10/21/2007 -Season Complete-
Well the season is over for me and it was really an exciting one at that. I went from winning every race i entered to being taken out not finishing, back to winning everything i entered the next week with a broken foot, cracked collarbone, and nerve damage in my hip from that one crash.
The season really started off well as you can read from the first entry. My Kawi was getting old and needed a lot of work to get it where i wanted suspension wise and with the motor even. So i deemed it a lot better investment going to the new Honda CRF250R and it was definitely a good thing. I rode another guy's 05 CRF250 and really liked that one after winning both moto's on it uncontested, i knew that i could use a new one. So the next week i went up to Clawson's in Fresno and they really hooked me up with a nice bike.
It was a quick break in period for the bike, considering i had a race that very same weekend back at Little Okie. So we did what we needed to do to break it in and make it race ready for Friday. I almost instantly felt comfortable on it from the very first practice and i was already hitting faster lap times on that than what i was on my KXF.
I went through 3 weekends without loosing a moto and then in the 4th week of racing in the series, a no-name with more takeout skills than actual riding skills showed up. In the first moto, he got a good jump on me and i was back in about 5th place from the start. I was able to catch up to 2nd right on his tail after 2 laps and then made a pass going into the woop section on the 3rd lap. I help that lead for about 3 corners and he came hot into a tight 180 left hander and T-boned me right off the track. I was able to get back up and get the bike started fairly quickly and only lost a few positions. I was really riding well that not, however, and was able to catch 3rd with no problems and then 2nd place was a bit harder to get around, but after coming over a small step up close to the finish, you have two options around a corner; either jump into the inside corner and rail it or stay on the gas on the outside and try. the 2nd place rider took what he was taking all night on the outside, so i then jumped to the inside and didn't even touch the brakes and by the time we got to the next corner i already had a bike length on him. So, i was able to finish 2nd, which is just as good as 1st in the 1st moto. I pretty much wrote it off after being taken out the first moto. I said that it could have been an accident and I'm not going to go out in the 2nd moto with a vendetta, just a bit more aware of his riding style when it got time to make a move. In the 2nd moto, we both got into the lead; him in first me in second. I decided to just dog him for a few laps to see where i was faster and able to make a good move. So at the beginning of the 3rd lap, i decided to start showing him a wheel here and there to try to pressure him into a mistake to open up the door for me. I knew i was a lot faster at that point and knew where i needed to make the moves at to get the lead and then check out fast enough he couldn't pull any crap. The first try was in the 2nd tight left hander where i was faster on the inside when he went outside so i made a move there at first. He then saw that i was making the pass and immediately cut down into me knocking me off the track once again, but not taking me off the bike. Now, i knew that this guy was either going to win by taking me out or needed to be block passed hard enough to where i could get away to where he wouldn't have the opportunity to try to take me out. That time came in a perfect position on the widow-make of the track where i was hammering to the top and then jumping all the way out to where he was holding the outside not jumping out. I had the pass made on the inside, but then he really surprised me by actually taking his foot of his bike and KICKED my bike as i had the inside! This obviously really messed my rhythm up, since that kind of thing has never happened before and i almost lost the front end going out of the corner. This set us up for the final lap and two more chances to pass without being taken out. One was in the 2nd tight left handed corner and the 2nd was on the widow maker again. The first try i made was clean, but yet again he cut in to try to ram my bike, so at this point, i just got on the brakes and he just tagged my front end and wasn't able to knock me down. Then, i got back up on him after 2 corners and had a good pass set up going into the widow maker. I had a lapper in the middle and me on the inside to scoot both of them over so I would have a traffic buffer between us. However, this didn't work and as i jumped over the top he crossed over into me as i was still in the air over the widow maker, taking my front wheel out from under me (purposefully or not) and sent me just slamming on my right side, which broke my foot(3 places), my shoulder, and caused a bit of nerve damage in my hip. But, then it just got ridiculous. In this whole scenario he wasn't even able to make the corner and rode over it. he never fell down, but he decided that he didn't want to ride anymore for some reason (even though we were about half a lap ahead). He puts down his bike and climbs back over the berm to where I have EMT's around me, while I'm knocked out and starts hitting and kicking me! I didn't even know he did this until the EMT's told me after i came to and the track owner had to actually restrain one of the EMT's so he didn't beat up the moron. To say the least, i was in no shape to get up and on the bike to finish, so a very cute EMT girl helped me off the track and bandaged up a very raw arm and hip and i got my wits about me. In the aftermath of it all, this guy was banned from the track and suspended for a year from CMA racing. I hope he learns his lesson and comes back a lot more mature.
Now, i was on the mend, but no break between to let me really relax. I had two more races in the next two weeks. I'm not going to be brash and say I'm some really tough guy who can take pain like no one else, but i do have decent amount of tolerance for some pain. So about mid-week i deemed it was going to be possible for me to race the upcoming weekend if i tapped up my foot and took a few advil. Luck was in my hands, this weekend too and it rained all night. Me being from northern IL, i know how to ride mud. So going into the first moto, i just wanted to score points and keep my present lead of 6pts. I was able to holeshot and never look back. I was the only one doing the jumps comfortably and after i noticed i had about a lap lead on everyone, i slowed down and relaxed to the finish. Then, in my favor again, they canceled the second moto due to the increasing amounts of rain.
The final weekend, or this past weekend, was our final race for the series. I was feeling much better and able to ride a lot better. The first moto, i had a so-so start in 5th, but i was able to catch 1st within 2 laps. The in first and i are friends on and off the track so needless to say i am comfortable riding next to him and I'm not worried about him making cheap shots to take me out. He still puts up a good battle and isn't afraid to be aggressive which is fine with me. But, after i made a good pass on the outside he tried to come back inside to make a block pass, but he just couldn't hold his line and slide out underneath me. So after that i only had a couple laps left and i relaxed to the finish. We caught up after the race and shook hands on it and decided it was racing and no one took the other out. The 2nd moto, was us again in 1st and 2nd. This guy has never lost a holeshot since I have known him. So i once again just hounded him for a good few laps and then it was pretty much given to me when he made a big bobble in a corner and i went right by. Then, it was just a game of keeping tabs on 2nd and kept him about a straight away behind.
That was it then, I finished the last race in good fashion going 1-1 and brought home the race win trophy along with the championship trophy. Now i have a nice 2 weeks off to heal up and get ready for the Dealer Dollar series and moving up to the next class to see how i do.
Until next time...