Grove City, Ohio

 After 3 full days of being in Grove City, Ohio last weekend we finally got the race in. We got there on Thursday night and qualified on friday. I didn't feel too bad during qualifying but the track was huge. Longer straight-aways then Springfield Mile with really tight corners. I though the track was pretty cool at first. The cushion wasn't deep so it was a little slippery but it was smooth for the most part. This was my first mile, so I wasn't expecting much. Trying to keep it on 2 wheels and be competitive.
 
The next day was saturday and when our program was scheduled to run heats and finals. The first three heats ran and I was in the fourth heat with alot of fast guys. Wiles, Schnabel, Russell, Smith, Myers and some others. We got about three laps in and they red flagged it because of rain. We pulled off the track and it poured! The day of racing was over. They were going to bring us back sunday, give us one round of practice, run the 4th heat race, do semis, and the main event.
 
On sunday, I struggled alot more then I did on friday and saturday. I didn't feel good as I had a really bad stomach ache and the track was really starting to break apart. In my heat race, I got a crummy start and the gearing on my bike was way off. I think I hit every hole on the track. Going 130mph hitting holes that send you to the wall wasn't a good first mile experience for me, but I was determined to do better in my semi. By the semi, the track was very dry slick, with big holes coming off the corners. In my semi, I lined up with Wiles, Halbert, Bergen, Varnes, Gedeon, and some others. I seem to always get thrown in the toughest heats and semis this year, but maybe its building character. I always said that I wanted hard heats growing up because you have to race everyone in the final anyway and you can put the fast guys on the back row or even in the truck for the night, but I just haven't got to that point on the 750cc motorcycles yet. I got a horrible start again which is different for a change. The track was real dusty and I spun the tire off. I passed one or two guys in the first corner and settled into 6th. I reeled in Varnes and drafted by him with 3 to go and set my sights on Gedeon. I felt like I was slowly gaining time on him and I had the leaders in sight, but I settled for 5th. My front end was tucking real bad going into turn two and it was just a sketchy race track. I felt WAY better in my semi, then the heat race. I learned how to draft a little bit and I can't wait for Springfield weekend in September when we race two miles in a row. I am starting to feel more confident on these loose cushion tracks, so with Greenville, OH this weekend I hope we can be competitive.
 
It's not that we don't have the speed to run with the tpp guys, because I have off and on all year. It's just alot of experience on these 750's. You can't just go to any cycle store and buy a 750 to practice on like I have with my 450 program. I also have been running the 450' since I was 14. Riding a 750 is completely different, but I finally feel like im adapting to it. I rode the restricted 750's last year, but it's night and day without restrictors. You can't really take a 750 and practice on them in your backyard either. You got to rent out a track to practice on and since we have been racing every single weekend on them, there hasn't been too much R&D time available for us to ride them and get seat time. Each national for me is R&D time, which is crappy since you are always trying to make a paycheck at these races and go as fast as you can and gain points. We are looking into some test sessions on some off weekends we have coming up in August.
 
After Greenville, we will be racing my hometown track in Hagerstown, MD. This is the first track of the year that I have raced at before on the 750, so im pretty confident heading there. There are a couple more tracks the second half of the year, that I have raced at before so I am really looking forward to it. I am racing a couple of the Timonium, MD outdoor series in the coming weeks on Wednesday nights just to stay loose. I sure am excited to get back on a 450 and have some fun. Sign the guestbook and let me know you were here and hopefully I see you all soon!