After finishing third in the first two motos of the 250 Pro Sport class of the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, Landon Gibson picked up the pace in the final race to win the moto and finish within one point of earning the championship.
Gibson became the third winner in three motos in a class that often sends amateur riders onto SMX Next glory, and Gibson won with aplomb, leading all 13 laps of the race and finishing more than 15 seconds ahead of the field.
Gibson had momentum from an Open Pro victory the day before and he surged from the gate with the early lead with the 250 Pro Sport Moto 2 winner, Carson Wood, in pursuit.
Wood kept Gibson in sight for the opening laps after fighting off a challenge by his teammate, Jesson Turner. Wood kept the gap under two seconds for a while, posted the fastest lap of the afternoon on Lap 4, until a bobble on Lap 7 caused him to lose contact.
Moto 1 winner, Ryder Malinoski, had to overcome a slow start that placed him ninth on the opening lap. He moved into fifth on Lap 6 and found the final podium position on Lap 9 when he completed a pass on Max Shane.
Malinoski needed that position. With his late-race pass on Shane, he clung to a one-point advantage in the championship over Gibson. Wood finished third in class with results of fourth, first, and second.
Shane held on to finish fourth in the moto and was fourth in class standings.
Kade Johnson rounded out the top five in Moto 3 of the 250 Pro Sport category. With progressively better finishes of seventh, sixth, and fifth, Johnson was scored fifth overall.
