The only podium finishers left in the fight are pulling for the holeshot at Unadilla.

Photos by Scott Mallonee

There are just two races left in the season. In the 450 class, runner-up Eli Tomac is 63 points down on Ken Roczen. Both Joey Savatgy and Alex Martin are tied at 341 points, but down 81 on Cooper Webb. In other words, unless there is a disastrous day for Ken Roczen and Cooper Webb, two Champions will be crowned at Budds Creek.

The 250 start.

Alex Martin won the first moto, but lost the overall in a tiebreaker.

Joey Savatgy put in many strong first motos the last few weeks, but he has struggled in the second motos.

Mitch Payton’s prospect, Austin Forkner, has had an unbelievable rookie season. Forkner could be a serious contender for the title next year.

Ken Roczen has been clearly dominating the AMA Nationals, aside from some bugaboos at Glen Helen, Southwick and Washougal.  Eli Tomac will need to be aggressive at Budds Creek if he has any hope of decreasing Roczen’s points lead. However, that’s not Tomac’s style. Marvin Musquin sits comfortably in third. While he is out of the running for the title, he will most likely finish third overall. Musquin is still 96 points down on Eli Tomac. Justin Barcia is only 49 points behind Marvin Musquin. For contract hopefuls, now is the time to make something happen. The field is so thin that they may not have the opportunity next season to land a fourth overall.

Andrew Short placed eighth at Budds Creek. Next weekend will be his last Pro race. We’ll miss you, Shorty!

Marvin Musquin finished 2-4 for third overall.

Justin Barcia’s season hasn’t been outstanding, but he did finish second overall at Budds Creek.

Dean Wilson put in a strong ride and finished 5-5 for sixth overall.

This season Cooper Webb has shown the consistency of Ryan Dungey with the aggression of James Stewart in his early years. Consistency is what will win Cooper the championship. What became of Joey Savatgy and the Martin brothers? Savatgy started making mistakes that cost him positions. He was really deflated after a huge get-off at Red Bud. Alex Martin was more a victim of mechanical failures and not being able to start his bike quickly enough. At Washougal it appeared that Jeremy Martin could have closed up the points gap, but crash took him out for the season.

2016 BUDDS CREEK 450 CLASS RESULTS
1. Zach Osborne (Hus)……………..1-1
2. Justin Barcia (Yam)………………3-3
3. Marvin Musquin (KTM)………… 2-4
4. Eli Tomac (Kaw)……………………6-2
5. Phil Nicoletti (Yam)……………….4-6
6. Dean Wilson (KTM)……………….5-5
7. Fredrik Noren (Hon)……………….8-7
8. Andrew Short (KTM)………………7-9
9. Benny Bloss (KTM)…….. ……….11-10
10. Anthony Rodriquez (Kaw)……..7-17

BASIC BUDDS CREEK STATS

1. After Saturday, the season is 91.6% over.
2. Budds Creek has a dirt flat-track and a drag strip on the grounds, as well.
3. The second ever MXDN in the USA was hosted at Budds Creek in 2007.
4. The track features a sharp 180-degree first turn.
5. Budds Creek first became part of the AMA Nationals in 1989. Unlike some of the other venues, it has been moved around a lot on the schedule. It hasn’t been the second-to-last race since 1991.
6. Budds Creek will be the Military Appreciation race of the series.

Ken Roczen is potentially one moto away from the 2016 outdoor title.

450 CLASS NOTES

1. Ricky Carmichael held a perfect record at Budds Creek. In eight starts, he posted eight overall wins, winning 13 of 16 motos.
2. A 250 (450 four-stroke) class race wasn’t held at Budds creek until 1994. They only ran the 500 and 125 (250 four-stroke) classed prior.
3. Chad Reed is the only international rider to ever win a 450 class overall at Budds Creek.
4. Only 10 riders have won the overall at Budds Creek. Of those, James Stewart, Justin Barcia, Kevin Windham, Doug Henry, Ezra Lusk and Mike LaRocco have only won once there.

Cooper Webb can clinch the 250 National title this weekend.

250 CLASS NOTES

1. The first 250 class race was held at Budds Creek on October 8, 1989. Mike Kiedrowski won on a Honda.
2. Kawasaki has won all but two races since 2001 at Budds Creek. Mike Brown won on a Honda in 2005 and Marvin Musquin won last year on a KTM.
3. Yamaha only has two wins in the 250 class at Budds creek and Suzuki and KTM only have one.
4. Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart are the only two to win in both the 250 and 450 class at Budds Creek.

2016 BUDDS CREEK 250 CLASS RESULTS
1. Zach Osborne (Hus)…………………………………….4-1
2. Alex Martin (Yam)………………………………………..1-4
3. Austin Forkner (Kaw) …………………………………..5-2
4. Adam Cianciarulo (Kaw)………………………………..2-5
5. Cooper Webb (Yam)……………………………………..6 3
6. Aaron Plessigner (Yam)…………………………………8-6
7. Justin Hill (Kaw) ………………………………………….10-7
8. Mitchell Oldenburgt (KTM……………………………..11-10
9. Joey Savatgy (Kaw)………………………………………3-34
10. Chris Alldredge (Kaw)…………………………………12-11

Our thoughts and prayers are with Jessy Nelson after he crashed at Unadilla. We’re pulling for you, Jessy.

450 Class

James Stewart – Bubba has a tweaked shoulder and is done for the rest of the AMA Nationals.
Trey Canard – Recovering from a practice track concussion.
Ryan Dungey – Dungey’s crash at Thunder Valley looked like no big deal. He got up and finished the moto. After the fact, doctors discovered a crack in the C6 vertebrae.
Cole Seely – Out with a broken finger, which had to be plated back together. Fredrik Noren will fill in at HRC Honda for the rest of the season.
Jason Anderson – Broke his collarbone early in the season, but has been selected for the MXDN team, so will probably make an appearance at the final National.
Christophe Pourcel – Out for the rest of the season with a fracture in C6 at Washougal.
Josh Grant – Ankle surgery cut his season short. His fill-in, Tyler Bowers,  injured his shoulder and is also out for the season.
Justin Bogle – Out for the rest of the series with a neck injury.
Blake Baggett – Re-injured his shoulder. He is out for the rest of the season.
Broc Tickle – Tickle sustained a fractured pelvis at Millville when he crashed with Weston Peick.
Ben Lamay – Torn MCL at Washougal.

250 Class

Jeremy Martin – Injured some ribs in the Savatgy vs. Webb fiasco at Washougal. He won’t return this season.
Jessy Nelson – Serious back injury and broken wrist from Unadilla. He has undergone surgery to repair T4 and T5.
Colt Nichols – A torn meniscus at Washougal. He won’t return this season.
Shane McElrath – A shoulder separation, broken ribs and a concussion at Soutwick. He won’t return this season.
Alex Frye – Troy Lee Designs’ Alex Frye sustained a torn ACL and additional torn ligaments in his knee. He will be out for the rest of the 2016 National season.
Chris Alldredge – Recovering from a pelvis injury he suffered in Las Vegas. He will be back this weekend.
Christian Craig – Craig collided with teammate Jordon Smith at Glen Helen. In the crash, Craig broke his tib/fib.
Chase Sexton – The AMA Horizon award winner was supposed to make his Pro debut at Unadilla, but he has an avulsion fracture of the knee.
Jesse Wentland – Broken collarbone.