For the first time in 20 years, flat track racing was back at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, November 27-29.
By Jodi Johnson
Mission Foods Flat Track Futures Fall Classic was presented by Royal Enfield and included riders from across the U.S. and Canada with nearly 400 entries. On the 1/10th-mile indoor short-track, both Saturday and Sunday, riders competed for 16 AMA Pennsylvania State Championships. Classes ranged from 50cc to Pro-Am 450.
The opening race of the Flat Track Fall Classic was the Chris Klinefelter Memorial Dash for Cash. This race was made up of the top six qualified Pro-Am 450 riders. It was an all-out battle for four laps. AFT racer and local Pennsylvania rider Dan Bromley took the win over Johnny Long.
With a championship on the line and a two-race format, it came down to consistency for the 450 Amateur class. In the end, it was Wyland Seger that took the overall title. Finishing on the podium both nights got the job done for Wyland.
Sunday saw Adam Renshaw winning the Pro-Am 450 Dash for Cash, but he fell short the night before in the 450 Amateur main by making a mistake, resulting in an 11th-place finish. Saturday’s Dunlop Holeshot award winner, Declan Bender would go onto win the 450 Amateur main event. Unfortunately, Bender had other obligations and was not able to return Sunday to attempt to clinch the overall championship.
As the light went green and with a full field of four- to eight-year-olds on their PW50s and CRF50s, the arena lit up and the class quickly became a fan favorite. Hunter Shepard, along with Odin Music and Jase Gathhercole put on one of the best shows of the weekend. Working through lapped traffic on Saturday night, Shepard took the win. However, on Sunday, Shepard fell causing a red flag, and a single-file restart was lined up. As they left the line, local motocross racer Gathhercole put his head down, twisted the throttle, and was able to take the win. Shepard worked his way through the field to finish second, which landed him the overall championship. Shepard also went on to win both days in the 50cc (7-8) and clinched his second title of the weekend over Drew Eldred and Jayden Nickens.
Charlie Walter dominated the 65cc (7-11) class. Both days it seemed as though Walter couldn’t get the starts he needed, but his race craft paid off for him. He made quick passes to get the lead and take the 65cc (7-11) AMA Pennsylvania State Champion.
In the 85cc (9-15) Supermini class, the overall championship went to Walker Porter. To get the championship, he had to battle it out with Adam Costan. In a tiebreaker, as they both split wins, Costan winning Saturday and Porter winning Sunday, the overall went to the last winner. In the stacked field of over 20 riders, the 85cc (7-13) it was, once again, Porter winning on Sunday. But a poor finish the night before knocked him out of contention for what could have been his second championship. It was Braxton Ragan taking the championship with a 1-3 finish over Evan Myers.
As the weekend progressed, the riders in the 250 Amateur class started turning heads. The up-and-coming riders’ speeds were rapidly becoming comparable to those in the Pro-Am 450 class. Bradon Pfanders, Ryder Reese, and Cole Jose were the ones battling it out for their championship. Pfanders went on to win both main events and the championship over Reese and Jose.
Over the weekend, there were 27 Dunlop Holeshot Awards given out, along with six Just 1 Racing Youth contracts that were given to the overall youth class champions. Up for grabs at the Mission Foods Flat Track Fall Classic presented by Royal Enfield there was over $28,000 in OEM contingency, but all eyes were on the 2021 Fall Classic Hooligan 15-lap main event, being that there was a 2022 Moto Anatomy X powered by Royal Enfield Hooligan contract on the line. The overall winner would be given a 2021 Royal Enfield INT 650 to race with support in Hooligan events across the country in 2022. Saturday night’s race winner and former American Flat Track racer Raun Wood sat on pole, once again, Sunday evening. A big crash on the opening lap caused a restart. It was Wood with the holeshot over Richard Heverly and Trevor Qualye, and Wood managed to take it all the way to the checkered for a dominant victory.CN
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