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President's Cup 2004 in Sarasota, Florida - by Jeff Dein. Posted on 14 January 2005.

The 2004 NBL Christmas Class has come and gone and Georgia didn't win. But, I have good news! No, I didn't just save a ton of money by switching my car insurance - the good news is that on Monday, December 27th the skies parted, the angels sung and the team sheets were turned in this year! I celebrated Christmas day in the Sarasota area and couldn't believe the volume of rain we got - six hours of truly non-stop downpour. I knew the track was covered and wasn't too concerned about race day conditions but I was certain we'd have to swim around in the pits. Amazingly, Sarasota's property must be the highest point in Florida or something because by the start of practice, the track was dry and the pits were barely moist. Weird - don't ask how, just accept it and go on. By now, you've probably read or heard that Georgia pulled an awesome fifth place off at the President's Cup. Last year's debacle aside, this is the best finish the state has ever had and all the riders who attended should be proud of themselves. The team's effort was spearheaded by Rob "I beat up on novices for trophies" Potter with a win in 30-34 expert combined and Ty "Ride like I'm high on sugar" Robinson in 10 novice. Not coincidentally, these two are notorious for pedaling in places no other rides can (or in Rob's case, want to) and the technical track really rewarded their style. Heather Wallace looked like a shoe-in for a podium spot in 12-13 girls after mopping up her motos but fell victim to a first straight squeeze in her semi and hit the deck. Fortunately, little bro Jonathon backed her up with a 7th in 7 nov. Another brother/sister duo, this time Malcom and Alexia Edwards, padded our score with a 6th (Alexia) and 8th (Malcom). Garrett Beachy had a great weekend, making a bunch of mains and nabbing a 6th in 12X when it counted at the President's Cup. Tevin Wright also pulled a 4th in 9X. Peter Cafaro and John Woods were out main men in the rookie ranks taking a 3rd (Peter - 14R) and 5th (John - 17+). We had only two riders on big bikes at the cup but they both made their mains - Cameron Metts with a 7th in 10-11CR and Todd Harbin with an 8th in 35-39. I didn't catch Cameron's main but Todd biffed it hard in the first turn - a real bummer of an end to a day of hauling butt. Todd's daughter Karen redeemed the Harbin family name with a 2nd in 11-13 girls. Lastly, we can't forget the Swiss Family Robinson duo of Anthony, who finished 7th in 30-34X/Nov combined (you didn't hear it from me, but I swore I heard him say something like "why the %^&* do I have to race Rob - how low will that guy go to get a trophy?", but you didn't hear it from me, cuz I ain't one to gossip!) and team cheerleader and den mom Shayne pulled in a solid fourth in 40+ ladies cruiser. Finally, even though his finish didn't count towards points, everybody got a thrill out of seeing PTC favorite son Alex Gore work the pack each moto for third in pro open. A HUGE thanks to all the riders and families that made the trek down to sunny/windy/rainy/cold Sarasota for the President's Cup, and especially to Stacy Potter for, among other things, turning the sheets in. The state took home a whopping 850 dollars for the 2005 program and hopefully everybody that went took home some good memories (and in Eddie's case, a whole lot of beads at small childrens' expense). Start training now and buy winter clothes on closeout in April because next year the show's going back on the road to Columbus, Ohio. See y'all there! Jeff. Elite Master