Central CA Motocross Draws Huge Crowd!
Monday, March 17, 2014 at 7:40PM Porterville Recorder MArch 16, 2014
Sunday’s Monster Road to Mammoth qualifying race at OHV Park in Porterville attracted so many motocross riders that the parking lots were overstuffed with mobile homes, trailers and dirt bikes. It was the third of six qualifying races and provided a homefield advantage to one rider in particular: Joshua Camarena.
Owner and CEO of Porterville-based 2X Promotions Myron Short said there was a total of 580 entries and estimated 3,000 people showed up to the races over the weekend. He also said it was about 15-20 percent larger than last year.
“We have a good, solid crew here today,” he said.
The race was also being filmed and streamed online by a film crew representing Insider MX. Short said the crew would make a short recap of the day’s action and put it on the website.
Besides Camarena, Ikua Hughes participated in the first two rounds of the Monster Road to Mammoth but competed at Oak Hill MX in Decatur, Texas all week where he had a couple decent results including a fifth-place finish.
Michael Scruggs also competed, but as a novice.
The classes present went from the powerful pro classes all the way down to small children riding screaming 50cc bikes.
Camarena, decked in an orange and black jersey and black helmet, competed in the 450 Pro, Open Pro and the 250 Pro. He certainly held his own considering he was racing against a big name in Jessy Nelson in his races. Nelson is sponsored by Lucas Oil, among other companies, and finished first in several races. He won the Open Pro race, though Camarena was on his tail and finished in second place.
He nabbed a fourth-place finish in the 450 Pro and a fifth-place finish in 250 Pro even though he used his brother’s 250 2-stroke bike. Camarena said he rode his brother’s bike because he wanted to give himself more race options when all is said and done. One would believe it would be tough to race on an unfamiliar bike, but he proved otherwise.
“He’s painting it today,” Short said.
One could say Camarena certainly felt confident racing in his hometown. He said the simple fact of knowing this track is an advantage because he knows how it will deteriorate and where he should ride as the races go on through the day. He even had the advantage of test riding the track right after it was constructed a few weeks ago.
“It’s a big advantage I would say,” he said.
And considering he was riding with some big-name riders, he was pretty happy with the way he rode over the weekend.
“You can’t complain too much,” he said. “It’s a good learning experience racing with Nelson.”
Camarena’s goal for the rest of the qualifying rounds is to be in front of the pack and a high finish, hopefully on the podium.
“A podium would be sweet,” he said.
The next round of the Monster Road to Mammoth will take place on March 30 in Turlock. These qualifying rounds lead up to Monster Energy Mammoth Motocross, an event in Mammoth, CA that lasts from June 20-29.
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