Race Report

Coming up to the VIR round I was faced with having to make some tough decisions. I found myself in a financial dark spot so bad I couldn't tell if my eyes were open or not. Either I stay home, lick my wounds, and hope the collection agencies don't find me - or roll the dice, go to VIR, and try to work myself out of it a bit (read: risk). After all of the bad luck from Laguna, Portland and Mid-Ohio, my goals for VIR were forced to change. If I was going to make it to VIR, instead of charging as hard as I could, putting on a show and making a name for myself, I'd be forced into getting a good handle on the track, leaving a huge safety margin, and seeing three chequered flags. It's difficult as a racer to hold back and play it safe, it's really forcing yourself to do what you've been training yourself not to all along. I kept a light attitude all weekend though, never looking at a single timesheet other than the final grids, and just went out there and did my thing.

The first Superbike race felt like an endurance event (only cause I hadn't experienced the second one yet). It was pretty tough on most people though, as a lot of the competitors crashed or dropped out for one reason or another. I felt like I was going so slow that I could have had a kickstand down on both sides of the bike without knowing it. After Nicky came by I expected to get swamped by the whole factory crowd but it didn't happen. Miraculously I finished 15th and did well for achieving my goals (so far).

We only had about 35 minutes after the Superbike race to prepare for Superstock, and since I was a one man show this weekend, it was a little tough. Normally I have someone else to help out with things, but that wasn't the case this weekend - and I really felt it on Saturday. On double header weekends, the Saturday schedule it just outlandish for a Superstock racer that also competes in Superbike. We're on the track nearly every other session with 2 major races in the heat of the day nearly back to back. Listen to me whine, huh?

The Superstock race started out quite well, but ended in bitter disappointment due to a glaring mistake by the AMA. Part way through the race it was red-flagged. The procedure is for there to be an air horn blast signalling that there are 3 minutes 'til the start of the warm-up lap. Apparently there was an air horn, but I'm not sure how much gas was in it 'cause at our end of the pits there was nothing until the whistles blew signalling the start of the warm-up lap. We were all sitting there with our leathers around our waists and helmets and gloves off. We got rolling in time but when the countdown clock hit zero the official at pit exit stopped us and would not let us take the warm-up lap. The policy is that you must be rolling on pit lane (no matter how far back on pit lane) before the clock goes to zero, not past the official by the time the clock goes to zero. One racer rode right past the official without any consequences - I wish now that I did the same. Six of us were stopped there. We pleaded with him or anyone else within ear shot to let us start the lap, or at least let us take our grid positions. He adamantly refused. Vince Haskovec was irate and began to take off. The official tried to pull in his brake lever but Vinny just threw the guy's arm away. He had to put out his elbow and shoulder to get by the guy and did a U-turn, blasted down pit lane backwards, gridded up and started with the field. They made the remaining five of us start on cold tires from pit lane after the entire field had taken off. I was pissed, and determined to have something happen about it. I spoke at length with Ron Barrick and Merrill Vanderslice about the incident, and they both admitted that the AMA had made a mistake. Ron was tied up in meetings about the deal for hours. In the end, nothing happened. They fined Vinny $500 but let him keep his position and points. Now I wish I followed either the first guy or Vinny. I'm sorrily disappointed with the outcome of it all. It cost me a position in the championship standings and the chance to do anything in the race.

The second Superbike race was the toughest race I've ever had to endure. The heat and humidity were disgusting before the race even started, and by the third red flag we were all just sick. All the drinks anyone had down at the pit wall were consumed by the third red flag, and we were forced to drink the 4-day-old water from the buckets that were being used to anchor down the canopies. At one point during braking coming off the back straight, I had puke come halfway up my throat. I choked it back while still trying to get the bike stopped. I ran wide but kept it on the track, and had to deal with the taste of stomach acid for about a lap after that. In the end the only start that really mattered was the one I blew (the last one). I was on the far inside of my row and got forced off the inside of the track where it kinks in the straightaway into the grass for a short bit. It wasn't a big deal except for all the drive I lost while my tire spun in the grass for a couple feet which let the whole stack of guys behind me swarm in. I fought back hard to gain a few positions back but ended up in 19th, averaging about 2 seconds a lap slower than the other legs of the race due to traffic.

It's not much fun riding a National weekend with such a safety margin, and knowing how much better you could have done. I'm sure I didn't make anyone's eyes spread wide open or do much impressing of any kind, but that's not why I went to VIR. I did what I had to do: roll around, see three chequered flags, stay in the top 20 positions in points, and earn some money. I'm happy with the outcome and looking forward to the rest of my "non-travelling" season. The rest are home-games unless I get talked into the GNF @ Atlanta.

I want to say a big thanks to my sponsors for keeping me in the game: Tuff Dog Racing, Pirelli, Maxima, Shoei, EBC, Ron's Performance Motors, eClips Web Design, Leo Vince, Gericke, Oxtar, Helimot, MotorcycleUSA.com, SMI Motorsports, Sprocket Specialists, Factory Pro Tuning, Sharkskinz, Engineered Racing Products, MototuneUSA.com and Nutec.

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