Mr. GPS Racing, Minnesota native, George Hodkinson, has been fielding an Arenacross team since 1999. This year, he teamed up with Storm Lake Honda out of Iowa and have has had his most successful season to date. Wisconsin’s Brad Modjewski, had scored a podium finish at the last round and was looking to move into the top 10 in the championship points. Iowa’s Kurt McCabe, had also visited the podium a few times and was a regular qualifier for the main events. Minnesota’s John Dehn was adjusting to his first season on the circuit, but had qualified for several mains and had come close a number of times. The non-Midwesterners on the team were Arizona’s Michael Blose, who had won several 250 Mains since his mid-season entry into the championship, and his younger brother, Chris.

There was also some drama in the title chase. Going into this tenth round of eleven, Shane Bess had moved into second, three in front of Tom Hofmaster, and 78 points behind Babbit Kawasaki’s Josh Demuth. With 160 still up for grabs, this would normally be a safe lead for the multi-time Arenacross champion, but he was riding with badly injured hand, and not at his usual pace, finishing in the top ten only once at the previous round. Thrown into the mix was the return of Bess’s Fun City Suzuki teammate, Josh Woods, who was coming back from an injury and had shown that he has the speed to win whenever he’s on the track. His eleven main event wins coming in to this round was the most of anyone in the series.

Friday night saw a rather modest crowd witness close racing, with riders pushing it to the edge and beyond. Team BooKoo Engery Honda’s, Tiger Lacy, was out front early in the 250 Main, but Illinois native, Hofmaster, moved his Team Sano Yamaha past, with Michael Blose close behind. Blose went down, moving Bess and Woods, coming from mid-pack starts, into second and third. Woods was clearly the fastest rider through the whoop section, but went down hard in them and dropped out. Bess closed, but Hofmaster held on for the win. Damien Plotts put his Team Babbage Kawasaki on the last step of the podium. Demuth rode a steady race, taking advantage of the other people’s mistakes, to finish fifth.

Lacey lead the way again in the 450 Main, but Woods went by in the whoops to quickly take the lead. The lead would not last, as Woods crashed hard again, knocking himself out of contention. Bess was there to take the lead to the checkered. Lacey held on for second with Hofmaster next. Demuth, who had to qualify through the semi, had a poor start, but rode steady once again to climb to sixth and gain valuable championship points.

The GPS riders had a mixed night on Friday. McCabe and Modjewski qualified for both mains. McCabe hit the ground a few times and Modjewski fought through to 11th and 9th finishes, which enabled him to move into tenth in the standings. Chris Blose, who was only riding in the 250 class, won his semi, and finished 10th in the main. His brother, Michael, finished 15th after his crash. John Dehn, who had great starts all night, was in a qualifying position in his 450 class semi, when he came under pressure in the last turn of the last lap and went down.

It was time to do it all over again on Saturday. The crowd was much larger, and reportedly, one of the better attended races of the series. Before the races even started, Demuth ran into more problems. If riding with his hand was not already bad enough, he crashed hard during practice, taking a handlebar to the face. He was given clearance to ride, but it was obvious that it was very painful. Having previously stated how important it was for him to win this championship for his dad and for his first year team, he postponed his date with the surgeon, and went out to race.

The 250s were once again the first main event of the evening. Bess was out front halfway through the first lap, but had Woods and Michael Blose right behind him. Woods quickly made his way into the lead with Blose keeping him in sight the whole race. Bess lost touch with the leaders and came under attack late in the race from Demuth, barely holding him off for the last podium spot.

Woods made it easier on himself in the 450 Main, taking the holeshot and running uncontested the entire race. Lacey and Hofmaster battled over second most of the race with Lacey ending up with the position at the end. Bess had a poor start and climbed to fifth, unable to take full advantage of the tenth place finish of Demuth. Demuth’s gritty rides at the Target Center earned him a 61-point margin over Bess going into the last round, allowing him to clinch the championship the following Friday in Tulsa.

For Team GPS, Michael Blose was on the podium in the 250 class. Modjewski finished 11th in both mains, tightening his grip on the tenth in the standings. McCabe had problems in the 250 class and failed to qualify, but came back with a solid 6th in the 450 class. Chris Blose improved to 5th in the 250 class and was in the battle for the last podium spot the whole race. Dehn continued to get good starts and was tantalizingly close to qualifying several times, but didn’t quite make it. Dehn would end the season on a better note, qualifying for two mains the next weekend.

Of the other local riders, James Polvony was the only one to make any mains. After barely getting into one main on Friday, he picked up the pace on Saturday, advancing to both mains directly from his heats, and qualifying for the Dash for Cash. Other riders giving it a shot were Joe Mueller, Bruce Dehn, Erik Kowalik, Jesse Kangas, Nick Jackson, Nathan Rosso, Matt Ahlers, Craig Radle, Brandon Haas, Frank Jackson, and Robert Kohl.

Overall the weekend had some ups and downs for the GPS team and many of the title contenders, but the unpredictability was a plus for the spectators. Most thought the close proximity to the action and the ability to see the entire track from nearly any vantage point were both positive things for viewing the action. With any luck, Minneapolis will become a regular stop for the BooKoo circus.

For high-quality photos of this event, check out MNRacing.com.

Results:
Friday - 250 Main:
1.Tom Hofmaster (Yam); 2.Shane Bess (Suz); 3.Damien Plotts (Kaw); 4.Tiger Lacey (Hon); 5.Josh Demuth (Kaw); 6.Brad Ripple (Kaw); 7.Brad Hagseth (Kaw); 8.Colt Humphrey (Yam); 9.Riley Kurkosy (Hon); 10.Chris Blose (Hon); 11.Brad Modjewski (Hon); 12.Brady Sharp (Hon); 13.Kyle Calderini (Kaw); 14.Michael Blose (Hon); 15.Josh Woods (Suz); 16.Kurt McCabe (Hon);

Friday - 450 Main:
1.Shane Bess (Suz); 2.Tiger Lacey (Hon); 3.Tom Hofmaster (Yam); 4.Brad Hagseth (Kaw); 5.Damien Plotts (Kaw); 6.Josh Demuth (Kaw); 7.Colt Humphrey (Yam); 8.Brad Ripple (Kaw); 9.Brad Modjewski (Hon); 10.Cameron Lansing (Suz); 11.Kurt McCabe (Hon); 12.Tyler Bright (Suz); 13.James Povolny (Suz); 14.Kyle Calderini (Kaw); 15.Travis Bannister (Hon); 16.Josh Woods (Suz);

Friday - DFC:
1.Tom Hofmaster (Yam); 2.Josh Woods (Suz); 3.Tiger Lacey (Hon); 4.Brad Ripple (Kaw); 5.Brad Hagseth (Kaw); 6.Shane Bess (Suz);

Saturday - 250 Main:
1.Josh Woods (Suz); 2.Michael Blose (Hon); 3.Shane Bess (Suz); 4.Josh Demuth (Kaw); 5.Chris Blose (Hon); 6.Damien Plotts (Kaw); 7.Tom Hofmaster (Yam); 8.Brad Hagseth (Kaw); 9.Brad Ripple (Kaw); 10.James Povolny (Suz); 11.Brad Modjewski (Hon); 12.Colt Humphrey (Yam); 13.Tyler Bright (Suz); 14.Cameron Lansing (Suz); 15.Tanner Reidman (Suz); 16.Tiger Lacey (Hon);

Saturday - 450 Main:
1.Josh Woods (Suz); 2.Tiger Lacey (Hon); 3.Tom Hofmaster (Yam); 4.Brad Ripple (Kaw); 5.Shane Bess (Suz); 6.Kurt Mccabe (Hon); 7.Damien Plotts (Kaw); 8.Brad Hagseth (Kaw); 9.Casey Hinson (Hon); 10.Josh Demuth (Kaw); 11.Brad Modjewski (Hon); 12.Cameron Lansing (Suz); 13.James Povolny (Suz); 14.Travis Bannister (Hon); 15.Brady Sharp (Hon); 16.Colt Humphrey (Yam);

Saturday - DFC:
1.Josh Woods (Suz); 2.Tom Hofmaster (Yam); 3.Tiger Lacey (Hon); 4.Kurt Mccabe (Hon); 5.James Povolny (Suz); 6.Damien Plotts (Kaw);

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