Novik Gloves Las Vegas Race Report
Matt Lemoine ended the indoor season on a positive note this weekend. Coming into the first turn of the East Main #1, the MotoExtreme Kawasaki backed rider got pushed into the inside and got a tuff block stuck in between his shift lever and case. Having to pull off and fix the problem, he got back on the track in 20th position and started picking off spots as fast as he could. Matt crossed the finish line with a very impressive 6th place finish, earning himself a direct transfer into the East/West Shootout Main. In the Shootout Main Event, Matt finished up in 14th position and 6th position in points for the East Coast Lites Series.
Bruce Rutherford had finished up a great season as well this weekend. Bruce has certainly made a name for himself week after week, and has been known to regularly steal points from factory supported riders this year. Some call Bruce “The Working Man’s Hero” and he lived up to that title this weekend again. He finished up in 11th position in the West Main #2 this weekend in front of Josh Hansen and Nick Paluzzi. In the LCQ Bruce missed the Shootout by one spot, but got on the podium to receive the Asterisk Reward and proudly thanked his sponsors with a huge smile. Bruce missed a few rounds of the series due to a shoulder injury but ended year in 14th.
Tyler Bowers had a good race this weekend and finished up in 11th position. After coming off of a successful Arenacross Series and taking the Championship, it has taken a few rounds to settle into the Supercross Series, but will the young Danville, KY racer has learned a lot this year and looks forward to next season.
As a side note of things that happened in Vegas, Travis Bannister threw us all for a loop when he found out last minute that his mechanic wouldn’t be able to make it to the final round. Travis is a long-time friend of the company and actually was the first rider to wear Novik Gloves in competition two years ago at the Lakewood National. When he mentioned he needed help, one of the owners of Novik was glad to step up and wrench for him along with the help of Tony Tharpe. Two days before, Travis got a new Suzuki and hadn’t been able to spend any time setting it up, but just switched over to his RDP suspension, so the night was a scramble for everyone. Travis finished 16th in his heat and 18th in LCQ.
Novik Gloves is very proud of these four mentioned riders as well as the rest of the riders on their program both professional and amateur. We all can’t wait for the outdoor season to begin and the official Novik team will be announced before opening round.
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