Dang man, has it almost been another season already? Rounds 6 and 7 of the 2007 NJ NBL State Series dropped like a rock from the sky into CJBMX August 18th and 19th along with the Hyper Pro-Am Open Series. The drama has been building all year long and this stop was no exception. With 258 riders signed up for Saturdays race and the Hyper Pro-Am picking up a rack of riders on Sunday it would seem that everyone’s efforts to make racing huge are beginning to pay off. Props to all you BMX promoting mugs out there, no wonder that CJ’s own Jeffrey Heath is currently leading the NBL recruit a buddy thing. ‘Cause it’s no secret, NJ KICKS ASS. This race saw the return of Phil Delizia who has been having a crazy rookie year as Pro, winning Rockford, the ABA grands and just coming off a victory at Pottstown last weekend. No doubt, Phil is fast as hell and more importantly a good guy to boot. Be sure to stay tuned for his Speed Camp coming up at CJBMX. The am racing action has been growing in intensity all year long and a few classes are really starting to show themselves as the ones to watch. Checking Dulock, Smith battle back and forth is almost as exciting as watching the pros. Those two dudes were passing back and forth all weekend. Mike “more air” Reszkowski, and “The Monster” Matty Cranmer were ripping it up all weekend long as well. I would have to say the 9-10 year old classes are insane to watch get down and rock. 13 Expert is killer to scope as well with the aerial antics of Mike Schneider going off on every jump and Vic “tory” Behm battling back and forth like madmen. At one point over the weekend, Vic ran Mike so high up in the first turn that Mike just politely rode right off the track. No crashing, no fighting, just, See ya next round. These guys are sportsmen and know the meaning of “keep it on the track”. Both guys are stylecats, so in the editors eyes here they are both on top. On the other side of “not crashing” is of course, crashing. 35+ Expert saw a battle in the back of the pack with Wogs and Crazy Craig trading places and elbows up to the rhythm section in the first moto on Saturday with Craig eventually winding up in the center of some doubles there. It was a gnarly crash but in true BMX fashion, every older expert came over to make sure the GHP leader was ok. The only time these guys hate each other is for that 45 seconds on the track. 30-34 Expert was combined with 35 over novice with mains on both days and 2 racks of riders the racing was intense but Dale Maghan was romping and stomping all over these guys with Pete Bonilla right in there and old school legend Lenny Hicks trying to get around Dale. Speaking of CJ’¢s oldest resident local, Dale was telling me earlier in the year that Point Pleasant Bicycle was not out of the running yet this year and sho enuff Point put on a double 600 both days at CJ with strong showings by all their riders. The race for top team in the state is tightening up and looks to be a fun ride down to the wire at the championship in October. What were the races of the weekend? This time, hands down the Hyper Pro-Am Open. With 2 full 8 man racks on Saturday and 3 racks on Sunday it truly shows how intense this series is getting. Every time the music came on and that annoying announcer started going off, the crowds and kids lined the fence and cheered the north east’s fastest riders on. It’s amazing to see what difference some enthusiasm and a year can make. Who took it? Both days the Dragon swooped down and took the pot of gold back to Toms River, but no doubt he was chased heavily by Ecchevaria, Kelty, Weimar, Moore, Sullivan, Whipple and the rest of the men. (Okay well Mr.Whipple didn’t make the main on Saturday but he did volunteer to announce and did a damn good job, viva la riders!) Phil may have taken it both days but he wasn’t sitting down halfway through the rhythm section, it was heads down, balls out all the way to the line action. New to the Pro-Am main this time around was Vinnie “The Monster” Mannino. This was his first time making a main against Pro riders and it shows he’s been stepping up his game. Going into the final race before the championship at HCBMX the points for the top 8 guys is about 10 points with the top 5 guys separated by about a point a piece. The final is triple points so this thing is wide open, and for those of you who aren’t quite aware of what is at stake for these guys, the top 8 overall finishers at the end of the series are getting a chunk of the accumulated purse. So the points chase is looking hectic. Before I head away from the Pro-Am and wrap this thing up, I should mention there was a bit of drama on day 2 over an incorrect rider in the main but in the spirit of pushing the whole series forward, all riders involved in the incident stayed calm, showed true sportsmanship and let everyone know that even with money on the line the only thing these riders truly care about is showing everyone what the future of BMX racing is. And that everyone is very bright. (For more Hyper Pro-Am action, hit up newjerseybmx.com next weekend.) I’ll see everyone down at EHTBMX for round 8 of the series and more BMX racing freaking coolness. Who will win the team series? PBR, PPB, GHP? Who will rock the Pro-Am? Phil? , Dan?, Knapper?, Farside? How much air will Mike Schneider get?…Yea spuds these and many other questions will be answered and asked at EHT. Let’s bust arse!
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