Johnson Racing MX

World Finals Qualifying Riders Hicks wins Motokazie Championship

Moore Rides Into National Arenacross North Region Points Lead - Jan. 23, 2007
Local Riders BARNSTORM LaOtto Indiana's Moto Plex - Nov. 19, 2006

Local Race Team Heads to Vegas

350 of the nation’s top arenacross racers have qualified for the Toyota AMA Arenacross Series World Finals, and will make their yearly trek to Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena for the annual running of the Arenacross World Finals October 12th as part of the Rockstar Energy Drink U.S. Open weekend. For the second year in a row, Deep River Iowa-based Arenacross Race Team, Johnson Racing has qualified riders for the grand daddy of arenacross.

The top five riders in each class from the Toyota AMA Arenacross Series regions (North, South, East & West) have received invitations to compete at the Arenacross World Finals based on their points standings in each region. Johnson Racing is the only team in the country that produced multiple Regional Champions, winning the North and West in two different classes, and Runner-ups in two other classes in the North and South regions. Johnson Racing riders will compete in nearly half the races run at the MGM Grand on October 12th.

Johnson Racing World Finals Qualifiers:

Leading the way for Johnson Racing, and fresh out of an Iowa State Championship last summer is local motocross standout Ryan Simonton from Searsboro. On his way to an overall South Region 2nd place in the Expert A class, Ryan posted wins in Kansas City Mo., and Albuquerque NM. As the season progressed, and regional races overlapped, Ryan also posted an overall 8th place finish in the West region.

17 year old Max Akerman from Rockton IL. finished overall 2nd in the North Region in the Arenacross Intermediate Class. Max is a 2007 Illinois Statelinemx Champion.

16 year old Travis Pitt from Susanville Calif. won the West Region Championship in the Arenacross Lites Intermediate, and an overall 3rd place finish in the Arenacross Intermediate and the College Boy classes. Travis will compete in all three classes in Las Vegas. Travis is a 2007 Arenacross West Region Champion, and a 2007 Top 5 Finisher at the Loretta Lynn Nationals.

15 year old Kyle Sandlin from Tipton Iowa won the North Region Championship in the 85-105cc Supermini class, and finished overall 4th in the 85cc Senior. Kyle is a past Top 3 finisher in the Iowa State Championship Series (D22), and a 5 time World Finals qualifier.

Check out all of Johnson Racing Results at www.johnsonracingmx.com.

World Finals Qualifying Riders

By Christine Grimm
Managing Editor

By Randy Johnson, Deep River
Special to The Republican

The names have been announced for the Qualifying Riders that have earned their way into the World Finals of Arenacross.

Deep River-based motocross/arenacross race team Johnson Racing has two riders competing in the World Finals at the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas on Oct. 14: Zach Johnson of Manchester and Shay Moore of Montezuma.

Both Johnson and Moore competed in five qualifying races last winter. Johnson ended up the National Arenacross (North Region) Champion in the 16-24 year old College Boy Class, while Moore finished the season as the North Region Runner-up in the 125 Novice Class.

Five riders from 18 different classes and four different regions will make their way to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to race on Sunday, Oct. 14 following the US Open of Supercross – the biggest payout in dirtbike racing. The 2006-2007 season has qualified 360 of the best amateur riders in the nation, along with 20 of the top pro women qualifying through the Woman’s Motocross Association (WMA) to participate in the 7th annual Arenacross Amateur World Finals.

The Toyota AMA National Arenacross Series, Sunday Amateur day is divided into four regions throughout the United States. A variety of youth and amateur classes race for fame, glory, and points. These points are totaled in each separate region in order to crown the top five riders in each class.

2006-2007 Amateur Arenacross Regions
North: Des Moines, Grand Rapids, Dayton, Springfield, Saginaw
South: Charlotte, Pikeville, Louisville, Nashville
East: Albany, Baltimore, Wheeling, Wilkes-Barre, Greenville
West: Reno, Denver

Hicks wins Motokazie Championship
After winning the Iowa District 22 Youth Quad Championship with 22 wins last fall, Dalton (Bubba) Hicks moved to the next level and competed in the Motokazie Indoor Championship Series in Minnesota this winter. Motokazie consisted of an eight-race series with four races run in Sherburn MN., and four races at the Red Horse Arena in Fergus Falls. Winning five of the eight events, and finishing second in the remaining three races pushed Bubba well into the points lead, securing yet another championship in the Quad Sport Division for the Montezuma Quad rider.Dalton’s plans for the summer will reach out eight states as he teams up with Sioux City Iowa-based race team Hanson Racing and Deep River Iowa’s Johnson Racing to compete in the Powersports ATV Championship Series. Last year the series attracted 300,000 fans, and 3000 riders from around the country. All eight races will be televised on ESPN 2.Johnson Racing will be taking three Quad riders to the July 21-22 AMSOIL Wild Cat Open Championship in Rossville, IN. District 22 Quad A/Prod stand out Sean Taylor, and Loretta’s Top 10 finisher James McNaul will make the trip. Log on to www.johnsonracingmx.com for the riders results.

Moore Rides Into National Arenacross North Region Points Lead
January 23, 2007

Deep River based Johnson Motocross and Arenacross Race Team traveled to Dayton Ohio this past weekend for Round 7 of the National Arenacross Series, and came home with a points lead. Montezuma rider Shay Moore was locked into third place going into the weekend.

On Sunday morning, Moore took his #104 Honda to a second place Heat race finish, and completed the
afternoon Main Event with a seventh place overall.

The finish was good enough to push Shay into a 2-point lead in the 125CC Novice Class over Indiana rider Mike Derby.Another Johnson Racing rider had a good weekend as well. Manchester Iowa's Zach Johnson went into the weekend tied for fifth in points in the North Region 16-24A class. Johnson finished second in his heat,
and ended the day with an overall fifth in the Main Event. The finish was good enough to bump Zach up to
forth in the North Region points. 15 points separate the top eight riders.From November to March, thousands of arenacross riders from around the country compete in the National Arenacross Series. At the end of the series the top 20 riders from each class compete at the U.S. Open of Arenacross Championship at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Nevada in October. With two races left in the series, Johnson Racing is fortunate enough to have two riders in two different classes hoping to be just one of those 20 riders competing in their respective class.

Wish Zach and Shay luck when they go to Springfield IL. on February 2-4 and Saginaw MI on February 9-11 for their series ending rounds.

Montezuma Republican - week of Nov. 19, 2006

Local Riders BARNSTORM LaOtto Indiana's Moto Plex

Five local Arenacross Riders made the 1000 mile round-trip to LaOtto Indiana (just outside Fort Wayne)
to ride a three race format Saturday and Sunday.

Despite a demanding track and 356 total entries over the weekend, the local riders fared well. The weekend kicked off with a short practice session on Friday afternoon giving riders the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the tight confines of the indoor facility.

Included in the opening ceremonies Saturday morning was a track interview with Deep Rivers Johnson Racing National Arenacross 250cc and 125cc Pro/A Rider Zach Johnson from Manchester. Zach learned quickly that it's tough going into a small mid-west town and compete on an unfamiliar track with the local club riders. It was apparent from the start that Zach had a target on his back, and all the local riders had him squarely in their sights. Once the dust cleared and the banging was over Sunday evening, Zach ended his weekend with one 1st and two 2nd place finishes in the 250A, and a 2nd and two 3rds in the 125A classes.

Four others competing at LaOtto was amateur riders Dalton (Bubba) Hicks from Montezuma in the Quad Jr. Class, Drew Buckley and Casey Johnson in the 125cc C Class, and Konner Johnson in 85cc Senior - all three from Deep River. The four riders had a combined five 1st, four 2nd, five 3rd, three 4th, and one 5th place finish for the weekend.

Johnson Racing will travel to Sherburn Minn. December 8-10 to race at the I-90 Expo Center, and resume their National Arenacross schedule in Grand Rapids MI., January 5-7.

Hickman Racing Press Release
1/30/2008

For Immediate Release:

News Flash!
Hickman Racing would like to congratulate Chad Johnson and the Bad Boys Power drink, Honda, Tuf Racing Team to 2nd place last weekend at Greensboro, N.C. They were very proud to have contributed to this and the February 16 and 17 1st place wins that allowed Chad to extend his points lead by 30 points over second place.

Hickman Racing is pleased to announce the continued success of their engine sponsorship of the Bad Boys Power drink, Honda, Tuf Racing Team. Hickman Racing has helped Chad Johnson, riding #10; take and hold the lead in the Toyota ARENACROSS AX Division, a lead that he has held from the start of the season.

Chad Johnson has been very excited about the course of events this year and attributes a key part of his success to the Hickman Racing engine program. Chris Hunter, the Team Manager, has expressed confidence in the power and reliability of their new engine program for 2007/2008 as well.

How did Hickman Racing’s engine team help Chad Johnson take the lead in this competitive series? Through intense research of what works in cylinder head design along with Hickman Racing’s 25 years experience building reliable high performance motorcycle engines.

For further information contact Jim & Tina Hickman at:
Hickman Racing
Address: 6821 Fleur Drive
Des Moines, IA 50321
Phone: (515)285-4332
Email Address: hickrace@msn.com

Bad Boys Power drink, Honda, Tuf Racing Team
Contact information: Chris Hunter Bad Boy Power Drink, Honda, Tuf Racing Team Manager 402-689-8998

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