagman education clinic' each time we got a new one. I guess they like rotating them around the track so no one gets bored. Give me a break. I had just convince the Saturday morning kid that even though his area was directly in front of him (the part he thought he was solely responsible for) he would have to warn riders if there was some problem on the next jump (about 30 feet further up the track from his area). Also he would need to direct riders away from the problem area, even when it wasn't their personal area! They just didn't get it. Jason DeRossa took a hard hit in practice on Friday. Jason snuck in an extra lap of practice and saw the open highway in front of him. He found out real quick why we don't hit that table top in 4th. He flat landed and it bounced him hard. He rolled around on the ground and it really spooked me because it reminded me of when Dana hurt his back. I ran over to him and found out that he thought his back was fine but he had busted his chin open. His friends came over and said he was prone to a bit of overacting (just kidding - it was a hard hit). Luckily for Jason he was one of the last riders in that practice, since the flag-kid also came down to get a better look at all the blood, as opposed to directing traffic away from the fallen rider. Jason cruised by the next day to show that thestitches on his chin won't mar his incredible smile.

Really there weren't many Kodak moments on the track. But I found a few good shots like this one ofJustin Bres.. From a photographer's standpoint it was a tough track. One of the problems for old people (like me) is that you have to go way downhill to get to the other side of the track (you have to go to the bottom of the bowl to shoot the other side). It had rained hard the week before the races so there was standing muck all around the track, especially in the bottom of the bowl. I nearly lost my shoe a couple of times. Anyway there was protective snow fencing all around the track. Myself being of short stature, and unwilling to embarrass myself by getting tangled up and falling face down with several cameras around my neck (in the middle of the race), well I had to go the long way around while guys likeJohn Pellan took their chances over the fencing. I did get a few good shots, but you will have to look for those throughout this story.

Dana had been hanging out with Jason Luburgh for the week off. He and Jason had fine tuned Jason's track, the same track that Jason broke his arm on last year. Actually they had just finished it when Jason flat landed the cursed table top that had his number last year. His arm puffed up again. Turns out he didn't actually break it again,he re-injured it exactly the same place as before. Diagnosis: 8 weeks NO RIDING. Jason was bummed to say the least.

Dana's shoulder injury was still plaguing him but he felt that he could be pretty competitive in spite of it. Saturday there wasn't a Pro-Qualifier. With Jason out and Johnny Hale still on recovery that put the Pro numbers at 18. Pro Practice was scheduled for four o'clock so we had the day to chill. We met some nice people. A few of the ExRiders.com crowd hung out for a while, although I regret I didn't get any names or photos. Krystal started out the day at our trailer and came back several times with her boyfriend and with her other girlfriend. News just in, was that Krystal, her boyfriend and several of his friends ended up giving some of the Dirt-bike crowd the what for over Father's Day weekend, when they insulted not Krystal and Pro-ATV riders in general. Thanks for standing up for us! All-in-all the people in Maryland are pretty cool.

Mario DiAngelo finally convinced his Dad to come to the races with him. Dad wisely stayed in his motorhome for Friday's rainy practice and in-between Mario's motos. Unfortunately we didn't get to actually meet Mario's dad but hope to in the future sometime. Mario once again did battle in the Open B class with Jorge Cuartas. I suspect that these two will be butting heads for the rest of the season. Mario is the hand behind the pen and ink designs that we are planning for T-Shirt designs. Trust me when I say they are way different than anyone has seen before and Mario's designs reflect Dana's jokester qualities.

By this point when the Pro-Production motos come up I am making bets with myself on who will be where. You could just about take my picks to the bank. The only question would be would Doug or Tim get the holeshot and therefore win the moto. So in moto one Doug took the holeshot with BIG SURPRISE Tim right behind him! Basically the only major question is what is going to happen after the first two riders. Today John Natalie's good luck seemed to be with him, of course history has proven that Natalie's luck can change like the weather in London, KY. Jason Dunkelberger on the other hand, had the bad luck with him. He swan-dived and then proceeded to attempt the breast stroke at the bottom of the first corner. He had assistance with his dive from Aaron Slingluff and Brian Ayers. No one was hurt, other than John Pellan who missed the shot but fished the rider's bikes off them. Aaron Slingluff and Dunk quickly got back in the saddle and went on to finish sixth and seventh in moto one.

Pro-Production moto two literally was a repeat of moto one, with the exception of Dunk face-planting. Josh Starrett and Richard Buckley have been improving their lap times as the season goes on. As part of the newer class of pros, in this nice little class, they have the option of really improving both skill and stamina without getting run over in a larger class (like the 250 Pro-Am). Of course this moto the guys were forced to avoid the track crew guy cruising around the track and tossing hamburgers to the flagmen. I have to wonder why that track crew guy didn't have to pay his Pro-Production class fees since he found his way on the track during their motos. There are some bonuses with this class spreading out as much as it does and the order of the racers not changing much: I can set up to take a photo on the back side of a jump where I can't see the rider beforehand and I can be pretty secure at who is coming over. Also, my little digital camera has time to recycle between shots (since there is little action, I don't miss anything major while waiting for my camera). In case I haven't been very clear, something needs to be done to spice up this class or I for one am going to take a lunch break during these motos. In the end it went Doug, Tim, John Natalie, Kory and Tavis Cain rounding out the top five, and another BIG SURPRISE: the only one that had a different finish between moto one and two was Tavis! Everyone else went 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4. Again, ho hum. And this is not because the guys aren't trying. Nearly all of these guys race the Pro moto and they ARE exciting there.

Sunday Pro-Moto one I decided to wait at the bottom of the bowl and take my shot from there. Weather had ranged between real warm and wet all weekend and to be honest I wanted to be down where the action was and where I could see most of the race up close and personal. Anyone who has ever been on the opposite end of the first corner where you can feel the concussion of all those four stroke engines and have to dodge roost and flying bikes and body parts can tell you that it is something you will never forget. The pros took their parade lap one by one leaving the top of the hill and progressing around the track. I took my position and got ready for the big show. I noticed Dana stop up at the announcer's stand and flag down Smitty, the AMA Referee. Dana was waving his arms and obviously irritated about something. I wasn't sure what was going on, and didn't find out til later. So I will make you wait as well. Just kidding. What was going on is that the races on Saturday, and the mornings races had made the track pretty much one line. A lot of people think that it isn't fair that the Pros always get a fresh track that has just been prepped. Actually it is something that is required for safety. The Pros go a LOT faster than any other class and they will push each other harder than any other class (that's how they got to be Pros). Other than the fact that we had a one lane track nearly all the way around, complete with blue grooves, the most dangerous spot was the start. The start was a long fast straightaway that made a gentle narrow right turn to a 100 foot drop off. That drop-off became part of the rest of the track after the start. This created quite an edge where the riders made the corner right at that narrow turn area. Of course if anyone was going to wipe-out it was a good area, since all the mechanics hung out inside that corner. Several pros had expressed their concern about the start in particular and wanted it fixed before the start. The promoter told them no way and to go ahead and just run those 'farm-machines.' After a near mutiny and the entire gate of pros stepping off their bikes and refusing to run, the promoter ran across the start with a disc a couple of times literally making things worse. It took Smitty coming over and throwing himself around as well to get it fixed. The crowd, myself included, waited for nearly 40 minutes while all this drama went on.

When the gate finally dropped, Doug Gust came off the hill first. He had quite a lead on the rest of the pack. He didn't hold on to it forever though. Jeremiah Jones is really something. It's like he isn't even trying to go as fast as he does. Mike Walsh surprised everyone including himself by locking into the third position and not giving an inch. Mike had the best ride of his life from what I could see. Dana had a good start and went lap for lap right behind Mike with Tavis Cain, Joe Byrd and Keith Little all right there and just waiting for an open hole to shove through. Dana fought hard to keep Joe, Keith and Tavis behind him and press Mike for position. The pack was pretty tight between Dana, Keith, Tavis, Joe, Shane Hitt, Jasmin Plante, and Kory Ellis. Jason Dunkelberger, Matt White and Joe Haavisto had their own race going on. Greg Meeks, Rich Phillips and Steve Runkel also had their own race within a race going. John Natalie's bad luck had returned to slam him once again with a mechanical. Dave Diver also had his own gremlins dogging his tracks. Jeremiah had to fight hard to get around Doug but he did it. Dana lost a place to Keith but held fifth for all but the last fifteen feet of the moto, when Joe Byrd raced through the checkers. Lesson for the day: remember your old lessons and race ALL the way to the end. The old dogs know this lesson. That's what makes them Pros.

After hanging out and slapping Mike Walsh on the back, both Dana and Mike told war stories for a while and then trotted up to the Pro autograph session. There were the nicest people (as always) and we met a lot of new friends. Check out the table cloth. Evidently some of them got bored before Ray Christy let the session start and they doodled on the table cloth. We also got to watch Tom Carlson do his good deed for the day by tearing down a super fast air-cooled run by David Scarponi. Scarponi smoked his class in his first ever race on a totally legal ride according to Tom. Sponsors are you listening?

Pro-Moto two involved track prep again, but this time a lot of people knew what was taking so long. The promoter made several comments about our 'farm machines' and the people that chose this for their entertainment. It seems pretty dumb that he would spout off with such comments at the event! It seems that the lack of common sense from the track people extended all the way to the top. Go figure. Most people, if they don't like someone, usually wait to insult them when they are out of earshot. For Moto two I decided to shoot the top of the start. It was a good choice photo wise. As the gate of 18 riders came thundering toward me, I saw Keith Little with a narrow lead over Jasmin Plante, Joe Byrd and Doug Gust. Jeremiah had a mediocre start and Dana was behind him. Joe Haavisto made the right choice to swing wide and suck in behind the top runners. John Natalie once again was cursed with bad luck. He ran up on one of those big painted tires that mark the inside of corners and lost his balance. Jeremiah Jones narrowly missed being a part of John's sidestep. In fact two weeks later he still had marks on his right arm from equipment flying. Luckily Dana's start was junk so he had time to avoid all the drama (barely). Kory Ellis also had a bad start, but it was good for Wes Miller. Kory was wearing a helmet cam, complete with backpack, and filming for Huevos 6. Hopefully John's misstep was not in vain and we will have an up-close and personal view of what it's like to narrowly miss a Pro first corner crash. Meanwhile the race went on. Keith worked hard to hold his lead. It was not to be. Joe Byrd charged him hard and Jeremiah was fired up from his near miss with the track. Jasmin Plante had also emerged unscathed from that first excitement. And working on his best moto ever was Joe Haavisto. At Budd's Creek, Joe Haavisto proved he has the 'Right Stuff' for the Pro Class. He kept pace with the super fast guys and never gave up. Dana ran well after he got around the pile-up. He was working into sixth when a rock from the incredibly well maintained track got wedged into his front brake. He immediately spun circles, until he could pry it out and get back on track. Prying a rock out of your brake takes just a few seconds, but in a Pro-Moto every second counts. He was nearly 45 seconds behind Jeremiah by that time, and wasn't sure what else might be damaged on his quad. He had to pull over at the top of the mechanic areafor a quick check. It was pretty obvious then that Dana should just use the rest of the race to gain whatever positions he could and not crash. He ended up picking up a couple of positions, but a top ten finish was definitely not in the cards for him. John Natalie had recovered well from his super bad beginning. Although he had a terrible first moto (a DNF) and he had a bad start in Moto two, he ended up recovering (because he is immensely talented) up to twelfth position. Mike Walsh was one of the riders to get sidelined by the start. He finished up with a ninth in moto two, which translated to a solid number sixth for the weekend.

I am unsure how exactly tracks are chosen for this series. My guess is that a promoter promises the world and then in many cases walks away from the meeting wondering how much he will actually have to deliver. This track had issues. The promoter had issues. The track crew had issues, that went way beyond annoying. They were dangerous. Wayne Mooridian even went out to give lessons to the flag-boy. After standing out there and showing our uninformed youthful flag-boy how it's done, Wayne walked away wondering if this was really happening. Again, we have to ask the AMA/ATVA WHEN ARE WE GOING TO HAVE SOME PUBLISHED STANDARDS FOR FLAG-PEOPLE???? Who will enforce the standards and why in the world do we put up with this? I bet the bike people don't have these issues. I guess since we only run 'Farm-Machines' around the track flagmen aren't really necessary. What we need is a set of criteria (like hiring people that are out of Junior High, and understand the difference between yellow flags and medical flags), and teeth in the consequence for ANY infraction that occurs. Personally I have seen sleeping flagmen, flag-girls painting their fingernails while the race is going, flagmen talking on the phone, flagmen taking photos of the race, flagmen that no doubt still had to hold their mama's hand when crossing the street, and flagmen sitting in those lounge chairs that suck your butt into them and you can't get out of (actually I saw this lady try to get out of her chair four times while a crash piled up all around her at Parker Valley last year). Something's got to give. Maybe the promoters will have to give up just a bit of their profit margin to pay for better employees. It's our rider's safety that we are trusting in the hands of these under qualified individuals. Also I think, and of course I am only a racer's mom, a total no-body when opinions count, but since this is my place to wax on, I will, if a promoter really wants to run one of the ATVA Nationals, he or she ought to act like it. They should at least wait to insult us in the privacy of their own home, or at least when we aren't around. Also if the rules say we are supposed to have 20 foot wide tracks it's there for a reason. So what's the deal with the one line tracks? I know for certain that there are many fine tracks out there (some in California where IT DOESN'T RAIN OR SNOW IN THE SPRING!), that would be far superior to what we have been forced to deal with. Let's get some ideas going between all of us on where the future Nationals should be. I have included a survey (one of quite a few that can be linked to under the SAY IT LOUD page) that you can rate the tracks we have been to this year, and another where you can make suggestions for the 2004 series. It sometimes just takes one person to make a difference. Maybe it's you.

In closing I need to recognize some special people. Dana got a great email from guys far away that do some high-flying of their own. He tried to send a reply e-mail to them, but their e-mail address was unavailable. I am going to do something I rarely do on this column, which is post a photo for all to see without having to link to it. Dana wanted to tell Enrique Izquierdo and his sand mates that he seriously respects what they are doing and have done for our country and that he for one appreciates your efforts. He also wanted to get an address to send stickers and such to you, but your email didn't work. Hopefully you will see this, or one of your friends will, and you can get back in touch with us with a better way to communicate. Thanks again to all of our troops that are putting it all on the line for us and others to live the life of the free.

I wish you the best.

Take care, be careful, call your Mom.

Mom.

Random Photos:

Rider 131 (No idea who this is but it was a good shot anyway).