ESPN Great Outdoor Games
Disney Sports Complex
Orlando, FL
July 9-10. 2005

Natalie Take Home the GOLD!

We said earlier that the best man would win and that's what happened. That's right, the same guy that won just about every single event and series this year, Mr. John "Ironman" Natalie, took home the ten grand and the first ever Great Outdoor Games Gold Medal!

When's the last time you saw ATV racing on a major television network like ESPN or ABC? Correct, never, but thanks to MXi (the promotional company behind Supermoto, the X Games among others) and ESPN -- ATV racing will be seen in over 150 million households this week! If you're wondering how much effort went into capturing video for the televised production, try this on for size, -- ESPN went the extra mile and even brought "Sky Cam" to the ATV track for this year's Great Outdoor Games. Four huge towers hold the wired camera, otherwise known as "Sky Cam" for overhead shots of the entire track. Impressive to say the least!

ESPN is expecting the ATV activities to steal the show. Of the 11 "pods", (scheduled events to be filmed), nine involve ATVs! As we said, ESPN means business and they're serious about showcasing what professional ATV racing is all about to millions of television viewers world wide! Are you excited as we are? As you'll see this is not your ordinary ATV race. If you're not excited about what you're reading than you're simply at the wrong web site -- surf elsewhere because this news piece is reserved for die-hard ATV enthusiasts only!


Enter Mainstream ATV Racing

Who made it all happen? Tes Sewell will argue that it was a group effort. But his relentless suggestion to include ATV racing as part of the GOG's sixth year inspired the powers that be at ESPN to go for it. Thanks for all the hard work and dedication Tes!

It all started a few years back when organizer Tes Sewell of MXi suggested to ad professional ATV racing to the powers that be at the ESPN Great Outdoor Games. The timing wasn't right then, and ESPN didn't jump at the idea right away, but Sewell continued to push our sport in their direction nonetheless. One day late last year he got the, "let's talk" message and the birth of mainstream ATV racing was born.

Davey Coombs, son of promoter legend Dave Sr., and founder of Racer X Illustrated, was contacted for his opinion. Coombs highly agreed that is was indeed an excellent fit for the 2005 Games and suggested they contact 3-time ATVA People's Choice Promoter of the Year, Donny Banks, for help with the event. Banks jumped at the opportunity and flew to Wisconsin late last year to meet fellow organizers and look over the current venue where the Games were originally scheduled to be held. Along the way, ESPN later found a better opportunity to hold their Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge directly on Walt Disney property in Orlando, FL.

Sewell, with guidance from ATV racing legend turned promoter, Donny Banks, put together a six member committee, which they referred to as their "panel of experts". This committee would be responsible for selecting the 24-person roster

This was the view from our hotel. Next year plan to attend the Great Outdoor Games. It's a great family vacation idea. You too can live it up like we did.

"Right from the start I had (and still have) the utmost confidence in our committee", said Sewell. "I think they understood what ESPN was looking for very well. We really wanted to make the sport look as good as possible on television. The committee was asked to choose riders not only for their riding ability but also for their ability to act as good ambassadors for the ATV community."

"ESPN really stressed that they wanted an interesting 24 person roster for both the Four Wheel Frenzy and the Terracross events. I've personally worked with Fox Television segment producers when we promoted the Guinness World Record ATV Jump in Orrville, OH. I remember all the digging they did to find interesting angles and behind the scenes stories. I fully understood that they didn't just want to televise ATV racing - they wanted to gain the attention of the average television viewer as much as possible. We included young personable riders like 17-year old Cody Miller, who told an interesting "Lance Armstrong" story of beating cancer to follow his dreams. Sure we could have chosen another pro rider with a less interesting story, but I agreed with Tes and went after riders that I knew would best reach many television viewers. I think we hit the nail on the head and delivered exactly what ESPN wanted", said committee member, John Pellan.

An equally interesting story was the invitation of two female ATV racers. Between the two, Heather Byrd and Angela Moore have eight national championships, Moore with five and Byrd with three. "We agreed that ATV racing's fastest motocross females should be a part of this event. They've earned the right to represent the fact that women are just as capable of following their dreams as men. Heather even races the men in the Open A class at the nationals and beats most of them! As a bonus, with Heather being the wife of Joe Byrd, I think ESPN can capture a real positive side bar story. People are going to love these two", proudly mentioned committee member Jorge Cuartas during an interview at the event.

Four Wheel Frenzy Seeding
As most predicted "Ironman" John Natalie logged the fastest lap and won first pick in his heat race. Jones, Wimmer, Luburgh, Byrd, Ellis, Cody Smith, Creech, Gust and Rocco Arno finished with top ten scores. Pro Am riders Cody Smith and Rocco Arno finished with an extremely respectable 7th and 10th in overall seeding. Who says young Pro-Am riders don't belong? Smith, Miller and Arno were definitely the underdogs and America loves to root for underdogs.

Four Wheel Frenzy Heats

Let's see "Sky Cam" is used at events like NFL games, Arenacross Football and.... oh yeah, ATV Races!

LSR's Jason Luburgh with mighty Yamaha YFZ power beneath him won his heat impressively. Luburgh finished a whopping 18 second faster than the second heat won by Joe Byrd. Keep in mind the sandy track got rougher as laps progressed, so don't go calling Byrd-man slow. Yoshimura Suzuki rider Jeremiah Jones closed on Luburgh in heat one but decided to ease off and not risk the chance to not make the main event. The same can be said for Natalie's situation. "Ironman" finished fourth behind Gust and Wimmer in his heat. Perhaps Natalie's non-win helped inspire riders to think that Natalie could be beaten on this track, a scenario that didn't happen too often this year. As you know, Natalie has won just about every event possible in 2005.

 

 

Jason Luburgh put together two incredible rides. He won his heat and led the main event. Bad luck struck and he pulled to a stop in the main with a fried clutch. Nonetheless Luburgh had a great attitude and mentioned how cool it was just being there.		That's Joe "Teach Em How to Ride" Byrd with the thumbs up in front of the ESPN cameras. Byrd easily won his heat with a picture perfect holeshot (his third in as many tries). He looked to be a major threat to take the gold but couldn't put a fourth good start together for the main. He finished a respectable seventh on the day. He's still smiling about the event by the way.

Four Wheel Frenzy LCQ

Duncan Racing's Doug Eichner impressed us enormously. He pulled the holeshot and checked out in the LCQ. We're assuming that alone was worth his long trip all the way from California.

Cody Miller got the call only three days before the event. He was the youngest in the field of 24, but carried himself like a seasoned veteran. In the end, he DNFed the main, but passed eight riders in the LCQ to advance, proving he belonged without a doubt.

Duncan Racing's Doug Eichner looked like a million bucks on his red Honda 450R. Eichner, the field's oldest competitor at 41, absolutely dominated the race from start to finish. Eichner's win undoubtedly sends a message that age means nothing. This guy is all heart and never gives up. What a ride!

Obviously the track favored the skills of motocross riders more than cross country riders. Nonetheless cross country riders, Bill Ballance, William Yokley and Johnny Gallagher handled the track well and represented their GNCC series respectfully. Fittingly for them, Hurricane Dennis left Florida in a trail of wet cross-country-type weather. Both Yokley and Ballance advanced with second and third place finishes. Gallagher however, was not so fortunate. He limped off the track with a broken tie-rod.

Rounding out the final spot was Greeneville, Texas' Cody "Uni-Baller" Miller. Miller got to go to the big show after passing his way from 12th place (last) all the way to fourth! Miller blew a motor in his heat race the day before. He spent most of the night wrenching on his quad with brother Hunter Miller. Considering he only had three hours of sleep under his belt for the biggest race of his career, he did extremely well.

Four Wheel Frenzy Main Event

That's the first Great Outdoor Games gold medal ever awarded to an ATV athlete. John Natalie knows what this represent as you can clearly see in his smile.

Just as the main event was about to start, more rain fell. Some predicted that the track would be too muddy to even finish a lap. Thanks to Donny Banks and Mark Barnett, the track's material held up well-enough to still showcase the ability of John Natalie, Dustin Wimmer, Bill Ballance, Kory Ellis, Tavis Cain among others to the rest of the world. Unfortunately the big wood jump that sent riders 60 feet into the air over a small lake, labeled "Gator Gap", could not be used because of the rain. ESPN still has footage of the jump, since it was used in practice.

Jason Luburgh and his TC Racing YFZ pulled the holeshot and left the field for the first few laps with clean roost-free vision. Back in the first turn, Duncan's Tavis Cain slipped into second but only for a short period of time. Bill Ballance somehow railed the outside and never backed off. "It was either back off or rail the outside and hope for an opening. I never let out of it. I think I even hit the barrier with my rear tire and used it for traction", said Ballance on his aggressive charge around the field. Tavis Cain drifted wide in a turn and lost several spots. Meanwhile Natalie slipped into third and set his sights on Ballance.

Hard working Donny Banks rose to the occasion and delivered an excellent track to ESPN. Here he welcomes a little rain while taking cover under the 30 second starting board.

The race for second was just what ESPN wanted. There is was, the motocross champion vs. the cross country champion. It may have appeared that Ballance, more used to racing in muddy conditions, would have an advantage, but educated ATV enthusiast knew better. The track still favored the skills of motocross competitors. Nonetheless there Ballance was in second place! Eventually Natalie slipped past Ballance and focused on the number eight of Luburgh.

Luburgh looked back and realized his lead in was in major jeopardy. Natalie was hands down faster and Luburgh sensed it immediately. Moments later the pass for the lead happened. From that spot on Natalie absolutely dominated just as he's done all year. By the time the checkers were thrown, he put over twenty second on second place! In the end, just as it should be, the best man won. Natalie was crowned the first ever Four Wheel Frenzy Champion when voice of the GNC's Mark Straubinger hung the gold metal around his neck.

Above is a look at the track from the spectator area.

As for the remaining top five. Unfortunately for Luburgh second place was not in the cards. A fried clutch stopped him before he could finish the last lap. Luburgh won his heat and almost won the event! The word respectable here is an understatement to his incredible achievement. When bad luck disappears from the number eight pit - look out!

Dustin Wimmer rode an error free race and put his East Coast Honda 450R in the runner-up spot. Wimmer was all smiles during the awards ceremonies and represented tomorrows ATV legends beautifully. Third and fourth went to Team Yamaha's Bill Ballance and Kory Ellis. Ballance proved he's not just a cross country champ but more than capable of running up front on a motocross track. In fact we got a chance to talk to Bill earlier in the day. He told us that he and fellow Bowling Green, KY pro, Jeremiah Jones, had been practicing on his personable motocross track. The two were riding two thirty minute motos and swapping back and forth throughout. As you'll probably agree, anyone that can hang with Jones on a motocross track can win a pro motocross - simply as that.

Ellis rode 15 consistent laps, passed four riders and finished fourth. "ESPN really did a good job with this event. For what they had to work with I think Donny Banks and Mark Barnett gave us an excellent track. It could have been a lot worse out there, thanks to them, even in the slop, I was able to find room to pass. Considering my start, I'm happy to end up fourth overall. I hope it doesn't rain next year", said Ellis after the race. Tavis Cain rounded out the top five on his Duncan Racing YFZ.

Worth mentioning was Pat Brown's incredible ride from last to sixth. "I came out dead last. In a race like this you dont pass people, they pass themselves. I waited for mistakes and picked my lines. It worked out pretty well." Brown probably knew the track better than any rider. He rode every possible second of practice like it was a race. His track experienced paid off.

On the left is WSA announcer Rob Powers having a conversation with Mark "Banger" Straubinger. The two did their homework all week. They were well prepared and ready to deliver professional track side commentary for the main event, but rain forced ESPN to unplug them. The two did get to announce all the other events and worked excellent together.

"I got by Ballance pretty easy and was able to pass Luburgh by ducking under him when he drifted a little wide. These guys are the best of the best, so I knew it wouldn't be easy, especially in the wet conditions, where anything can happen. I learned about a few passing lanes in my heat race and I think that almost gave me somewhat of an advantage out there. I really want to thank all my sponsors like American Honda and Sparks Racing. You know, you guys see what we do for a few minutes out here, but my sponsors put in day after day of hard work. They really deserve a lot of the credit as well."

Terracross

That's Marty Hart on a Kawasaki. Strange site isn't it? Marty won the GNC pro championship in '84, '85 and '86 for Team Honda. He was also a Mickey Thompson champion back in the day. He can now add "Great Outdoor Games Terracross Champion" to his impressive list of accomplishments.

Organizers worked until 3am then again at 7am to change the motocross track into a Utility ATV "Terracross". Sunday's Terracross was slightly delayed and a few last minute things were changed. After two heat races, eight hand picked riders would line up behind a motocross starting gate. When the gate dropped they would blast through a mud pit, and make their way through a gnarly rock pile, then dismount their ATVs and shoot three archery arrows at a target. Three seconds would be deducted for misses. After that they would put a 60-pound bag on the rear rack of their stock utility ATV. The weight would have to be carried for the remaining half of the lap, which included a sand pit, a wooden obstacle course and a few jumps, including the finish line table top.

Wes Miller, Great Outdoor Games committee member and owner of H Bomb Films, teamed up with former factory Honda ATV legend Marty Hart and headed to Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex. The two showed up on identical Kawasaki Prairies. Seeing hart on a bright green Kawie ATV was strange to say the least. "I'm definitely a Honda guy, but I have to admit this thing really handles well. I think I can win this event. I wouldn't be here if I didn't", said Hart before the event. After Miller decorated the two quads with Division Four and Bomb Squad paraphernalia the two went to the line as serious as as the competitors the night prior.

Six other competitors were invited mainly for their role in the ATV and motorcycle industry. Jorge Cuartas, maker of the GNC and GNCC event programs and team coordinator for the FMF Media All Star team was originally selected to ride. Since Jorge broke his leg, Regis Harrington got the call to replace him. Harrington is an established stunt man. He's did many motorcycle stunts in the Charlie's Angels movie. His only stunt this time out was pulling off a runer- up overall in Terracross. Cameron Steel, the voice of many televised high-energy programs including Supercross pulled to the line on a red Suzuki King Quad. Motocross bike racing legend Larry Ward rode a Kawasaki, as did most of the other competitors. Chuck Carothers was also invited. He was nominated for an ESPY Award for Best Play for completing a Carolla during the freestyle motocross X Games best trick competition last year. X Games SnoCross champion Trevor John made the cut as well. The lone female rider was Heather Williams, a Pro Freestyle Motocross rider and Pro WMA rider.

Left to right is the Terracross Podium of Regis Harrington, Marty Hart and Wes Miller.

Wes Miller and Regis Harrington won the two heat races. Miller rode aggressively to say the least. He was the first to clear the big table top on the heavy utility. It looked like he would be the guy to beat in the first ever Terracross event at year six of the GOGs (Great Outdoor Games). When the gate dropped Marty Hart pulled the trigger fastest and took off in the lead. Meanwhile Miller blasted through the mud bog and approached turn one like a bat out of hell. In the process he collided with Harrington. "Someone was going to have to let off. It certainly wasn't going to be me", said Miller of the contact. As the lap progressed Miller chased Hart, his Bomb Squad teammate, while Harrington recovered quickly from the t-bone collision he took from Miller.

Eventually Harrington would have the last laugh when he passed Miller for second place after Miller's quad jammed into neutral while charging through the log section of the track.

In the end, Hart won the inaugural event with a time of just under three minutes. Regis Harrington of El Cajon, CA finished second, 32 seconds behind. Wes Miller of Fallbrook, CA rounded out the last spot on the podium, 35 seconds off the pace. "Being an avid bow hunter and a pretty good rider, I thought I might have an advantage today, but the other riders picked it up pretty quickly", said Hart after the race. "This was a lot of fun. I think the sport can really grow with ESPN's help. My hat's off to them for what they're doing for the sport. You know it's pretty cool all in all. I got to compete again at something I was really good at back in the day, and I got to bring my family to Disney World. We had a blast. Plus, since I won, the prize money paid all of our expenses. It doesn't get much better than that."