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COPYRIGHT 2006 Ehlert Publishing Group
It was just another Sunday drive on 1-75 north to Atlanta from Macon, Ga. Two Sunday pro ATV motos had just completed with John Natalie notching his first victory of the season. And, suddenly, traffic came to snarling stop. Red brake lights flashed and the three-lane freeway became a parking lot filled with angry Fords, Chevys and Toyotas. Frustrated Sunday drivers were left going slower, much slower, than their usual leisurely weekend stroll across pavement paradise.
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Several minutes passed, and about a quarter of a mile into the traffic jam, the slow-up mystery was solved. A slew of bumper stickers donning the numbers three, eight, 20 and 24: the NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor Speedway was postponed due to drizzle. Not rain, not a downpour or even light rain, drizzle. I guess that's why there were so many mad motorists making block passes in traffic!
After witnessing Natalie fend off Joe Byrd in the second moto in the same weather conditions at Echeconnee Off-Road Park an hour earlier, I couldn't help but mock them. Just this season, ATVs have raced in mud, cold (Texas), drizzle and even snow at Steele Creek for the Grand National Cross Country riders.
A little bad weather won't stop our racing party.
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And, at Round 4 of the Moose Racing/ITP MX Nationals, it definitely couldn't stymie Natalie's two dominating motos, an impressive charge from Doug Gust and another consistent race weekend from Byrd. While the young guns are creeping into the Pro class radar, this Sunday race still proved to be the veterans' day.
Pro Qualifier
It didn't take long to realize something was amiss. Thirteen pro ATV riders approached the gates for the Saturday qualifier, but the No. 4 Honda was nowhere in sight. Tim Farr was unable to toe the line with his Motosport/Baldwin Motorsports Honda due to nagging back pains.
"I tried running Friday practice to see if I could go," Farr said, "but it just didn't work out." Thanks to back-to-back race weekends--Echeconnee was just one weekend after Gatorback--Farr was too sore to race. "It's hard not being out there," he said.
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The pros attacked the Macon, Ga., sand as the gate dropped, with Jeremy Lawson checking out in monster fashion for the win. Jeremiah Jones made up considerable ground aboard his QuadRacer for second, as Pat Brown and Harold Goodman followed. Chad Wienen and Dustin Wimmer grabbed fifth and sixth, with the final qualifying spot...
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