The 8^th Annual Vortex National Vet MX Championship took place Sunday at the MX of Marion County track in Reddick, Florida. This track is beginning to feel like home as it is hosting a lot of the action for the month of February. Next weekend will be the Loretta Lynn’s Area Qualifier on Saturday and Sunday so the MXRanking rv will be back on site.

There was quite a bit of excitement surrounding the racing because non-other than perennial favourite Kevin Walker had made the trip from Tennessee, but so too had defending champs Tony Lorusso from Connecticut and John Grewe from Michigan. These guys didn’t let the crowd down as they went at it, bar-to-bar, in each of their motos.

We’ve had a long stint of good weather down here and Sunday was 80 degrees and sunny. Track owner, Carol Blackburn, and promoter, Lou Whitney, put together a great event that ran smoothly and was finished nicely before dinner. Here’s how a few of the classes shook out:

For full event results, click: www.mxmarioncounty.com

#421 Mike D’Amico took the +30 Expert class with 1-2 motos over #101 Mike Powers who went 3-1 to grab second place.

#911 Kirk Layfield nabbed the +40 Expert title over #1 John Camelio but Camelio took advantage of Layfield’s fall in the second moto of the +45 Expert to take that title.

#39 Bobby McClelland won the Evo Open class on this ultra-crisp-sounding, 250 2-stroke.

Kevin Hodge took his #5 Husqvarna to 1-1 moto scores to take the +30 Vintage class title.

#71 David Ellis took his sweet JT V-2000 to victory in both the +50 and +55 classes by sweeping all 4 motos.

Tom Bragg repeated his 2010 win by taking top spot in the +60 Master class.

There are several goats and a few donkeys over near, what I now call, the “Sanford and Son” roller section.

#301 Sal Calamita took his 2000 Honda CR250 to wins in both of the Expert classes. You heard me, 2000! Sal looked really fast in all his races and is looking for some support. This 18-year old from New York seems like a great kid and would also consider riding in Canada for the summer. This ends my PSA for Sal Calamita.

#4 is Tony Lorusso. I believe he is now a 5-time winner in the +30 Vet Pro class. He split wins with Kevin Walker in some of the best racing of the day.

#70 John Grewe also split wins with Walker in the +40 Pro class. Walker, who looked extremely pale as he left the track, led much of the 8-lap second moto, but Grewe made the pass and held on to take the title.

See you at the races…or will we?

Don’t do it, Jeff!

Like I said, we’ll be back in Reddick from Thursday afternoon until all the action is done Sunday evening. Be sure to stop by, say hello, and sign-up on MXRanking to get your National Ranking set up. Better yet, simply, go to www.mxranking.com and register today!

PS Special thanks to EB for the fresh cups of coffee, they were greatly appreciated. Who has coffee for me this weekend because I know EB will not be at MX of Marion County???

Article and photos submitted by Billy Rainford – MXRanking.com

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