WASHOUGAL — They were first in line Saturday morning at the pit area of the Washougal MX Park.
The pits opened at 9 a.m. and the Scharrelman family of Camas raced to the Monster Energy Kawasaki set-up, then set up for a long morning. Parked under the “Autograph Session Line Starts Here,” they waited and waited hours to spend a few seconds with their sports hero.
Eli Tomac started signing autographs at 11:45 a.m., and Leo Scharrelman and his brother Lukas were the first ones.
“He wants to be Eli Tomac,” said Leo’s father, Aaron.
“I can’t change my name,” Leo wisely responded.
“He watches everything,” said his mom, Angela. “He wants to grow up to be a motocross star.”
All the motocross stars were in Washougal this week for the 2017 Washougal MX National. Even recently retired stars.
Trey Canard, who retired from the sport the week before the series stop in Washougal, still made the trip to the Northwest to represent his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team and to meet with fans.
One group came from Columbia Falls, Montana., to experience live racing. Getting an autograph from Canard was just a bonus.
This stop annually attracts fans from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana as it is the lone stop on the motocross tour in this part of the country.
By the end of the day, Marvin Musquin was the overall winner of the 450 Class. He won both motos, with Tomac finishing second. The Scharrelman family can take comfort in knowing Tomac still holds a commanding lead for the points championship.
The 250 Class had a bizarre finish when Joey Savatgy took the overall title after finishing seventh in the first moto. National events are decided by taking points earned in each moto. It is rare for a rider to finish seventh in one moto but still get enough points to win an overall. But Savatgy won the second moto, and with other riders struggling in one or the other moto, Savatgy had enough to take home the Washougal trophy.
The Washougal MX National is Clark County’s largest one-day sporting event. Estimates of more than 20,000 people walk the park on race day. Fans can find spots outside and inside the race course, utilizing a series of tunnels and walk-throughs to reach their destination.
