Author: Brent Stallo
For an image heavy, in depth, and, well, just plain awesome look at who impressed at Loretta's on Tuesday look no further. In fact, if you're looking for some image heavy, in depth and just plain awesome coverage from Loretta's all week you've found your spot. Each day something different, each day something new. It's what we do...along with rhyming, of course.
Okay, enough small talk. See who we feel set themselves up best throughout the first set of motos and made the esteemed MotoSport list.
Loretta's Day 1: Who Shined?
While many thought a broken leg from the Spring Nationals would hold him back, Zach Bell solidified himself as the class favorite in the Intermediate classes with a huge win in 250 B Stock. He'll have company from Jeremy Martin - who was forced to work through the pack with a poor start, but for now, Bell is leading the pack.
Austin Forkner showed not only speed, but also the ability to handle pressure in moto one. Braxton Prieto and Darian Sanayei kept the heat on Forkner throughout, but in the end it was Forkner handling the win. Mark Worth was able to work himself up to 4th after a poor start, and will definitely be another class favorite heading into the meat of the week.
Women 14+
Many were looking for Leah Cantrell to make a comeback statement in the first Women's moto, but it wasn't to be. Instead, Kasie Creason of Byron, CA pulled a top five start from the far outside gate and pushed her way into the lead past Jennifer Burton with authority. Creason would take the convincing win followed by Burton and Cantrell. While Burton and Cantrell have a shot, if Creason continues to line up with the same tenacity as she did in the first moto, this one may get out of hand.
Well, we would have painted Joey Savatgy as the class favorite, but after a false start that saw him drag the starting gate 20ft down the start straight, Savatgy's title hopes were dashed. Savatgy would go on to win the moto in convincing fashion, but because of the false start was docked a lap, handing the win to Rockstar Energy Suzuki's Justin Summers. Summers was forced to work his way through the pack to earn his number two spot, and is now the class favorite heading into the final two motos.
Justin Bogle dominated in Ponca City, and while it's still early, he's already doing the same here in Tennessee. Bogle grabbed the holeshot in the first 450 A moto with Gavin Faith in tow. Bogle would go on to win the moto, but Faith ran surprisingly close throughout. In fact, until about two laps to go the two had built a huge lead on the rest of the pack. Faith, however, would make a mistake on the final lap and go down, giving the number two position to Jacob Hayes. Hayes is still one of the class favorites. There are a few who can run the pace in this class, but Justin Bogle is definitely the one with everything to lose.
Sean Cantrell lit the field on fire with the fastest lap time in practice yesterday, and made good on the hype today with a much deserving win in the 9-11 Stock class. Cantrell was a 50 phenom at one point in his amateur career, but wasn't expected to be such a dominant force in this year's 9-11 class at Loretta's. We guess he had other plans in mind. With one down and two to go, Cantrell is definitely the favorite in the 85 (9-11) class.
Perhaps the most anticipated battle of the week is the showdown between Cooper Webb and Adam Cianciarulo. With Webb racing Schoolboy 2 as his second class, the two will only face off three times. Well, actually only two more after today. The battle that everyone hoped to see, however, never came to fruition. Instead, AC took the holeshot while Webb fought his way through the pack after a top five start. Webb would eventually move into 2nd, but the win went to AC. So, who's the class favorite? We'll let you decide.
Jr. 25 Plus
Michael Sleeter and Robbie Reynard are two of the most recognizable names at Loretta Lynn's Ranch this year, and while the two were slated as title contenders heading into the first 25 Plus moto, Sleeter was the only one to hold true to the hype. Reynard, while stalking Sleeter early in the race, went down hard on his left shoulder and was seen leaving the track. Whether or not his shoulder was injured in the crash remains to be determined, but one thing is for sure, he's now out of contention. As for Sleeter, he's still in the hunt, but a crash while leading the first moto handed the victory to Clark Stiles. It's going to be a nail bitter for the final two motos. Who's the favorite? The nod goes to Stiles...for now.
Remember Matt Bisceglia? If not you need to check out archives. He's a young Intermediate rider out of Texas that we highlighted in one of our Up and Coming pieces last month. Matt barely made Loretta's due to a broken leg he sustained earlier in the year. He's had minimal time on the bike and is, for lack of better words, probably not in as good of riding shape as most. Well, don't tell Matt that, because he went from just scrapping by to class favorite in the first Schoolboy 1 moto on Tuesday. He grabbed the holeshot and kept his YZ 125 screaming like a kid in church for 20 +2. This is Matt's only class this year at Loretta's, and if he puts together two more motos like we saw today, it looks like he's going to make it count.
