Northeast regional riders crowned

Fifteen regional riders in 20 AMA motorcycle classes can represent the Northeast at the Grand National Championships as the 2003 Northeast National Champions following the third Amateur National on the half-mile track at the Williams Grove Speedway June 8.

Three races make up the Northeast Nationals produced by Two Wheel Promotions, and they include a Short Track (ST) sponsored by Action Motor Sports of York on the Path Valley quarter-mile clay and also a Tourist Trophy (TT) scramble sponsored by Roxy's Cycles of Fayetteville that were held June 24 and 25 at the Path Valley Speedway Park, along with the Half Mile held at Williams Grove. M&S Honda Suzuki of Chambersburg, Action Motorsports of York, B&B Cycle of Lancaster, Roxy's Cycle of Fayetteville, M&S Harley Davidson of Chambersburg, Two Wheel Promotions, Lost Creek Cycles of Oakland Mills and Path Valley Speedway Park sponsored the half mile races.

Scores from all three races were combined using the AMA's points system to determine the overall Northeast National Champions who will represent the Northeast region at the AMA Progressive Insurance Grand Championships June 30 through July 5 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. For the eight premiere Northeast Nationals divisions, AMA Sports provides travel money in addition to the trophies and commemorative bike plates won locally.

"The winners are all legitimate National Champions already, and now they can race for the Grand National Championships," explained John Winsett of Bainbridge, a local AMA director and also a partner in Two Wheel Promotions, which produced the races for the second straight year.

Winners in the Pro-Am classes at the Williams Grove half-mile race will not compete with the amateurs in Illinois, and four-wheeler riders don't race either, so National Champions Cory Buhrman of Upper Strasburg, Chris Crull of Blain and Dane Delancey of Port Royal will not be racing in Illinois.

To make up for that, some area riders will be racing as Northeast National Champions in more than one class.

John Lewis V of Brandamore, already an Amateur Grand National Champion on smaller bikes, will represent the Northeast on both the 250 Modified and the 450 Modified bikes. Austin Greenland of Spring Mills, who won the Amateur Grand National TT last summer, will race in the 125 Modified and the 85 Modified 12-15 bikes.

Grand National Champion Richard 'Rick' Winsett of Elizabethtown qualified to race in the 250A class and also won the Sportsman class.

Among the youngest riders, Kenneth Venarchick of New Castle DE won Nationals in both the 50cc Junior 4-6 class and the 50cc Peewee 4-8 class, and Patrick Jacobsen of Montgomery NY won both the 85 Modified 7-11 title and the 85 DTX championship.

"We can be proud of all our great riders, and especially the youngsters. Not only are these young people accomplished flattrack motorcycle racers, but they are also clean, polite and capable youngsters who can represent our region well in Illinois. We all hope they have safe races and an enjoyable time," said Path Valley promoter Ken Geesey.

This year the AMA premiere classes are the 50cc Senior for 7-8 years old, 65cc Modified 7-11, 85 Modified 7-11, 125 Modified, 250 Modified, 450 Modified, 505 Modified, and the 30+ Open Singles. All of those who raced in the Nationals are qualified to race in Illinois. For information on flattrack motorcycle and four-wheeler racing, call the track at 717-349-7111 or AMA director and Two Wheel Promotions partner John Winsett at 717-426-4756.

Four wheelers race every Saturday at Path Valley, and both the bikes and four-wheelers race every other week in either AMA District 6 events or unsanctioned races for track points.

The Path Valley Speedway Park is located in Spring Run PA a mile north on PA Route 641 from the intersection with PA Route 75, halfway between Port Royal and Hagerstown. It is five miles east from the Willow Hill Exit 14 of the PA Turnpike. The new phone number at the track for promoter Ken Geesey is 717-349-7111. For information on the 2003 schedule and rules, race teams and fans can consult the website at www.pathvalley.com or they can email Two Wheel Promotions at twp@pathvalley.com.

<pre> 2003 AMA National Champions

4 Wheel-2 Stroke        Cory Buhrman, Upper Strasburg
4 Wheel-4 Stroke        Chris Crull, Blain
4 Wheel Sportsman       Dane Delancey, Port Royal
450 Modified            John Lewis V, Brandamore
18+ Open Twin           John Yurejefcic, Millersville
125 Modified            Austin Greenland, Spring Mills
600 Modified            Robert Jones, Mechanicsville VA
250A                    Richard Rick Winsett, Elizabethtown
85 Modified 7-11        Patrick Jacobsen, Montgomery NY
250 Modified            John Lewis V, Brandamore
Open 30+ Singles        Richard Mellinger, Paradise
50cc Senior 7-8         Bailey Spence, Rising Sun MD
50cc Junior 4-6         Kenneth Venarchick, New Castle DE
250 DTX                 Jonathan Jordan, Pomeroy
500 2-Valve             Mark Stambaugh, York
Open 40+                Michael Keane, Baltimore MD
65 Modified             Kyle Schlimme, Narvon
85 DTX                  Patrick Jacobsen, Montgomery NY
65 DTX                  Tyler Kidwell, North East MD
50cc PW 4-8 (oil)       Kenneth Venarchick, New Castle DE
85 Modified 12-15       Austin Greenland, Spring Mills
500 Pro                 Don Mullen, Coatesville
600A                    Dillon Cava, Glenmore
Sportsman               Richard Winsett, Elizabethtown
Open 750                Roy Miller, New Holland

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