Prairie Dogs June 18, 2011
Glen Helen Raceway Devore CA ARTICLE & PHOTOS BY
RODNEY RUTHERFORD Last Dog Standing
raig Hunter has been around racing for close to thirty years and as a main cog in District 37's Prairie Dogs, he has a tendency to differentiate the organi- zation from other clubs with unique events. The HYR Endurance events specifically the 24-Hour race was one of Hunter's brainchild’s, he also directs the Glen Helen round of District 37's Big 6 Grand Prix series. Unwilling to rest on his laurels Hunter once again tore up the envelope, tossed it out the window and came up with an extreme off-road event Prairie Dog style, the "Last Dog Standing" was born. Created with influence from extreme events such as Austria's Erzberg Rodeo, Romania's Romainacs, and the now departed Last Man Standing which was held in Texas.
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Left to right, second place Cory Graffunder, winner Kyle Redmond, and third place Quinn Cody
The Last Dog Standing (LDS) is a three stage event with the first five mile qualifier that attracted well over one- hundred racers incorporating a devilish endurocross sec- tion. The qualifier was won by Steve Argubright with fifty- two proceeding on to the LDS 1.
Kyle Redmond rose to the top winning the eight mile LDS 1 and turning on the time clock for all advancing racers to finish within one hour of his checker crossing to qualify for LDS 2. LDS 1 presented new challenges from the qualifier such as a three foot water hole complete with inflatable toys for those unable to negotiate the plank bridge and take an unexpected swim. There were several in-
stances of racers helping each other which were allow- able as long as the aiding riders were still active in the race.
Prairie Dogs President Craig Hunter interviewing Kevin Norton after he finished ninth overall on a Trials machine
The third stage or LDS 2 had thirty-two riders on the line and two new obstacles in an epic hill climb on the REM track, and an intense single track or as it was called, the waterfall section. Many sections of the course were named, one section dubbed the pipe maze looked very doable, but presented a formidable test with several sections of pipe marked as racers turned back and forth through the pipes and found the lips rather difficult to ride over. Bottle necking happened throughout the day in many sections and was just another obstacle to get through. Twenty-two racers finished LDS 2 with Geico Honda/ Kenda/Cannondale's Redmond winning LDS 2 and the overall. Redmond was not happy with his starts but the experienced extreme enduro competitor analyzed the track between races and used that to his advantage. When the REM hill climb was incorporated in LDS 2 he already had his lines chosen. Following another extreme endurocross competitor, Husqvarna's Cory Graffunder came out of the endurocross section in first, but Redmond was on his case and with his pre-race scouting scorched the hill climb and into the lead. Leaving everyone in his dust, Redmond was reported to have finished the LDS 2 in thirty-two minutes. He felt his race went perfect and will be focusing on the 2011 Endurocross series and selected WORCS races. He is also a featured rider in the recently released "What !F", an action movie with intense clips of all types of riding from desert to the woods. Finishing fourth in the 2010 Geico Endurocross standings, Canadian Graffunder knows these extreme enduro events and has several top five finishes in an assortment of these arduous races, including the Last Man Standing. He was second overall at the LDS, com- menting about that first LDS. "It's good, I think it could definitely be harder, but the first year you don't want to make it too hard and scare people away. Me and Kyle (Redmond) have been to a lot of the big events all over the world and know how hard it can get." Graffunder is cur- rently first in the WORCS Pro 2 class and seemed pleased
Jesse Vanhoy making a successful water crossing over three feet of water. He finished 17th overall.
to have an extreme enduro in California. Like Redmond, he explained to me that his machine was set up for tighter courses and not some of the wide open sections that Glen Helen always features. Look for Graffunder in the 2011 Endurocross series and WORCS racing. He would like to thank Zip-Ty racing, Husqavarna, Axo, Bell Helmets, and all his supporters.
We need to give accolades to the lone racer on a trials bike, Kevin Norton. Running a Gas Gas trials bike, he gave up a lot in top end speed only able to reach
Kyle Redmond finishing up his dominance in the Last Dog Standing
Joe Bianchi about ready to take a bath
speeds just over thirty miles an hour. With over thirty years of trials experience, he casually referred to the course that was devouring racers all day long like Sun- day lunch as rideable, placing ninth overall. The results were based on LDS 1 and LDS 2 placings, please go to
www.prairiedogsmc.com for com- plete results and information on the 2012 LDS.
TOP TEN RESULTS: 1. Kyle Redmond 2. Cory Graffunder 3. Quinn Cody 4. Tiachi Tanaka 5. Jacob
Argubright 6. Colton Udall 7. Justin Jones 8. Kendall Norman 9. Kevin Norton 10. Kurt Samuelson
Tyler Smith making his way through the deceptively difficult pipe maze. he finished nineteenth overall.
www.SS-OffRoadMagazine.com - AUGUST 2011 - S&S OFF ROAD MAGAZINE 39
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