Racing Page March 2008
Roebling Rd. Raceway 3/15-16
We made our first trip to the
races on the weekend of March 15th for Roebling Road Raceway in Faulkville, GA. I had mixed expectations going into this
race, being only my second road race, ever. I wanted to learn and shake off all
of the offseason jitters, but I also wanted to perform well, naturally. I was
there for only practice on Saturday, and two sprint races on Sunday. This race
was a WERA National Challenge race, so the competition would be higher than at
a regional race. I felt OK in practice Saturday, but was a few seconds off the
novice pace. On Sunday I was lined up on row 7 for both of my sprints (14th
position), and was forced to deal with traffic on the start. I applied my dirt
track skills to my starts and was able to get into the top 3 going into turn
one in both of my races. We are rookies when it comes to setting up suspension
for road racing, and I was struggling with front end chatter in both races. I
was unable to keep up with the front end and ended up drifting back to 6th
place in 600 Superstock and 8th place in
750 Superstock.
Virginia International Raceway 3/23-24
After a trip to the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki
School, we were able to
come away with a little bit better chassis set up and a handful of new riding
techniques that I was able to build on going into V.I.R. I flew in Friday
morning just in time to get two sessions of practice in on the AMA track, and
felt very comfortable on a fresh rear tire. VIR is a very fun track, and I felt
pretty fast on it. I ended up being fast qualifier in both
of my 600 classes, and had confidence going into Saturday’s race. Saturday
morning practice consisted of me putting up the fast time once again, but my
starting position on row 6 would hinder my ability to get to the front. I came
of the line quickly again for the 16 lap race ahead of me, and came into turn 1
in 4th place. I then pursued 2nd and settled in for a few
laps as the leader seemed to disappear from sight. On lap 5 I ran off the track
and lost a position for 3rd. Two laps later the leader wrecked, and
I had to settle for second place, although I feel as though I threw away the
win, I am still happy with my finish and a few bucks prize money to help the
tire bill.
Sunday turned out to be one of my
biggest learning experiences of my racing career. I once again put up fast time
for my race and was also again starting on row 7 for my first sprint. I was in
second place going into turn one after a great start, and passed the leader in
turn 5 and established about a 1.5 second lead until I underestimated the bumpy
surface in the fastest corner of the racetrack and tucked the front end on the
exit to the front straightaway. I took a 95mph tumble across the grass and
fortunately didn’t suffer any serious injuries besides a sprained foot and
finger. My Suzuki 600 didn’t fare as well as I did and left a long trail of
parts across the turn 17 run off area. I learned that getting up to speed and
reaching my goals on the pavement would take much more patience than I
originally anticipated. I had the speed to win, but lacked the experience; and
experience wins races. I am looking forward to coming back with a more relaxed
head on my shoulders with only one goal, to learn. In the mean time I am training
every day and preparing myself mentally to achieve this goal.
My youngest brother, Cody, made
his road racing debut at Roebling riding a Honda RS125. His finish in the
Formula 2 class was a 6th place. At V.I.R. the following weekend, on
Saturday, he was running in first place and got a little over anxious and low
sided resulting in a DNF. The following day he ran in the 125GP class and
placed a respectable 2nd.
Travis is continuing to test with the
Red Bull Rookies Cup. In February, he went to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to test, and in March he went to Barber Motorsports
Park to test. At both
tracks he qualified 14th out of 23 riders according to lap times.
Travis’ first race with Red Bull will be April 19th-20th
at Barber. Cody and I will be racing at Summit
Point, West Virginia
that same weekend.
We appreciate everything our
sponsors are doing for us, and want to sincerely thank all of you. Harv’s
Harley-Davidson, Long Pond Autobody, Kevin Schwantz School, American Supercamp,
Chicken Hawk Racing, SuperSeal Sealcoating,
Cayuga Wooden Boatworks, Chromeglow,
Arai, Alpinestars, Red Bull, KTM
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