Sunday 3:30 PM- Finally settled at our gate at LAX. It’s going to be a long 12 hours to Rome!!! At least the battery on my phone is nearly dead already. FML

Sunday 5:00 PM- Already getting stir-crazy on this airplane! I’m kinda stoked that we got a bulkhead seat so although my butt is shoe-horned into a seat at least I have leg room. Oh and I also have the movie “Paul” to watch. This movie is pure genius.

Monday 1:15 PM- We’re sitting in the airport in Rome waiting for our connecting flight to Valencia… It’s like, 4:15 AM at home, so I’m in a bit of a fog, but I’m almost certain I just saw a giant boquet of Chupa Chups for sale in a shop. I can’t stop thinking about them, but now they’re on the other side of Passport Control, so they might as well be on a different continent. All this motorcycle nonsense aside, I will NOT leave the European Union without a large stash of lollipops.

1:45- We’ve just boarded our plane to Valencia and walking down the aisle I notice there is no row 13. Seriously, it just goes from 12 to 14. I am thoroughly offended!

Tuesday 6:45 PM- I’m chilling in my hotel room snacking on a watermelon flavored Chupa Chup. (Nom nom!!!) We’re flipping through the channels on the TV trying to kill time until we can get a bite to eat. I’ve just learned, that even in Spanish, its pretty easy to understand what’s going on in an episode of Jersey Shore. I can’t help wonder how much of Snooki gets lost in translation. The whole “eating late” thingy here baffles my mind. Like, how do these people not end up enormous after carb loading at 10 PM every night? Meanwhile, I’m STARVING. Literally. Like my stomach is digesting itself as we speak!

Wednesday 10:45 AM- I am ashamed to say I did it… I had McDonalds in Spain. And for the record. They don’t have Egg McMuffins here. Is it Friday yet?

3:30 PM- We went to the track today so that Josh could meet up with is team and kinda see what was what. Everyone at Tech 3 seems awesome and so far I am doing a good job of keeping all of my French jokes to myself. One of Colin Edwards bikes was put together and up on a stand… While Josh chatted with his data guy, I watched with interest as a few other guys started unpacking things from various boxes. A frame just came from a bit of bubble wrap and joined a swing arm on the floor. Hmmm… wonder where this is going.

Thursday 10:00 AM- Well, there is now a complete motorcycle where that frame and swing arm were sitting so I guess those guys had a lot of work to do last night. Every single bit of the bike is gorgeous. When you’re used to being around production bikes all the time, its nice to appreciate the artwork that is a grand prix motorcycle.

4:30 PM- Josh has been running around a ton today trying to get everything settled for tomorrow. He seems nervous, but I wish he wasn’t! He took me for a couple laps on the scooter around the circuit. The track really seems more like an American style track; very tight and technical.

Friday 4:00 PM- Well, talk about a trial by fire… errr water. Josh’s first session ended up being wet and his second session was wet and rainy. I was pretty nervous for him so I can’t imagine what he was feeling. He did pretty well though, ending up tenth in the second practice. Pretty impressive to me! Meanwhile, I am starving. These people never eat.

Sunday11:00 AM- Talk about awful conditions here. Its useless to even look at the weather forcast. Josh impressed everyone this morning in warmup. The track was definitely wet at the start and everyone was on rains. With about 7 minutes to go he came in for slicks. I thought it was a bit brave as the track still looked pretty iffy to me. But then he went to P1 ahead of a couple world champions. Sooo.. That’s never a bad day.

The tribute they’ve done for Simoncelli was really moving. I stood on the front straight with hundreds of others while every bike in the paddock did a lap of the circuit. Once they’d stopped on the front straight there was a load of fireworks and a huge picture of Marco that covered the whole side of a building. It was so intense to feel the love and adoration that everyone has for Marco.

3:00 PM- I feel like a rag that has been wrung out after watching that race. It was declared wet, but everyone went on slicks. I’m not sure that you could have more difficult conditions for a race. I hated to see the pile in turn one on the start and was relieved that Josh got through cleanly. It was awesome to see him ride so smart and with so much heart to a 7th place finish. I always feel like I know how great a rider he is, but it is good when he shows everyone else as well. The whole team seems really happy as well, so that is phenomenal.

Monday- All Day I hate the stupid rain. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. After working all weekend to convince Herve (Tech 3 team owner) of all the reasons he should let me try the Moto2 bike, it hasn’t stopped raining all freaking day. This is definitely not helping my cause! Le sigh.

Tuesday 10:15- I am standing in the Tech 3 box, in my leathers about to climb onto the M1. Talk about surreal. I kept waiting for someone to sit me down and give me the stern, “Don’t mess our bike up” speech, but it never comes. Josh and the Bridgestone tech quickly brief me to give the tires a lap or two to come up to temperature but assure me I’ve got the softest tires available and that it shouldn’t be so bad. Cal Crutchlow (whose bike I am actually riding) offers some advice on the carbon brakes. “They absolutely will not work until they get hot. If you go into the corner and the bike isn’t stopping the best thing to do is to let go of the lever and squeeze again”.

The next thing I know I am walking out of the garage to get on the M1. I can’t believe how many photographers are here. I climb on and as I get a few last minute instructions I briefly contemplate how funny it would be if I stalled it now. But then I am rolling down pit lane, with a knot in my stomach; I am actually doing this.  As I tip-toe around the first lap, figuring out where the race track goes, my nerves are going through the roof, but then as I come out of the last turn on to the front straight, I remember, its just a motorcycle, and motorcycles are fun.

The next 10 laps are spent learning a new racetrack and a new bike at the same time. The first thing you notice about the M1 is how fast it gains RPM compared to a production bike. It feels like as soon as you shift a gear the lights are coming for the next gear already. The carbon brakes are the next surprise. They stop so well. The strangest part about them is the feel of the lever. Compared to the steel brakes on my R6, the lever on the M1 feels like it barely moves. Being cautious, it’s hard to ever get the full idea of just how well they will work, and it feels like it would take a while to ever get your brain to trust how well they would stop. After 10 laps I come in. There are so many people who want to see the expression on my face and they are all rewarded with a big smile. Cal’s crew chief sits down with me for a moment and asks me a few questions about what I think of the bike. I think it’s cool that everyone is so rad to me about it.

After a few minutes I head back out for another go at it. This time I’m able to settle in and really enjoy it. Even though I am nowhere near what the big boys pull out of the M1, its neat to see how easy the bike does some things. When I rode Josh’s superbike in 2010 it was SO hard to ride. It had more headshake than anything I’ve ever ridden. I really expected this thing to feel like that, mean and unfriendly, but thats not the impression it gives me at all. It’s actually pretty stable feeling.  It really feels more like my 250 used to feel. Even the way you sit on the bike is so different to a production bike. The M1 is really long and skinny. My legs actually feel less cramped than the do on my R6. To be fair, I’m pretty close to the size of the average GP racer, so I guess it really is built around someone my size. On my R6 I often feel like you sit high on the bike, with your weight biased towards the front, but on the M1 it feels pretty neutral. It’s the sort of feeling that I remember from the 250 where, when if you sit up to just putt around, it makes the bike feel awkward and uncomfortable. Like it only feels right when you’re actually “going”.

Through the course of the weekend I had listened to Josh’s impressions of the bike and now I start to see what he was talking about. The M1 likes to wheelie. Coming on to the front straight I’m pretty sure it picks up the front wheel in the first four gears. The electronics make it so you don’t have to lift, but I can see where if you were racing it would be frustrating because you’d lose some acceleration as a result. I’m just hoping someone is getting pictures.

Now the laps seem to slip away and after another ten or so, I see they are giving me an IN board. I briefly consider pretending I didn’t see it, but think better of it. It’s time for Cal to start testing his new 1000 and the team needs to get to work. Climbing off the bike, I wish I could have somehow savored the experience more. I’m not ready to be done.

3:00 PM: I’m sitting in the media center looking over the front straight. All day people have been asking what I thought of the M1. I wish I had better ways to explain what the experience meant to me. I’m checking my email and see I have one from a really cool girl that I coached at a trackday a few weeks ago. She rides a Ninja 250 and even though she is new to riding on a racetrack, she made impressive progress. I had sent her a picture of myself on the same bike at Palomar Mountain when I first started riding and its still attached to the string of emails. I suddenly realize that the picture is only about 8 years old. That’s when I realize how blessed my life is. I know that girl at Palomar dreamed of his, but I’m not sure if she would have believed she’d be here.

I really want to make sure I give huge thanks to Herve and the rest of the Tech 3 Yamaha team for being so generous and kind to Josh and I. Also, big thanks to Yamaha US, YES, and GYTR for arranging this whole thing!!

So how about that Daytona 200, huh?

My season started early… I worked pretty hard during the off season. I got to do a couple of WERA races, some testing at Las Vegas, and Chuckwalla (which is a pretty sweet new track in Palm Springs that sponsors me) and I have been working out a ton too.

I revamped my training program this winter and its been a pretty cool experience. In the past I really only focussed on cardio. Living with a four time AMA Champion, its usually a pretty good rule of thumb to just copy what he does. Josh pretty much lives on a bicycle, so naturally I did the same thing. We started looking at things a bit differently this winter though. While roadracing doesn’t take as much brute strength as a lot of other sports, it does reward a strong athlete. My size is often an advantage, but the flip side is that I don’t have the natural strength of a guy. I realized I needed a strength training program to go with my normal cycling routine. I won’t get into the gory details, but I definitely logged some hours at the YMCA.

I’ll admit that the “girly” in me didn’t like seeing the number on the scale climb up, but as soon as I was back on the bike I was SO grateful for that extra five pounds of muscle. Having Josh even notice the way I moved on the motorcycle was awesome.

Sooooo… with all that said, I was super duper pumped to head into Daytona with my brand new HT Moto Yamaha R6. Thanks to HT Moto, this year I have really been able to improve my program.

Most of the first day of practice was rained out, which was frustrating. I really can’t remember the last time I was SO excited to ride. It felt like Christmas eve. It was a long day of sitting around and by the time we finally rolled out onto the track, I think I had lost a bit of focus. I had a tough time getting going coupled with the bike not pulling so well on the top end. I was pretty much mid-pack and annoyed because I knew I had a lot more in me.

After practice we ran the bike over to DynoJet where we resolved a mapping issue that found us a few more pony’s. The next morning I got going better and found myself P18 with some grip problems. At the end of the session the Dunlop guys told us we could safely drop some pressure to get a bit more grip from the rear, so I felt pretty good for final qualifying. Unfortunately, they split the last session into a fast and slow group based on the first practice. That put me at the top of the “slow” group… Not good. I tried to find the next fastest guy and head out on the track with him so maybe we could work the draft together, but unfortunately he wasn’t feeling very generous and just stayed behind me. Even pushing my own air the whole session I still went a tiny bit faster and knew I would just have to do my work in the race.

The pre-race festivities helped take my mind of the butterflies I had. There was a HUGE mob during the fan walk which was really cool. I had a lot of fun hanging out and taking pictures with all of the race fans that came out. I also had a pretty cool umbrella boy Melvin who is a UFC fighter.

The race FINALLY got underway and unfortunately I got a pretty pathetic start. I never seem to find the right line in turn one at Daytona on the start. I’m going to have to work on that! At any rate, I set to work, but within a lap or two I noticed a strange noise coming from my bike, and it stopped pulling very well. It was frustrating because I was riding as hard as I could but my lap times weren’t showing it. The bike just didn’t seem to pull very well. I just kept at it and hoped that it would finish the rest. I got into a pretty good battle with four or five guys that kept me busy until the first pit stop. When I did finally roll in, my guys did an AMAZING job. Its always so cool when a privateer team can pull of a flawless stop nearly as fast as the factory teams. My hat goes off to them for sure. As soon as I restarted my bike, I knew that Joey my crew chief must have heard the noise the bike was making, and for a split second I wondered what he thought it might be.

As soon as I got back on the track I hooked back up with Tyler O’Hara and we picked up where we had left off before the pit stop. A few laps later I noticed Danny Eslick’s bike laying in the flat coming off of NASCAR 4. It was weird, because I really couldn’t think of any logical scenario that would have someone fall there. A few laps later, there was a red flag and the whole field was brought in. Apparently Eslick and a few other riders had chunked front tires and they needed to assess the situation. As frustrating as it was, I was glad that they AMA and Dunlop put our safety before the “show”. They finally brought out a new batch of tires and shortened the race. There was a lot of confusion, that saw a lot of riders having to change tires several times, but it was finally sorted out, and then we waited a bit longer to try and give everyone a chance to get some heat in the new fronts.

They elected to give us two warm up laps to get used to the new tires, followed by a 15 lap sprint. On our out lap someone hit a seagull in the International Horseshoe, and there was feathers and bird parts everywhere… awesome. Then some riders helped themselves to a third warmup lap while the rest of us let out bikes overheat and our tires cool off on the grid. Thanks guys.

When we finally restarted, two riders inside of me collided and I had to ride off turn one to avoid hitting their sliding motorcycles. I re-entered in last place. Awesome. Love it. Great. =D Luckily (?) someone else had blown an engine on the start so they actually red-flagged it AGAIN. My next start was slightly better, although I was trying to go easy on my motor, in case it was in a fragile state. I settled in and tried to do the best I could, but at this point my bike wouldn’t even pull 6th gear anymore. I was having to leave it in 5th all the way around the banking. Somehow I was able to stick with a group of four or so guys until we got a red flag on our last lap. When we came around and I saw two motorcycles absolutely destroyed in the tri-oval I was stunned. Talk about a worst possible scenario. A few riders got tangled up drafting to the checkered flag and Dane Westby and Taylor Knapp were the unlucky victims. I was relieved that they were mostly ok. You never want to see someone get hurt. I had been in the front of my group our last time by start/finish so I ended up 18th.

Now that its all over, I’m hearing a lot of the expected negative comments about the AMA, Dunlop and Speed channel. Speaking from the point of view of someone who was there… it kinda bums me out. The AMA really got a bad rap in 2009, but the new crew running the show has done a miraculous job of turning it around. As much as it sucks to have the race stopped, I appreciate their concern for rider safety. Same thing goes for Dunlop. I’m not engineer, but I imagine its hard to predict what a new surface will do to tires for any given temperature range. Again, I thank them for bringing us in and putting our safety first. I would have much rather finished the 200 mile race, but there were too many variables to do it safely unfortunately. And finally, to Speed. Yes, I wish Speed channel showed nothing but motorcycles 24 hours a day… but its also hard to keep a camera trained on a vacant race track I imagine…

I’m definitely not pleased with my finish, knowing that I was capable of so much more. But with that said, it could definitely have gone a lot worse, all things considered. I’m glad I was able to finish in the money and I know we’ll have plenty of time to get the bike problem sorted out before my next race. Trying to stay optimistic over here =D Positive outcomes only!

Before I wrap this up, I have some thanks to give… First God… goal this year was to learn that a lot of things are out of my control and to put it in his hands. A hard lesson, but a good one. Next the 4 J’s:
Josh- thanks for the support and love… and telling me you’re proud when I go deep on the brakes  ;) Joey- I know you don’t like being called a crew chief, but you worked so hard on my program… Its awesome knowing that I have a teammate. I have two words for you… El… Camino….
Jen- I knew I liked you from the minute I met ya… You did an awesome job of handling anything that needed to be handled. And you made a great umbrella girl too. Looks and smarts. You don’t often get both!
Jason- Thanks for coming down to be my front wheel man on such short notice. Funny how one weekend at Daytona can make it seem like you’re old friends!
Pete- Any excuse to have my clean-up eater around is a good one. Thanks for making time for me buddy!
Fred- I am so glad you were gullible enough to answer that add for an “internship”. Ha! We fooled you!
Dreb- My pit board man… Always nice to see you giving me a bow at the end of a session. Thanks man!
Dad- I know you were nervous to be my fuel man, but you did awesome. Also thanks to Rae Lynn for coming to support me too!
Also thanks to Lou and Arno for coming to cheer me on!!!

And now… Some pictures for your enjoyment…

Joey and I trying to figure out the easiest way to move our Yamaha Generator.

Not every idea can be a winner.

At least I had on the proper safety gear!

Jen and I with some race fans… a few people thought she was me =D I take that as a compliment!

And Joe Rocket comes through with some AWESOME gear =D

With the state of the econcomy it’s gotten harder and harder to find support to go racing lately. This year I was so incredibly blessed to have so many of my sponsors step up their support from last year as well as to have more come on board. Nevertheless, a lot of it came together last minute, which left my new mechanic, Rick Matheny of RM Racing with little more than 2 weeks to build 2 Yamaha R6′s into proper race bikes. He came through for us though, and I rolled into Daytona this year with some stupid fast machinery (insert huge smile here).

My first practice had a few snafus which unfortunately delegated me to the slow group for qualifying. Ordinarily this would just be annoying, but at a track like Daytona, it’s super important to hook up with someone fast in qualifying for a draft… not so much of an option for me. As a result I ended up qualifying 28th…which was better than last year, but definately not where I knew I was capable of being.

We went into the race knowing that the most important thing to do was be smooth, play it smart, and not make mistakes. That got tested right away with a massive pileup right on the start. Luckily I was able to avoid it and make my way back to the pits for the restart. By then I’d realized that despite tire warmers… the groud was so cold that it was still really slick. On the restart I took it really easy for two laps. A few people got by me… but I knew I had 200 miles to do my thing. As my first stint went on I picked off rider after rider and worked my way up to the top twenty or so. I *almost* felt bad when my RM Racing tuned R6 would just motor by people on the banking… but only for a second! I settled into a decent battle with another guy that helped me keep my focus as I waited for Drebber to show me my “In” board.

My first pit stop went super smooth. I had been nervous how we’d stack up against all the big name teams, but my All Star crew of Rick Matheny, Vic Fassola, Michael Godin, Steven Breckenridge, Joe Capelli and our fearless volounteer Josh (from Wyotech) was flawless. I was in and out and back on the track FAST.

A lot of people must have struggled in that first stop because as soon as I went back out on track I saw that my position had improved to top 15 or so. I settled into a battle with the same guy again and just put my head down to do my thing. After the second pit stop I couldn’t believe that I was running between 10th and 12th position consistently. A top fifteen finish had been my “realistic” goal… but true to form.. in my heart I’d been hoping for top ten. Not to mention that the purse money would have really helped get me along to the next event. I made sure not to think about it too much and just focus on the race lap by lap…

With about ten laps to go Cory West came by me and I had a laugh that I nearly drafted right back by him on the banking… Have I mentioned how fast my R6 is? A few laps later Herrin (the race leader) came by on the run up to the chicane. I made a point to sit up at my normal break marker and just take it easy since I knew I had a big gap back to the next rider. I tipped it in left and flicked it right… and then I was tumbling through the dirt. Before I’d even stopped I was thinking to myself, “you’ve got to be kidding me! How can this be happening?!” It was like instant heart break. You cannot even fathom the disspointment when in one glance I knew I couldn’t finish the race. Immediately I felt a burning in my fingers and I looked down to see that my glove was torn open. I must have gotten my hand caught under the handlebar when I fell because other than that I didn’t have a scratch to speak of. Oh dear… it was like adding injury to insult… lol. I knew I didn’t want to see it so I just walked to the ambulance.

When they got my glove off they saw that most of the top of my pinkie finger had been ground down to the bone from the second knucke to the tip. Not a pretty sight. I had to go to the ER to get it scrubbed out and xrayed to see that the end of it was broken. I was relieved that Josh was able to go to hospital with me this time and that my team joined us there later… I guess only the people that know me best could understand that the anguish was over not finishing the race and not about my mangled finger.

We’re driving now to see the hand specialist tomorrow to see what needs to be done. I’m hoping it’ll be a quick fix because I’m definately ready to get back riding. Lucky for me (ok, maybe lucky isn’t the right word) Josh has been through a very similar injury and has a great doc for me to see… Plus he kinda knows how I’m feeling and is taking great care of me. (Although it is kinda embarassing to be babied over a finger injury, lol).

I really want to thank ALL of my sponsors for their support and believing in me… I wish I could have brought home the top ten finish for them… but there will be plenty more opportunities this year. Thank you Yamaha, GYTR, Royal Purple, Joe Rocket, RM Racing, LeoVince, Barbara Conner Jewelry, MotionPro, Concept 5, Millennium Technologies, Factory Bodyworks, GB Racing, Vesrah, Spiegler, Zero Gravity, XT Racing, and Dynojet.

Stay tuned for updates… I really wanted to post a picture of my finger but Josh said a lot of people who paid good money for their lunch probably wouldn’t appreciate it too much. lol.

You may know by now that I had a bit of an “accident” at the Big Kahuna National at VIR. I crashed out of race 1 uninjured save for a bruise on my backside and went into Race 2 hoping for a better result. That was pretty shortlived. I actually got a pretty good start and jumped up a few rows into turn one. Unfortunately I arrived just in time to be present for a massive pileup. One rider tucked the front and cleaned out several others. I was on the brakes as hard as I could to avoid the situation, and for a brief moment, I thought I was going to make it out ok. I could see one of my friends face down under a pile of bikes and was really scared I was going to hit him. It was everything I could do to get slowed down. Just when I thought everything was going to be ok, I became plainly aware of the fact that there were several riders behind me. A few of them had also crashed apparently because the next thing I knew a rogue motorcycle had slammed into my right leg inflicting the most pain I have experienced ever. It was like someone flicked a switch and sent me into full on panic mode. Its kind of funny but at that moment I had this realization that I was in for a rough day and there was absolutely NOTHING I could do to change things. A lot of friends who saw the race on tv asked me why I was hitting my fist on the ground. I guess its because I didn’t have a stick to bite! Another racer, Josh Galster was right there and he must have seen my eyes as big as saucers and he came over and kneeled next to me. I remember telling him, “Josh, my leg is freaking broken”. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind. He was super cool and sat with me the whole time while the paramedics cut my leathers off. One of them said it was my tibia and fibula that had broken right at the top of my boot. They splinted me up and took me to the infield medical center for xrays.

When we got to the medical center, Josh, my mechanic Mark, and a few other people were waiting on me. I kept apologizing to Josh because I knew he still had to race and I didn’t want to stress him out. Everyone was super cool and comforting though. Mark and Josh’s manager Gina followed the ambulance to the hospital where they attemped a few times to stabilize the breaks. Because of the angle of the break, I was going to need a rod placed in it, but since I was going to fly to CA to see Doc Ting, I needed it somewhat stable. That process totally sucked. I could feel the bones snapping back and forth. Each time they’d get it straight and set my leg back on the table I could feel them snap back again. Nasty!!! Finally they got me in a splint clear to my thigh and sent me on my way.

The trip home was no fun at all. The bones kepts snapping around and it felt like the longest flight EVER. Add to that the fact that I wasn’t allowed to eat anything (because I was having surgery) and I could not have been a good travel companion! As soon as we drove up to the surgery center they had a bed ready for me, and I went right in. Dr. Ting put a rod in my tibia and left the fibula to heal naturally.

After that I basically spent the next two weeks laying on the couch with ice on my leg… All in all, I’d have to say I don’t reccomend it… But I won’t be down long… I’ll be back at it VERY soon!

So there I was… Poised on the edge of a bridge in Yosemite, trying to will myself to jump. OK… So maybe it wasn’t exactly the craziest thing ever, but it was right up Bret’s alley and exactly the sort of thing I would generally chicken out of. When I finally let go and plunged into the water it felt like I was flying. I couldn’t wait to get home and tell my big brother about my adventure.

That night my brother Bret was killed in a car accident. He was only 17 years old. At 11 years old, you’re just on the edge of being able to comprehend loss like that. I was overcome with confusion. To me, it redefined “unfair”. There was so much life left for him. Through all the tears and anger I made a promise to Bret that I was going to get his money’s worth out this life for him.
Now that I’m older I’m still learning from Bret. He was just a kid but he understood what it meant to take risks and live life to the fullest. Sometimes he did things he shouldn’t… sometimes it turned out bad and sometimes it turned out spectacular. But the only way to know what you are capable of, is to try things you might not be. I think that’s something we can all learn from. Some would say that I have no business rolling out on track with the World Supersport field. It’s only my second pro race… and I’ve still got a lot to learn.
But I don’t care. Next week, in honor of my brother Bret, I am going to rock the number 29 (his birthday is September 29) and crawl over the railing and jump in…

Josh and I decided to use the 6 hour endurance race as a chance to work out some kinks with the bike. I have to give him props for riding on my setup which was probably pretty miserable for him. We were struggling trying to get the bike to finish a corner and also with rear grip. But by the end of the day we’d worked quite a bit of the kinks out and I was ready to try some new stuff out for the next day!

Sunday morning just before practice it started raining. There was a collective moan from most in the paddock, but I didn’t care at all. For some reason I’ve come to like riding in the rain, especially at Miller which is such a safe track. I gladly splashed around in practice on my Pirelli rain tires knowing that it would be good practice since there was a chance of rain for the next weekend.

My first race of the day was 600 Superstock. I got an absolutely awful start from the fifth row and really had to fight to make up any positions. We had made a change to the setup just before the race, and apparently we went the wrong way because grip went down hill big time!!! I even ran off the track once or twice. Just when I was getting the hang of the things the checkerd came out and I was stuck in ninth…

The next race was 750 superstock… This time I was on row 6 and got another miserable start. I was still on rain tires and freaked out when I realized there was a dry line around the whole track. I had to aim for puddles when I could and just hope for the best. I got into a really good battle with a couple other guys and ended up ninth again. grrr..

By the time 600 Superbike rolled around the track was totally dry and we were back on DOT tires. It seemed like my grid positions kept moving further and further back. This time I got a decent start and settled in trying to chase people down. On the second or so lap I caught Austin DeHaven and we got into a fun little battle. I really wanted to get clear of him and finally dive bombed him into turn six… Unfortunately I must have gotten a little excited and accidently down shifted to first gear and ran off the track… So much for that race.

My last race of the day was 750 Superbike… my last chance to get going. Again I was so far back I could barely see the flagger (maybe a SLIGHT exageration) but I got a great start and tried to push as hard as I could. I had fun dicing it up with some of my friends and ended up with fifth… Just ahead of one of the other wild card entries for next week… niiiiiice….

All in all my lap times didn’t end up where I was hoping they would, but I’ve got some great ideas to try for next weekend. Plus there should be PLENTY of fast guys to learn from!!!

A lot has been happening in the short time since I found out I was going to be competing… there has been endless running around to sort out licenses, parts, fuel, and money… Yes trying to find money! This race is going to be an expensive one for me, so I’ve been trying VERY hard to scrounge up funds! Keep an eye out for some exciting news on that front!!!

Obviously, I’ve been getting some mixed reactions on doing this race. For the most part people have been so incredibly supportive of me, which is awesome. It’s especially cool to see some of my biggest competition be so cool about it. Of course there are some people who question why I was granted an entry or if I belong out there. That’s totally cool. I respect that everyone will have an opinion. Life would be boring if we all thought the same! Here’s my take on it… Anyone that knows me, understands that I’ve never been one to set my goals according to other people’s expectations of me. I’m also not one to set easily attained goals. It’s just not my thing. How will this turn out? I can’t say for sure… All I can say is that I am working my tail off to achieve this dream… just as I have been for years. And in a couple weeks I’m going to climb on my R6 and find out if “my best” is good enough. Wish me luck.