OREGONIA, Ohio (Oct. 16, 2014) - The Dayton Motorcycle Club hosted the final round of the 2014 VP Racing Fuels AMA Pro Hillclimb series on their Devil's Staircase hill on Sunday. It’s the 65th year of racing at the venue.

At the end of the day, championships were decided with Vinny Nuzzolilli, John Koester and Matthew Walker clinching titles in Unlimited, Xtreme, and Pro Sport classes, respectively.

Competition in the Unlimited class had been particularly fierce throughout the series with the lead alternating between Nuzzolilli and Sallstrom until they tied it up at 160 points apiece in the seventh round. Only the number of wins separated these two riders. Sallstrom, the 2011 and 2013 champion, won four rounds, while 2012 champion Nuzzolilli won three. Nuzzolilli finished two places ahead of Sallstrom at Oregonia, enough to earn the Unlimited class hillclimb title.

Koester dominated the Xtreme class for the second year in a row, winning five rounds and netting 163 out of a possible 175 points after seven rounds. He finished fourth on the day and easily scored enough points to fend off his nearest challenger, Sallstrom, and take home the Xtreme class title.

Walker took the Pro Sport title in his rookie year with the series, despite missing Round 4. He stood on the podium in rounds one, two and three and won rounds five through seven. Walker finished in fifth place in Oregonia and took the series title with a nine-point margin over his nearest rival, Kyle Welch.

Pro Sport riders tackled the hill first, with Walker at the top of the order. He crested the hill in 10.172 seconds to set the pace. Nathan Prebe broke the 10-second barrier and took the lead with a 9.523 E.T. Devin Sweitzer wedged into second at the half, posting a 10.035-second time.

When Pro Sport riders made their second run at the hill, Prebe waited to see if his time would hold for first place. Welch moved into second with a 9.884 E.T. while Holmes took over fourth-place, just 0.001 of a second behind Sweitzer. In the end, Prebe chose to ride anyway and proved that his first ride was no fluke, as he topped the hill in 9.311 seconds and took home the win in only his second appearance on the circuit. Welch and Sweitzer rounded out the Pro Sport podium.

Xtreme class followed Pro Sport with Koester setting the pace at 8.619 seconds. Phil Libhart took over second place from Greg Dunbar with an 8.647-second ride. Robby DeBusk upped the ante, cresting the hill in 8.469 seconds for the lead at the half.

In second-half Xtreme action, DeBusk waited and watched while rider after rider tried to best his time. Only Libhart did, crossing the line in 8.285 seconds and forcing a second ride by DeBusk. Nuzzolilli wedged into third with an 8.583-second E.T. Then DeBusk rode, bettering his own time but not Libhart's. DeBusk finished in second behind Libhart, with Nuzzolilli in third.

Scott Wentz, Jr. rode first in the Unlimited class, posting an 8.636-second time. Koester quickly eclipsed Wentz with an 8.101-second E.T. Libhart rode, posting a time of 8.400 seconds, followed by Sallstrom with an 8.546-second ride. Nuzzolilli stopped the clock at 8.400 seconds for an exact tie with Libhart. At intermission, Koester led with Libhart and Nuzzolilli on his tail.

Koester played the waiting game when Unlimited climbing resumed. Libhart laid down a perfect ride at 7.898 seconds, jumping into first and forcing a ride by Koester. Nuzzolilli nearly tied Libhart again, but was just 0.009 seconds off the pace. Koester rode, but not fast enough to take back the lead. It was Libhart, Nuzzolilli and Koester, in order.

Libhart's wins in both expert classes is a feat accomplished by few riders, but even more amazing is that he did it at Oregonia two years in a row.

Scott Wentz Jr. won side-by-side exhibition Hill-Cross, beating out Sallstrom and Koester.

The AMA Pro Hillclimb Series receives sponsorship from VP Racing Fuels, Wiseco Performance Products, ALCO Cleaning Products, PSYCHMX Graphix, and Tilt-A-Rack.

Results
Unlimited: 1. Phil Libhart (Triumph); 2. Vinny Nuzzolilli (Honda); 3. John Koester (Honda); 4. Jay Sallstrom (Yamaha); 5. Scott Wentz, Jr. (Yamaha).

Xtreme: 1. Phil Libhart (Triumph); 2. Robby DeBusk (Yamaha); 3. Vinny Nuzzolilli (Honda); 4. John Koester (Honda); 5. Jay Sallstrom (Yamaha).

Pro Sport: 1. Nathan Prebe (KTM); 2. Kyle Welch (Honda); 3. Devin Sweitzer (Honda); 4. Adam Holmes (Honda); 5. Matt Walker (Honda).