Image: Supplied.

A total of 23 different classes saw their second gate drop of the week on Thursday, in what is arguably the most critical juncture for racers in their quest to capture an AMA National Championship at Loretta Lynn’s.

After a dominant performance in the opening moto of 250B, Nick Romano (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) had all eyes on him entering Moto 2 as the favorite to repeat his efforts from opening day. When the gate dropped on the second moto Romano shot out like a rocket and carried bike lengths over the field as he took the STACYC Holeshot.

The clear track meant trouble for the likes of NSA Yamaha’s Gage Linville and Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green’s Gavin Towers, who needed to keep touch with Romano. Fortunately for Linville, he followed Romano to the front, which allowed the Yamaha duo to check out as Towers was forced to fight forward from a start deep in the top 10.

After just a couple of laps Romano and Linville were more than five seconds clear of the rest of the field, as Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Talon Hawkins eventually took control of third and gave chase.

Linville kept pace with Romano at the front and stayed within a second until the halfway point when Romano’s consistency allowed him to inch away.

Hawkins was riding by himself in third and appeared to have a podium result in hand until misfortune struck at the halfway point and put the Husqvarna rider on the ground. That allowed Towers, who was impressive in his forward progression, to assume third while Hawkins remounted in fifth.

Romano was never challenged over the second half of the moto and put together a near-perfect wire-to-wire win that puts him two points ahead of Linville heading into the third moto. Linville finished second, followed by Towers in third in an exact duplication of Tuesday’s podium.

Given how the opening moto of Open Pro Sport played out, Thursday’s second moto was destined to bring the excitement and set the stage for a dramatic, winner-take-all final moto.

The stacked field of talent converged into the first turn to begin Moto 2 and as they navigated through the corner it was JMS Performance Yamaha’s Jace Kessler who captured the STACYC Holeshot over Bar X Chaparral ECSTAR Suzuki Racing’s Preston Kilroy, whose exceptional starts this week continued.

Kilroy wasted little time in jumping into the early lead and built a gap on the opening lap, only to tip over in a rut and lose multiple spots. That moved Kessler back out front as Kilroy remounted in fifth.

Further behind them, Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha’s Levi Kitchen was forced to overcome a mid-pack start that saw him mired outside of the top 30. The highly touted amateur prospect showed some grit in his ability to break into the top 10 by the end of the opening lap.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green’s Chance Hymas was on a determined path to the front, grabbing the lead as the race headed to the halfway point. Once out front, Hymas asserted his control of the moto and led the way until the late stages of the race.

Kitchen worked his way into second and once he got within striking distance, went on the attack and made quick work of Hymas to seize control of the moto in the waning minutes. From there he quickly distanced himself from the field and charged home to earn the moto win ahead of Hymas.

The duo was followed by Kilroy in third, which duplicated the same three podium riders from Moto 1, albeit in a slightly different order. The second moto score has created a three-way tie for the lead, setting up a showdown for the championship in the final moto.

Through two days of racing across two different classes, it was clear that Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Evan Ferry had both the speed and confidence to carry the bullseye on his back as the rider to beat in 125cc B/C.

However, he entered the second moto on Thursday chasing KTM Orange Brigade’s Mark Fineis, who won the opening moto. As the field exited the first turn in moto two, it was Triangle Cycles Yamaha’s Logan Best who came away with the STACYC Holeshot ahead of VPE KTM’s Bryce Shelly.

Both Fineis and Ferry had a little work to do, with Fineis starting fourth and Ferry sixth, as Best worked to run from the pack at the front. Ferry was not to be denied though, taking just two laps to find his way to the front and cruise to the win, setting up a battle between him and Fineis for the championship.

The duo of Fineis and Ferry met again in Schoolboy 1, where Ferry entered as the winner of the opening moto. Fineis grabbed the holeshot as the gate dropped on moto two, with Ferry just outside of the top three in fourth place.

Thanks to a clear track and the motivation to bounce back from a 19th-place finish on Wednesday, Fineis successfully managed a multi-second over Ferry, who fought his way into second just a few laps in.

Despite his best efforts, Ferry couldn’t close the deficit as Fineis enjoyed a wire-to-wire win, followed by Ferry in second and EBR Performance Yamaha’s Collin Allen in third. Ferry however leads the overall, with a solid advantage going into moto three.

Following a DNF in the first moto of Supermini 2, Haiden Deegan’s hopes for a pair of titles in both Supermini divisions all but ended. However, there was still work to be done for the KTM Orange Brigade rider in Supermini 1, which contested its second moto on Thursday.

Off the start, it was Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Krystian Janik who earned the STACYC Holeshot. Janik and Deegan came together in a scary incident for both riders on Wednesday during the Supermini 2 race, and they found themselves alongside one another again in a battle for the Supermini 1 lead on Thursday.

Deegan took advantage of a slight bobble by Janik to move into the lead with ease and never looked back. Both Deegan and Janik controlled the moto from the front and distanced themselves from Jude Smerlick (NorthPoint Trailers Schaeffer’s Motorsports KTM) in third.

Janik was no match for Deegan’s relentless pace, as the second-generation racer cruised to his second moto win of the week. Janik finished second, while Calaman Plumbing KTM’s Carter Malcolm captured third after some late-race misfortune for Smerlick.

Following a tense battle for the opening moto win on Monday, Shift MX Husqvarna’s Jeff Emig and Keith Johnson (The Wick 338 Pilgrim Powersports Kawasaki) renewed their fight on Thursday for the second moto.

Out of the gate Johnson grabbed the upper hand with the STACYC Holeshot while Emig made some quick passes on the opening lap to move into second. Once this duo ran 1-2 on the track their battle for the lead began almost immediately, at a torrid pace.

While Emig had more pace in the early stages of the moto, Johnson showed tremendous poise to fend off the constant pressure. As the moto reached the halfway point Emig finally got the upper hand and put his Husqvarna at the head of the pack.

At this point the leaders enjoyed an advantage of more than 30 seconds over the rest of the field. Despite losing the lead, Johnson kept his head down and kept the pressure on the multi-time national champion.

On the final lap Johnson was all over Emig’s rear fender and sought an opportunity to make a pass. Suddenly, Emig went down, which caused Johnson to get stuck in Emig’s bike. Both riders patiently tried to separate themselves and Johnson was able to get going first, which allowed him to carry on to the moto win as Emig recovered for second.

RM Army Suzuki’s Barry Carsten followed in a distant third, as the battle for the championship now rests in the hands of Johnson and Emig who are tied atop the standings heading into moto three.

Other winners on the day included Gage Linville (250 B Limited), Nico Long (250 C Limited), Gabe Holland (250 C Jr 12-17 Limited), Jayden Clough (450 B Limited), Brandon Bollino(450 C), Luke Kalaitzian (College 18-24), Robbie Marshall (Junior 25+), Sophia Phelps (Women):, Beckham Smith (Mini-E 4-6 Jr), Carter Schutte (51cc 4-6 Shaft Dr. LTD), Kannon Zabojnik (51cc 4-6 Limited), Sawyer Gieck (51cc 7-8 Limited), Elliott Bowsher (65cc 7-9), Carson Wood (65cc 10-11), Carson Wood (65cc 10-11 Limited), Drew Adams (85cc 10-12), Drew Adams (Mini Sr 1 12-14), Kyleigh Stallings (Girls 11-16).