Can-Am's flagship rider 71 points out of first

Where's Wienen?


Here we are, at the exact mid-point of the season for the 2010 ITP/Moose Racing AMA ATV Motocross Championship, and one of the pros favored to challenge repeat champion Dustin Wimmer for the crown this year has a line of contenders in front of him.


Can-Am signed Chad Wienen at the tail end of last year, signaling Kawasaki's plan to put their ATV motocross efforts on hold. It was big news. The Galena, Il., native had bounced around from team to team showing great promise. It became clear through DNF's and mechanical issues that his one weakness had been lack of a few back-to-back solid seasons on the same quad. That's a big weakness. Very few riders can jump on a brand new quad and win a title in the same year.

Last year, Chad Wienen was the big draw under the Kawasaki tent despite having just arrived, while then-fellow Kawasaki racer Josh Creamer had already been on the team for several seasons. The year before, Wienen had found little success riding for the Rockstar Suzuki team.

This year, however, looked like it would be different. Wienen signed with the new Team Motoworks Can-Am group, and with less than a week on the new DS450 he took a stellar win at the Montreal Supercross. He followed that up with some commanding wins and by capturing the first ever title out west in the new DWT World ATV Motocross Championship during the winter months. 

Wienen's arrival at Team Motoworks Can-Am as their new premiere rider in the pro class initially took the focus off Can-Am rider John Natalie Jr., who had spent two seasons on the DS450 riding for the Warnert team nabbing just a few podiums. Natalie, who unlike Wienen already has a pro championship on his mantle, seemed undaunted by the signaling of his age with Motoworks giving the younger rider the top spot. In fact, Natalie seems to have gained some new-found drive, much like Yoshimura Suzuki's Josh Creamer, by playing the role of sidekick to the supposed better rider. He's clearly snagged the spotlight back from his teammate with big race battles and four finishes just off the podium.

Round six of the ATV motocross nationals will go into the books today at  the Spring Creek National, and heading into today's motos Natalie is comfortably in third place in the points chase. With 171 points, Natalie is 48 points behind Creamer and 45 points behind Wimmer in second place. In contrast, Wienen is 71 points behind first place and is currently in sixth in the points chase - not exactly where most people expected him to be with six rounds to go.

Team Motoworks Can-Am owner Johnny Leach didn't necessarily make a bad move in signing Wienen. The young rider still has quite a few motos left in his career and plenty of time to win the Big Show. But one has to wonder if Wienen is living up to all the hype. During the off-season he graced two back-to-back covers of ATV Insider magazine. He was the subject of a big profile interview in ATVRider magazine. Fans crowd his website, posting about his likelihood of winning it all this year.

But right now Chad is 71 points behind first place, and he's got defending champ Dustin Wimmer, former teammate Josh Creamer, Natalie, and hungry young challengers in Mushin Racing's Thomas Brown and Baldwin Motorsports' Josh Upperman all in front of him and all serious challengers to win it all.