It was the final Minimoto USA race of the year, and the Minimoto Junior championship points were close. Evan was in 4th place overall and within striking distance of 3rd, but he would have to win both races and put some distance between himself and Andrew to make it onto the podium at the end of the season. The Texas Devil Racing crew got to Buttownwillow early, trying to get as much time as possible for Evan to spend on the track and get his bike set up just right. That was a good thing, too. Evan’s bike had major carburetor issues on Friday morning, but Stoney helped Miles get that sorted out, and the bike was running great by lunchtime. Then Evan was able to do his thing and get some good practice sessions in before his first race on Saturday afternoon.
There was no qualifying for this round, so Evan was gridded by his championship points in 4th, which was still on the first row. After a messy green flag start (standing on the flag makes it difficult to wave), Evan started, then stopped, then started, and ended up in 4th place. He made two quick passes to get into 2nd and was right on Troy’s back wheel when they red flagged the race at the end of the first lap to do a restart. This time Evan got off cleanly and straight into the lead. Emi was right on his tail the whole race and had a few inside looks, but was never able to get around him.
Evan got the first win that he needed, and he was fired up for his second race on Sunday morning. Another win could put him on the championship podium, and he was chomping at the bit on the starting line. Evan got a monster start and pulled into first place. He was just ripping around the track, and while Troy and Emi were never far behind, they never got close enough to try a pass. Evan got the checkered flag and gave a huge fist pump. He had done everything he could this weekend, and now it was time to wait for the points to be tallied. Evan was on the edge of his seat as they were announcing the Minimoto Junior championship, and when they called his name in 3rd place, he couldn’t wipe the grin off his face. What a way to cap off the season!