Sarah Judd
A racer competing at the Yucca Chuckers Hell’s Half Acre Race on Feb. 24.
The Yucca Chuckers hosted the Hell’s Half Acre Race on Feb. 24.
One-hundred and thirty-four racers, most from Las Vegas and Lincoln County, gathered at mile marker 56 off of US Highway 93.
The winners of each race were awarded trophies. Pahranagat Valley Volunteer Ambulance Services was on duty in case of injury.
The first race started at 9 a.m. with 85cc, 65 EX, and AMA and Junior Women, which was 16 miles.
Max Pearson, nine, from Alamo, Nevada, has been racing for one-and-a-half years and his dad got him interested in racing.
Pearson related, “I like riding through the sand and passing people. I also have fun racing against my Uncle Malcolm who is my same age. My favorite tracks would have to be the New Orleans Arena and Darkside in Laughlin.”
The second race, which included the Big Bikes, started at 11:30.
Those in AA, EX, and AMA rode the 81 miles involving Loops 1, 18 miles; 2, 45 miles; and 3, 18 miles.
The Novice Bikers participated in just Loops 1 and 2.
Ryan Marshall, from Las Vegas, won first place in the AA Pro Class, along with $150.
Jerett Stewart, 15, from Alamo, Nevada, is on his second year of racing and has always wanted to race since he was little. He finally got his chance to race in Caliente, loved it, and wanted to keep going.
Stewart won first place in the Big Bikes Open Novice category and expressed, “I enjoy riding in general and I like to look back and see how many miles I’ve gone. My favorite tracks are the Grand Prix in Cedar City, Casey Folks in Caliente, and Hell’s Half Acre.”
The third race started at 4 p.m. and included 50cc and 65cc Novice Riders. Braxton Walch, seven, from Alamo, Nevada, is on his second year of racing and started because it was fun. He went to Supercross in Las Vegas and other races that he has enjoyed.
Walch exclaimed, “I love that you can go fast and jump! I like to ride different tracks but my favorite track is Hell’s Half Acre.”
Todd Parker, the Yucca Chucker’s president, explained, “Everything went really good. We had pretty clean and fast racing overall. The race went smooth and we had a good turnout. Working with the BLM went really smooth. The course hadn’t been run on since 2002, so a lot of people hadn’t been on this course before.”
On March 31, at the Caliente Motorcross track, the Yucca Chuckers will be hosting a Grand Prix race.
The first race starts at 9 a.m. and the last race is at 4 p.m. Signups will start at 7 a.m. at the track and you can register throughout the day.
Entry fees are $60 for big bikes and $35 for mini-bikes.
The results from Hell’s Half Acre can be found at http://www.moto-tally.com/MRAN/Results.aspx.
