Dixieland Nationals race report

Filed under National Champions on July 21, 2020 | Comment(s)

Since 1993, Cobb County BMX has hosted the Dixieland nationals - and for 2020, after a brief delay due to COVID, USA BMX returned to this awesome tradition in Georgia. Ever since the City and Parks & Rec re-built the new Cobb County BMX facility at Wild Horse Park - with a Grands-inspired track layout, it's become even more of a favorite stop of the National circuit then it was before!

 FRIDAY's RACE OF THE DAY:

If you're a regular on the National scene, then you're well aware of "Old Skool" (aka Scott Sloan). He's the loud, obnoxious, hyped-up, pony-tailed dude in staging who keeps the kids in line as they get into the gate. He also races ...and skates (quad-style - not on a board). 

On Friday, in the absence of Eric Rupe, Old Skool was plotting his take over of the 56-60 cruiser class, in his quest to earn a first-ever NAG No.1 plate. And so far this year, his chances are looking likelier than ever. 

Friday evening's main was a hot one - and not just due to the humid weather. Sloan got the snap like he was shot from a canon, but down the dog-legged back straight Nashville's Randy Moore jumped the doubles and gained enough ground to catch Old Skool by turn two. It helped Moore more, when Sloan went wide and left the door wide open; something his mother used to yell at him when he was a teenager.

Moore swooped underneath Sloan and took over the lead through the third-straight rhythm section, but Sloan had the inside line into the final turn. Hookin' it to the extreme inside, Sloan pulled a picture-perfect low-high on Moore, to grab back the lead. But it was only for a split second. Old Skool had played it nice, and didn't finish the move on Moore. The Nashville local still had plenty of momentum from high atop the turn, and cranked back into the lead as the two old farts were now side-by-side, grip-to-grip and semi-sprinting toward the finish - huffin' and puffin' like the big bad wolf. 

Moore thought he had the victory, but Sloan pushed for the line like Wade Bootes used to do on Charles Townsend back in the 90's - and just barely nipped Randy at the white stripe to steal back the win.
Sloan won it by a hair, on his chinny-chin-chin.

56-60 CRUISER

• 1 SCOTT "OLD SKOOL" SLOAN, INDEPENDENT ALL STAR, COPPELL, TX
• 2 RANDY "BLOCKER" MOORE, NASHVILLE JET BAND, HENDERSONVILLE, TN
• 3 WOODY WOODRUFF, MESA, AZ
• 4 TIM MERRITT, POWDER SPRINGS, GA
• 5 JACOB KINNARD, TIME2SHINE, LEESBURG, FL
• 6 ROBERT VONMOSS, VAUGHN, NM
• 7 RICHARD LINDAUER, PAK BMX/LAMBOS BIKE SHOP, LADSON, SC

Of course, like he so often does - Old Skool celebrated his victory after the races by hitting up the nearby roller rink. "It was the best!" he exclaimed Saturday morning. "It had eurothane floors!"

... that meant it was even smoother than Cobb County BMX. 

MARGIE's BIG 4-OH: 

One of the big side attractions of this year's #DixielandNats was the 40th celebration of Margie Hatfield as track operator here at Cobb County BMX. That's right - for as long as many of you kid's parents have been alive, Margie has been at the helm, here in Georgia. They don't call her the Queen of Georgia BMX for nothing! 

At the opening ceremony Saturday afternoon, margie was celebrated by all of her fans and friends with a 40-rose recieving line made up of racers, co-workers, family-friends and even a few BMX Hall of Famers. Legendary GT pros Tommy Brackens and Rob Fehd were both on hand to help Margie celebrate the occasion.

For anybody who has ran a track or even just volunteered, you know how much hard work is involved - which explains why most TO's last an average of 4 or 5 years. So, imagine being in Margie's shoes and doing it for an incredible FORTY years! She is, indeed, a rare breed.

Forty years of service and dedication to generations of Georgian BMXers.

SAVE OF THE DAY: 

This Novice rider got a bit of the speed wobbles as he led his moto into the final turn - slippin' both pedals and swervin' like a drunken sailor. Cobb County BMX's asphalt turns are dialed in and make for some great carvability, whether it's the first, second or third berm.

Luckily for this dude, he saved it after swappin' left 'n right, and went on to make his main.

RACE OF THE DAY - SATURDAY

On Day 2, GT factory ripper Weston Meurlot made an incedible move in the last turn on Rival's Nolan Cardewell, to get an elbow in front and won the all important 16x final with a huge push at the line. Cardwell and his Rival had led the entire lap up until the last turn exit - and had been looking strong all weekend, but Muerlot's clean swoop in that third turn was a thing of beauty. 

It's worth a re-watch - go to: https://youtu.be/emxxTOA95QM, and fast forward to the 5:20:22 mark.  

16 EXPERT - SATURDAY

• 1 WESTON MEURLOT, FACTORY GT, NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FL
• 2 NOLAN CARDWELL, RIVAL RACING, BELMONT, NC
• 3 CHARLIE BIGGS, BTC, BELMONT, NC
• 4 CHRISTOPHER HOBBIE, FACTORY BLACKCROWN BMX, MANAHAWKIN, NJ
• 5 TYLER KNIGHT, FACTORY HYPER, LAKESIDE, CA
• 6 BRODY COLE, FULL TILT/RADIO, SPRING, TX
• 7 PEDRO (BUBU) BENALCAZAR, CUENCA
• 8 DREW POLK, FACTORY HYPER, AVON, IN

Best main of the day, for sure! 

PRO SHOW, ON THE GO!

The Pro Open class for 2020 is really heating up, with a good mix of single-A's and AA's trying to cash in on what little dollars are available out there, in this #Covidcrazy world. In Georgia, we had a max of 19 pro men and one group of Pro ladies make the drive to Powder Springs. Speedco's Brazilian bomber Anderson Souza owned it on the first two days, with some tough/close comp coming from StayStrong-Corsa's Jeremy Smith and Full Tilt'er Josh McLean on Saturday. Cole "Tighty Whitey" Tesar and Yess-man Cam Moore were also in the mix all weekend. 

PRO OPEN results - FRIDAY

• 1 ANDERSON SOUZA, J&R/SPEEDCO/AVIAN/PROFILE, OCOEE, FL
• 2 JEREMY SMITH, STAY STRONG/CORSA RACEWEAR, DAYTON, OH
• 3 CAMERON MOORE, YESS BMX, CHAPEL HILL, NC
• 4 BRANDON ROHARIK, AKRON, OH
• 5 TYLER SMITH, DOUGLASVILLE, GA
• 6 JOSHUA MCLEAN, FULL TILT/RADIO, HIGHLAND PARK, QLD
• 7 MATTHEW WILCOX, THRODWN, DENVER, CO
• 8 TYLER KLUMPER, CORSACREW, TARPON SPRINGS, FL

But come Sunday, the guys decided to make it another #FlatPedal Pro race, and they all swapped their clipless shoes and pedals to platforms and Vans. It's been really cool to see these Pros take it upon themselves to switch things up, and unite under one cause. And this time around, you could see the difference between those who are and aren't used to racing or training on flat pedals.

Friday and Saturday winner Anderson Souza, suddenly didn't have that first-straight pull and incredible first three cranks out of the gate, while Jeremy Smith was just as fast as ever. You could say it evened out the playing field, and Smith would go on to win the Flat Pedal Sunday, followed by Aussie McLean and Souza in third.

PRO OPEN results - FLAT PEDAL SUNDAY

• 1 JEREMY SMITH, STAY STRONG/CORSA RACEWEAR, DAYTON, OH
• 2 JOSHUA MCLEAN, FULL TILT/RADIO, HIGHLAND PARK, QLD
• 3 ANDERSON SOUZA, J&R/SPEEDCO/AVIAN/PROFILE, OCOEE, FL
• 4 JHOLMAN SIVIRA, M&M RACING PRODUCTS, HOLLYWOOD, FL
• 5 TOMAS CORREA, YESS FACTORY, ORLANDO, FL
• 6 TYLER KLUMPER, CORSACREW, TARPON SPRINGS, FL
• 7 CAMERON (DIRT DEVIL) MOORE, YESS BMX, CHAPEL HILL, NC
• 8 COLE TESAR, HUNTERSVILLE, NC

Female-wise, FullTilt-Radio's MacKenzie Gayheart did double-duty as a "Junior" Pro and Amateur lady - and completely dominated both for six wins during the weekend. She had some tough comp from Cobb County local Caitlyn Farmer and DK's Manual Queen, Gnarly Carly Kane.

There was an attempt on Sunday to do like the guys, and racing on Flats, but with one hold-out, it wasn't a 100% agreement and they wound up clipped-in all three days.  

FEMALE PRO OPEN - SUNDAY

• 1 MCKENZIE GAYHEART, FULL TILT/RADIO, FORT WHITE, FL
• 2 CARLY KANE, GUILFORD, IN
• 3 VALENTINA DAVALOS, TRUE BMX PRO SHOP, WAXHAW, NC
• 4 PAIGE ZACHARY, FACTORY SSQUARED, CHAPARRAL, NM
• 5 CAITLYN (#MILKFIRST) FARMER, BLACK WIDOW BMX, SANDY SPRINGS, GA 

HOME TEAM -VS- VISITOR 

When a national comes to your home track, the locals always have the advantage - but the visitors from all over the country will always put up a good fight. That's been true in all sports, for decades now - and BMX is no different. 

For this weekend, Cobb County BMX had plenty of hot locals who were immediately dubbed as the ones to beat, or the ones to watch out for. From Caitlyn Farmer to Cruiser icon Shan Hatfield, this venue has a good share of quick locals. Among them all, one kid really stood out among the giants - Full Tilt-Radio's Matteo Pigo.

For the past two years, Pigo has been stepping it up - obviously noted by his new Full Tilt sponsorship for 2020, after putting in an impressive effort last year. Could he use the local advantage to score a batch of wins at this year's Dixies? Normally, we'd say yes ...but, considering he was pitted against the omnipresent Rowdy Holzer (Profile Racing), the odds were not in his favor. 

But don't tell that to Matteo. The kid was out to defend his home turf and gave the Rowdy one a good run in every race they entered. By the end of the weekend, lil' Pigo (who is like a foot shorter and 10 lbs lighter than Holzer) scored the 11x wins all three days. That's a hand full of hard-earned Saver Stamps!  Best of all, he didn't do it from start-to-finish each time. On Saturday, Holzer had the holeshot and lead, up until turn two - where Pigo aimed to the inside, carved hard underneath and took the lead away from Rowdy. 

11 EXPERT - SATURDAY

• 1 MATTEO PIGO, FULL TILT/RADIO, DALLAS, GA
• 2 ROWDY HOLZER, PROFILE, NEWCASTLE, CA
• 3 MASON HAYES, MONGOOSE, DENVER, NC
• 4 LUCAS RUIZ, ROCKSTAR/FULL-TILT/RADIO, ALTAMONTE SPGS, FL
• 5 CHRIS FELKER, RIFT/TANGENT, ROCK HILL, SC
• 6 BEN HARDIE, HYPER, SPRING, TX
• 7 CHASE ARMISTEAD, SSQUARED NATIONAL, COLLIERVILLE, TN
• 8 TRENTEN ALEXANDER, TRIP9 RACING, TROY, MO
  

Every time these two - akong with mason Hayes, were on the track, it was an all-out battle! Congrats to Matteo for a successful defense of his home track!

ENTERTAINING, AS ALWAYS - SATURDAY's RACE OF THE DAY

The BMX Shark's Cedric Cade is on fire this year, sitting No.2 in National points and adding more 'n more wins to his already-impressive resume'. With no Ronnie Kim to contend with this weekend, everybody was expecting Ced to own 14x ... but, Vendetta's Tyler Bailey and J&R's Rocco Pesaturo had a different idea.

On Friday, Cedric cooked it a little too hard into turn two, during his semi, and slid out like he had in Phoenix - thus, forcing him to watch the main from the sidelines. 

On Saturday, Cedric found himself in another peculiar position - entering turn two in third place, after getting squeezed down the first straight and to the top of the first turn. As they screamed into the asphalt second berm, Cedric swooped high-low and hit the nitrous button on his carbon-fiber Avent ORCA. J&R's Pessatoro had been in the lead up until this point, but carried a bit too much speed into the turn and 2nd place ripper Tyler Bailey helped squeeze him over the white line and nearly into the grassy knoll. For a split second there, Bailey had the lead, but Cade was on the gas and made the inside pass to take things over thru the rhythm. With Cedric's Mario Soto-like skills, it's pretty much impossible to catch or keep up with him in a rhythm-filled straight. 

Entering the last turn, Cade grabbed the lead for good, while Rocco and Bailey fought it out for seconed place, and Popovich nabbed a very close fourth place finish.  

14 EXPERT - SATURDAY

• 1 CEDRIC CADE, BMX SHARKS, LAS VEGAS, NV
• 2 TYLER BAILEY, VENDETTA/ELITE BICYCLES, SMITHFIELD, RI
• 3 ROCCO PESATURO, JRBICYCLES.COM/SPEEDCO/AVIAN, ROYAL PALM BEACH, FL
• 4 ETHAN POPOVICH, MUDSLINGER BIKE SHOP, VALPARAISO, IN
• 5 DRAKE VELADOR, PROFILE, HOLLISTER, CA
• 6 KIAN GRABINSKI, FACTORY SSQUARED, SAINT JOSEPH, MN
• 7 CHARLES ST ROMAIN, CLAYBORN BICYCLES/ANSWER BMX, BATON ROUGE, LA
• 8 PARKER RESPASS, FACTORY HYPER, CHESAPEAKE, VA

In the Girls class, the most heated, hotly-contested rivalry would have to be Answer's brand new pick-up - Danica Anderson -vs- new Georgia local Alexis Alden (for J&R Bicycles). It seems like forever since we've seen anybody give Richie's daughter any trouble for the win - especially on a cruiser, but Alden was on fire this weekend and out to defend her territory. 

In Friday's cruiser main, Alden and Danica went toe-to-toe down the first straight and Double-A exited with the lead, but the Lil' Avalanche was powerin' it on the outside - jumpin' the doubles smoothly and was able to sprint on by on the outside, cutting to the middle of turn two like a seasoned Woman Pro. But suddenly, Alden held an even better inside line and swooped underneath Danica like it was a ride in the park. As they flew out of the second berm, Alden rode Anderson to the white line and took over the lead.
WOW! The skillet wasn't just getting hot - it was on FIRE! 

Now side by side, J&R's Alden and Answer's Anderson were grip-to-grip, fighting for the best line into the final turn. Danica, with the inside line, grabbed back the lead, but Alden was sticking to her like glue and it was another heated sprint to the white stripe. Carrying a tad more speed off the top of the last turn, Alden pushed at the line to score a very rare win against the always-dominant Danica.

It doesn't get much closer than that! 

13-14 GIRLS CRUISER - FRIDAY

• 1 ALEXIS ALDEN, JRBICYCLES.COM/SPEEDCO, PEACHTREE CITY, GA
• 2 DANICA ANDERSON, AAA,ANSWER,SSQUARED, LANCASTER, CA
• 3 GRACE YOUNG, TRIP9 RACING, WINFIELD, MO
• 4 MAKYLLA PINO, SSQUARED NATIONAL, LAS CRUCES, NM
• 5 KAYLYN MILLER, RIVAL RACING, UNION, KY
• 6 SOPHIA ROBBINS, VELOCITY BIKE CO., FREDERICKSBURG, VA
• 7 KAYLA WERNER, 1-800-KAOS, LEWES, DE

Now, the question was - could Alexis Alden do it again - in class?! If you asked Danica, the answer was "NO." But Double-A did give her another good chase for the first place trophy slip. Out of the gate, they were again elbow-to-elbow, but Danica wasn't about to make the same mistakes twice and held a tighter line thru the dog-leg. Alden was nipping at her heels the whole way, but there was no catchin' Danica the rest of the weekend! 

13 GIRLS EXPERT

• 1 DANICA ANDERSON, AAA,ANSWER,SSQUARED, LANCASTER, CA
• 2 ALEXIS ALDEN, JRBICYCLES.COM/SPEEDCO/AVIAN, PEACHTREE CITY, GA
• 3 NATHALIA ALVAREZ, SARASOTA, FL
• 4 DANICA BAILEY, VENDETTA/ELITE BICYCLES, SMITHFIELD, RI
• 5 MAKYLLA PINO, SSQUARED NATIONAL, LAS CRUCES, NM
• 6 MIRANDA LANUTO, YESS BMX, FORT MILL, SC
• 7 BROOKE STEVENS, NEENAH, WI
• 8 SAGAN WILSON, SPEED CARTEL / STAYSTRON, FOLEY, AL

In the end, the 2020 Dixieland Nationals were well worth the wait - and despite hot temps and pouring-sweat humidity, the incredible Cobb County track made for killer racing and good times. All attendees left on Sunday with some awesome memories; stoked that USA BMX's National series is #BackonTrack - and can't wait for the next one: the Buckeye Nationals in Ohio!