Creamer Earns First Victory at Steel City

Monster Energy Kawasaki‘s Josh Creamer and Chad Wienen took home the top two spots on the podium during round six of the AMA Pro ATV MX championship at Steel City Raceway in Delmont, Pa..; a first since Kawasaki made its return to ATV motocross racing a few seasons ago.

Creamer took decisive victories in the first and second motos, a welcome comeback to the front after a few tough races.

“It’s been a rough two weeks,” says Creamer. “I’ve spent a lot of time working on this and I couldn’t be more happy.”

Steel City’s event featured a dry first moto and a muddy second race as afternoon thunderstorms came down.

“It was pretty unpredictable,” says Wienen. “I’m not a mud rider but the bike was working awesome.”

After some close calls, Josh Creamer finally earned his first overall victory.

Chad Wienen has been on a tear lately.

In the first moto, Honda rider Harold Goodman grabbed holeshot, but Creamer moved into first place by the third lap and led the rest of the way. AMA ATV MX Series leader Joe Byrd and Weinen had tough starts and had to work their way through the pack. While coming through, they ran into Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Dustin Wimmer, the defending series’ champ, who was making a dramatic return to racing after dislocating his shoulder in a practice crash just a few weeks ago. Weinen charged up to second, while Byrd battled Wimmer and Can-Am’s John Natalie just inside the top ten. Byrd and Wienen eventually charged to the front of the line, taking on Wimmer’s teammate Doug Gust. They dropped the veteran to fourth by the end of the moto, and Wienen held off Byrd to take second.

Josh Upperman came in fifth followed by Natalie in sixth and Cody Miller in seventh. Goodman, Wimmer and Thomas Brown made up the rest of the top 10.

By the second motos, thunderclouds had formed and the rain came down, making the already challenging track slick.

Harold Goodman gunned for the first turn to take home his holeshot award, while Natalie crashed hard on the outside. Creamer was soon on Goodman’s tail, and he mastered the slick track to make a pass and take the lead. Upperman overtook Goodman as well in the second lap, and then battled with Gust and Wienen for second. Late in the race, Upperman stepped up his pace and pulled away from the battle, making one final push to catch Creamer. He went for a pass in the final turn, but ended up a close second behind the Kawasaki pilot.

“I just thought, ‘C’mon man, just keep pushing,’” says Upperman. “I just ran out of time.”

Gust and Weinen made their moves to the front, taking the third and fourth positions while Byrd, who had another bad start coming off the line in 10th, settled for fifth place. The still-recovering Wimmer finished 11th, which allowed Byrd to extend his points lead to 25-the distance of an entire moto.

Wienen and Creamer celebrate Kawasaki’s 1-2 finish.

Natalie recovered from his first-turn crash to come in sixth, followed by Goodman in seventh. Russell Shumaker, Gregg Gee and Nick DeNoble rounded out the top 10.

In Pro-Am production, Cody Gibson continues his assault on the podium in first place. Gibson grabbed first place in the first moto and third in the second, while Travis Moore took eighth in moto one but came back to win moto two. Josh Williams grabbed second overall with 5-2 scores and William Cottage took third with a 3-4.

The ITP/Moose Racing AMA ATV Motocross Championship continues June 13th and 14th with the Can-Am Northeastern ATV Nationals in Unadilla, NY.

Related ReadingSuccessful weekend for Kawasaki Wienen Sweeps Motos at Sunset Ridge National