Wienen Dominates at Sunset Ridge MX

Chad Wienen came into round four of the 2012 AMA ATV Motocross National Championship with heavy momentum as the series returned to his hometown track at Sunset Ridge MX in Walnut, Ill. Wienen once again swept both motos of the day, marking seven of the eight moto wins this season and further extended his lead in the championship point standings.

Motoworks/Can-Am’s Joel Hetrick proved that he could lay down the fastest lap time as was the top qualifier. However, it was Lonestar/SSi Decals/Get Dirty MX’s Nick DeNoble who captured both SSi Decals Holeshot Awards but the Wisconsin native ran into issues all day, keeping him from finishing both motos.

Chad Wienen has won seven of eight motos this season.

Wienen got out front early in Moto 1 on his Wienen Motorsports/SSi Decals/Walsh Race Craft/Yamaha and battled with Motoworks/Can-Am’s Hetrick throughout the fifteen-lap race. Hetrick kept Wienen in his sights all day but despite all efforts to take the win he wasn’t able to make the pass on Wienen.

Motoworks/Can-Am’s John Natalie began Moto 1 with a back of the pack start, but the defending champ moved his way inside the top three as the moto wore on. Natalie settled into third and chased the battle of Hetrick and Wienen throughout the moto. TBROWN Yamaha Racing/Moto-X-Perts rider Thomas Brown got tangled up with another rider at the beginning of Moto 1 and was forced to pass through the pack, eventually making his way up to a seventh place finish.

Chad Wienen (center) is flanked by John Natalie (left) and Joel Hetrick (right) on the podium.

In Moto 2, the leaders mixed it up but it was Wienen who once again came out on top, securing both moto wins at his home track. Natalie, Hetrick and Brown didn’t make it easy for Wienen to walk away with it though, as the trio contested the leader harder than ever in Moto 2. Brown got out front early on and led for about five laps before Wienen inherited the lead around lap 10. Natalie and Brown battled Wienen to the very end and the top three came through the checkers less than three seconds apart. Wienen and Natalie had yet another photo finish for the win, crossing the finish less than one second apart. Wienen swept both motos for the overall win, while Natalie went 2-3 for second place and Hetrick took third with a 2-4 score. Thomas Brown put together fourth overall with 7-3 finishes, putting him in fifth place in the championship standings.

Baldwin Motorports/PEP’s Josh Upperman battled with the lead pack all day and his 4-5 score earned him fifth overall. Upperman still holds the fourth place spot in the overall standings. Michigan’s Harold Goodman put in a season-best performance to capture seventh overall with a 5-7 score. Goodman now sits in eight place in the championship standings.

Derek Swartfager (Honda) finished sixth overall, just ahead of Harold Goodman and Adam Clark (Honda), Jeffrey Rastrelli (Suzuki) and Jesse Barnes (Yamaha) rounded out the top ten.

The 2012 AMA ATV Motocross Championship heads to Ballance MX in Oakland, Ky., for round five of the ten-race circuit.