Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ricky Dietrich finished out the best season of his career by taking his first AMA EnduroCross Championship during the series finale at the Orleans Arena. The battle went down to the wire between Dietrich and his teammate Damon Huffman who finished the night with his third win of the season and second overall in the standings. Teammate Destry Abbott finished eighth.

Dietrich was a constant threat for the podium, taking his place there five out of six rounds this season. He was also the only competitor to make all six main events.

“The main idea behind EnduroCross is to be consistent,” said Dietrich. “I was able to do that this year and it ended up paying off. After finishing second in the WORCS series, its like redemption to win this championship. I’ve worked really hard for it and I can’t wait to run the number one next year.”

Dietrich’s 2008 off-road season continued to bring recognition to the young rider’s success. The AMA Racing Athlete of the Year award was presented to Dietrich in front of thousands of people during opening ceremonies.

“It was a complete shock to me,” said Dietrich. “I knew that I was up for the award, but I had no clue that they were going to present it when they did. I am really honored and I hope that I can continue to represent off-road racing in the best possible way.”

Dietrich’s teammate Huffman took two wins this season, finishing just five points behind first. During the penultimate round in Ohio, Huffman rode through a dislocated finger, but gave up his lead to Dietrich when he did not make the main. He rode flawlessly all night in Vegas and came away with his third win of the six-round series.

“The season went really well for me,” said Huffman. “I did what I needed to do tonight in order to be a threat for the championship. In the end it wasn’t my season for the championship, but I am really happy to come away with second considering I had the problem with my finger in Ohio. I love EnduroCross and I’m really excited to be racing it again next year.”

2009 Off-Road Team
The Monster Energy Kawasaki off-road team will be gearing up for 2009 with the same trio that brought them two championships in 2008. Abbott, Dietrich, and Huffman will be leading the charge on the all-new 2009 KX™450F and KX™250F.