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Posted Aug. 21, 2002
Lewiston brothers star at Kennewick Summer Nationals
By Jack Millikin
Herald staff writer
The Deatley sibling rivalry got down and dirty - Extreme Motocross style - on Tuesday night at the Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo.
The Pacific Racing Organization staged the Kennewick Summer Motocross Nationals event featuring 59 riders in seven different events.
The Deatleys - brothers Sam, 13, and Matt, 11, of Lew-iston, Idaho - were paired against each other in the night's first event, the 80's unlimited qualifying.
The brothers, who have trained alongside each other for the past four years, battled nearly side-by-side as an estimated crowd of 2,500 cheered them on. Matt, who had never beaten his brother in a sanctioned competition, took the lead after flying by Sam via the Wicked Kennewick Double - the dirt track's 15-foot high monster jump - on the fourth lap.
"You try to find the best place on the ramp to take off from," said the younger Deatley, who plans to turn pro at 16. "Every once in a while you get scared before hitting it."
Fear did not appear part of Matt's agenda as he picked up two more wins in the 60s unlimited qualifying and overall events.
Sam, who had his share of success with three wins of his own - including consecutive wins in the 80s and Junior Unlimited overall events - talked about the dilemma of competing against a family member.
"On the track there is a saying - 'when the gate drops there are no friends,' " said Sam, who also plans to go pro, then pursue a career in either business management or public relations. "I can't decide to be nice to my brother and then knock somebody else out of the race."
Sam gained a measure of revenge by winning the 80s Unlimited final, taking the immediate lead as the gates dropped and holding the lead through eight laps. Matt made a successful pass after a blocking maneuver in lap six, but Sam performed an identical block-pass maneuver to regain the lead later in the same lap.
In the Pro division, Brandon Thomas of Auburn swept the qualifying and overall races, leading all but four laps in the final after passing amateur racer Kyle Verstege on the far straightaway in the fourth lap.
Thomas, ranked seventh in the world in the four-stroke National class, began racing five years ago at 14 and has become an emerging star after turning pro just three months ago.
"This was a great event with an awesome track," said Thomas, who will create and race for the BE Am Racing team next year.
Other winners included Tri-Cities resident Hunter Evanson in the 50s Unlimited final, nipping his cousin Cody by 5 yards at the checkered flag, and Shane Luft, who led from start to finish in the Beginners Unlimited division.
The crowd was also captivated by a freestyle exhibition featuring Kirkland's Ryan Cates and Lynnwood's Sam Lindsay, who made several jumps off an eight-foot high ramp and performed various stunts while airborne.
Lindsay and Cates - who holds the unofficial freestyle distance world record at 226 feet - performed such maneuvers as the Hart-attack, the whip and rock-solid, where the rider will actually let go of the bike while airborne, regain posession of the bike and land on the bike.
Two pre-event favorites in the Pro division were injured while practicing before the race and could not compete. Kennewick's Jason Zulke - last year's Kennewick Summer Nationals champ - and Sean Sparkman collided after Sparkman flew off the Wicked Kennewick Double. Sparkman broke a collarbone in the collision.
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