The combination of motocross legends, like Travis Pastrana, and newcomers to the scene, like Jason Lawrence, made Moto X Racing one of the most anticipated events of the weekend.
Heat Races
Throw in some current Supercross racers, an Arenacross champion and the return of Broc Hepler and you have an ecclectic matchup of talent.
Qualifying was split up into four heat races, two riders from each going to the main event. One more LCQ would yield the final two riders to make up a ten rider field.
Heat one saw a ton of action as Travis Pastrana put in a dramatic ride for second. Crashing on the first lap, Pastrana had to close a two straight away gap in the short six-lap heat. On the final lap, Pastrana blew by Antonio Balbi for third and then slammed the door shut on Troy Adams in the final corner for second. Josh Hansen took the win.
Heat two matched up the 250f of Broc Hepler against the big bore 450 of Justin Brayton. Broc got the jump off the gate and held the lead all the way until a last lap miscue allowed Brayton by. Both riders would go onto the main.
Joining those four were: Nick Wey, Jason Lawrence, Gavin Gracyk, Kevin Johnson, Jiri Dostal, and Eric Sorby
Main Event
After logging the fastest lap time in his qualifier, Jason Lawrence was the odds-on favorite to win the main. The first turn had a different plan for J-Law, as he and Gavin Gracyk connected and went down.
The rest of the field, recognizing that the door had just been opened for a potential win, scurried for the front of the pack. Coming out on top was Broc Hepler. His first race back from a thumb injury, Broc showed San Diego that he has not lost any of his speed.
Travis Pastrana, also hung up by Lawrence and Gracyk, found his way back to a fifth place finish. Knowing Travis, anything but a win is tough to swallow, but after not competing for over two years, he had to have felt good about his pace.