July 20-22, 2012 – Ashtabula, Ohio – 2012 AMA Racing ATV Extreme Dirt Track National Championship Series
Pine Lake is located in the Northeastern Corner of Ohio, and less than 10 miles south of Lake Erie’s shoreline. Pine Lake is considered to be the “Oldest ATV Track” in the United States. It is run by the Fischer Family, and the track is well known for its beautiful scenery. Compared to many MX tracks I’ve been to, this place is more like a golf course than a dirt track.
Pine Lake "Open Class Winners" (left to right) Jackie Meadows, Nick LaLanne, Erik Dubb
I was very surprised to see the pits as full as they were when I arrived around 10AM on Friday morning, 2 days before the actual races. The caliber of machines sitting around the pits was enough to stop most enthusiasts dead in their tracks. Between the most tricked out lowered quads to the most amazing array of machines from yesteryear to modern quad to trike conversions, this place was like an ATV show. And some of the haulers and rigs sitting around makes me wonder just what it is like to be a professional TT racer. How hard can life on the road be with a Freightliner motor home with a 30 foot trailer in tow? Still I suppose the racers and support crew long for life at home, but I have to say, these guys do it in style!
Vintage Class Holeshot
All machines had to pass tech inspection prior to practice. 3 wheelers had no width restriction like the quads did of 50” wide. Tech Inspectors checked for cotter keys in hubs, tight lug nuts, working brakes, tether switches, and I’m sure a list of other technical details I am unaware of. The tech inspection was right up next to the sign up line, so it made the long wait somewhat bearable. Jackie Meadows #111 was present for the event, and cut in line with myself and fellow 3 wheeler racers. I know Jackie didn’t want anyone to find out about the line cutting so don’t say anything about it if you are reading this article. It only took about 3 minutes to figure out who Jackie Meadows really is. He’s just one of us! A die hard trike guy who has the same passion we do regarding our beloved sport and 3 wheelers in general.
While walking around the pits to kill some time, a few of us stumbled upon a very nice 1985 ATC250R sitting alongside an equally nice 1988 TRX250R. Both seemed so era correct and both were set up nicely for TT. Once we struck up a conversation with the owner, we had the pleasure of meeting Erik Dubb #97, the 1997 Winner of Lorretta Lynn’s. Erik is a super cool guys and is super fast on the track on both 3 wheels and 4 wheels. Just like Jackie, Erik is a very cool down to earth guy who is just plain and simply into trikes. Saturday morning there was a 5 lap practice first prior to the start of racing.
There were 8 classes of quads, 3 classes of trikes and a Side by Side UTV class. Once practice was over it was time to start running heat races. Although there were only 12 total classes, there were actually 52 heat races, as many classes had multiple gates. Being as the trikes were exhibition only, that meant no elimination. Every trike there would run in the finals on Sunday. There was one gate of 70 class, 2 gates of Vintage Class, and 2 gates of Open Class. Heat races basically ran until dusk as there are no track light.
Sunday morning, a few more quad heat races took place as well as the Last Chance Qualifiers (LCQ) for quads. Almost immediately following the LCQs the main race lists were posted. Vintage 3 Wheeler – Race 4. 70 Class 3 Wheeler – Race 11. Open 3 Wheeler Class – Race 25. Our day was set in stone.
Vintage Results:
Vintage Vid:
Open Results:
Open Vid:
70 Class Results:
70 Class Vid:
With Pine Lake in the books, the excitement and stigma are still there. From one of the coolest tracks were 3 wheelers used to reign king, and thunder around the track, to 30 years later as a vintage race, everyone was excited to see the trikes in action. By the sounds of things, we are very much welcomed back next year. Get that old trike out of the shed, and slam it. Pine Lake will be awaiting your arrival!
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