2021 Super Nationals - DeSoto TX race report

Filed under General on March 10, 2021 | Comment(s)

This year’s Super nationals saw a record-making pre-race, posting 176 motos for Friday night. It was a great prelude to what would come - with full gates in the mains for the majority of age classes. The #BMXboom of 2021 continued Saturday, with a record-breaking 306 motos at hand - which was the first time a Texas national has pushed over the 300-mark!

While most of the Great Republic of Texas were counting down the hours until the coming Wednesday - when Texas officially re-opened at 100%, the BMX crowds in DeSoto BMX were already practicing personal common sense, freedom of choice, and were excited to be experiencing America’s greatest outdoor activity. All participants would agree - BMX racing is by far the most fun, adrenaline-fueled, family-friendly sport available right now. 

When you come to Texas for some good ol’ fashioned BMX racin’, there are always a ton of tenacious Texan teams to be dealt with, ready to terrorize your moto or main. It’s probably safe to say that right now, the Premier squad sits atop the heap, with a ton of fast cats on their roster. From the 41-45x ruler Brandon Taylor, to Tyler Shutts or assistant to the assistant TO, Casey Allen, Premier riders were constantly out front. Jakobe Irvin was among the many - having moved up to expert for 2021, after kickin’ bootie at the ROC and Grands with a double-double. For having just moved up, he was still flyin’ and made the 8-man cut in 17-20x! 

But Premier ain’t the only fast guns in town - the Reno Racing squad, easy to spot in their bright yellow jerseys, are celebrating the 20-year anniversary  this season, and they’ve got another generation of hotshoes in their midst - including 9 girl Camdyn Cole.  

When you’re talkin’ Texan teams, you can’t leave out the Ssquared Texas chapter. We’ve lost count of all the special “State” teams that Ssquared has assembled, but judging by all of ‘em - and the high caliber of riders they sponsor, it seems that Ssquared is out to take over the World. From Kaylee Lovins in 8girls to Aaron Campise, Robert Herrick, Ayden Watts or young guns like Campbell Lee and Kanin Thorn, these S2 cowboys (and cowgirls) are ready to rumble.

Other stand-out Texas teams include the Independent All-Stars - which stars the ever-stylish Triston Judd, as well as F&S Racing - who were constantly out front. The newest team in town - Diablos (Texas-edition) brigade, stood out all weekend and were playing host to the Big Diablo himself, this weekend. Definitely keep an eye on them!

Of course, when you enter Texas airspace, there are quite a few big guns who you’ll have to deal with under the Big Top. The number one standout here, with his matching grey NAG No.1 plate, is Full Tilt’er Brody Cole. Having just moved into 17-20x ranks, Cole adjusted well and has already made a name for himself as a repeat NAG title contender. Brody was up against some hefty hombres in DeSoto, including newly transplanted Gavin Freewalt, J&R’s Grands champ Gonzalo Rengel and Houston’s Rayne Lankford - who now rides for the Corsa crew. Cole was on fire like the mesquite wood at a Texas BBQ. Completely untouchable. 

Another Texan who, just like the State he lives in, you don’t wanna mess with, is River Reece - doin’ it for Sean Carvajal’s LDC. On cruiser, the 15 year old double-R was dominating. Hand him a first place trophy slip each day after he crosses the line. But in 15x, it was a little bit different story - up against the likes of Cedric Cade and Black Widow’er Marcus Moore. Each day, the 15x main was jam-packed with the heaviest of hitters and Reece was on the podium.    

Cruisin’ around the DeSoto arena, scoping out everybody’s pits, we came along a shabby EZ-up full of BMX’s fastest and finest; a pale comparison to the full-on climate-controlled Factory big rig they are normally used to. Yes, the Full Tilt-Radio guys were skimpin’ it this weekend and could’ve been mistaken as a homeless camp. With a tiny team sheet, they’d borrowed some stumps to sit on and their cooler had no ice. But that didn’t stop National No.1 Champs “Skittle” Gayheart and Cole Frederick from having a blast between motos - tossing a football back ‘n forth with a buncha of BMX fans.

It was great to see these black-plate number ones having fun, on and off 

the track. Despite their small number of riders in attendance, Full Tilt’s quality over quantity worked well - scoring two more Factory wins for the weekend. New pick-up Nick Post (in 36-40x ) pitched in his part by winning both days, as did Cole, MacKenzie and Brody Cole. On Saturday, Eli Staton brought home a double, and won 10x each day.

In the girls classes, there were plenty of tough battles to watch - but the one standout would have to be in 13girls, where J&R’s Alexis Alden went toe-to-toe with Bay Area’s World Champ from Colombia - Nicole Foronda. These two have been known to throw ‘bows in the past and always put on a good show. Alden wound up with the wins both days, and neither day was a breeze - especially on Sunday, when Foronda took over the lead for a split second, swooping low-high in turn two. Alden read it just right and dove high-low, to take back her lead, finishing it off with taking back her line. It was a text-book move from BMX-101, deserving an A+.

The 12x class was another fun one to watch, with a heated rivalry between Rift-Tangent’s Chris Felker and Hyper’s Ryder Robinett. On Saturday, Felker owned the main from the start, while Robinett was trying to make something happen from third place before an elbow got in his way.
Ryder flew off the pedals and did the ol’ top-tube tango, forcing him to shut it down. Sunday was time for redemption, and Robinett was off to a good start, nabbing the holeshot and leading out of turn one. But you never count out the power of the BobbleHead. The more Felker’s FLY helmet bobbles, the faster he goes. Chris caught up with the Arizona hotshoe thru the rhythm and dove in low into the last turn, to steal away Ryder’s lead. Another textbook move; but he didn’t finish it off and Robinett still had some momentum built up for the two 12x’s to drag race it on DeSoto’s version of the quarter-mile. At the finish, Robinett came by with the low ET and the victory. Those are just a couple examples of how all three dirt turns at DeSoto BMX are perfectly built, and riders can make some mighty impressive moves stick. 

The cruiser classes were just as exciting, whether it was girls or boys, men or women. In 41-45 ladies cruiser, DeSoto’s very own Casey Allen dueled all weekend with usual dominator Dr. Neven Steinmetz. Obviously, Casey knows every nook and cranny of this track, since she’s swept every part of it. Each day, Neven attempted to take over the main, but Casey wasn’t about to get beat on her hometrack, in front of the home crowd in her homestate. On Saturday, after bumpin’ elbows entering turn two, Nevin took over the lead but Casey railed the outside to take back her lead. Sunday, Nevin tried the same move in the same spot but Mrs.Allen threw her an elbow like the former Pro Woman she is, to make a win each day. 

Another sign of a good track is the caliber of riders it produces, and DeSoto has always bred some of the fastest racers in the sport - dating back to Denzel Stein (who was spotted on Saturday, spectating the action with his wife). Take 15 and 16 cruiser for example - with two to LDC’s fastest locals - River Reece and Landry Wycough owning their 24” ranks. In 31-35 cruiser, Premier’s Justin Dodson defeated the usually unstoppable Chris Sutton. That’s highly unusual to see. That main was followed by another Answer rider and another Texan - Hojo Johnson, who dominated 36-40 all weekend. 

By the end of the weekend, the Super Nationals lived up to tis name - it was a SUPER weekend on a SUPER track, with SUPER action at this SUPER facility. When you think about it, there couldn’t be a
better name for a race like this.  
                                  ...unless you wanted to call it the Super-Awesome Nationals.

Moto Counter:

Pro Open “Belt” Champs
SAT: Alec Bob
Sun: Joseph Leto

Team Winners (Bike Shop & Factory):

Saturday & Sunday: BMX Sharks & Full Tilt-Radio

TRIPLES x2 (three wins on both days)

LILY ASHLEY10- Gcru, 10Girls & 9-10 Mixed

DOUBLES x2 (two wins on both days)

AVA CORLEY13-14 Mixed & 14 Girls

VIDA DE VERA7-8 Mixed  & 8 Girls

ROBERT TAYLOR41-45 Cru &  41-45x

BODHI PANGLE21-25 Inter &  21-25 Mixed

DOUBLES x1 (two wins on same day)

ALEXIS ALDEN13 Girls &  13-14 Gcru

TRUE BAILEY13-14 X-open & 14x

ASA CUSTER15 Inter &  15-16 Mixed

CHRIS FELKER11-12 X-open &  12x

ERIN JONES21-30 Wcru  & 21-30 Women

TRISTON JUDD21-25x &  21-25 X-open

CHRIS KENNEDY51over X  & 51-55cru

GRAFTON MERRIAM7-8 Xopen &  8 Cru

GRAYSON NOVAK7under Cru & 7x

RYDER ROBINETT12 Cru &  12x

MANUELA ROLDAN15-16 Girls & 15-16 Mixed

ELI STATON10x & 9-10 X-open

YUNA TURNER6under Mixed &  6 Girls

JANNAH VISE31-35 Wcru &  31-40 Women

DANIEL WATERS11 Cruiser & 11x