Most racers look forward to Memorial Day weekend, but this time Mother Nature threw a monkey wrench into many plans. For motocross racers, it was just another weekend as they race in almost any kind of weather, mud included.

This weekend, the Reno chapter of the Over The Hill Gang hosted the second round of the national series. Whenever invaders from others states arrive it is an "us vs. them" showdown as the locals defend their turf - mud and sand this time.

A few years ago, the Stillmock brothers, Scott and Butch, ruled Fernley and this weekend they showed some of the old fire as they battled a visitor from California.

When the dust settled from the final Master/Expert moto, Scott Stillmock finished first, winning the 30+ Master class and said, "Whoo! The track came in perfectly after all the rain. I've been struggling all weekend and won my first moto yesterday and the second today."

Finishing behind him was Steve Nelson from the Central Valley Club. He won the 38+ Master overall but had to beat Butch Stillmock in order to do it.

"I enjoy racing those guys (The Stillmock brothers) as they ride the way Fernley should be ridden," he said.

In their final moto, Nelson got past Butch Stillmock after he accidentally hit neutral in one corner.

One of the closest finishes of the day was in the final 30+ Expert moto when Reno chapter member Tony Fagundes just beat Jeff Marsh at the line. Both men had battled back and forth all weekend and even swapped the lead during that final race.

After taking the white flag, Marsh grabbed the point with Fagundes managing to get the point back as they raced for the checkered.

After whooping with joy Fagundes said, "I thought I could get the lead back but it was a tough, rough ride. He won the first moto but I should end up with the overall."

Another local doing well was Sparks racer Robert Campbell, who took the 45+ overall victory and won three of the division's motos.

"Well, I had a bad first moto today so I wanted to get the hole shot, put the metal down and just go," he said.

Michael Blochowiak from Reno scored another close finish when he edged Blaise Haro at the finish line. Once again it was a last moto, race long battle that only ended at the checkered flag.

"It was real close and I saw him in other corner but I didn't know where he (Haro) was after I got back from," Blochowiak said, "The track is pretty smooth for Fernley and it got fast and faster every lap."

Another happy winner was local Scott Chick, who got a break when fellow chapter member Scott Andrew went down while trying to catch him.

It was a long, and sometimes wet, weekend for the racers, as they had to ride in two motos Saturday as well as a pair on Sunday. When the final checkered waved on Sunday the locals won eight divisions, two where they took the top three positions, with the Sierra chapter taking six class victories followed by the South chapter with four and Valley with two wins.

•Rattlesnake Raceway in Fallon was also slated for a two-day show but the rains shortened Saturday's program after the heat races and three of the mains were run.

One of the wildest events was the slightly shortened IMCA Modified feature. Robert Miller jumped into the lead with Shawn Natenstedt hot on his heels.

Lap after lap, they tore around the bullring track until Natenstedt began to fade after the halfway mark. Taking his place and putting pressure on the fleeing Miller was Dustin Jenks, who was on the leader's back bumper during the final laps.

With two to go, there was a caution right when the drizzle turned into a steady rain. This basically turned the oval into an ice rink and the officials checkered the race two laps before the 30 that were scheduled.

After covering his car Miller said, "I knew it was probably going to be close. We did a special dry slick set up but it worked and the car was flawless. I need to thank my car owner Denny Robblee from Elko and Buzz Allen, who takes care of the motors and drive line. Sunday is my birthday so it's my last win as a 43-year-old."

The 318 Modified main was a bit of an upset, as Jim Turner didn't run the way he usually does. Taking the victory was a delighted Glenn Lee.

"That was the best my car has handled in two years," he said.

The only other main that could be run was for the Bombers and Brandon Thunder was able to best Clint Baglin for that victory.

Sunday was going to start with the three Saturday night mains that had to be cancelled then the second day's program was to be run. By 7 p.m. Sunday the track was being dried out as officials struggled to complete the entire program.

•Next week's racing program will be a bit less ambitious.

Top Gun Raceway will host two days of drag racing with a 9:30 a.m. start to timed runs. Saturday night, starting at 6 p.m., The Western All Stars Dirt Late Models, along with the Pro and Mini stocks, visit American Valley Speedway at Quincy, Calif.

OTHER RACING NEWS

•NASCAR's Las Vegas trio was in action again this weekend. Saturday afternoon Brendan Vaughan didn't do so well as he started 20th and finish 30th in the Craftsman Truck race at Mansfield, Ohio.

Both Busch brothers were at Lows Motor Speedway for the weekend with Kyle Busch winning Saturday evening's Nationwide event. On Sunday, in the Coke Cola 600 Kyle Busch fought electrical problems and finished third while Kurt Busch ended up 16th after the 400-lap race.

RESULTS

•Rattlesnake Raceway - May 24**

Bombers:

Heat Winner - Brandon Thunder

Main (15 Laps) - 1. Brandon Thunder, 2. Clint Baglin, 3. Bill Agard

318 Modifieds:

Heat Winner - Duncan Lee

Main (10-Laps) - 1. Glenn Lee, 2. Jim Turner, 3. Duncan Lee

IMCA Modifieds:

Heat Winners - #1 Shawn Natenstedt, #2 Robert Mille

Main (28 Laps run) - 1. Robert Miller, 2. Justin Jenks, 3. Shawn Natenstedt, 4. Mardi Cuthbert, 5.

Gen X:

Heat Winners - #1 Cody Thunder, #2 Justin Johnson

Hobby Stocks:

Heat Winners - #1 Jeff Foster, #2 Shane Ramthun, #3 Royce Goetz

Pro Stocks:

Heat Winners - #1 Jesse Gonzalez, #2 Rob Grace

** - Full results unavailable at press time.

•Fernley Motocross Track - Sunday, May 25

Over the Hill Gang Nationals - Round 2

52+:

- (Beg.) 1. Jeff Petron, 2. Chuck Nerviani, 3. Rick Helms

- (Nov.) 1. Steve Edmonston, 2. Billy Budd, 3. Ryan Grosz

- (Intr.) 1. Dave Harrell, 2. Mike Ellis*, 3. Gary Cox

- (Exp.) 1. Steve Law, 2. Larry Brown*, 3. Bob Clark

45+:

- (Beg.) 1. John O'Neill*, 2. David Dressler, 3. Don Ryan

- (Nov.) 1. Scott Chick*, 2. Scott Andrew*, 3. Mike Walsh*

- (Intr.) 1. Robert Campbell*, 2. Jeff Stallings, 3. Eric Watt

- (Exp.) 1. Rob Brock, 2. Gary Plaatje, 3. Gilbert Chick*

- (Mstr.) 1. Randy Blair, 2. Randy Law

38+:

- (Beg.) 1. David McCormick, 2. Jared Reaves, 3. Tony Schwartz

- (Nov.) 1. Greg Anderson, 2. Chris Dyer*, 3. A.J. Petuya

- (Intr.) 1. John Lombardo, 2. Matt Dawson, 3. Jim Wentz

- (Exp.) 1. Kon Baur, 2. Robert Roehlk, 3. Chuck Bennett

- (Mstr.) 1. Butch Stillmock*

30+:

- (Beg.) 1. Kelly Hilbert*, 2. Ward Alexandro, 3. Jared Jones*

- (Nov.) 1. Michael Blochowiak*, 2. Bryan Hammond*, 3. Blaise Haro

- (Intr.) 1. Chad Olsen*, 2. Jason Shakespeare*, 3. Todd Clark*

- (Exp.) 1. Tony Fagundes*, 2. Jeff Marsh, 3. Steve Slaney

- (Mstr.) 1. Steve Nelson, 2. Scott Stillmock*, 2. Aaron Mattson

Women:

- (Beg.) 1. Linda Thomas, 2. Connie Talbot, 3. Felicia Clark*, 4. Valerie Delligatti*, 5. Denise Ponsock*

- (Support A) 1. Shami Potratz

- (Support B) 1. Erin Parson, 2. Haley Beyer, 2. Shami Potratz

Suppport A:

- (Intr.) 1. Mikey Chick, 2. Jimmy Bennett, 3. Ryan O'Sullivan

- (Exp.) 1. Les Soito, 2. Tony Fagundes, 3. Rick Wade

Support B:

- (Beg.) 1. Zach Cox, 2. Scott Chick, 3. Kort Johnson

- (Nov.) 1. Preston Joy, 2. Anthony Walsh, 3. Tyler Pizorno

Under 100 Support: 1. Anthony Walsh, 2. Corey Matthews, 3. Trevor Walsh

* - Reno OTHG Members