Saturday - 7:30 PM
The West Hills Honda FMX presented by Toyota Trucks at Mellon Arena- Pittsburgh, PA
Cold weather and the first big snow of the winter could not keep the crowd quiet at Mellon Arena on Saturday night. Performing to a sold out show, the riders were super pumped by the incredible amount of noise made by the hardcore FMX fans.
The night started with a mass swearing in of the young men and women by and for the series sponsor United States Air Force and the singing of the National Anthem by pro Shelby Bell. Check out her new country recordings on her myspace page or www.gordonrecords.net.
The FMX riders were out first for OGIO.com qualifying with Darin Connet using the flip to get the crowd on their feet and into the final with a score of 90.5 points. Young Jack Rowe led into the finals after impressing the judges and the fans with his incredible dexterity on the machine. His brother Jason Rowe (keep checking Coast to Coast on the website for and interview with him) and Greg Hartman slid into the final after both threw down solid runs on the gaps.
The 1-800-Safe Auto final had the crowd anticipating the flip from Connet but were unsure they would get it since Connet struggled on the run. Connet however abandoned his set list, pumped up the crowd and did the flip even though he knew he was not in contention for the win. Jason Rowe went out first though and spent some time on the Toyota Tundra stage which was graced with the West Hills Honda CRF racer. Jack Rowe impressed the crowd with an excellent run that put him in second but no one could knock off the recovering Greg Hartman. Greg followed up last week with an even better set of tricks this week and even still not 100% healed took the win on the night. Watch out for this guy when he gets healthy and stays that way!
The US Smokeless Tobacco Team FMX was fun as always with riders seemingly play riding in what could be the most dangerous event of the night. Darrin Connet and Greg Hartman took the win by impressing the crowd the most.
Keith Wineland from EREonline.com had the crowd going nuts during his extreme moto trials exhibition. If you have never seen trials- you have gotta find a way to do it. We were graced again by the back and front flipping Hell on Wheels BMX Stunt team working the sub box on the floor. Keep an eye out during Super Bowl weekend as they are booked to do a VIP party exhibition and check them out at Hellonwheels.com.
Get to www.freestylemotocrossonline.com today to find out when we are coming to your town and get your tickets quick as many of the recent shows have been selling out. You do not want to miss it!!
Cory Stem.
