Emig Reported To Try And Qualify For Loretta Lynn'

[Sawblade]

I received this information by e-mail from a local board. I trust the source it came from, so I'm posting it here.

Tony Alessi, Mike and Jeff's father, reports that Jeff Emig was at Cedar City Ama Lorreta Lynn Quallifier......................apparently entering the vet class.

I watched Jeff grow up racing in Missouri. Even though his professional career was ended early, its good to see him on a bike again.

 

[JuliusPleaser]

That's what I needed. . .another reason to go to Loretta's his year. :cool:

I wonder if I can find a 'fro wig somewhere?

 

[super rat]

I'm not sure but if LL is a cash payout he can't race it. I'm sure the Quallifier payed for the 30A. I don't know but I thought he had some type of carer insurance so he can not race for money anymore, maybe he can just refuse the pay out. I would love to see him and Tichnor go at it but I don't think Ronnie is riding much any more.

 

[dirt bike dave]

Didn't Emig race Over 25 Expert last year, the day before the national at Washougal? If memory serves me correctly, he won and was still very fast despite the injuries which ended his pro career.

 

[crkid]

From what I heard, he ain't too bad in the woods either. I wish we could see him in the mix with the other big names in the 250 class.

 

[Senior KX Rider]

Originally posted by Julius Pleaser
That's what I needed. . .another reason to go to Loretta's his year. :cool:

I wonder if I can find a 'fro wig somewhere?

Better round up that wig and get your suitcase packed JP :) :)


from racer-x


June 11, 2002

Jeff Emig qualifies for National!

Four-time AMA National and Supercross Champion Jeff Emig has qualified! No, not for any pro national or anything; as a past champion, he would have an automatic bid to every round of the AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. National MX Championships. Instead, 'Fro is going old-school, back to Loretta Lynn's for the 21st Annual AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships. Emig qualified in two classes, going 1-1 in the Vet 30+ division and 2-2 in the 250/Open A Pro Sport class. (Tim Weigand got the overall with a 3-1; Michael Blose was the first moto winner.) Emig will be racing Loretta Lynn's for the first time since 1989, when he won the 250 A Modified class.

"Those kids were a lot more aggressive than I thought they would be!" laughed Emig. "Heck, half of them still have braces." As he did 13 years ago, Jeff plans on spending most of his week at the game room.

 

[94ruck]

Jeff qualified on a bone stock brand new never been started Kawasaki. He had to ride his butt off to runwith the new school boys. This froma source very close to jeff.

 

[mxneagle]

Does anyone else think that is sucks! Here I am a vet B guy who would love to go back to LL's but now with the rule changes I'd be running against the likes of Emig, Bowen and I heard possibly Ward (thats Jeff). Heck they might as well call it the Loretta Lynns Pro nationals.

 

[osheen]

I agree. Those guys racing against us mortals is like a bully at school picking on the nerds. And really, what sense of accomplishment did Emig get from coming to washougal last year to totally decimate the 30+A and 25+A/B class on amateur day? All he did is put two well deserving working class fellas in second place. Also, the 30+ A paid money. Sounds like insurance fraud to me if he can't race for money anymore. His whole deal is a sham. He didn't have a career ending injury to claim on. His career was pretty much finished anyway. Why then doesn't a rider, say McGrath, get an insurance policy against "getting old and not being competitive enough to race with the front runners anymore". Emig just worked "the system". I say if he cashed in, then he shouldn't be on the track at all.

Sorry to vent............

Those guys ought to be ashamed to make us race for 6th place, or whatever.

 

[BunduBasher]

You know, if a guy hurts his back and is unable to work, gets a huge insurance payout, and is then caught having fun at the beach, he not only has to pay back the money, but gets charged for fraud as well.

As much as I like Jeffro, this whole deal sucks to me.

 

[Zoomer]

Maybe he lost his insurance $, and thats why he's racing

 

[Jasle]

Well its all speculation about his settlement. Unless you have the facts don't bag on the guy. I am sure he is within the limits of his settlement. I somehow don't think he's stupid enough to throw the $$$ away racing if he really isn't supposed to.
We were at Cedar City for the qualifier and it just looked like Emig was having fun. Isn't that why we all ride anyway??? Yeah he wasn't trying too hard but I gaurantee that John Tomac stepped up his game to try and run with Emig. (BTW John won Loretta's last year) He wasn't whining about a fast guy in the field.
I'll give an example that I think is fitting. Our 65cc riders here in Az were semi fast but no one on the national level. During the winter Eli Tomac comes out to ride here instead of the snowy CO. Eli totally crushes everyone by more than 30sec even lapping almost the entire field. He does this about 3 times and the 60 riders figure out they are not fast. Instead of whining about it they step it up. The 4th time Eli comes out he has to race to win. He even dropped one moto to a local guy here. Its better for everyone!
You don't really learn much running out front all the time.
I say quit running for 6th and get fast enough to run with him. He is over 30. Its not like he's 25 and running in the over 30 class.

Jason

 

[slideways11]

I always thought the Vet class was an open class, kind of like a seniors tour. I dont hear any of the pro riders crying about Doug Dubach roosting them, well maybe they are crying , you just dont hear it. I think it is great that guys like Emig still have enough intrest in the sport to show up and race with the vets.

 

[zeroo]

I'd gladly take second behind him if I could. :D I'm glad he's racing.

 

[super rat]

Tomac won the vet B at LL last year, there is a BIG difference between vet A and vet B trust me I know first hand. The thing that sucks is there is no vet B any more at LL. To say to a normal guy to just step it up and learn to go Emigs pace is silly, Emig (or anyother top ten national guy) is a freak of nature. Thats like telling Emig to go get a moutain bike and learn to go as fast as Tomac, it won't happen.

 

[Jasle]

I guess I am not saying totally pick it up and actually expect to beat him. I am saying that with a fast guy in your class you can follow him around and learn from him. While he's on the track. Someone was complaining about riding for 6th. You can look at it two ways. Get your first place with no one fast and be the "cream of the Crap" or take 6th and brag one of the guys in your class was Jeff Emig.
During he qualifiers Jeff was fast but Blose and Clevenger gave him a run for his money. Now neither of them rides 30+ though.
I look at it like this. If I was at a local court playing some B-Ball and Jordan came up and asked to play 1 on 1 i would accept knowing full well that he would whup me silly. But what I could learn from that situation would be invaluable. Thats what we have with Emig riding. Its not often that us mortals get to ride with the MX gods! We ought to relish it. It was a treat to watch Emig ride.
Jason

 

[Anssi]

Juha Salminen sometimes races our club MX races when he's in Finland. I didn't complain when I "had" to gate next to him. Of course he lapped me twice in the race but at least I could hang with him for one straightaway.

He also sometimes comes around the local sandpit. It's slightly surreal when you are riding this small patch of sand in the middle of the forest all by yourself and maybe 2 buddies and a four-time (seven if you include the overalls) enduro world champ turns around to get used to his new bike and acts like just a regular guy (except running around you in circles while standing up).

Having spent some quality time as a kid at Ruskeasanta I'm not easily impressed, but Juha definitely has the right stuff. He reminds me of the great Bayle with a definite trial influence from his(Salminen's) younger days.

 

[mxneagle]

My complaint was more around the new class structure at LL's. To think that I'm actually gonna learn something from racing againt Emig is kind of silly. I might see him 3 times, Pushing my bike to the line and a green (i'm assuming) blur the 2 times he laps me. I don't even want to that fast! Like I said it's the AMATEUR NATIONALS and at this pace there will be as many A classes as the other classes put together. I'm not quite sure why they made the changes to the structure but I was under the opinion that when it was announced everyone there thought it was a bad idea. (I think it was at the awards banquet or something)

 

[osheen]

How are you going to learn anything from emig when he is literally "gone" 3 corners into the race?. Face it, when you are 30+ years old and have been racing for most of your life, you are done learning. You'll probably never get any faster. Probably get slower. I just think having a bunch of ex-national pro riders at an amateur national event is going against the spirit of the rules. Like I said before, how can Emig get any sense of accomplishment by creamating a bunch of grass roots working class guys?

So all you guys that think it is Ok wouldn't mind if Ricky Carmichael showed up at your track and raced 250 Beginner?

 

[Jasle]

>So all you guys that think it is Ok wouldn't mind if Ricky Carmichael showed >up at your track and raced 250 Beginner?

250 beginner is a lot different than 30+ Aclass. If he signed up for 30+ C I would see a problem. 30+ A is the highest class. If someone cannot compete then ride in a lower class. I will agree that the class restructuring this year kinda sucks. This is not Emigs fault. You must take in to consideration this. He is 30+. He had a career ending injury and is no longer as fast as the other "PRO's"
We'll have to see. If he smokes everyone at Loretta's but 1-2 laps then its a mismatch but I have a feeling that there are some fast 30+ guys out there.
What would he gain from smokin a bunch of Amatures? How about a great weekend at the track haning out with your wife/gilrfriend and some friends? Racing here and there but being on a bike not at home sniveling about how you wrecked your bike when the throttle stuck. The guy has lived on a motorcycle his whole life. All he knows is the track. He is having fun at the track. Striving for personal excellence. Not being a lump like 75% of america. For some people racing is a high. the thrill of competition...Someone always raises the bar for others to try and reach it. Winners see the bar raise and they step up and go for the next level...The others well...don't.
If you make it to loretta's your in the top 5% of MX in whatever catagory you qualified in I have been told. I think the guys that make it there will relish competing at a high level. But for them to get there they had to smoke some of the locals at the area and regional qualifiers.
I think Emig will probably win at Loretta's but I think someone will give him a run. John Tomac was the winner of the 30+ B class last year right? He didn't exactly get decimated this year. He was on the lead lap a few turns back. 3 or 4 I think. Someone passed Tomac and made a run for it. Emig still won but Tomac and 2nd were giving it their all. They pretty much killed the rest of the field. shouldn't they stay out too?
I'll tell you what I told my kid that races. We had a 9 year old cheating and running in the 4-8 classes. I told him to give it his best and try and catch the 9 year old. If he beat him then he can tell himself that he is as good as or better than a 9 year old. If he couldn't bet him he still has 3 years to get as fast as a 9 year old. I did not let him whine about a 9 year old in the class. I let 10 other Pee Wee parents do that.

Anyways sorry so dang long but I get PO'ed when I see the crab pot theory in full swing.

Jason

 

[Tiger]

AMA Pro License holders (past or present) should not race amateur events. Those days have past. Still, if the rules allow it...then who are we to knock them for doing it. Send a letter to the AMA, etc...but don't whine about it.

It happens every weekend at tracks around the nation. I see A Enduro riders racing MX in the C-class! Or former Pro MX'ers racing in the B-Hare Scramble classes. Ain't right, but if the rules allow it...then what can you say?

;)