2007

In 2007 we had over 30 nominees for the Moto-X Report.com Gulf Coast Area Rider of the Year. A committee of racing insiders and enthusiasts narrowed the list down to the top 20 riders in the Gulf Coast Region of Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Then, based on race results in 2007, rider professionalism, sponsor support, racing activity and many other categories, the list was narrowed down to the top riders in this region of the country. The nominees were:

Justin Summers, Johnny Moore, Jeremy Domingue, Hunter Hilton, Stone Edler, Lance Vincent, Brandee Payne, Kaitlynn Morrow, Beau Baldwin, Randy DiBartolo, Justin Martin, Andrew Pierce, Dawson Draycott, and Chase Spears. Past winners include Clayton Miller, James Marshall, Justin Summers, and Ronny Jackson. The winner this year is Conroe, Texas native Randy DiBartolo.

The award ceremony took place at the Texas State Championships at Freestone County Raceway on the weekend of November 10-11. On hand to assist Doc Melloy, editor of Moto-X Report.com, with the presentation were Honda of Houston Racing's Dave Martin, Crown Trophy's Herman Teale, and Freestone County Raceway owner Tony Miller. Dave Martin presented the winner's plaque to Randy on the finish line jump prior to the day's racing on Sunday. Randy then went out and won a couple of state championships aboard his JM Racing Honda.

Randy began 2007 as a promising front runner in the Intermediate class. He quickly showed his potential at the Lake Whitney Spring Classic by grabbing the holeshot in his opening moto ahead of the best B riders in the country. Unfortunately, Randy would sustain an injury at Whitney that would sidetrack his year and put him in jeopardy of missing out on the entire year. But with fierce determination and dedication, Randy managed to get thru a Loretta Lynn's Area Qualifier and then the South Central Regional. By the time early August rolled around, Randy was almost back to 100%. Still, he had to settle for a couple of top 10 finishes at Hurricane Mills, where he should've been competing for championships.

Randy's stellar performance in the short amount of time he would race in 2007 and his willingness to ride hurt and still run with the top echelon of Intermediate and Schoolboy riders in the country earned him the respect of the committee and, thus, the winner of the Rider of the Year award. Randy looks to have a better 2008 in the B class, where he should go into the amateur nationals as one of the heavy favorites. Congrats Randy D !!!