Todd Krupinski took his nearly new bike to fourth in the Pros despite running out of fuel briefly near the end. He remains second in OMA points to Rob Zimmerman, though.
The final results will show that Jeff Picken won the Maxxis Penn State Cross-country in Boyers, Pennsylvania, round eight of the Parts Unlimited Off-road Motorcycle and ATV Nationals. (It was co-sanctioned by the American Woods Racing Championship Series, the second event thus run this season.) But up to the last lap, Chris Bithell set the pace on his Wiseco/Tag/Moose TRX450R and let the rest of the pack do the battling for lesser positions.
That changed after taking the white flag on lap six, as he didn't complete the next lap, relegating him to 10th Pro.
"I saw Bithell broken down and I came up on [Jeremy] Rice [who'd been in second place over the last half of the race], and I was like, `Yeah! Put the hammer down!' " Picken explained.
"I pretty much just popped around the corner and there they were," eventual runner-up Brian Shaw said. "I actually didn't believe my eyes, to tell you the truth."
And the truth was strange.
Ronald Rusch barely held off Corbin Knox to win the A division.
"Me, Jeremy [Rice] and Brandon [Sommers] went back and forth for the about the first three or four laps, then I ended up in fourth," Picken recalled of his ride on his Miller's Yamaha/K&K/Fly YFZ450. "I came up the hill out of the mud hole, and Brandon was sitting there doing something to his bike so I knew I was third.
"Going into the last lap, I just tucked my head down and hoped that he wouldn't catch me. Coming down a hill, Bithell was getting his bike out of the way; I looked up and Rice was right in front of me so I stayed on his bumper as long as I could, and he ended up dying right in front of me, too, so I had luck, I guess."
On the other hand, two-time and defending OMA champ Rob Zimmerman had bad luck. "I had a decent start--unusual for me--and was running decent.
"Then there was a huge mud hole out there, and I thought I'd seen a line to the left. No! A utility would've gotten buried in there! My front tires dropped down and they disappeared. I think I lost two spots because of that."
Chris Bithell led all the way--until he had to pull of with unexplained bike problems on the last lap.
Zimmerman eventually extricated himself and resumed the chase, catching up to series rival Todd Krupinski and passing him briefly. However, Zimmerman hit a huge rock that he didn't see next to a long straightaway, taking a big tumble and blowing a front tire off the rim.
"If I'd have hit the rock a little more solidly, I probably wouldn't be standing here," Zimmerman said later.
Zimmerman got going again and limped in to the pits at only a slightly reduced speed, which possibly led to another crash when his Maxxis/Clarke/Moose TRX450R veered into a tree, with Krupinski again having a front-row seat for the show. Eventually, Zimmerman reached the pits, changed the wheel with help from GT Thunder personnel and got back into the race, though he'd only be able to finish sixth Pro due to the massive time lost. "It's not really a good run for me, unfortunately," Zimmerman concluded. However, he took solace in the fact that he comfortably retained the OMA series points lead over Krupinski, who ran out of fuel and had just enough on reserve to make it to the finish.
For Picken, of course, the closing laps turned out great en route to his first OMA victory. Joining him in celebration, however, was Ronald Rusch who edged Corbin Knox by four seconds for the A-class triumph, their battle taking them to fourth and fifth overall, respectively, in the overall placing.
OMA Top 10 Pro Results
1. Jeff Picken, Yamaha
2. Brian Shaw, Yamaha
3. Brandon Sommers, Yamaha
4. Todd Krupinski, Honda
5. Jeremy Rice, Suzuki
6. Rob Zimmerman, Honda
7. Cody Buchanan, Honda
8. Cory Vickerd, Yamaha
9. Mark Notman, Honda
10. Chris Bithell, Honda
Boyers provided a good venue for the event. | 
From left: Brandon Sommers, Jeff PIcken and Brian Shaw on the podium. | 
Though not tricky in the least, what followed this creek crossing led to much havoc--except for the Utility ATVs. |
Look closer at the left front tire and you'll understand Jesi Strachum finishing only two laps. | 
Most riders turned unidentifiable after the first creek crossing, but we think this is one of the top-finishing Pros. | 
Jeff Picken wallowed around in the mud a ways behind the leaders for most of the race--before the front-runners had problems on the last lap and handed him the win. |