Palmer & Lewis Top the Field at Monster/Hangtown MX Crossover
Palmer, who’s backed by Monster Energy for his snowboard racing, was dominant in both motos at the pro MX track just outside Sacramento, pulling the holeshot and winning the opening moto, then tracking down BMXer Aaron Cooke (who holeshot the second moto) early and cruising to a seemingly effortless 1-1 finish against a field of pro skiers, snowboarders, skateboarders, BMX and MTB riders and numerous other standout athletes from the world of action sports.
“Always good seeing all the guys out on dirt bikes,” said Palmer, adding that he was a bit disappointed that last year’s media class champ, David Pingree, didn’t show up. “I brought the 450 and was going to put it to Ping. Next year.” Note: Palmer won last year’s Monster Energy MX Crossover @ Hangtown on a two-stroke 250cc bike!
More of a ‘celebration of motocross’ than it is a race, the wide range of athletes were digging the action – as were the numerous MX industry media members that showed up to contest the Java Monster Media Throw Down, including Dirt Rider editor Jimmy Lewis (1st place), the mag’s web guy, Pete Peterson (2nd place), along with Suzuki’s PR man Kobe Iseri (3rd), with Cycle News’ Jean Turner being the media’s top woman placer.
“The Monster Energy MX Crossover at Hangtown is a mandatory event for the Dirt Rider staff,” said Lewis who, along with Palmer, scored an Alien Workshop skateboard for the class-winning effort. “The Dirt Diggers do a great job hosting this event and we look forward to it every year.”
Palmer’s pro-level abilities notwithstanding, riding levels at the Monster Energy MX Crossover @ Hangtown varied from A and B-level experienced MX racers such as snowboarders Chris Roach, Matt Goodwill and Jim Moran, along with skiers Daron Rahlves, K.C. Deane, and Gunnar Newquist, down to literally beginner MX racers like Monster Energy’s own Nate Holland (four-time Winter X Boardercross gold medalist) and U.S. Open snowboard great Tyler Emond.
“I was coming down (from Truckee, Calif.) with a buddy’s bike in the back of my truck – not sure if it was going to hold up or not,” said Holland. “So I pulled into a bike shop and bought a new Honda (CRF250R). And I had an absolute blast on it this weekend.” Note: Emond did the same thing, purchasing a new Kawasaki KX250F right before the Monster Energy MX Crossover @ Hangtown.
Holland, who’s used to being on top of the podium as one of the world’s premier boardercross racers and USA’s top hope at Olympic gold in Vancouver, B.C., next winter, epitomizes the attitude at Monster Energy’s MX Crossover @ Hangtown. Pretty much rolling through the finish in last place, Holland was charged up and couldn’t wait to bench race back in the pits with his fellow motocross racers. “This is like the sixth time I’ve been on a motocross track,” said Holland. “The first time was last year at this race.”
Rounding out the podium in the athlete class were triathlete and veteran motocrosser Kevin Barda (2nd) and 18-year-old skier Jake Novotny, who was racing his first Monster Energy MX Crossover @ Hangtown, in 3rd. “This was all pretty cool,” said Novotny. “I remember seeing a lot of these guys (snowboarders) in the videos when I was growing up. Then I get on the starting line and I’m looking over at Rahlves. How rad is that?”
The list of racers at the ninth annual Monster Energy MX Crossover @ Hangtown athlete include:
Athlete/Bike # Sport
1.) Nate Holland (#234) Snowboarder
2.) Aaron Cooke (#90) BMX
3.) Gunnar Newquist (#280) Skier
4.) Matt Goodwill (#176) Snowboarder
5.) Shawn Sterken (#609) Snowboarder
6.) Jay Grube (#442) Kayaker
7.) Sam Shallow (#11) Skier
8.) K.C. Deane (#657) Skier
9.) Ryan McDonald (#441) Snowboarder
10.) Delene Dippel (#102) Snowmobiler
11.) Kevin Barda (#852) Skier
12.) Jim Moran (#182) Snowboarder
13.) Daron Rahlves (#133) Skier
14.) Igor Reoutt (#781) Wakeboarder
15.) Chris Roach (#255) Snowboarder
16.) Monty Roach (#428) Snowboarder
17.) Keith Hutchins (#688) Snowmobiler
18.) Aaron “AV” Vincent (#528) Snowboarder
19.) Trevor Riccoli (#977) Skier
20.) Jimmy Garcia (#30) BMX
21.) Bryan Noe (#47) Snowboarder
22.) Shaun Palmer (#555) Everything
23.) Wade Speyer (#680) Skateboarder
24.) Casey Kelly (#909) Entertainer
25.) Deidra Dipple (#105) Snowmobiler
26.) Jake Novotny (#124) Skier
27.) Tyler Emond (#11) Snowboarder
28.) Roff Carter (#134) Skier
29.) Cameron Zink (#26) Skier
30.) Mark Silva (#27) MTB
Also, this year’s Monster/Hangtown Crossover competition benefitted and drew attention to the Athlete Recovery Fund (ARF). A 501 (c)3 non-profit corporation, ARF was founded in 2007 by Aaron Cooke to provide professional athletes in BMX, FMX and skateboarding with financial support to assist the recovery process following a severe injury by granting funds for rehabilitation, equipment, long-term disability and educational scholarships. Both of this year’s Throttle Jockey/Graphics Lab event banners were signed by all the Monster/Hangtown MX Crossover athletes during Friday afternoon’s autograph session, part of “FanFest,” and will be auctioned – with 100-percent of the proceeds going directly to the ARF. Those interested in bidding on these unique action sports items can visit www.mycharitablelife.com The banners will be up for bid in about a week.
For more information on ARF link to: www.athleterecoveryfund.com
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MTB, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. All the guys racing the 2008 Monster Energy MX Crossover @ Hangtown, featuring the Java Monster Media Throw Down are diggin’ ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com