Spring Creek Hosts Regional Qualifier
June 7-8
By Rolfe Otterness
Spring Creek Park once again hosted the North Central Regional Qualifier for racers chasing national amateur titles at the Loretta Lynn’s Ranch later this summer. Entries totaled 805 in the 19 different classes with a number of riders entered in two classes. A top six finish would get you certain entry to the national but with some luck a top eight or so finish might get one in as qualified riders sometimes drop out before the finals for various reasons. The races at Spring Creek were held in good conditions with mild temperatures and no rain so the track was in excellent shape. The overall finish of the riders was based on a three moto format with qualifiers in a few classes to whittle the number of riders down to 42 for motos 2 and 3.
Riders who dominate their classes are those that would be favored for high finishes in the LL championships. Those accomplishing this feat were Jada Murphy in the Women’s class, Deacon Denno in the 250 B and 450 B classes, Max Shane in 250 B Limited and 450 B Limited, Jeffrey Rinkel in the College (18-24) class, Jacob Baumert in the Junior (+25) class, Joe Perron in Vet (30+), Shane Kelleher in Senior(45+) and Andrew Short (yes, that Andrew Short) in Senior (40+). These will be some racers to watch in August.
Open Pro Sport was an interesting class to watch with Texas resident Andrew Short and Indiana’s Jacob Baumert contesting for wins. Short capitalized on blistering holeshots to win the first two motos while Baumert rode strongly to move up for second both times out after working his way past a number of riders due to lesser starts. Baumert finally nailed the start in moto 3 and running out front all the way in. Short started well but didn’t quite keep pace with Baumert, posssibly satisfied to take the overall safely with a second place score in the final moto. Bailey Kroone, a regular at Spring Creek, rode a solid three motos for a 3-3-3 score to finish ahead of AJ Greenwell’s 4-6-6 total.
Jada Murphy starred in the Women’s class with dominating rides in all three motos. Hailey Johnson rode strongly to keep Murphy in sight in all the motos while Kyleigh Hayes was also consistent, running third in the three races but not at the pace of the two leaders who did admittedly have some home track advantage.
It would be hard to say who the standout B class rider of the weekend was, but it would appear to be either KTM-mounted Deacon Denno, who won the regular (stock) B class races or Husky rider, Max Shane, who ran in the B Limited classes. Both riders had great starting technique and each ran off with three wins in two classes. Doubtless they will someday face off on some track, somewhere in the near future.
Results: http://racer-results.net/results/mxsports/ll/2025/results.aspx?e=65
