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NORTH CAROLINA’S JIM NEESE OFF TO GREAT START IN ARENACROSS!
Veteran star of the Toyota AMA National Arenacross Series, Suzuki-backed Jim Neese, finds himself sitting in fourth place overall in the AMA Arenacross (Formerly the 250cc class) standings after the first two rounds (Albany & Des Moines) - a mere five points outside of the top three. No doubt one of the surprises of this year’s Toyota AMA National Arenacross Series, Neese, 32, has aligned himself with numerous fast racers from North Carolina’s regional racing series’ and, coupled with hard work and the youthful aggression of the guys he’s racing and training with, Neese has put himself right in the hunt for the overall Toyota AMA National Arenacross Series title. “As a racer I expect myself to be right there in the thick of things every night,” said Neese, who lives in nearby Julian, N.C. “It’s a place where we all want to be, but only three guys can make the podium. Realistically, coming into the season, I was hoping for a top five.” Neese has met his goals and surpassed them this past weekend in Des Moines (Wells Fargo Arena) scoring podium finishes in both the premier AMA Arenacross class as well as the AMA Arenacross Lites class. “I got two third place finishes, but I wanted to win, man!” exclaimed Neese. “I really feel like I can.” At an age where many racers are looking to back it off from competition, Neese has actually been improving. He credits longtime friendly race adversary and amateur racing circles great Kevin Walker, also from North Carolina. Walker has helped lead Neese down the high speed, rough & tumble road of a career motocross racer that’s definitely been paying dividends for Neese and his sponsors this year. “Kevin’s amazing. We had some great battles over the summer in the both the Mega and Ultra series here in the region,” said Neese. “Sometimes we’ll get out so far in front that we’ll actually have a conversation while we’re racing, yelling all sorts of stuff back and forth. When the checkers fly and we leave the track, people are always coming up to us and saying, ‘What in the heck were you guys yelling at each other out there?’ We just crack up.” Keeping both Neese and Walker honest in the summertime motocross pro classes are a couple red hot up-and-coming North Carolina riders in Eric Bean, 17, and Broc Tickle, 16. In fact, today Neese, Bean and Tickle are headed down to Walker’s house to ride his new track in preparation for next week’s Arenacross in Charlotte. “Broc’s going to be the one to watch,” said Neese of his understudy. “Not sure if he’s coming to Charlotte or not yet. But if he decides to, you’d best keep an eye out for the No. 948 Honda. He’s only 16 and he’s already beating me and Kevin.” Another North Carolina racer that had an impact on Neese’s racing career was the legendary Damon Bradshaw. Several years older than Neese, Bradshaw reached iconic status in motocross back in the early 1990s. And while they never raced while Bradshaw was in his prime, Neese was always at the same races and Bradshaw’s success was something he and his friends would strive for. “He was the MAN back then,” said Neese of Bradshaw. “Nobody was ever as fast as him on minis. But I’ll tell you what, I’ve seen Walker put it to Bradshaw a few times. THOSE were some great races.” Neese himself was finally able to beat legend after Bradshaw made a short comeback a couple years ago in AMA Arenacross. But Neese admitted it wasn’t the same having seen Bradshaw race when he was in his prime. So next weekend Neese and his Suzuki-backed traveling buddy, Jim Chester (Lenoir, N.C.), will have a whole slew of fans rolling into Charlotte to cheer on the local boys in the first race ever at he new Charlotte Bobcats Arena. “It’s going to be a blast,” said Neese. “We always enjoy coming back to North Carolina to race in front of the hometown fans.” Sponsors stepping up to back Jim Neese’s quest for the 2005/’06 Toyota AMA National Arenacross Series title include: Suzuki, Total Control, Moose, Pirelli, LP, Barrs Competition, Shoei and Smith.
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