December 8th, 2010 10:20am
The ABA Race of Champions and Grand National concluded one week ago as the final load of dirt was removed from the Quicktrip Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With over 3,200 participants from 45 states and 16 countries and over 103,000 hits on GO211.com, the “Greatest Race on Earth” lived up to its billing. The annual event held in conjunction with the Tulsa Sports Commission every Thanksgiving weekend had a projected economic impact of over $7 million dollars to the City of Tulsa. With amateur and professional BMX racers all showcasing their talents, the racing was action packed all weekend long.
With over 6,000 yards of dirt, dump trucks, wheel loaders, rollers, and trained personnel, the ABA crew transformed the Quicktrip Center into a state of the art BMX racing venue. At 7:00 a.m., Thanksgiving Day, the doors were opened for practice and riders from around the globe got their preparation time on the race track.
Friday brought on the Race of Champions as the top riders from each state and international competitors squared off to determine the best of the best in each age class and proficiency. With the coveted #1 plate being given to the top novice, intermediate, and expert rider in each age class, everyone was out to show they were the best of the best. With over 450 motos of racing excitement on Friday, the Quicktrip Center was jammed pack with racing excitement.
Friday evening saw the NAG 5 Challenge and Pro Spectacular. This event took the top qualifiers from the Race of Champions in the professional classes and the top 5 nationally ranked male and female riders in the 15 and older age classes and showcased their talents to BMX fans new and old. The stands of the Quicktrip Center were full as spectators got to see some of the best riders in the world in a compressed racing format. In addition to the racing excitement, some year end awards were also presented. Bob Watson and Ira Hall were inducted into the ABA BMX Hall of Fame for their amazing contributions to both the ABA and the sport of BMX. Grand Valley BMX was awarded the top fundraising track for the Race for Life and Garrett Garcia was awarded as the top individual fundraiser. Golden Crank Awards were presented to Maris Strombergs as the Pro of the Year, Corben Sharrah as the Rookie Pro of the Year, Redman-Rockstar as the Team of the Year, and Redline as the Bike of the Year. 
The racing action on Friday evening featured some exciting racing and foretold of what the weekend would bring. Kenth Fallen, Dominique Daniels, and Sam Willoughby were all winners on Friday night at the Pro Spectacular in the Vet Pro, Elite Women, and AA Pro class. All three were vying for titles and to bring home the coveted #1 plate on Sunday; all three showed that they had brought their “A” game for the weekend.
The ABA Grand National began on Saturday morning with 532 stacked motos. Two round of racing were completed on Saturday for a grand total of 1,064 laps of hard charging motos leading up to the finale on Sunday. Sunday would see the third and final qualifying round of 532 motos, followed by 28 eighth mains, 213 quarter mains, 180 semi mains, and then the 112 main events. By the time the main events rolled around people were on the edge of their seats waiting to see who would be crowned the national champions and who would be the national age group champions. In many of the title chases, the champion was not crowned until the final race of the class. The tension was building with each race as trophy, bike shop, and factory team standings were also on the line.
The first title of the day was awarded in the Girls glass as 17-27 year old girls class rider, Tyler Schaefer took home the victory and secured her place in the history books.
The second title of the day went to the Cruiser class as 8 year old, Brodie Spott claimed the title. Brodie sat through 14 finals waiting to see if he had enough points to hold on and when all was said and done, Brodie, had the Top Spot on the podium and the honor of #1 National Cruiser for 2010.
The next title was the Girls Cruiser and it was awarded to Kelsie Van Ogle in the 11—13 girls cruiser class.
Van Ogle hoisting her national trophy.
The prestigious ABAAmateur came down to the winner of the 19-27 expert class, with three riders in the gate being able to take the title with a win. All three were lined up side by side in lanes 6, 7 & 8, Josh Klatman came out of the gate and ran a nearly perfect lap to be crowed the 2010 national #1 Amateur. With Klatman’s title win, the state of Washington become the proud home of two ABA National #1 cups.
In the team races there were three cups on the line: Trophy Team, Bike Shop Team, and Factory Team. The race for all three came down to the wire with Extreme Team winning the Trophy Team, J&R`s winning the Bike Shop, and Redman-Rockstar winning the Factory.
The pro classes were not to be outdone by the amateurs. With many of the titles up for grabs and hinging on the main events, the excitement was in the air. With 3 main events in each of the professional title classes, the pros knew they must race hard and be consistent. Consistency is what had gotten many of the riders to this point and what would give them the coveted ABA #1 Plates.
In pro cruiser it was simple; Barry Nobles or Danny Caluag would be the champion. Whoever had the better finish would be #1. Barry Nobles proved he was up to the task with the victory on the day and brought home the ABA #1 Pro Cruiser title. Like all of the amateur winners and other pro winners, Barry was awarded with a JBL Home Audio System for his accomplishments.
The Vet Pro class has belonged to Kenth Fallen the past two years and Kenth was looking to secure his third consecutive #1. Kenth finished second in the main event on Sunday securing his third consecutive #1 Vet Pro Title.
There were only two more titles up for grabs, the Women Pro and the AA Pro. The Women’s Pro title has belonged to Dominique Daniels the past two years and like Alice Jung, Samantha Cools, and Alise Post, two consecutive titles has been done before, but no Women Pro had three. Dominique did what she needed to do on Sunday to retain her title and wrote her name in the history books as the first Women Pro with three consecutive ABA titles.
Dominique Daniels - Top of the womens world for a third straight title.
The AA Pro title was down to two men come Sunday, Marc Willers and Sam Whilloughby. Sam knew that all he had to do was make the main and finish strong. Finish strong he did, he won all three rounds in the mains and left no doubt that he was the #1 ABA AA Pro. Hailing from Australia, Sam stated on the podium that it has been his dream since he was 8 years old to win the ABA #1 Pro Title.
Mens AA Pro Title Winner - Sam Willoughby
Location: News >> ABA BMX National Wrap Up
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