WadeRaynor
As with the last Amateur Roundup, I will be giving you a preview of a few select classes that will be racing at Loretta Lynn’s. I will not be going through every single class simply because that is too much information for any one person to handle. Vurbwes, SlawDog, and myself have selected a few classes that I have taken a deeper dive into. I will be diving a little deeper into the 85cc, Mini Sr, and A Classes in this installment of the Amateur Roundup.
85cc Classes: 85cc (10-12) Limited and 85cc (10-12)
Similar to a number of the B and C classes, the 85cc class also has a limited division. The bikes must be mostly stock, aside from a select few mods that are allowed. I will be looking at riders in both and I will make a note if someone is riding Limited only or both. A stat I did not expect, because a lot of these kids are pretty young, but there are 10 prior champions across the 85cc Classes which may be the most champions to be racing together this year. The 85 class is stacked.
-Elliott Bowsher. One previous title and five top 10 finishes. The only time Elliott has finished outside of the top 10 are in his first two trips to Loretta’s in 2019 and 2020. Elliott finished second in both the 65cc (10-11) Limited and mod class in 2022. Elliott is in both 85 classes.
-Alex Campigli. Alex has been to Loretta’s five times with one championship and three top 10s. All of Alex’s finishes have been inside the top 20 overall. Alex finished first in 65(7-9) Limited and second in 65 (7-9) last year.
-Chase Dashiell. Chase won the 65cc (10-11) Limited class last year. He has four trips to the Ranch with one top 10, being his championship.
-Gage Dunham. Gage has one championship and four top 10’s at Loretta’s. This will be his second year racing the 85cc Class at the Ranch.
-Sawyer Gieck. Sawyer has two Loretta’s titles and four top 10s. Sawyer won the 65cc (7-9) Class and finished second in the Limited Class last year.
-Colt Martin. Colt has one previous championship and seven top 10’s at the Ranch. Colt has been nine times only finishing outside of the top 10 twice.
-Tayce Morgan. Tayce has one prior championship and six top 10 Finishes at Loretta’s.
-Darren Pine. Darren has one championship at Loretta’s and seven top 10 Finishes. Darren raced the 85 class last year at the Ranch finishing 9th and 11th respectively. Darren is coming off of one of the most successful campaigns I have seen at Freestone and is a favorite to win the title this year.
-Maddox Temmerman. Maddox has one Loretta’s title and four top 10 Finishes. Maddox has finished outside the top 10 twice in all of his trips to the Ranch finishing 13th both times. Maddox won the 65cc (10-11) Class in 2022.
-Wyatt Thurman. One Loretta’s title and eight top 10 finishes. Wyatt has only finished outside of the top 10 twice in the 10 classes he has raced at Loretta’s. Wyatt finished 4th in 85cc (10-12) Limited last year. As I have said in previous columns, having prior experience in the class is a big deal in my opinion. I look for Wyatt to be towards the front.
Mini Sr 1&2
The Mini Sr classes are similar to the 85cc Classes in the sense that you can race 79-85cc bikes, but you are able to have a max 17” front wheel and a 16” rear wheel. These riders will be older as well, with Mini Sr 1 being 12-14 and Mini Sr 2 being 13-15. So many of the riders who rode the 85cc classes are able to move up to either Mini Sr or Supermini based upon age.
-Cole Blecha. Cole has been to Loretta’s every year since 2016 racing 12 classes and only finishing outside of the top 10 three times, never finishing outside of the top 20. While Cole does not have a title, he does have a ton of experience running up front at the Ranch.
-Jonathan Getz. Jonathan has been to the Ranch every year since 2015 with eight top 10 finishes. I look for Jonathan to run towards the front this year.
-Vincent Wey. Vincent, son of ex pro Nick Wey, has one Loretta’s title and six top 10 finishes. Vincent has not finished outside of the top 10 since 2019. I believe Vincent has a very good chance at winning a title this year at the Ranch.
-Carson Wood. Carson has one previous title and six top 10 finishes at Loretta’s. I met Carson a few years ago and was impressed at the speed he showed while racing the Vurb Classic. I look for Carson to be one of the front runners this year and I believe he will be in the top three overall at a minimum.
Honorable Mention:
-Mayla Herrick. Only girl running the Mini Sr classes. Third in Girls in 2022.
–Joseph Shipley
-Jace Baker. Won a number of motos at Unadilla in the mud. I look for Jace to be near the front, but if it rains he may pickup a moto win.
250A and Open A/Pro Sport
The A/Pro sport classes are one of the most important of the week. There are a lot of guys coming through these classes that will be making their pro debuts right after Loretta’s or in the next few years. There are also a number of guys in the Open A class that are ex pros making their return to the Ranch. I covered most of those guys in the 25+ class if they are racing it. By my count, we have eight past champions racing the A Classes this year, the second most behind the 85 classes.
-Julien Beaumer. One of Daniel Blair’s riders in the KTM camp, Julien has one championship and seven top 10s in his nine years at the Ranch starting in 2013, with 2018 being the only year he did not go. Julien had a great run in the Supercross Futures series winning 2 of 5 races. Julien will be one of the front runners this year and I look for him to land on the podium.
-Preston Boespflug. Preston is another rider in the Daniel Blair camp, he has never finished outside of the top 10 at Loretta’s in his six years attending. While he does not have a title, he has finished second twice, third twice, and the worst finish of ninth overall. Preston does very well at the Ranch and he will be a front runner this year.
-Jayden Clough. Jayden does not have a past Championship, but he has finished inside the top 10 13 times and finished third in 25 Pro sport and fourth in Open Pro Sport last year. Look for Jayden to keep that streak going this year.
-Dylan Cunha. One past title at Loretta’s.
-Evan Ferry. AKA Lil Red Dog is definitely a threat this year aboard the #75 GasGas. Evan has two past Loretta’s titles and nine top 10 finishes. Evan moved up from the B Class where he finished fifth in 250B in 2022. Compared to years past, Evan has not raced as much this year, so I am having a hard time predicting where he will finish this year, but I believe you will see him towards the front.
-Mark Fineis. Mark has four top 10 finishes at the Ranch with the best finish of a second. While Mark does not have a title at Loretta’s, he has been having a great year winning 250A at Freestone and second at the Salt Lake City round of Supercross Futures.
-Matti Jorgensen. First 250B Limited in 2021, third in 250B in 2022, second fastest qualifier at High Point National in 250 Class.
-Derek Leatherman. One Loretta’s titles and three top 10 finishes.
-Avery Long. Avery has two Loretta’s titles, both coming last year in the 450B and 450B Limited classes. Avery also has eight top 10 finishes at the Ranch.
-Keegan Rowley. One championship and two top 10 finishes.
-Bryce Shelly. Six top 10s at LL. Eleventh in the 450 class at RedBud, third at Freestone in Open A. Bryce has been a few rounds of Pro Motocross and has been opening a lot of eyes. I look for Bryce to be towards the front this year.
-Gavin Towers. Gavin has not finished outside the top 10 overall since 2015 at the Ranch, he has 15 total top 10’s, and finished second 250 PS 2022. Gavin has not won a title at Loretta’s, but I believe that this year he has a very good chance at battling for the overall. The only problem is that he broke his collarbone the week before the Budds Creek Regional in June. He was able to qualify, but I would believe he has taken some time off to make sure that is 100%. I am not sure if that will have an effect on his riding at the Ranch so we will have to wait and see.
-Daxton Bennick. I saved this one for the end as Dax is going to be my pick for the overall in 250 Pro Sport and Open Pro Sport. Daxton has five Loretta’s championships, he was the 250B Champ in 2022, he has raced 19 classes at Loretta Lynn’s but only finished outside the top 10 overall twice. Earlier this year he won two of five Supercross Futures races and he has been raced three Pro Motocross rounds this year with results of 10th at RedBud, 14th at Southwick, and 11th a Spring Creek. Daxton has been gelling with the Yamaha bikes very well since joining Star Racing and his results are showing. This bike will be a bit different than what he has been racing in outdoors, but I do not believe that will have an big effect on his results. Daxton has been very successful at the Ranch and I believe he will cap off his amateur career by winning the Horizon Award as well. Stamp it.
Honorable Mention:
Parker Ross
Trevin Nelson
Lux Turner
Noah Viney
Mitchell Zaremba
Izaih Clark
Heath Harrison
Jacob Hayes
Kimble Jett
Austin Kapourkranidis
Dakota Kessler
Ben Lamay
Tyler Mollet
This is going to wrap up our Loretta’s preview series for this season. We are off to the Ranch here in a few weeks, Vurbmoto has a ton of cool stuff planned so make sure to stay tuned to all of the social media channels from Facebook, to Instagram, to YouTube.
Great write up wade!
i believe mollet will be a sneaky contender for top 5 moto finishes. He showed a lot of speed on his 125 last year at the baja brawl, he for sure made me a fan haha.