One week, that’s all we have left. One glorious weekend until the epic Summer of ’16 comes to an end. Thankfully, the Sweneys and some other rad people ensured that SRAC’s final race of 2016 was one to be remembered. The track, as usual, was absolutely dialed all weekend, and the racing that transpired on it was just the same. When Tyler and myself began to reflect on the year that was in 2016, we discussed people that we thought had really differentiated themselves on the season. Maybe it wasn’t all due to them dominating, but reaching serious milestones and improving throughout the season. So yeah, we do aim to give people who dominate a little love, but we also want to give notice to the people who have continued to step their shit up. So here’s to you gladiators of the gate drop, you modern time knights, dawning your horses of steel, and dropping the hammer. Showing us all that the grind is what creates greatness, it doesn’t just happen because you wish it to. Our final StandOuts for SRAC are (drumroll, please):
Carter Daughtery
It’s rare to find a person who’s as rad as Carter Daughtery is. Carter is a stellar artist, dope human and, most importantly for the purposes of this article, the girl rips on a dirt bike. Like she hauls mail like she’s mother friggin’ the United States Post Office. Carter enjoyed a good amount of success in the Women’s Pro class throughout the course of the season. She opened the season at WildRat by banging bars with some of the faster dudes in the state in CollegeBoy, but had a rough go in Women’s Pro. At the last two races, however, Carter won every moto in Women’s Pro and competed admirably in Open B. We wanted to give her a massive shoutout for her performance at Loretta’s as well. Racing amidst the fastest ladies in the Country, Carter was fighting for Top 10 performances, and lookin’ steezy while doing it. Hats off to you Carter on one helluva year, all while finishing up your education.
Jack Jamison
We’ve mentioned Jack Jamison’s name a few times throughout the season, but we definitely haven’t given him his fair due, especially when you consider the stellar year that he’s enjoyed. He hasn’t raced much SRAC; in fact, this past weekend was the first SRAC sanctioned race he’s competed in this season. But the results for him we’re the same as always: as he is a staple in the Top 3. I can almost hear the praises of Ralph Sheheen raining on his “consistency”. Seriously though, he has been ultra quick and uber consistent all year in 65 10-11 and 7-11. It’s all the more impressive when you consider that he’s on the younger side of his age group. In his last few races, RMXA included, he has won several motos and continued to prove himself as one of Colorado’s brightest young rippas. Way to go, Jackison (clever combination of first and last name, so crafty).
Dwight Catalano
Local legends come in several forms, there’s the Andrew Shortys of the world, the Derek Andersons, the Rob Imondis, but when we mention Dwight Catalano, what comes to mind? Dwight has been at this gig since before you were chilling in your diapers, watching Sesame Street or whatever the hell you were watching. In fact, he’s been at this so long that there’s a good chance your Dad was in his diapers when Dwight first started blazing trails (quite literally), throughout Colorado. Dwight, now in his later years, is still racing all the time, and the dude’s still got it. He’s with the Super Seniors, and he’s a mainstay in the Top 5. He’s also pretty involved with some of the local racers, helping them develop into great racers. Keep it up, Dwight.
Bronson McClure
Friggin’ Bronson. He’s just fast, how many other ways can we say someone’s fast? He just is. He’s officially made his leap to the bigger bikes and is just poised for big things in the realm of dirt bikes. Bronson held his own against some of the quickest young amateurs in Colorado all afternoon. Bronson snagged a few 2nds in the first motos of SchoolBoy 2 and 2-Stroke Non-Pro. His afternoon didn’t really look the same as he had a DNF and an 11th. Nonetheless, he showed exactly what he’s capable of when it comes to raw speed and ability. Bronson’s trajectory is looking up heading into 2017.
Mikey Sweney
What better way to make your pro debut, than at your legitimate hometrack on a championship weekend? Yeah, it’s highly possible that there isn’t a better way. Especially when you pull a holeshot, lead several laps and battle with your best bud, who also happens to be one of the fastest kids in the state. All of those things combined add up to a pretty killer debut for Mikey. All of us we’re anxiously awaiting his debut, as we all knew he had major speed but didn’t know how he would transition; well, he definitely salted away those doubts with his results this past weekend. Mikey Sweney is trending up for 2017.
Wrap-Up
There you have it, are you happy? I mean hopefully you are, otherwise we’re not doing our job. Then again, if these posts were something that made you angry, there’s still a possibility you would read them just so you could troll in the comments. Anyway, it was another great weekend spent in the dirt for the Colorado Motocross community. We definitely feel fortunate to have a platform where we can give dudes and ladies recognition for their hard-work. And we thank you for continuing to support us on social media and beyond. This really is just the beginning of something great, so thanks to all of you for being the OG supporters of what could be the next big thing in motocross media.