Ronny Jackson wins
Nov 13, 2006 Ronny Jackson Wins The Overall at Round 3
It would be an easy sum-up to say, 'Lemoine didn't win the truck', but it doesn't really get to the heart of this year's Triple Crown Series that went down at Three Palms that easily had the best pro racing in Texas. You might say that there were bigger-name pros or faster pros at this race or that race; but this race had a story with drama that built up for 6 incredible motos spread out over four months since Memorial Day's opening round - and ended in with an ecstatic Ronny Jackson flatting a huge whip over the finish line on the second last lap and Matt Lemoine rolling over the jump in obvious dissapointment.
It seems it was all about Ronny Jackson's heart. We've been seeing him go from a kid who knows no fear on a dirt bike to a determined racer that is passionate about winning. He is still the one on who will try anything on a track to get a faster lap-time, often doing jaw-dropping jumps or combos to make it happen, but this year he's told us he has really focused on his training. Back in the summer, he said that he started working out with weights and it has made a big difference. He said his bike feels lighter and he's even more in-control.
We've seen Ronny at just about every race under the sun(and stars) to get more time on his bikes, from the Houston SX at Reliant center, to a local race at Skeeter MX, to a series race at Freestone. You may not even notice he's there. Jackson often shows up modestly with his bike in the back of his pick up, sitting by himself throughout the entire pre-race. But once the gate drops, its on... you will notice RJ.
In this series that had Wil Hahn, Jackson, and Lemoine all dueling it out for the top spots (the others) it seemed Jackson always had the speed, yet bad breaks took him off each round's victory podium. In the first round on, he came in too hot and went off a berm. In round 2 while leading on the GP track, he hit a braking bump near the back section, wadded and went over the bars. But in the last moto of the day at round 3, he saw the chance for the win: he got the holeshot and knew he had a chance for the overall. Hahn had a flat and could not carry the speed, and Lemoine was charging in second.
To see Lemoine's charge in the middle of the moto was incredible. He held nothing back. He was jumping the hill after the rolling whoop straightaway at full speed and landing at the beginning of the right-handed berm that follows. Before the quadzilla jump, he would jump the left handed inside-line bump and hammer into the soft berm at full throttle all the way up Quad. Eventually, he realized he didn't have enough time and conceded defeat to Jackson. He had nothing left for Ronny who sealed the deal. RJ focused and rode flawlessly the entire moto to take 1st place wire-to-wire. It was obvious from Ronny's huge whip on what he thought was the checkered (there were two white flags!), and from his huge smile on the podium that he was proud of himself for what he accomplished. It seemed he really wanted this one. He worked for it all summer, and it finally paid off with the perfect moto. Congrats to RJ for pulling it together and representing Houston so well. 
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Matt Lemoine seemed to come out of nowhere to dominate the first round's motos back in May. Wil Hahn was always there along with Jackson to threaten Lemoine's chances at the prize. But Lemoine had amazing speed and consistency. When he takes his helmet off, it is a surprise to see how yound and small in build he is. He is off to race SX for Starr Racing this season. He mentioned on the podium that he was coming off of injury and has not been riding much motocross(more SX). He was obviouly brokenhearted from missing out on the Toyota. He came so close; 5 of 6 motos and a couple seconds at one point. For him to have the speed and focus this early in his career, he has good things to come.
Hahn was moto 1's leader and he was looking faster than ever. A flat rear tire kept him out of contention in moto two but he still had incredible speed. He said he has been training hard with his brother Tommy and will stay amatuer for 07. Jackson is off to race West coast Lites SX in 07, Lemoine did not say which side he will race for Starr.
Congrats to all the pros for putting on a great show for the fans in this series. Congrats to Three Palms for putting a great series together and getting the pros a challenging track to race.