Large crowd gathers for final AMA races of year at Busco Beach

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on September 1, 2012 11:08 PM

• Print
• Email

Jack Bennett has a saying that he likes to tell visitors who travel to Busco Beach ATV Park.

"Dirt is what we do," Bennett says with a smile.

Busco Beach got another chance to shine Saturday when the ATV Extreme Dirt Track National Championship Series arrived for its annual stop in Wayne County. For the second consecutive year, a fast track and a large crowd gathered to greet the riders.

"This is an amazing event to watch and seems to be even bigger than last year," Bennett said. "We have approximately 7,000 people in the park today and many of them are gathered around the race track to watch these guys tear it up."

Riders in both the amateur and professional classes, from 40 states, arrived Friday night for the opening practice and the first night of races. After watching some of the riders struggle with the track configuration, event organizer Ken Farrell decided to change things up.

Literally.

Farrell and his crew reconfigured the dirt track and eliminated one corner which allowed for a nearly 550-foot back straightaway. The course immediately went from being a technical track to a horsepower haven.

"We wanted to open it up a little bit and give the guys a chance to really hit some speeds that they maybe don't get other places," Farrell said. "By the time the pros reach the end of the backstretch they are nearing 90 miles per hour."

The changes were applauded by the professional riders including North Carolina native Chuckie Creech.

"It is a really fast track and that is how I think most of the guys like it," Creech said. "I have raced here in the past and today was definitely the fastest the track has been."

Pro series points leader Harold Goodman had no problems with either setup. Goodman clinched the Pro points title Friday night, and celebrated by borrowing an ATV and picking up a win in a side-by-side showcase event.

The Michigan native did not have to stick around for Saturday's Pro series final due to his insurmountable lead in the standings, but he decided that a day of racing was better than a day doing anything else.

"Us guys that do this for a living just want to race all the time," Goodman said. "It's about the competition, and the rush of going fast and doing what we love."

Goodman held a significant lead in the Pro-Am points lead heading into Saturday night's final race. As long as he finished near the top he would walk away with that title as well. Brad Riley locked up the Pro-Am Unlimited title in Wayne County.

The Extreme Dirt Track National Series crowned 24 champions total across all classifications and age divisions on Saturday night. The series makes eight stops across the U.S. over the summer months. There are events in South Dakota, New York, Oklahoma, Ohio, Kinston and Goldsboro.

"We love having the final event of the year at Busco Beach," Farrell said. "And we plan on coming back many more times in the future."