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2004 NBL GRAND NATIONAL LOUISVILLE, KY
The NBL Grand National had its' share
of controversy this year. With riders protesting, teams breaking
apart, sponsors leaving, volunteers absent and a new staff, the NBL
had their job cut out for them.
Let's start with the racing. There were some very close races and
many of the national plates came down to the main, including pro
elite. The general consensus seemed to be for Warwick Stevenson or
Randy Stumpfhauser to take the title. Even though Jason Richardson
had high points, he wasn't looking that good early on. When it came
to the main though, Warwick was out and Randy got tied up in the
first turn. So, it was all about Kyle Bennett and though he only had
an outside chance coming in, he took the #1 plate. Jason Richardson
wound up sixth in the main and #3 overall.
In elite cruiser, it was Stumpy
with the holeshot and Kolich on him like white on rice. Kolich got
close at the line and was awarded the win, but in my opinion, Stumpy
won. Check the photo and you decide. In elite masters, why not just
call it vet like everyone else, it was Jeff Dein that stole the
money with Rupe in second and Madden in third. Rupe, Madden and Dein
were #1,#2 and #3 respectfully. Superclass was scrambled with some
favorites missing, Augusto Castro took the win and the title.
Supergirls, saw Kim Hayashi jumping over the competition to take the
win and the title.
Overall, the racing was as good as it
gets. With 469 motos and a reported 2600 riders, the racing was
exciting and for the most part ran smoothly. Practice seemed a
little crowded and for $10 could have been better. And though many
riders were complaining about a lot of things, the bottom line is
that there really isn't much of an alternative if you want to race
competitive bmx. Some complain that the ABA has a better point
system, better announcing and is ran more professionally. But, many
now see the NBL as their opportunity to compete in the Olympics. Who
knows what will happen with that since the rules have yet to be
decided?
While we are on the note of
complaints, how about the #plates? The plates that riders worked all
year for and spent thousands of dollars to earn, were terrible. When
one rider asked the lady giving out the plates about the vinyl
peeling off his plate, she replied "They are going to fix that next
year." What else
happened:
Obviously missing from 35-39 cruiser was Gary Slater. He
apparently had an auto accident on the way up from Florida, but
seems to be okay. Best
wishes Gary. Was the
Warlock seen popping a zit on K.B.?
Did anyone else notice the Latino T&A
show?
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