NBL Freedom National, Woodbridge, VA 2009
Photos and story by Mike Hartlove.

It’s now Tuesday and the dust has finally settled from this past weekend. We, the entire Hartlove family plus my mother-in-law, journeyed to Woodbridge to attend the NBL Freedom Nationals. It was our maiden voyage in the RV we just purchased a week earlier.

We arrived Friday afternoon, about 2:30pm. And immediately got Nathan and Billy geared up for practice. Both boys were stoked on the track, even though they were still making some last minute changes. Christi and I each got about six laps in during our practice before we had to get the boys ready for their second practice session. The pre-race ended up getting postponed so Connor didn’t get a chance to ride his second, ever, race. He didn’t seem to mind, as he was busy making new friends at camp.

Saturday morning came quick and Christi and I had 7:00am. Practice – nothing like wake and ride! After our early practice we got the boys out for their first practice session at 8:00am. Then us again for round two at 9:00, then the boys again at 10:00. The race was scheduled to start at 11:00am but the track crew decided to cover some mushy ground with plywood, so they gave everyone another 20 min. practice session, which pushed the start to noon.

The moto count was over 130 and we all were bunched between 86 and 117. As soon as Christi and I were done our motos we rushed to the tent where the Hagerstown posse was pitted and got the boys into staging. Huge thanks to my mother-in-law and Jamie Harner for helping us keep the boys in check. Nathan’s first moto nearly brought Christi and I to tears as we watched him score his, first ever, National win. Billy matched his older brother by doing the same. Needless to say, we were beside ourselves with joy.

The second moto was a repeat for all of us. I scored another fourth, Christi a second, and the boys both won again. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing our boys doing. In the third moto, Christi, Billy and I all repeated previous our results and Nathan got second, just getting passed at the line. Billy and I each had semi’s. Billy scored another win and I managed to pull a third and made my first National main of the season.

Come time for the mains, Christi and I were only two motos apart with the boys only 20 behind us. I finished eighth and Christi second. Billy got stuffed in the first corner and fought his way back from sixth, to score a fourth place finish. Nathan drew gate eight and went into the first corner about sixth. When he came out he had moved into third. He made another pass in the second turn to put him self into second place. In the last turn, he made a classic swoop to take the lead but just a few short feet from the finish he slipped a pedal and finished second by less than an axle.

After all the excitement I was ready for some ice cold barely and hops – thank God for my good camping neighbor, Tim, for having one ready and for taking me to the store later so I could buy some of my own. I can’t believe I came empty handed.

Sunday morning we had no practice, which is usually the case at Nationals. We got our motos and were ready to race by 8:00. My dad and father-in-law, both, made the early trip down to watch us all race. Nathan, Christi and I all repeated our moto scores from Saturday and Bill pulled straight seconds. In the mains, I again got eighth, Christi second and Nathan another second, though not as dramatic. Billy, this time, was the one making stellar passes to go from sixth to second to solidify another good national score.

After the race, we packed up the RV, were out of the camping lot by 1:00pm, and all went Fuddruckers for some, much deserved vittles. We made it back home by 4:30 pm and spent the next two hours cleaning up the camper and getting ready for the week ahead.

My hat’s off to the NBL and the Woodbridge staff for hosting another awesome weekend of BMX racing. I wish many thanks to our extended Hagerstown family for all the support. In no certain order…The Wastlers - Bev, Marty and Casey…The Harners – Chad, Jamie, Derrick and Maddy…The Holdas – Walter, Brandon and Brady…and of course Lady Di – Diane Fulk. We love you guys!

I hope you enjoy the pictures and we can’t wait until the next race!