Words and Photos by Jeff Kardas

The season may have ended this past weekend in Delmont, PA, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to say about what went down. Despite this round (and season) being somewhat of a yawner as far as the championship battles were concerned, there are always plenty of interesting bits floating around the track and pits that make for a good read to summarize the weekend. We'll also throw in a bit of a season summary, just to put closure on what was a predictable but somewhat exciting summer.

As has often been the case this season, the track itself was a big part of the story. As was the case with most of the rounds this year, the track itself received a bit of a facelift and while the changes that Marc Peters performed were generally met with positive reviews by everyone involved, the surface itself received some criticism. In typical western PA summertime fashion, there were thunderstorms in the forecast for Friday night (the night before the race, since this was a Saturday race) so the track crew did not disc and/or rip the track nearly as deep as they normally would have. They also didn't water overnight and since the threat for rain was still present in the morning for practice, took it a bit easy then too. The result: an ultra-fast, hard-packed, flat and smooth racing surface with almost no visible ruts or braking bumps and dirt-track style corners with all of the surface 'fluff' pushed up into berms on the far outside made for... well, not much of a "race track".

That is, of course, unless you asked Timmy Ferry and Broc Hepler.

Had it not been for these two guys, this would have been a very average 450 class race with not much else to talk about, but their battle included probably dozens of passes for position and had the (somewhat sparse) crowd on the edge of their beer coolers for the duration of both motos. From the perspective of this photojournalist, however, the track was GREAT because it was DIFFERENT! It had a regional FLAIR that lacks in almost every other track on the circuit these days, and it screamed STEEL CITY RACEWAY at the top of its lungs.

Everyone started on the same gate, everyone raced the same track, and the best guys on this day won, despite the "too easy" conditions. It was fascinating to watch the top riders set up passes three corners before they'd make their moves, squaring each other up and slamming doors to force the issue, and there was plenty of passing going on.

Much of this passing occurred by (and to) Canadian National 450 class champion Colton Facciotti. Despite fairly unimpressive final results, the speedy Canuck put in a solid enough performance in the second moto (moving from 24th to 13th) to improve on his first moto finish by 15 positions to win the Muscle Milk Recovery award and $1,000US (which is about $20 Canadian, so it paid for his dinner).

One of several Canadians to come down and race the last U.S. national or two, Facciotti was joined by Tyler Medaglia, his younger brother Jeremy Medaglia, and his spectating teammate Blair Morgan in their bid for some decent finishes. It wasn't to be. Tyler went 36-33 in the Motocross class after a hard crash in the 1st moto, and Jeremy could only muster a 25-20 after a much stronger showing the previous weekend at Southwick.

Included in the category of non-revelations and/or mediocre-rides-performed-by-riders-with-high-expectations would definitely be Andrew Short. Coming in to Steel City, Shorty had a legitimate shot at stealing second place in the points chase out from under Tim Ferry's nose. With Hepler up there with something to prove, if Short could have gotten ahead of them both (and Hepler could have stayed ahead of Ferry), he'd have had it. That's a lot of if's, and maybe the question was – did it really matter? Is 2nd that much better than 3rd as far as bonuses or anything else is concerned? His ride is already set for next season, so it seems Andrew had little to gain by pushing the pace too hard, so he settled into 5-7 moto scores to slink away with an impressive 3rd in the final standings. Good luck at that funky Swedish SX this weekend, Andrew!

Perhaps not so much mediocre performances so much as simply unimpressive were the rides by JGR riders-of-the-week Sean Borkenhagen and Ben Lamay. OK, maybe Lamay should've done better than he usually does while on his own privateer YZ450, but he didn't. Wearing his own THOR gear (not the team's TLD, which was a surprise) on a bike and in a class that he was familiar with, many expected more from one of the more highly-anticipated Loretta Lynn's graduates. No word on what happened to result in his 17-15 moto scores.

Sean Borkenhagen, on the other hand, wasn't really expected to do well. SoCal's Borkenhagen, who's been roughing it in a van with his dad for the entire summer is a Lites rider who sometimes has trouble making Sunday's show. Therefore, it was no surprise that when asked to jump on a high-profile team in a class he's never competed in on a bike he's never ridden and in gear that's completely new to him, well, nobody expected much. The result was 27-24, and probably one heck of an eye-opening experience for a struggling privateer. It was a bizarre choice for JGR, there's no question about that, and on one hand we think it's great, while on the other hand – why not pick a rider with at least a decent chance of a top 10? We'll never know...

On the opposite end of the 'factory rider for a day' spectrum, how 'bout that Jimmy Albertson? Holeshots? Check. Leading a 450 National ahead of James Stewart? Check. Finishing ahead of both of your well-established factory Honda teammates? Check. Albertson did it all, and was deliriously happy with himself after the races were over and was reportedly giggling like a school girl beneath his helmet during his motos. Great ride for Albee, no doubt about it, but the jury is out on whether he'll be under the Red Bull Honda Racing tent for 2009 – we asked around and there is no answer to that question because, in all honesty, Kehoe and crew were probably still shocked by the performance. Here's betting they weren't nearly as shocked as Hotsauce and Shorty were...

The rider who coulda/shoulda/woulda ended up with that Honda ride that Albertson ended up with is none other than Jeff Alessi. Rumor is that Jeff was so demanding during the tryouts that he sealed his own fate before he even got into the real testing. Regardless, the kid put in gutsy and impressive rides all summer and was without a doubt the 2008 version of Gavin Gracyk, minus the multitude of life tragedies in quick succession. Alessi struggled all day at Steel City after being carted off on a back-board following a hard crash in practice. Despite going 35-19 on the day, Jeff managed to end the season 8th in points, and was 2nd privateer behind the phenomenal year put in by Kiwi Cody Cooper. No credible rumors exist on what will happen with Jeff for next season, but there have been reports of him talking to a couple of OEM's so we'll see how it pans out.

We mentioned Gavin Gracyk above and must ask: What the heck happened to him? Where is he? What's going on next year? Not only did Gav not make an appearance on the track, we didn't spot him cruising the pits looking for a ride next year either, which is odd because just about every other injured or down and out rider was doing just that – especially those that are within a short drive of Delmont, PA like Gavin is. It's a tragedy of tragedies that he wasn't able to go out and really represent the team like he'd probably dreamed of doing, and there's no telling how this will all play out, but ya gotta figure he'll be a hard sell to any team after the outdoor season he had this summer – or lack thereof. Bummer for Gavin, let's hope he can put something together for '09.

Speaking of the need to perform, Broc Hepler probably needed that great ride more than everyone else put together. Apparently still in talks to finalize 2009, Hepler's last chance for success this season couldn't have happened at a better track – if there's ever been a Steel City Specialist, his last name is Hepler. It was an impressive ride, there is no doubt about that, and he battled Ferry for the duration of both motos, plus a few stints with Michael Byrne which he came out on top of. Landing on the podium was a great accomplishment for Broc for sure, but guess what: That just sort of underlines his inconsistency, doesn't it? What'd he get in the other two races he did this year? Granted, they were on two of the rougher tracks in existence (Millville and Southwick), but to come in on his home track that was in a particularly smooth state and do well... well, that podium finish may have been diluted a bit. However, rest assured B-Hep will land a great ride and once again have the "Potential" (that's so often a dirty word, isn't it?) to be a champion. If you're a Hepler fan, you'd better keep your fingers crossed...

We indicated in our Steel City Race Report that Matt Goerke's MDK/KTM suffered a flat front tire in moto two which prevented him from finishing or at least maintaining that 5th position he'd worked so hard for. Well, according to a press release from the team, what actually happened was that his holeshot device had "somehow" locked his front-end down at about the halfway point of the moto, and that Goerke pulled off to have his mechanic rip the fork guard out of the way. Not sure why it took so long, as he ended up 30th in the moto, which is a crying shame for a kid that truly looks to be set for a premier ride on a premier 450 for 2009.

Bizarre story: while shooting 2nd moto Lites riders coming through the new rollers section of the track and standing on the access lane between two tabletops, I hear a noise behind me and turn around: It's Motosport/Xtreme's Andrew McFarlane (who should've been out on the track racing), walking towards me about 3 feet away, looking stunned with a broken visor, missing goggles, and a bleeding cut on his forehead. He stopped, gave me a look that amounted to "I'm SO over this", took his helmet off and dropped it to the ground, then walked away. Andrew's not coming back next year folks, as he's set to race the Australian SX series. It was a bummer it ended this way for one of the nicest and most talented guys in the pits. Good luck down there, mate!

Even more bizarre story: Kyle Chisholm. Ended up 8th in series points, top rider on the Motosport/Xtreme Kawasaki team, 5th in moto two, has nothing at all lined up for next year. Hellloooo? Put this big strong kid on a 450 with great suspension and look out podium!

Nico Izzi! Dang, talk about kicking it up a notch, this kid was showing everyone how it was done out there – FINALLY. One of the strongest amateur riders to come out of Loretta Lynn's in several years, Izzi had shown only bits of what he was capable of thus far this season. Well, at Steel City it looked like something finally clicked for the Michigander as he was suddenly the mover and shaker in the battle behind the leaders. In fact, he battled his way right through Ryan Villopoto and in the process bent RV's shift shaft to the point that he DNF moto one. He said later that he was sick of being pushed around and decided to not just let Ryan by this time, and passed him back. That's the attitude and speed many have been waiting for from Izzi, and this time it carried him to 2nd overall behind his teammate...

RYAN DUNGEY! Dungey was an animal all weekend, and it appeared that his personal goal was to prevent Villopoto from getting that $25,000 Monster bonus by just plain being FAST. Unfortunately, a battle never materialized as RV was never able to make it up to Dungey, who was out front putting down faster lap times than James Stewart both motos. RD28 was awesome, period. Great ride.

We wish we knew what the heck was going through Josh Grant's head throughout the day, but going fast is only part of it, that much seems certain. Between broken bikes, broken bones, bad food and bad luck, this unlikely bad boy just can't seem to keep it together long enough to win anything. It's a bummer, really, since he's a solid starter and can clearly keep just about everyone on the track at bay for at least a few laps. He did just that at Steel City before either breaking his bike or himself (or both) and then under-performing in moto two (although there was probably a reason for that).

Rookie report card: 250's (in order of finish): Wharton, Clarke, Larsen, Hewitt, Hall, Martin.

450's: Albertson, Lamay, Friese, Evans, Whitlow.

Closing this season out wouldn't be complete without a couple of obligatory shots of the 2008 National Champions – James Stewart and Ryan Villopoto.

While JS was unstoppable all day, RV had a nightmarish weekend that he's probably just glad to walk away form uninjured. He's probably out hunting some game right now before a bit of practice before the MXdN and working on his 450 game for the upcoming supercross season (and possibly US Open?). James, on the other hand, is probably taking a bit of time off before MXdN prep and then polishing up some supercross suspension for the US Open and then the Bercy Supercross in Paris, which he's fully committed to riding in. 'Twas a superb season for both riders – dominant and impressive in every sense – particularly for Stewart. James was able to pull an RC, going an almost unimagineable 24-0, winning each time he got on the track and leading well over 300 laps throughout the season. Let's hope we get to see these two racing outdoors in 2009!

That's it for 2008 National coverage by Motocross.com. It's been a great year, and we're glad you made it this far – thanks for reading all the way to the end!