BOSWELL, Pa. (Sept. 16, 2007) -- Chris Bithell and Chad Wienen put exclamation points on their respective 2007 seasons Sunday, winning the Pro portions of the Grand Championship National WPSA PowerSports ATV Tour event at Field of Dreams. With a runner-up finish, John Natalie, Jr. won the SuperQuad Pro 450 Riders' Championship, while a fifth-place effort netted Jesse West the QuadTerrain Pro Stock title. The race, which represented the season finale of the 2007 Tour, will be telecast on ESPN2 on Sept. 28 at 3 p.m. EDT. SuperQuad Pro 450
Natalie (No. 13 Elka, Maxxis/Honda) took the lead at the start of the 14-lap SuperQuad Pro 450 final and appeared to be poised to run away with the event. However, Wienen (No. 44 Team Rockstar, MSR, Pro Taper, Yoshimura/Suzuki) had other plans, moving to within striking distance late in the event, and then taking the lead on the final lap. It was Wienen's fifth victory this season, the most of any rider on the Tour. "I started pretty deep," said Wienen. "This is why I put in all of those hours of training and it really paid off. I couldn't thank everyone enough. We're getting ready for next season. We're going to win the championship in 2008." Natalie, with his Houtzdale, Pa. hometown crowd cheering him from the sidelines, finished second to net his first WPSA Riders' Championship. Dustin Wimmer (No. 191 MSR, Pro Taper, Yoshimura/Suzuki) was third. Natalie overcame injuries sustained in a crash during practice earlier in the season to earn the title. He won four races this season, and put up an impressive seven podium finishes. "This goes back to the old philosophy of never giving up," said Natalie. "We never gave up this season. We worked hard as a team. We kept plugging away at it, took the points lead a couple races ago and never looked back. I'm really excited and I think our team did a great job. "We're already looking forward to next year," added Natalie. "We're ready to do this again at the end of the 2008 season." Suzuki clinched its second consecutive Manufacturers' Championship on Sunday. Suzuki quads won six out of 10 races this season. "We've had a tremendous year," said Pat Alexander, Team Suzuki's Race Director. "Chad Wienen won a number of events. Dustin Wimmer battled right down to the end for the championship. Then, of course, Doug Gust did a great job for us. He did all of the work developing this new quad over the last couple of years. I have a great bunch of guys." QuadTerrain Challenge
Bithell (No. 6 Warnert Racing/Can-Am) took the lead early in the QuadTerrain Pro Stock final, and led all 10 laps for the victory, his first this season. Daryl Rath (No. 67 Jack Link's/Arctic Cat) and Chris Borich (No. 2 Warnert Racing/Can-Am) completed the podium. "I'm about ready to pass out," said Bithell, who also competed yesterday in a cross country race at Unadilla MX in New York, and then made the 400-mile trip here. "I raced all day yesterday, and then had to go home. I was running on almost no sleep, so it feels really good to win." West (No. 888 West Racing/Arctic Cat), dubbed the "Working Man" this season for his hard work on and off the track, fought his own battle with adversity and injuries, but won one race, and visited the podium five times.
"This season has been unbelievable," said West. "I have never worked so hard for something in my life and it feels great. This is just an amazing thing to accomplish. "We had some bad luck this year, but luckily, so did some of my fellow competitors," added West. "It really came down to the wire. We had to have a good finish here, and we accomplished that." West recovered from a last-place finish in Round 5 to earn the title. West suffered two offs that weekend, and ended up nursing his ATV to the finish. However, he didn't give up. "We set out to win this thing," said West. "My results in Kentucky really got me thinking. But I wiped the slate thing and made it clear to myself that I was going to win this thing. Kentucky was really a re-birth for me." Can-Am earned its second straight Manufacturers' Championship on the merit of eight wins in ten races. "It's been an outstanding season," said Jeff Gruhlke, Can-Am's Race Director. "Warnert Racing, the riders; everyone out there contributed. We're proud to come to the WPSA and showcase the power, handling and innovation of the Can-Am four wheelers." Special award winners were:
SuperQuad Pro 450
The QUAD Magazine Holeshot Award ($1,000): Natalie
ATVSource.com Biggest Mover ($500): John Ragon (No. 98 JB Racing/Suzuki)
QuadTerrain Pro Stock
Holeshot Technologies Rock'n'Roll Award ($1,000): Bithell
ATVSource.com Biggest Mover ($500): Bithell Other winners during the weekend were:
1. Pro SuperSport: Dana Creech (No. 52 DanaCreechRacing.com/Polaris)
2. SuperQuad Pro Am: Greg Gee (No. 10 Fox Shox/Honda)
3. A Class: Brandon Smith (No. 70 Walsh/Honda)
4. B Class: Austin Moser (No. 87 East Coast ATV/Honda)
5. C Class: Dalton Hicks (No. 33 Hanson Racing/Yamah)
6. Women A: Angela Butler (No. 1 LoneStar Racing/Honda)
7. Women B/C: Brianne Hanson (No. 55 Glens Sports Centre/Yamaha)
8. 16-24: Greg Gee (No. 10 Fox Shox/Honda)
9. Plus 25: Dane Heilman (No. 07 JPMX/Honda)
10. Plus 35: Randy Hurst (No. 50 RH Aluminum/Honda)
11. Open Amateur: Dane Heilman (No. 07 Hiper Wheels/Honda)
12. Production Lites: Jeffrey Rastrelli (No. 28 J Motorsports/Honda)
13. 0-50cc Limted Auto Clutch CVT 4-6: Jordan Digby (No. 88 OMF Wheels/DRR)
14. 0-50cc Production Auto Clutch 6-8: Alex Hammond (No. 171 Cobra)
15. 51-70cc Production Auto Clutch 6-11: Nicholas Gennusa (No. 15 Zebu and Forno Bakery and Cafe/Honda, Cobra)
16. 0-70cc Shifter 6-11: David Nevrotski (No. 24 Rath Racing/JB, Cobra)
17. 71-90cc 2 Stroke, 75-125cc 4 Stroke 8-11: Nicholas Gennusa (No. 15 Zebu and Forno Bakery and Cafe/Honda, Cobra)
18. 71-90cc 2 Stroke, 75-125cc 4 Stroke Production 12-15: Aaron Beer (No. 707 Pittman Racing/Cobra)
19. 90cc Production CVT Belt Drive 8-15: Jacob Albaugh (No. 6 Kasea)
20. 75-125cc 4 Stroke Production 8-15: Grantt Darnell (No. 128 Scott Cain Racing/Honda)
21. 90 2 Stroke Modified 8-12: Dillon Starks (No. 33 Pittman Racing/TBA)
22. Supermini: Jeffrey Rastrelli (No. 128 Hetrick Racing/Honda)
Complete results are available at www.PowerSportsTour.com . The 2007 Champions are:
1. Pro SuperSport: Kyle Fiebelkorn (No. 11 Jack Link's/Arctic Cat)
2. SuperQuad Pro Am: Cody Miller (No. 22 Pep/Yamaha)
3. A Class: Brandon Smith (No. 70 Walsh/Honda)
4. B Class: Austin Moser (No. 87 East Coast ATV/Honda)
5. C Class: Danny Cooper (No. 198 Kellogs/Honda)
6. Women A: Angela Butler (No. 1 LoneStar Racing/Honda)
7. Women B/C: Michelle Suciu (No. 5 Wheelz Up Racing/Cannondale)
8. 16-24: Greg Gee (No. 10 Fox Shox/Honda)
9. Plus 25: Dane Heilman (No. 07 JPMX/Honda)
10. Plus 35: Randy Hurst (No. 50 RH Aluminum/Honda)
11. Open Amateur: Dane Heilman (No. 07 Hiper Wheels/Honda)
12. Production Lites: Cody Janssen (No. 25 Janssen Motorsports/Honda)
13. 0-50cc Limted Auto Clutch CVT 4-6: Braxton Gray (No. 235 RC Motorsports/DRR)
14. 0-50cc Production Auto Clutch 6-8: Alex Hammond (No. 171 Cobra)
15. 51-70cc Production Auto Clutch 6-11: Nicholas Gennusa (No. 15 Zebu and Forno Bakery and Cafe/Honda,Cobra)
16. 0-70cc Shifter 6-11: Samuel Rowe (No. 38 Janssen Motorsports/Honda, Cobra)
17. 71-90cc 2 Stroke, 75-125cc 4 Stroke 8-11: Nicholas Gennusa (No. 15 Zebu and Forno Bakery and Cafe/Honda, Cobra)
18. 71-90cc 2 Stroke, 75-125cc 4 Stroke Production 12-15: Aaron Beer (No. 707 Pittman Racing/Cobra)
19. 90cc Production CVT Belt Drive 8-15: Alex Kersey (No. 321 RC Roundsports/DRR)
20. 75-125cc 4 Stroke Production 8-15: Grantt Darnell (No. 128 Scott Cain Racing/Honda)
21. 90 2 Stroke Modified 8-12: Dillon Starks (No. 33 Pittman Racing/TBA)
22. Supermini: Jeffrey Rastrelli (No. 128 Hetrick Racing/Honda)
The PowerSports Tour begins its national Snocross Tour beginning Nov. 23 with the AMSOIL Duluth National at Spirit Mountain in Duluth, Minn. Notebook: AMATEUR ACE...Nicholas Gennusa was voted PowerSports ATV Tour Amateur of the Year his fellow competitors. Gennusa, 11, was selected in balloting by the entire Amateur Class. The Amateur of the Year Award goes to the rider who "in his or her actions on and off the track, best exemplifies the spirit of the WPSA membership." TRAVELING MEN...Can-Am Riders Chris Bithell and Chris Borich racked up nearly 400 miles over the weekend. The pair, who competed in a cross country race at Unadilla Motocross Park in New Berlin, N.Y. on Saturday, then drove through the night to compete in the QuadTerrain Pro Stock race here on Sunday.
About the PowerSports ATV Tour
The PowerSports ATV Tour is North America's premier professional ATV racing circuit, featuring QuadMX, QuadTerrain and SuperSport Pro series action as well as more than 20 amateur classes for adults, women and children. The Tour is sanctioned by the World PowerSports Association, North America's most respected snowmobile and ATV sanctioning body, and a promoter of ATV and snowmobile racing on both the regional and national level. For more information, please visit www.PowerSportsTour.com.