One of the top privateer success stories this season has definitely been Machine Racing's Kyle Keast. Not only did Keast earn a pair of seconds at Gopher Dunes, "Kyle the Welder" has been in the top ten at all four western rounds. Keast finished sixth overall at Edmonton and heads back east sitting sixth overall in the MX1 standings.

After a long and relatively successful relationship with Yamaha Canada, Kyle Beaton (22) became one of the victims of 2008's budget cuts when Yamaha informed him they couldn't afford to support him for the 08 season. Through the help of his long-time sponsor Ed Wagstaff of Clearbrook Yamaha, Beaton was able to aquire a couple of 250Fs and he bought another one himself and hit the road with his teammate Shane Wiebe to contest the nationals out of Wiebe's RV. So far Beaton has been the quickest Canadian in the MX2 class and he even won the first moto at Regina over Tucker Hibbert (29). Unfortunately crashes and motor failures have left a lot of points on the table but Beaton still left Edmonton sitting fourth in the MX2 standings.

Chunk Motorsports' Jared Allison has been travelling the nationals with his mom, Lorri, and twin brother, Parker. Jared's had several solid top 10 rides so far, including a 6th overall at Nanaimo. Allison leaves Edmonton sitting in 11th in the MX2 standings and will be getting his bike hauled out to Moncton by the Leading Edge Kawasaki team so he can finish out the season. His brother Parker will also contest the rest of the series after a helpful privateer family loaded his bike in their trailer.

Schrader's Yamaha's Shawn Maffenbeier has been contesting the entire MX2 series. Shawn proved to be quite the holeshot master by ripping both holeshots at Gopher Dunes. His best overall finish so far was a 13th overall at Regina, in his home province of Saskatchewan. Maffenbeier currently sits 18th in points in the MX2 class.

Another rider that felt the budget cuts by Yamaha Canada for 2008 was national number 6, Simon Homans. Even though he won a national at Nanaimo last season and had another moto win at the San Del Lee round, Homans also ended up buying his own bike and at first wasn't even planning to race any nationals past the first two. But the racing bug is hard to shake and Simon was on the line at Morden and the rest of the western rounds. Simon has again found the podium in 2008, finishing third overall at Regina and grabbing a third in the second moto at Nanaimo. Homans currently sits in 7th in points in the MX1 class. 

Team Faith's Josh Snider(53) has been contesting the entire series and also delivering the sermon on Sunday morning after the Rider's Meeting. He even rolled out his 250F at Nanaimo and has been double classing the last two rounds. Not sure how he finds the time to do everything but it's working for him. Snider's best finish so far was a 12th overall in MX1 at Edmonton.

Drew Clegg is another rider who has stepped it up during the western swing of the series. After a few off rides out east, the big Alberta native has finished in the top 10 at three out of the four western rounds and has now climbed up to 11th in the MX1 standings after Edmonton. Clegg will finish the series with help from Team Label It.

Morgan Racing's Kerim Fitz-Gerald has quietly been having a solid season in the MX2 class. The South African has been splitting his travel time between Chuck Mesley and Kyle Keast and doing whatever it takes to get to the nationals. With fast qualifying times, Fitz-Gerald has proven he's got the speed to run with the front runners but so far consistency has been his biggest downfall. Still, the Honda rider sits in 9th overall in the MX2 standings and had a solid 6th overall at Morden. 

Kyle Beaton's teammate, Clearbrook Yamaha's Shane Wiebe made his pro debut for 2008 after some solid rides last year in the MX2 class as an intermediate. The transition to Pro has definitely been challenging for the British Columbia native but he scored his best moto finish yet at Nanaimo with a 6th in moto one. Unfortunately, a crash in moto two left Wiebe with a broken collarbone so he missed the Edmonton round. Hopefully he will be healed up enough to ride as the series moves east. 

Racer X Canada editor Danny Brault's travelling partner, Chuck Mesley, has been having an up and down season on his Morgan Racing Honda. So far his best overall was an 11th at Morden. Leaving Edmonton, Mesley sits 14th in points and has a ways to go to get back to his familiar number 9 by the end of the season.

FXR's Kevin Urquhart was a dark horse pick for the MX1 class at the beginning of the season after finishing 4th overall last year in the MX2 West. Unfortunately, trouble adapting to the power of the 450 hampered his results at the first few rounds but his results picked up as the series worked its way west and he got more comfortable. An 11th at Nanaimo wasn't a true indicator of how well he rode as he saw his solid top 10 finish in the first moto evaporate with a flat front tire. Then he did finally crack the top 10 in moto two with an 8th. Urquhart would be one of the casualties of the current high fuel costs when he decided he couldn't afford to finish the series and has now returned to Washington state.

Label It Honda's Jay Burke was one of the revelations of the first half of the 2008 season. Burke finished in the top 10 at every round and managed a 6th overall at Morden. Just when things were looking up for the Hamilton native, a crash suffered while racing at the Raymond Amateur National in Alberta left him with a broken hand and out of the last two western rounds. Hopefully Burke will be close to one hundred percent when the series resumes in Moncton. 

Marc-Antoine Genereux has been having a solid season in the MX2 class. Road tripping out to the western rounds, the Quebec native finished in the top 10 at three of the four west rounds. His best western finish was a 7th overall at Nanaimo and is 8th in the MX2 standings as he heads home to the eastern rounds. 

Julian Cerny missed his first national in who knows how long when he opted out of Nanaimo to be home for the birth of his son. Seems like a good enough reason for the Ironman. The Albertan was back at it the following weekend at Edmonton where he finished 11th overall in the MX1 class. 

Jared Allison's twin brother, Parker, has also been contesting the nationals and though not doing as well as his bro, he was getting back up to speed as the series made its way west. He turned things around at Edmonton with a solid 12th overall and thanks to the help from another privateer family, he should be on the line at Moncton.

Every year there seems to be a fast intermediate who breaks through during the nationals. This year it's RTR KTM's Ryan Millar(501) who's getting the job done. His breakout ride was a 7th overall at Gopher Dunes but he's still been solidly inside the top 20 out west. He currently sits 19th overall in the MX2 standings.