Mike
10-01-2009, 09:49 AM
"Springfield Weekend," Labor Day Weekend 2009
It was a tough Indianapolis race last weekend but all you can do is put that behind you, learn from it, and look on to the next race and that is what I did. I returned back to my good friend Dave Garmon's place in Pekin, IL, to prepare for this big weekend. This week, Wayne Cooley, from Washington flew back to help me get everything ready and support me.
Thursday night, we drove down to Alexander, IL, to a short track, Shepp's Speedway, on the singles. I ran real strong in practice and battled up front in the heat. The main was packed with some fast riders including teammate Joe Kopp, #3. I pulled a 7th place finish in the 450 Expert class aboard the stock framed, Bob Lanphere's Renton Suzuki/R&A Racing motorcycle. I felt good with that finish on a DTX bike.
There was plenty to do on the bike Friday before trying to relax a little that night and scope out the Amateurs on the TT. The track looked to be laid out better this year and I was excited to get out on it.
We battled bad weather all day Saturday. Due to Mother Nature, the IMDA and the AMA decided to keep the track sealed in by wheel packing. This was a little untypical of Springfield and we were a little off pace in qualifying. The track crew tried all evening to get a good track to run on but in the end, they made the smart choice by canceling the race as riders were getting hurt left and right. The plan now was to get the mile in tomorrow and run the short track Monday.
Sunday morning came but the weather and track conditions were far from perfect. The track was not able to be prepped until later on in the afternoon and after wheel packing in the tacky mile, the AMA decided to run a shortened program. Experts were given two rounds of qualifying/practice, running only heat races, with the top six riders transferring.
Things felt great in practice. Again with the weather conditions, the track was not the usual Springfield Mile because today, you could run where you wanted. I was able to run down a few riders in practice. I didn't quite have the horses to pull out of the draft and run it by guys but I made things work, driving it in deep on the corners. At the end of qualifying, I sat 36th fastest.
Luckily the bike was feeling great as all Wayne and Rock'in Ronnie had time to do was put fuel in the bike before rolling it up to staging for heat race number one. I lined up on the very inside of the second row. I don't know if it was rushing into the heat or just another rookie mistake but when the light dropped green I was in the wrong gear for the mile start and the bike nearly died, sending me to the back of the pack. There was a lot running through my head at the point but the biggest one being, "Let's get going Brady!" Within a few laps, I was starting to pick off a few riders. I knew as the race went on the riders would get somewhat spread out into packs so then the drafts are harder to pick up in between. By lap six, I sat in the 9th spot. I was making up good time driving into the corners low in turn three and a little bit higher in turn one. In the end, I came up two spots short, crossing the finish line 8th. I was real annoyed not getting a shot at it in the semi but that just shows you must ride with no mistakes to be in the show. I really appreciate George Latus of Latus Motors Harley~Davidson giving me the opportunity to compete in the Expert twin races and I feel I?m real close to being a contender in the main events.
The AMA decided to requalify all of us riders for Monday's short track. Today they gave use only two rounds of qualifying with no practice so it was immediately time to get to work. I got out there in the first round and felt real competitive and sat 35th fastest. The track conditions play a huge role in lap times here and it was decided to invert the practice order so I would get a much fresher track to run on. This was all right with me! With a freshly groomed track, I qualified 7th fastest in the second session and 8th fastest overall. I was pretty pumped to have a front row starting spot but knew that was only half the battle.
I lined up 4th over from the pole of heat race number two. The bike seemed to bog a little but I came charging into turn one about mid pack. Within a few laps, I was able to find a good line; two wheeling around the bottom as the track was starting to go away, getting dry and dusty. I moved up into the 5th spot behind #29 Jake Mataya, #4 Carr, #17B Radley, and #43 Sammy Halbert. The Bob Lanphere's Renton Suzuki/ R&A Racing motorcycle was working great and I was making up a lot of time coming off turn two where it was marbley and starting to groove up. The next lap, I was able to move by Halbert and sat in the transfer spot. Now I was able to quickly come up on Carr and Radley who were running a close 2nd and 3rd but they were protecting their line around the bottom. I worked them both hard, having my bike to the locks in turn three and four but couldn't seem to get a good wheel in there on them. In the end, I took 4th place sending me to my first Grand National Main Event!
What a great feeling! Oh, boy! I lined up on the outside of the second row for the main. My idea was to get a strong start from the outside and pick off as many guys on the outside on the first lap. This worked the first lap until I tried making my way down to the bottom of the race track. It seemed like everyone was at the door and when I finally made it down where I needed to ride, I was in 15th position. The track was not too racy as it dried out like day race tracks do. When the checkers flew, I took 18th to finish out my Springfield weekend.
My target this season as a rookie was to get into my first Grand National Main Event to earn my National number. I accomplished that goal while learning and growing and that makes me feel good. Those boys are tough but today I showed I can run with them! I'm headed back to Washington where I will compete in some hot, local races. I will be finishing the season in Pomona, CA, October 24th, on the 5/8 cushion IN THE MAIN EVENT!
It was a tough Indianapolis race last weekend but all you can do is put that behind you, learn from it, and look on to the next race and that is what I did. I returned back to my good friend Dave Garmon's place in Pekin, IL, to prepare for this big weekend. This week, Wayne Cooley, from Washington flew back to help me get everything ready and support me.
Thursday night, we drove down to Alexander, IL, to a short track, Shepp's Speedway, on the singles. I ran real strong in practice and battled up front in the heat. The main was packed with some fast riders including teammate Joe Kopp, #3. I pulled a 7th place finish in the 450 Expert class aboard the stock framed, Bob Lanphere's Renton Suzuki/R&A Racing motorcycle. I felt good with that finish on a DTX bike.
There was plenty to do on the bike Friday before trying to relax a little that night and scope out the Amateurs on the TT. The track looked to be laid out better this year and I was excited to get out on it.
We battled bad weather all day Saturday. Due to Mother Nature, the IMDA and the AMA decided to keep the track sealed in by wheel packing. This was a little untypical of Springfield and we were a little off pace in qualifying. The track crew tried all evening to get a good track to run on but in the end, they made the smart choice by canceling the race as riders were getting hurt left and right. The plan now was to get the mile in tomorrow and run the short track Monday.
Sunday morning came but the weather and track conditions were far from perfect. The track was not able to be prepped until later on in the afternoon and after wheel packing in the tacky mile, the AMA decided to run a shortened program. Experts were given two rounds of qualifying/practice, running only heat races, with the top six riders transferring.
Things felt great in practice. Again with the weather conditions, the track was not the usual Springfield Mile because today, you could run where you wanted. I was able to run down a few riders in practice. I didn't quite have the horses to pull out of the draft and run it by guys but I made things work, driving it in deep on the corners. At the end of qualifying, I sat 36th fastest.
Luckily the bike was feeling great as all Wayne and Rock'in Ronnie had time to do was put fuel in the bike before rolling it up to staging for heat race number one. I lined up on the very inside of the second row. I don't know if it was rushing into the heat or just another rookie mistake but when the light dropped green I was in the wrong gear for the mile start and the bike nearly died, sending me to the back of the pack. There was a lot running through my head at the point but the biggest one being, "Let's get going Brady!" Within a few laps, I was starting to pick off a few riders. I knew as the race went on the riders would get somewhat spread out into packs so then the drafts are harder to pick up in between. By lap six, I sat in the 9th spot. I was making up good time driving into the corners low in turn three and a little bit higher in turn one. In the end, I came up two spots short, crossing the finish line 8th. I was real annoyed not getting a shot at it in the semi but that just shows you must ride with no mistakes to be in the show. I really appreciate George Latus of Latus Motors Harley~Davidson giving me the opportunity to compete in the Expert twin races and I feel I?m real close to being a contender in the main events.
The AMA decided to requalify all of us riders for Monday's short track. Today they gave use only two rounds of qualifying with no practice so it was immediately time to get to work. I got out there in the first round and felt real competitive and sat 35th fastest. The track conditions play a huge role in lap times here and it was decided to invert the practice order so I would get a much fresher track to run on. This was all right with me! With a freshly groomed track, I qualified 7th fastest in the second session and 8th fastest overall. I was pretty pumped to have a front row starting spot but knew that was only half the battle.
I lined up 4th over from the pole of heat race number two. The bike seemed to bog a little but I came charging into turn one about mid pack. Within a few laps, I was able to find a good line; two wheeling around the bottom as the track was starting to go away, getting dry and dusty. I moved up into the 5th spot behind #29 Jake Mataya, #4 Carr, #17B Radley, and #43 Sammy Halbert. The Bob Lanphere's Renton Suzuki/ R&A Racing motorcycle was working great and I was making up a lot of time coming off turn two where it was marbley and starting to groove up. The next lap, I was able to move by Halbert and sat in the transfer spot. Now I was able to quickly come up on Carr and Radley who were running a close 2nd and 3rd but they were protecting their line around the bottom. I worked them both hard, having my bike to the locks in turn three and four but couldn't seem to get a good wheel in there on them. In the end, I took 4th place sending me to my first Grand National Main Event!
What a great feeling! Oh, boy! I lined up on the outside of the second row for the main. My idea was to get a strong start from the outside and pick off as many guys on the outside on the first lap. This worked the first lap until I tried making my way down to the bottom of the race track. It seemed like everyone was at the door and when I finally made it down where I needed to ride, I was in 15th position. The track was not too racy as it dried out like day race tracks do. When the checkers flew, I took 18th to finish out my Springfield weekend.
My target this season as a rookie was to get into my first Grand National Main Event to earn my National number. I accomplished that goal while learning and growing and that makes me feel good. Those boys are tough but today I showed I can run with them! I'm headed back to Washington where I will compete in some hot, local races. I will be finishing the season in Pomona, CA, October 24th, on the 5/8 cushion IN THE MAIN EVENT!