Billings, MT Short Track
 
We made the long trip to Billings, Montana in search of some good finishes to get back in tune for the final half of the year. The first event of the trip was a pro-am short track. We got to the track and I knew right away this was going to be interesting. Sure enough, by the end of the first practice, it was like racing in a cornfield! Ruts so deep and big, it slowed down your engine and on a 450, that's saying something. I opted to ride Shayna's 08' RM-Z 450 Stock Framer. I haven't ever raced it, but I rode it before and I like it alot. Although the motor is stock and the set-up is for someone half a foot shorter then me, it was handling well. There were alot of riders. Probably around 35 or so. The 450 pro I transfered right out of the heat race after a long battle with Sam Halbert, Rob Pearson, Mick Kirkness, and Raun Wood. Fun race. By now the track had huge braking bumps all over it and ruts a foot deep. The Open Pro, I missed the main by one in the heat, but transfered to the final out of my semi to make both features on the RM-z. The finals were interesting. It was a flag start, so everyone was jumping like crazy. I wasn't very good at cheating and I was getting bad starts. The first final I almost got thrown off the motorcycle a couple times and just couldn't settle in and finished 11th. The next final I got a pretty good jump and was running 5th or 6th for a while. I started slacking a little bit and Schnabel got me with a couple to go and I ended up 7th. It wasn't too bad of a night. Could of been a little better, but with the first time on the Suzook, I felt pretty good. Just needed some set-up changes and some more motor.
 
Billings, MT Half Mile National
 
I was super excited for this race. I do very well on the 450's since I raced them since I was 14 and even though the track looked kinda crappy, I didn't care. I was ready to get it on. I am never a good qualifier but today I felt great all day long. The first session out I was 11th overall. I think the best I ever qualified before this was like 27th so this was good so far. The next session I went out behind Mees and Smith. I was keeping pace the whole session. I could catch them coming in the corner, but I was loosing some ground coming off and down the straight-aways. I ended up crashing with a couple laps to go in qualifying and was unable to finish the session. This hurt me and I was 16th overall in times. For my heat race, I felt very confident. The light went green and I totally goofed up the start and I got pinched off going into turn one. I was like 7th or 8th coming off the corner and picked off a couple of guys and ran some hard laps and ended up 5th. No big. I was for sure we could get a good start in my semi and win it. Sure enough, I had a really tough semi with Kopp and Sam Halbert in it, who have been consistently top 3 riders all year long. I knew I could beat them with a good start. I got a descent holeshot and I went into turn one and I had to check up from running into the back wheel of Kopp. Sammy and another rider passed me. It took me a full two-laps to pass the rider in front of me and by that time Sammy and Kopp had 10 bike lengths on me or so. I ran them down and put my heart and soul into but I just came up short. By less then half a second across the finish. This was the 5th or 6th national I have missed by one spot and I was pretty heartbroken. I know if I was in semi 2 or 3, I could of have a much easier time but things just didn't go my way. Lap times were good and Sammy and Joe ended up 7th and 8th from the 3rd row in the main, so I knew I defintely had what it took. I felt really good and I don't think making it meant as much to me as just being competitive with these guys again and knowing I can beat them.
 
Sturgis, SD Short Track
 
I have raced Sturgis for 3 years now. First as a pro-sport and last year as an expert. It's a love/hate track for me. I have done well and I have struggled, but I am determined not to struggle anywhere anymore. There were a ton of riders. Around 40. In practice I was having a real hard time setting down some consistent laps on Shayna's RM-Z Framer. The track was really bump and hard-packed. It was really in-consistent. In my heat race, I tried hard but struggled with a 5th and 6th place finish. I decided to try something. Anything to turn the night around and I pulled out my CRF DTX Honda. I started from the back row in both my semis. There were 16 guys in each semi and you had to finish in the top 3 to make the main. Well I got a crappy start and I literally came from 15th or 16th place all the way up to 3rd by the checkered flag. The track was awesome and the bike worked great. I was super excited for the main event. In the main event, I started on the outside back row. 16 guys, and probably 13 or so national numbers. I looked ahead of me and all I could see were framers. I was the only stock frame bike in the final. I got an awesome start from the back row and was up to 4th or 5th place and running some good laps. The track was getting drier as the final went on and I struggled more and more with the stock frame chassis on the dry track. First I got passed by Carr around lap 6 and then Bergen and Schwarzenbacher around lap 10. We had a red flag and a single file start. On the single file, my bike started to overheat and leak some anti-freeze all under my wheel. I spun off the line bad when I hit this and lost a spot on the single file and stayed in position after that to finish 8th. I was a little disappointed the track dried out because I felt we were capable of a podium with a tacky track, and from the back row with guys like Mees, Carr, Wiles, Halbert, Varnes, Pearson, etc. That's a good feat. I was still happy with how things went and overall it was a succesful and fun night.