FERNLEY - Labor Day weekend brings veteran motocross racers to the Fernley track as they face off in the latest round of the Old Timers National MX series. It's the usual case of locals facing the invaders from other chapters.

It's a long weekend for these riders as they race three times Saturday and then saddle up again Sunday for two more rounds. But when the dust settled, some of the locals had a good weekend.

After taking the checkered flag Sunday, Reno chapter member Larry Brown said, "I swept the whole weekend, three wins Saturday and two wins Sunday. It was epic! With the wind I had to let off the last of couple of laps just to make sure I stayed upright."

Capping his weekend, Brown took off and was in the lead as the pack rounded the first turn after the start. Then he just motored away and let everyone eat his dust.

Further back, in the second group of Amateur racers, Reno rider Scott Chick also was intent on completing a sweep of the weekend. When the gate dropped his got another hole shot and led fellow Nevadan Matt Itamura as they tore into the first turn.

When the checkered waved, Chick made it a local one-two finish as well as a dual sweep for the weekend.

"I swept all the races and got the hole shots too," a very happy Chick said.

One close battle pitted a Los Angeles member against a rider from Oregon as they dueled for the final moto win in Amateur 50. When the gate dropped, Chris Alberts, the northerner, took off with Ron Verbeeck in hot pursuit.

For most of the race, it appeared that Alberts was in the catbird seat but soon Verbeeck lit his afterburner and began to close the gap. They spent the final two laps either nose-to-tail or side-by-side.

Alberts would win this battle but Verbeek, by virtue of winning four of the five motos, won the war and claimed the class overall victory.

Other Nevada winners were, Duane Quick in Expert 60+, Eric McKenna in Master A and George Haas in 50+ Novice.

This year the Sierra Old Timer chapter scored more wins (8) than the home boys from Reno, who claimed five class wins. It was a case of the home-field advantage as riders from both the Sierra Old Timers as well as the Reno Old Timers have raced Fernley's sand many times.

The visitors weren't shut out as chapters from Arizona, Central Valley, Los Angeles and Oregon all scored one class one apiece.

Several riders that usually race on the desert with MRANN were on hand and one of them, Willy Heiss, won both overall wins in the A and B support motos on Sunday.

"I thought I'd try motocross as I usually race on the desert," Heiss said. "With this wind you have to be careful and stay low to the ground."

Both days at Fernley were marked by winds and blowing dust. It was almost impossible for the water trucks to keep up with it but everyone dealt with the problem and got on with the program.

Despite several riders going down, the medics reported that only one of the of was transported to the hospital and that was for a precautionary check.

Now all the riders competing in the series get a month off before the series final round in October at the Glen Helen track in Southern California.

•Saturday night was also windy, which kept the officials working on the track at Rattlesnake Raceway in Fallon. Overall they did a pretty good job although it usually got dusty by the end of a race.

The IMCA Modified event was a slam bang affair with four cautions in the first six laps. There would be six more before the 25-lap race was checkered.

After two attempts the field got away with Duane Kramer leading the pack as it roared into Turn 1. Two laps later, just before the first caution Dustin Jenks took the point and it appeared the Chico based driver would score another victory.

Behind the leader David Elsworth was picking his way toward the front and was soon in second. That's when Jenks ran out of luck as his car just quit on the backstretch and he was pushed to the pits.

Returning before the caution period ended, Jenks began a charge through the pack while Elsworth was skating around the slick track as fast as he dared. Soon he first Jake Holland then Bill Pearson to hold off.

In the final laps, Jenks had charged to third and would soon claim second but there was no catching Elsworth as he stormed off to claim his first IMCA feature victory.

"We finally got one and we needed it," Elsworth said afterwards. "It's been a long time coming and it was amazing how slick it was out there. I thought going as slow as I was everyone was going to pass me."

Bob Bender led most of the first lap of the 318 Modified main until he spun out and handed the point to Glenn Lee. Riding shotgun on the field was Jim Turner, who has painted his racer green and was heading to the front. After the first of three cautions, Turner was second and drawing a bead on the fleeing Lee.

Soon it was all over as Turner made the winning pass and went on to take the victory.

"My sister talked me into painting it green," Turner said with a laugh. "Just like Dave's in the IMCA race, the track was super, super slick, which I like as the track came to us. Starting dead last and going all the way to the front was great."

Mike Kinkle scored a green-to-checkered victory as he led all the laps in the Hobby Stock feature while Gene Kay was the class of the Dwarf Car main as he led most of that race.

The Pro Stock feature began with a bang when several cars tangled and almost put Jesse Gonzalez out of action. He was able to replace a broken radiator and return to the fray but the race belonged to Al Goss as he dominated most of the event.

Another first time winner was Tyler Taylor, who survived a race full of spins by most of the field to claim his very first victory.

The GenX race had another case of "yellow flag fever" as there were five cautions in 15 laps. In the end, Chris Neal put on another display of his smooth yet determined drives to claim another victory.

"That was awesome," Neal said. "I was trying, but I didn't know how to pass her (Early leader Jana Neal) so it was, 'go down low and take it.' The track was rough and slick, and I like it dry.

Now the track goes dark until its next event Sept. 13 when the action resumes.

•After a busy Labor Day weekend of races things quiet down a bit with only two events on this weekend's schedule.

The Sierra MX series travels to Winnemucca for a two day show with the big bikes and pros racing on Sunday. One added incentive is a $3,000 pro purse.

Closer to home, the Mustang Motorplex hosts a Saturday motocross, with a probable 10 a.m. start time, followed on Sunday by day of Grand Prix format racing.

OTHER RACING NEWS

•Injured desert racer Josh Morros is still recovering in a Salt Lake City hospital but showing good signs. He responds to voices and is slowly waking up.

Reno Motorsports, at the corner of Terminal Way and Mill Street, has set up a collection for anyone that wishes to donate funds to help the Morros family pay for medical costs.

•The Busch brothers spent the weekend at the California Speedway in Fontana. On Saturday evening Kyle led all but six laps to win the Nationwide series event.

RESULTS

•International Oldtimers MX - Round 11

Fernley Motocross Track - Aug. 30-31

Support:

- (A) 1. Mikey Chick

- (B) 1. Preston Joy, 2. Tyler Pizorno, 3. Trevor Deruise, 4. James Estes, 5. Dominic Panelli

- (30+ B) 1. Willy Heiss

- (30+ B) 1. Tyson Krah, 2. Chris Anderson, 3. Kyle Wyant

- (80cc) 1. Trevor Walsh, 2. Kyle Cochlin, 3. Taylor Kinser

- (60cc) 1. Garret Darby, 2. Jesse Mulock, 3. Shane Betts, 4. Jacob Baldwin, 5. Jacob Denshire

- (50CC) 1. Kaylee Darby

Novice - 1. Kevin Ems, 2. Chris Skillman, 3. Todd Gillespie, 4. Bill MacDonald, 5. Michael Fowler

Amateur - 1. Scott Chick, 2. Matt Itamura, 3. Kevin Worrell, 4. James Rabyou

Master:

- (A) 1. Eric McKenna*, 2. Mark Kaestner, 3. Doug Goodman, 4. Michael Johnson.

- (B) 1. Rob Brock, 2. Mark Pledger, 3. Richard McCord, 4. Kevin Truax

Expert - 1. Mark Bianchini, 2. Robert Stone, 3. Rick Lane, 4. Gilbert Chick, 5. Scott Burton

80+:

- (Master) 1. Fred H. Parsen

70+:

- (Nov.) 1. Ed Thomas, 2. Chuck Ramsey Sr., 3. Cliff Kobernik

- (Ama.) 1. Jerry Harpole, 2. Harold Noell, 3. Fred Mozingo

-(Exp.) 1. Steve Johnson, 2. Bill McClinton, 3. Gene Hrobsky

60+:

- (Ama.) 1. Jim Patterson, 2. Les Oldenbrook, 3. J.R. Meusling, 4. Joe Anderson, 5. Bob Prestwich

-(Nov.) 1. Budd Abbott, 2. Dennis Pangburn, 3. Buzz Moeller

- (Mstr.) 1. Terry Sage, 2. Bob Krah, 3. Don Tocher, 4. Art McDade, 5. Ed Perriton

- (Exp.) 1. Duane Quick*, 2. Harry Morse, 3. J.R. Canaguier, 4. Bill Evans, 5. Richard Schilling

50+:

- (Nov.) 1. George Haas*, 2. Rod Rohrbacker, 3. Jim Schumacher, 4. Criag Johnson, 5. Barb Mihovish

- (Ama.) 1. Ron Verbeek, 2. Chris Alberta, 3. Terry Tate, 4. Jeff Hawthorne, 5. Richard Kroske

- (Mstr.) 1. Dan Steele, 2. Jim Moe, 3. Dave Harden, 4. Ron Hudson, 5. Scott Raymes

- (Exp.) 1. Larry "Lannx" Brown*, 2. Stuart Douglas, 3. Bill Dougherty, 4. Dave Harrell, 5. Richard Kastner

* - Reno Old Timer Chapter members

•Rattlesnake Raceway - Aug. 30

Pro Stock:

Heat Winners - #1 Al Goss, #2 Brian Anderson

Main (30-Laps) - 1. Al Goss, 2. Ed Goss, 3. Todd Foreman, 4. Gary Nevers, 5. Donny Spence

318 Modifieds:

Heat Winner - Jim Turner

Main (20-Laps) - 1. Jim Turner, 2. Glenn Lee, 3. Duncan Lee, 4. Sean Renfro, 5. Bob Bender

Hobby Stocks:

Heat Winners - #1 Jeff Wilson, #2 unlisted

Main (30-Laps) - 1. Mike Kinkle, 2. Dean Clark, 3. Tommy Teters, Mike White, 5. Shane Ramthun

Dwarf Cars:

Heat Winner - Gene Kay

Main (20-Laps) - 1. Gene Kay, 2. Billy Wilson, 3. Reece Wilson, 4. Skip Hempler, 5. Bobby Wilson, 6. Jeff Shurley

IMCA Modifieds:

Heat Winners - #1 Dustin Jenks, #2 Darren Manning

Main (25-Laps) - 1. Dave Ellsworth, 2. Dustin Jenks, 3. Bill Pearson, 4. Jake Holland, 5. Duane Kramer

Bombers:

Heat Winner - Alex Pettit

Main (15-Laps) - 1. Tyler Taylor, 2. Unlisted, 3. Kelly Thompson, 4. Brandon Thunder, 5. Reinhart Guzman

GenX:

Heat Winners - #1 unlisted, #2 Mikki Beuchat

Main (15-Laps) - 1. Chris Neal, 2. John Schilling, 3. Paul Yamanaka, 4. Jana Neal, 5. Bryan Kaster