NJ’s Jack Frost Race went down this Saturday at EHTBMX in Egg Harbor. Here’s T.D.’s report….umm..

Dateline: EHTBMX in Egg Harbor, New Jersey. The 18th Annual Jack Frost Classical

18th Annual Jack Frost Race

By: Tom Donahue

After coming back to BMX 4 years ago, I quickly learned that the annual Jack Frost classic at EHT BMX was one of the most anticipated races in the Northeast. This year was no different , with the merger of the ABA and NBL into USA BMX there was definitely chatter among the regulars of the Jack Frost about the influx of all the ABA riders. EHT was ready with open arms to greet them , the track has never looked better. Thanks to Dave Dorofee and crew there was a new gate to go along with the track rebuild. The new snack stand was stocked and ready with chili dogs, French fries ,pretzels and other goodies. The woman inside had asked me where Bill Hayden was saying something about she ordered extra food in anticipation of his arrival , sadly Bill never showed but I am getting ahead of myself , preparation for our trip to EHT begins on Friday.

I started by making sure all 4 of our bikes were in working order,pumped up the tires , checked the brakes and made sure we all had our new USABMX numbers prominently showing on our CRIT PLATES (shameless plug of our sponsor). After the bikes were done it was time to make sure that the helmets were packed along with the chairs , tent and snacks for a long day of racing. By the time I was done it was after 9 p.m. and I had to get the kids off to bed as the 6 a.m. wake up call would be here before we knew it.

The alarm went off at 6 a.m. , I jumped up , got dressed and woke the kids.I find it curious that I cant get them up for school at 8 am but have no problem getting them up 2 hours earlier for a race. The kids helped pack the bikes and we all piled into the Cherokee for that all important WAWA coffee run, 1 hour and 45 minutes later we were pulling up to EHT , the gate was already running for practice and it wasn’t even 9 a.m. , how awesome is that? I am telling you ,there is a whole new vibe down at EHT. Dave Dorofee along with his wife,Kim Feinstein , and Janeen Welsh have that place in tip top BMX shape.

We unpacked the Cherokee and found a good spot to pitch the tent , went over to see Stan Russ to have the bikes inspected( I built them , are they kidding me with an inspection of my work? Don’t they knbow who I am? LOL) Got our inspection stickers and headed up to the starting hill to get some practice laps in. The weather for the first hour of practice could not have been better , then the clouds moved in and the skies opened up. We took shelter under our tent as we awaited word from the announcers tower as to what the outcome would be. We were then told that an hour delay was in effect and hopefully the track would be ready after the delay.

Waiting an hour may have been the best decision of the day as the rain stopped and Craig West started dropping the gates on the first round of motos , there was some confusion as to how the new transfer system would work but CJBMX track director ,Craig West and Kim Feinstein were there to answer any questions that the riders had.

The race action was hot and heavy once the first gate dropped on round 1. Austin Loebe and Victor Behm battled it out in the pro open along with Danny Smith and John Paul Pfeiffer. Austin took home the win in the main. Rob Bandoy jr. looked nothing like his dad as he won his class and gave fits to the other 11 year olds in the open. Aiden Zeallor looked like a rider possessed in the 8 novice class , I think he is still pedaling, he got his first win of his young carreer. Mark Smith took home the win in the 35-40 cruiser class. The 41-45 cruiser class had semi’s with 3 racks of 5 riders, your truly fell over on the gate in my semi and placed 5th so I would be watching the main from the sidelines and I watched Jay Bertles take the win. Evan Eisenhard may be the smoothest rider I have ever seen and he won everything he wanted to. Pete Sylvestro gets the giant gonad award , he was launching everything including the triple and he would take the win in his cruiser class. Rich Farside is a guy that doesn’t seem to age and he took home the win in 46-50 cruiser. The battle of the day may have been in the 16 girls class , Chelsea Moser and Cheyenne Noud battled all day long , I think there were 2 or 3 lead changes in the main. Chelsea took home the win on this day but you have not heard the last of Cheyenne.

There were a lot of teams there today as well, Road kill , Hyper northeast , Chip n Dales , Stampede , Stylin , ECC , Damage Inc. all well represented and Mr. Crit himself Mike Rodrigues was there dropping off jerseys and plates . But let’s not forget to thank our volunteers ,without them none of this would have been possible. Until next time , riders ready , watch the lights !