Freestyle Motocross


Saturday - 7:30pm
FMX ER”RUPP”T’S IN LEXINGTON, KY
Saturday February 16, 2008

When the FMX tour came flying into Rupp Arena this weekend in Lexington, KY the riders were greeted by a huge crowd of very enthusiastic fans. The riders started early with a great practice session before doors opened and it was clear making the finals tonight was going to be a tall order. Brian Foster stepped up first and put together a good run for an 87.0. In behind him was John Distler who had his shoulder pop out during his run but he soldiered on and finished up with an 85.0. Our third rider, Sean Nielson, started off with a seat grab Indy air that got the crowd on his side early and he used that momentum to post an 88 even. Jimmie McGuire was up next doing enough with his run to make the finals with an 87.3. The final rider in the first set was, Kenny “Taco“ Bell, and he went big knowing only 5 riders where getting into our finals. Unfortunately he came up a little short with a score of 87.2.

When the BMX team came to the floor they where greeted with a ton of excitement. The BMX boys put on a great show as Matt, Andre, Bill and Andy went huge on a borrowed box. Andre made his first attempt at a front flip during the show and nearly hit it both times. The crowd applauded his effort and he made it thru unscathed.

Graham Gustin started off our second set of riders making a bid for the finals. Unfortunately he was only able post an 86.0 which was not good enough to get him in the 1-800 Safe Auto finals. Jesse Jolson stepped in next and ran well enough to make the finals with an 88.5. Dustin Nowak wasn’t taking any chances, doing several combination tricks and a back flip to make sure he was one of the lucky five to make the extra session. Derek Burlew built on the crowd’s growing enthusiasm, hucking big air and posting a score of 87.5.

Keith Wineland came out to showcase his trials skills and the crowds were totally in tune with him. He was getting the biggest cheers of the night and he put on a spectacular show.

Kenny Bell and Jesse Jolson went head to head in the Air Force Whip contest and ended up in a dead heat with the crowd deciding the winner.

Our finals started off with Jimmie McGuire putting up an 86.5 which was good enough to keep him in the Toyota Hot Seat as Derek Burlew and Sean Nielsen didn’t quite have enough to unseat him. Dustin “Wacker” Nowak broke off a series of back flips to post and 88.0. The final rider on the course was Jesse Jolson, and although he had a great run he came up one tenth short with an 87.9.

It was a tremendous night here at the Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY. The crowd was great and the riders put on a fabulous show. That was evident by the line halfway around the building for the autograph session post show. The FMX tour takes a week off for the riders to rest and recuperate, but I’ll be in Greensboro, NC next week for the Toyota AMA Arenacross Series, then we are back for Freestyle in Nashville, TN and Birmingham, AL. Get your tickets now at freestyleonline.com. Make sure to check out my column, Wide Open, at Arenacross.com for all the behind the scenes shenanigans and if you have any question or comments drop me a line at mxannouncer@hotmail.com.

David Knisley