4/9-10  Talladega Gran Prix Raceway, Talladega, AL (Clockwise)
I changed the oil late Friday night and declared my maintenance duties complete.  I arrived at the track to find we were only going to get one practice session that morning, so I quickly got thru tech and set up the pit area.   Practice was a non-event, and everything felt good but the rear end of the bike was wallowing a bit, so I added some preload and another tic of compression damping after the practice session.  Before I knew it, it was time for my first race, V6LW.  I started the bike and got on the track for the warm up lap to find out the clutch was slipping like crazy!  This was not good especially since I was starting on the front row of the grid.  When the green flag dropped I just dropped the clutch and watched everyone go by me even though the bike was running up against the rev-limiter.  I just shortshifted as much as you can on a 400 and just made it around the track.  I was still in 5th place, but just because the clutch didn't hamper me in the corners or on the brakes.  I was slow on the straights though.  I saw Eboz and Will Harding get together a little on the back straight with Will's front tire getting into the back of Eboz's boot, but there was a nice wave to indicate that is was accidental.  I passed Dave Arkle on the brakes and tried to run some fast laps but the clutch was horrible.  I passed Eric Bozell (Eboz) on the 8th lap when he started having motor problems and my clutch mysteriously started working again.  I took the 3rd place out of 8 finishers and promptly got out the wrenches to see what was wrong with the clutch.  Scott Padgitt helped out by measuring my very large stack of spare clutch plates to cull out the thickest ones while I inspected the clutch basket.  Apparently had thrust washer had shattered and dispensed itself in the clutch basket.  I had a stainless washer that was close in size so I  replaced the broken one and installed the thickest plates I own and hoped it would hold together for Sunday's races.

I went thru practice on Sunday, adjusted the clutch and was finally ready for my race after lunch.  I was hoping the clutch would hold together and I could do well against Scott Padgitt.  The green flag dropped and I got a typical horrible start and was 3rd into turn one.  Scott was really flying thru the traffic in front of us (novices on SVs in a different class) and I was passing as many as I could.  I passed for 2nd place on the first lap and just couldnt keep up with Scott.  I settled for 2nd and finished 11.4 seconds out of first place.  I'll take it!

4/16-17 Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, AL
Thanks to other racing Floribama Rider's efforts to set up the pits early, I just made the 25 minute drive to the track Saturday morning and quickly got thru pre-registration and tech.  What a great place!  I was pleasantly surprised in practice that I was lapping below my previous best race lap times.  The bike was working great so I didn't change much on the bike.  First race was V6LW and we had a pretty full grid so I was really excited that I'd get a good race.  I had a horrible start (once again) and was in 4th at the end of the first lap.  Karl Morrow was leading and was starting to pull a gap.  I was behind Bryan Nelson (no relation) and his rear suspension was way too soft - I saw him get almost highside himself to the moon several times.  I finally got around Bryan and put my head down to try to catch up to Will Harding in second place.  I kept slowly reeling him in until I was a couple of seconds behind him when we crossed the white flag indicating one lap remaining.  I put a flawless lap down and was right on his rear wheel on the 3rd to last corner.  I got a killer drive onto the front straight and ever so slowly pulled next to him going down the front straight with both our eyes on the checkered flag.  I ended up about a foot short and got 2nd place.  Will finished officially 0.033 seconds ahead of me.  It was the closest finish I've ever had racing and Will deserves the 2nd place.  Karl ended up winning by 9 seconds over us.

I mounted up new tires on Sunday and Bridgestone tire guy, Derek "Stickboy" Bennett, didn't have my normal 120 front slick and I was forced to mount up a 125.  It definitely felt different in practice while at full lean and didnt feel near as planted to me.  I didnt not adjust the forks in the triple clamps to compensate for the increased height of the tire, but just decided to live with it.  I gridded up for the Formula II race with the notion that I was running the class just for extra practice.  I got a horrible start (again!!) and just got in some good race pace practice.  I started 12th on the grid and finished 13th.  The superbike SV's have so much motor on me its not even funny.  I got ready for the D Superbike Expert race and just relaxed a little in the pits.  I was gridded up front with Scott and was determined to hang with him this time.  I got yet another horrible start and was in about 7th place at the end of the first lap.  I slowly passed people one at a time and finally worked myself up to 3rd place.  I could finally see 2nd place on the 2nd to last lap and I slowly reeled him in but couldnt make a pass and ended up with 3rd to Mike Schafer.  Scott Padgitt put down a fast lap of 2.5 seconds faster than my fastest lap in the race.  He had it and I didn't.  Oh-well - I'll hope to do better at Nashville in two weeks.

4/30-5/1   Nashville Superspeedway, Nashville, TN
I've never raced at Nashville before and I didnt really know what to expect other than the transitions on and off the NASCAR banking were abrupt.  Most riders complain about the place, but I was really looking forward to riding there since its the only track within 10 hour drive I have not yet ridden at.  I've been so busy at work Thursday night came and went and I still hadnt packed yet.  I decided to take the day off on Friday.  I packed up in the morning, ran a couple of quick errands, then headed to the Birmingham airport to pick up my old college buddy, Ryan Feild, who was flying in from Texas.  I got up the track about 5pm on Friday, found our spot with Scott Padgitt and we unloaded all of the gear.  One of my fellow competitors, Dave Arkle, had saved us a slot in the garage space so we would not have to set up canopies and such.  Thanks, Dave!  We all went out to dinner and Dave told the waitress it was Scott's birthday (even though it wasnt).  We all sang and had a good ole' time!  We hit the sack and hoped the weather would clear up since it was raining at the time.  I brought rain tires but I sure didnt want to race on a new to me track in the rain for the first time. 

We awoke Saturday to find there were some storms overnight and it was soaked outside.  It had stopped raining, so it was drying out fast and by first practice was still wet, but there was a drying racing line.  I was slow in practice and cruising down thru turn one at 120+ mph on damp pavement when leaning over and on the brakes was a little hair raising!   I could only get into the 1:14's but I was starting to learn my way around the track.  Dave Arkle came into the pits with problems with his motor.  We ended up helping him try to figure out what was wrong, but all we found out was that he had no compression in one cylinder.  He ended up packing up and heading back to the Kentucky.  I felt so sorry for the guy!   He had even come to the practice day on Friday, but it rained all day and he didnt have a front rain tire.  He ended up getting maybe 3 laps the entire time he was there.  Andrea's brother, Todd came down from Indiana to help out in the pits and I put him to work.  Pictured is Todd installing rear tire warmers while Scott Padgitt is installing my front warmers, with fellow Ducati competitor Tom Lees helping out too.  Thanks, guys!  I soon gridded up for the Lightweight Solo 20 race, which I was really running for more practice time against the faster SV's.  I ended up getting an OK start, but it seemed the SV's all got great starts and ended up in turn 2 near the back.  I put my head down, experimenting with different lines and shift points, trying to find the fast way around.   I was running just in the mid-1:14's but was having fun with the no pressure of the practice race for me.  Paul Fluss came around me on his SV with two laps to go and I stuck on his tail and tried to find a way back around him.  There is a section on the back of the course where you get up on the banking and then back down into a chicane which is on the infield.  I gave it way too much gas while leaned over pushing out of the turn and the rear came around, promptly hooked up, and just about shot me off the bike.  Somehow I stayed on and had to immediately turn the bike back into the next corner.  It was one of those "near crashes" that a couple years ago would have put me on my head.  Well I never caught Paul after that and I finished 5th.  My next race was V6LW, and I was really looking forward to it, but the grid had dwindled to just two of us!  Dave had gone home with Jim Johnson also had a mechanical problem.  My only competitor was Bryan Nelson on a new-to-him superbike Hawk.  He had had problems with it all morning but had gotten everything straightened out but only had two laps in practice!  We made a little deal that if he got me on the start he would let me by on the inside thru turn one just so he could follow for one lap to see where to go!  We gridded up and I got a horrible start but sure enough Bryan left a space for me thru turn one and I took it.  All bets were off after the first lap. The track was damp in a couple places still and crossing the damp spots could be a little iffy so I just ran safe laps and kept the bike from squirming too much. The track double backs on itself thru turn three so I could see Bryan a couple seconds behind me.  I made it kind of a game to just keep him the same distance behind me every lap and take the win.  I need the points and didnt need to crash.  I ended up winning by 3.5 seconds and finally got down in the 1:13's.  Tom Lees invited us over to his house nearby for a cookout.  Whoo-hoo!  It was a lot of fun sitting around eating excellent food with a couple of cold ones, watching RoadRace 2004 dvd, and swapping racing stories.  Fun stuff!  Thanks Tom and Janelle!! 

We awoke Sunday to clear skies and drove out to the track.  The track was engulfed in this ominous fog when we arrived.  It actually looked a little surreal.  I ran thru practice still trying to get up to speed.  I got out of control one time in turn one and it scared me silly.  I changed out to new Vortex clipons with the help of Ryan and Scott.  Thanks, guys!  We all ended up helping Tom and Janelle finish off the leftovers for lunch.  Man - what awesome hospitality - thanks Tom and Janelle!!!  I got ready to run my Formula 2 race, which I'm running for additional practice along with the SV's.  I ended up having a good race with Brian Stricker with both us making a couple of passes.  It was fun and it was excellent practice with the passing zones.  I ended up in front of Brian by 0.8 seconds to take 4th place.  I only got my lap times down to 1:13.3, but I was improving and I wasnt pushing it too hard. I ended up having to hold the bike on the revlimiter in 6th gear for a second at the end of the banking, so Scott and I quickly changed my rear sprocket to one two smaller.  Hopefully this would allow a little more top end, but wouldn't mess up all my shift points (which are a lot on an FZR400).   I did plan on pushing harder in the D Superbike race since it was the last race and Scott and I are first and second in points. Scott Padgitt, Tom Lees, and I were all in the race and all talking smack.  It'll be fun.  I ended up getting a pretty good start, even though Scott was first into turn one, Tom was 2nd, and I was 3rd.  Scott got by an SV who was in the mix and started to pull away as Tom and I got thru the traffic.  Tom got by me on the 3rd lap coming onto the front straight and I latched on determined to not let him get away.  I stayed with him and even got my taller gearing to bump the revlimiter in 6th as I came off the banking thru turn one.  Tom and I got to lapping the novices and I hoped the traffic would allow a nice little opportunity for me to pass, but it was not to be.  Scott got the win, with Tom in 2nd, and me in 3rd.  I'll take it!  I ended up running 1:11.3 in the race, which was by far my fastest of the weekend.  Next race will be at VIR in 3 weeks.  I'll race at VIR for the last time on my tired motor - Speedwerks will be taking the bike with them to Delaware from VIR to get the new motor installed.  I cant wait!

5/19-22   VIR - WERA Cycle Jam
This was the last weekend I'm going to race with my tired motor, and its a double points weekend.  We were running the 2.25 mile north course at VIR.  The south course is only run for track days.  I had not been to VIR in a long time (since 2002 running endurance) and I hadn't raced an FZR400 at VIR since 2001.  Scott Padgitt and I decided to ride together in his truck and try to use his trailer to get both of our stuff up to VIR.  I trailered my bike and only my necessary racing gear over to Scott's house Tuesday night.  We finally got everything loaded into his truck and trailer, but it was absolutely packed.  Scott picked me up from work a little after noon on Wednesday and we made the 9+ hour drive up to VIR.  We finally got into the track about 11pm, unloaded, and set up my tent and our pits.   We got a call from Henry Avello about midnight and he told us he missed the gate cutoff by 4 minutes and was forced to sleep in his car outside the gate!  Scott landed on his air mattress in his trailer and hit the sleeping bag in the tent about 1 AM. 
The next morning (Thursday) came quick.  It looked like the weather was going to hold out for us even though it was overcast.  Our pits were finally straightened out.  I went out in first practice and it became evident that my tires were pretty shot because the rear end would not stay hooked up even though I wasnt even pushing it yet.  It also became evident that I would really have to re-learn my way around VIR.  They had changed the exit of turn 7 a little since I had been to VIR.  Its really blind thru there and I was having fun running a little wider than my normal pace since there was a little more asphalt out there with the change to the track.  A track map can be located here.  I only got down to 1:50 in the practice session.  Scott was already down into the 1:47's so I needed to start pushing.  I missed my 2nd practice session since I was changing tires.  The 3rd practice session of the day I started pushing and got down into the 1:47's on my fresh rubber.  I was running out of gearing on the front straight in 6th gear, so I needed to mount up a smaller rear sprocket in order for the bike to keep pulling all the way to the important turn one braking zone.  I was back into the 1:48's in the cooler 4th practice session of the day.  Tom Lees, his wife Janell, Dave Arkle, Scott Padgitt, Henry Avello, Tom's friend Kip, and Tony Webster all went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant.  We told them it was Dave's birthday (but of course it wasnt)  they came around and sang to him and we all had a good laugh.  We sat around and had a couple of cold ones under the canopies in the pit area and watched it rain before hitting the sleeping bag. 
Friday morning came quickly and I awoke to rain.  Its such a great feeling to be in a nice warm, dry sleeping bag in a tent with it raining outside.  I got out of the tent after the rain subsided, but decided not to go out on the wet track for my one practice session of the day.  The forecast for Saturday races was dry, so I didn't feel it was worth the effort of switching to rain tires or risk going out on a wet track on slicks.  We were helping Team Ogre with their 4 hour endurance race on Tony's SV650, so we loaded up the gear for the trek down to hot pit lane.  Scott Padgitt and I were going to help with pit stops while Henry, Tony, and Tom rode the bike and Janell scored up in the tower.  We went over pit signals so everyone would know what was going on.  Scott found a loose rearset and it was promptly repaired.  The team ran a solid race and didnt crash, even though we kept telling them to ride faster from the pit wall.  :)  We went into town and had a nice celebratory dinner, and went to bed early in order to get good rest for our next day's sprint races. 
We awoke Saturday morning to find Janell cooking all of us breakfast!  What a trooper!  Saturday morning practice went well, even though I was still struggling in a couple of places but was getting better on the brakes.  I got down into the 1:45's so I thought I would at least be on the pace.  Joe Morris came by the track to help and watch the races, plus he brought beer and sausages for the evening.  My first race of the day was Formula 2 Expert, which I mainly run for practice since I'm really outgunned with horsepower compared to the swarms of SV650s.  I ended up getting a decent start, but after the first lap I was back in about 10 place or so.  I was running in the 1:45's and just had a good time running around.  On the 2nd lap I saw what a superbike FZR400 is capable of when Scott McKee came flying by me on the front straight.  I came out of turn 5a on the third lap and Shawn Alexander attempted a pass on me and slammed into me sending both of us off the track.  Luckily we both stayed on two wheels and reentered the track.  I was behind a pack of SV's just dicing it out and I resigned myself not to get myself into their race.  My next race was just about an hour later and I could not risk a crash.  Those guys were racing hard passing each other back and forth and it was actually fun watching their race from the back of their pack.  I ended up finishing 13th of 18th and had learned a couple of fine points.  I soon took the grid for my final race, D Superbike Expert.  Tom Lees, Scott Padgitt and I had been battling all year so it was shaping up to be a great showdown.  They had gridded the SV Novices in front of our expert wave which meant we would catch them in the first lap and will be racing the guys in our class as we pass the slower novice racers on SVs.  This can be dangerous at times since you absolutely have to pass the slower SV as soon as you come up on him or your competitor will pass you and the SV.  I ended up getting a great start even though there was multibike crash of SVs in turn one.  Scott McKee came around me with his almighty superbike FZR400, although Scott Padgitt was in front, but Tom Lees was behind me.  We were passing a few novice SV's per lap and it was a blast.  On lap 3 I saw Tom Lees show me a wheel passing the start finish line and I out braked two SV's going into turn one, but Tom only got one of them so I could hold him off for a bit.  I went to pass an SV between turns 5a and 6 and was planning on using the the curbing to thread my way thru.  The SV didn't know I was there and also run all the way wide to use the curbing.  There was no where for me to go without hitting him, so I ended up in the grass.  I just kept it pinned with the rear tire spinning up against the revlimiter.  The track turned back so I could just go straight to re-enter the track.  The rear of the bike started wagging back and forth just before I hit the asphalt, but didn't throw me off when it regained traction on the pavement.  I ended up passing the SV, but it was thru the grass and wasnt pretty.  I ended up finishing the race in 4th place out of 11.  It wasnt my best race, but it is double points and I did get more points than Tom, but Scott finished 2nd.  We ended up staying up until the wee hours grilling out and drinking some adult beverages.  One of the best parts of Cycle Jam and just seeing everyone and socializing in the evenings.
We got up Sunday morning and packed up for the trip home.  I delivered my bike to Brian Roach who was trailering my bike up to Speedwerks in Delaware for the motor transformation.  Next race is TGPR on June 18-19.  I should have my bike back from Speedwerks by then and can try to put some off that new horsepower to the ground!

6/18-19   Talladega Gran Prix Raceway, Talladega, AL (Counterclockwise)
Long, long weekend . . . 

WEDNESDAY
First I get word that my bike will not be ready from Speedwerks, since they had some sort of problem during assembly of the new motor.  I find this out on Wednesday before the race.  The week before I had picked up an ebay purchase bike from Forward Air, but it was a long way to be ready to race as a backup bike.  The bike was only purchased so I could get the flat slide carbs off it.  I planned on fixing up the bike and then selling it to a newbie racer to get started on without making any profit on the thing.  I also had no carburetors since I had shipped mine up to Speedwerks to get running on my new motor.  The bike was quite capable though if it would run and not have "issues".  It has a 460cc motor with ZX6 pistons, '92 GSXR 750 front end, and a Honda F2 rear wheel.  After evaluating my option(s) for a moment, I decided fixing up this thing was going to be my only option to make the weekend races.  I called Speedwerks and asked them to FedEx the carbs back down to Alabama, so I could at least try to stay in the points.  The "B" bike was in rough shape and obviously had not be raced in quite a while.  The battery was solidified, there was no coolant in the bike, the tires were 4 years old, etc.  I asked Scott Padgitt to meet me at the house after work and give me his take on it.   Scott helped me immensely and it was evident I had a long couple evenings ahead of me when we removed the front brake pads and they simply fell apart in our hands :)

THURSDAY
I worked more on the bike in the evening and at least got everything wired, new battery installed, new brake pads installed, fiberglass belly pan closed, and a general go-thru of the bike.  The bed never felt so good when I hit the sack at 1am.

FRIDAY
Alex Fleury called and offered to let me ride his FZ600 in Vintage 6 Lightweight, so I've got all my bases covered.  Thanks, Alex! The flatslide carbs arrived at my office via FedEx and  that evening my father and Scott Padgitt helped me get them on the bike and button up the last minute items like mounting the bodywork and gas tank.  We then put our efforts into getting the thing started.  Since the bike is push start only we wore ourselves out.  We got it started one time in the cul-de-sac for about 20 seconds but then couldn't get it started again.  We put it on the trailer and went to the top of the large hill in the neighborhood, but still it wouldn't start.  We pulled the spark plugs to find them fouled.  I only had one spare spark plug so we installed it and tried to clean the other plugs the best would could.  Another trailer ride to the top of the hill had the bike running on one cylinder - the cylinder with a new plug.  So I resigned that we weren't going to get the bike running without new plugs.  We had accidentally torn up my fiberglass job to the lower loading the bike on the trailer.   It was 10:30pm so Scott headed home to get some sleep while my father and I packed up the trailer and car with race gear until the wee-hours.   

SATURDAY
I knew I wasn't going to make first practice since I needed new spark plugs to get the bike to run and the shops don't even open until 9am.   Dad was going to stop at a motorcycle shop on his way to the track to get the plugs.  I stopped by Wal-Mart on the way to the track and unceremoniously bought some turkey basting pans to make do with.  Back to my rat-bike racing days!!  I arrived with my non-running bike just to see everyone going on track for first practice, except for Alex.  I helped Alex get his transponder on his bike and get finally suited up just to find first practice was just ending.   I was pitting with my usual suspects, Scott Padgitt, Alex Fleury, and David Gay.  I got unloaded, went thru registration, and pulled plugs and waited for Dad to arrive.  We were putting plugs in the bike when 2nd practice came and went.  Alex came limping into the pits with a broken motor - poor guy!   We finally got my bike running with the new plugs and a good push starting down pit lane. I begged with Stickboy and he gave me a couple of good Bridgestone DOT takeoffs and mounted them up - thanks!  Late in the afternoon, I finally got thru tech inspection.  I got to do one total lap on Saturday by begging for a scrub lap before the last race of the day.  The bike ran strong, but when I got back in the pits we discovered a coolant leak in one of the pressure junctions to the head.  We took it apart and discovered a bad o-ring.  I wasn't having a lot of luck so far, but Sunday's another day.  On the way home from the track, I stopped by Lowe's and picked up some assorted o-rings and slept with my fingers crossed.  I was tired of wrenching.

SUNDAY
I got to the track early Sunday morning, and installed the new o-ring.  We pushed started on pit lane and it looked like it worked just fine.  I finally got to do a practice session and the bike ran great and I realize that flat-slide carbs take very smooth throttle control.  I bought a new set of slicks and got those mounted up for 2nd practice.  I went out in front of Scott Padgitt just so when he passed me, I could just try to stick to him and push a little to see how the bike handles.  On the 2nd lap of practice, Scott passed me going into the double 90's and I was ready to see if I could hang with him.  He got a lot better drive out of the 90's and I made a mental note to get another downshift going in there.  Then ,just out of nowhere, Scott crashed to the ground on the brakes going into the carousel!  I saw him slide off and create a nice dust cloud before I had to bend it into the corner.  Jeez - so much for any confidence.  Then the red-flag gets thrown and we pull into the pits.  Turns out Scott hurt his head and collarbone.  We were informed that they were transporting him and need his wallet so that it could go to the hospital with him.  Several minutes go by then we are told that Scott was going to be life-flighted to UAB because they were worried about his head.  This weekend was just going awry from the beginning . . .  I just couldn't hardly believe it.  Shortly after Scott's chopper took off from the infield, they resumed our practice and I got a few more laps in just to get back on that horse.  My practice times were down to 1:13 - not good.  I started doing some massive suspension adjustments, but I needed a little bit more rear ride height and lots more practice on this bike.  The gsxr750 front end and wider front tire was much different than the stock front end and I was learning I had to muscle the bike into a corner more than I was used to.  Jeff Rozycki and entire family plus Nick Stewart showed up to help out some.  There were a lot of crashes while I was waiting for my races and soon the remaining races were shortened to 6 laps.  My first race was Formula 2 Expert and I gridded up on the front row with this bike I've never done a race start on.   I got spanked in the race, but also got a lot faster.   Formula 2 is really just practice for me, since its always before my D Superbike race.   I did realize that the fairing was interfering some with my hand, so Jeffro fixed it for me.  I go out for my last race, D Superbike Expert, about 5pm and there are just two of us experts on the grid.  Everyone else had either crashed or broken in earlier races.  We did have a handful of novices starting behind us though.  I get a horrible start and tuck into the 2nd (and last) place.  I get up to speed and soon pass for the lead.   Several laps go by and I soon see Jeffro on the front straight signaling me that I'm way in the lead and to coast a little.  Soon the white flag was shown and I had it in the bag.  I had seen a novice behind me at some point, but it didn't bother me.   I came down the back straight and got on the brakes and was getting my 3 downshifts in, when the leader of the novice pack appeared next to me completely vertical.  He came crashing down and took my front brake lever off on his way to landing on his head next to my front wheel.  I attempted for a second to try to make the corner, but determined I was going to run out of track, so I stood it up completely and left the track for some cross country.  Now, trying to stop a racebike at a high rate of speed on slicks, downhill, on grass is quite an endeavor.  I was braking with the rear brake, but there was no way I was going to get stopped before the enormous ditch, then berm with railroad track, which were both rapidly approaching.  I locked the rear brake, got in a little fishtail, and tried to do a nice graceful low-side.  Too bad the bike had other plans and ejected me over the highside at about 20 mph.  I land on my shoulder and soon find out that it just knocked the breath out of me.  I see the red flag is thrown since the endo-ing novice is near the track and ambulance is going to be needed.  The bike flipped and got both footpegs, windscreen, and of course the brake lever, but it wasn't too bad and I was luckily fine.  They awarded me the win since I didn't cause the red flag and I led the last lap.

Scott got back to the house from UAB on Tuesday and is recovering fine.  Next race is in two weeks at Road Atlanta, then I'm flying out to see MotoGP race at Laguna Seca in California.  Hopefully, Speedwerks will have my bike back to me and I'll see what horsepower can do at Road A . . .

Ryan
 

7/2-3        Road Atlanta, Braselton, GA
 

I was really looking forward to Road Atlanta because I would finally have my normal bike back from Speedwerks in Delaware with a new superbike motor.  Andrea and I were also leaving on vacation to California from Atlanta on Monday to watch the MotoGP, so Thursday night we packed up everything to be on the road for 10 days and all of the race gear. 

Speedwerks shipped the bike on Wednesday and it arrived in Birmingham via Forward Air about 4pm on Friday afternoon.  I picked up the bike, met Andrea, and we headed towards Atlanta.  My brother, Zack, met up with us at the track about 11pm to help wrench on the bike.  Luckily, Dave Arkle had saved us a pit spot  so we got set up quickly. We installed a throttle for the flatslide carbs which we stole off of the “B” bike.  We also installed a crankcase vent hose and changed gearing to the highest gearing I had because I had to break the motor in on Saturday and didn’t want to over-rev it.  We finally quit wrenching about 2am and headed back to the hotel to get some much needed shut-eye. 

SATURDAY

We awoke way too early on Saturday and I was anxious to button up the bike and make first practice to help break the motor in some more.  We dumped in some race gas and the bike fired up and ran well in the pits.  I pulled out for our first (and only) practice of the day and I installed knew something was not right.  The bike would not pull at all and was running very rich.  I did two laps and pulled back into the pits.  We quickly pulled off the air filters on the flatslide carbs to try to flow more air in order to lean the bike out a little.  I did another miserable lap or two and our practice session was over.  There was no way I could race the bike in its current state.  I couldn’t even get the bike to run over 60 mph.  It had more power at 5000 rpms than at 12000 rpm (which is hardly any power on a 400).  Alex Fleury showed up at the track, so Andrea, Alex, Zack, Andrea, and I try to figure out how to jet a set of flatslides.  We got the main jets pulled and determined they were 115’s.  I had a set of 112’s so we threw those in there.  I rode the bike in the paddock and around to the skidpad area near turn 7 for a few few throttle runs.  The bike had a lot more power now, but I feared it was still rich.  I called Dan Pittman who was on the way to the track and asked if he could see if he could find some 110 main jets.  Dan located some at Motions and drove them up to the track just in time for us to get them installed before my one and only race of the day, Vintage 6 Lightweight.  I was gridded on the front row and got a horrible start.  I had a ton of power on the back straight and saw I could just motor by the other 400’s.  But the bike just wanted to buck me off if the rpms were between 9000 and 10000 rpm.  More jetting to learn . . . .  It was really scary trying to ride around knowing that when I started to feed the bike throttle when exiting a corner, it was going to do its best to eject the rider.  I was in 5^th place on the last lap and I could see Dave Arkle in front of me.  I exited turn 7, got a good drive, and motored by Dave on the back straight.  He passed me back on the brakes going into turn 10A, and I was right on his tail going up the hill to the Suzuki bridge.  I passed him back going down the hill in turn 12 and took 4^th place by a bike length or so. Great last few corners of racing!  We tore into the carbs again to try to smooth out the power to a ridable power curve.  Alex Fleury was a real help in trying to give me a hand.  It was a case of the blind leading the blind, but we eventually got the clips raised on the needles which is what everyone suggested I do.  The clip position determines the mid-range mixture.  I rode it around in the paddock again and it seemed to help a lot.   

SUNDAY

Andrea and I got to the track early Sunday in order for me to ride practice to see how the jetting changes affected the bike.  I desperately needed the practice.  I got on track and the first time down the back straightaway the bike felt like a rocket.  The jetting was getting a lot closer.  I came back around the track and noticed the rear tire spinning up badly coming up the hill after turn one.  I glanced down and saw oil streaming off my right boot!  I pulled off the track into the grass to a corner station.  The belly pan had a couple of inches of oil in the pan and the entire right side of the bike was covered in oil.  Back in the pits it became evident that the crankcase vent I had installed Friday night had become pinched and the crankcase pressure had blow out the right side of the valve cover gasket.  We got the gasket back in place and reinstalled the crank vent hose with a special 90 degree fitting cannibalized off the “B” bike.  Andrea did a great job cleaning all the oil off the bike and I once again rode around the paddock to check our fix.  I bought a new set of slicks and got those scrubbed in with a scrub lap.  All appeared well, so I thought I might be done wrenching for the day.  Then the rain came . . .  We mounted up a my set of rain tires and I went out for my first race of the day, Formula 2, which I normally run mainly for practice.  It was pouring down rain, the bike was squirming like crazy, and I couldn’t see since my helmet was fogging up in the worse way.  The main jet now was acting like it was too lean, popping going down the back straight.  A friend of mine, Jim Wornick, shot a quick video of me going down the back straight.   I finished 6^th and was lucky to do that well. My parents showed up to the track to help give me a hand too.  We changed the main jet to a 112 and waited for my race. The  rain suddenly stopped a couple races before my last race, D Superbike Expert.  I was really worried whether I should be on rain tires or slicks, but it became an easy decision when the track became totally dry the race before mine.  We started changing my tires from rains to slicks when the called 1^st call for my race.  It was very close, but we just got the tires changed in time for me to make the warm up lap.  I got a better start this time and started to work a little thru some of the traffic.  I was in 2^nd place most of the race but could hear Tom Lees behind me on his Ducati.  I held him off and took home the 2^nd place.  Thanks to everyone for their help, because this weekend was really tough in terms of having to wrench on the bike a lot more than ride it.  I'm doing a track day at Barber with Sportbike Track Time when we get back from California, so hopefully I can learn to jet this beast. 

Ryan

7/15        Barber Motorsports Park with CCS

I got packed up on Friday night ready to make the early morning drive over to Barber in the morning.  I was also taking Scott Padgitt's Aprlia RS250 over to the track to deliver to Speedwerks who were taking it back to Delaware with them for some more "go-fast" magic (like he needs it :) ).  I woke up late because I forgot to turn the alarm to "on" and got to the track to register with 15 minutes to spare.  I met my father at the track and we ended up having a rough weekend from there on out.  I had all sorts of fuel problems with a short in the fuel pump then another fuel problem which I didnt figure out until I got home but it was rust and gunk in the petcock.  I finished 19th in one race and DNF'd the other race because of the fuel issues. 

10/12-14        Road Atlanta (WERA GNF)

The GNF is what the whole year of racing comes down to.  The winner takes the national championship and the losers go home saying "there's always next year".  I had taken a national championship last year as a novice, but this year was going to be much much tougher as an expert.  I knew I was going to have to try and beat Scott Padgitt (who's tormented me all year) and there's always a chance that some guy shows with a really fast bike from outside the regions I race in. I was frantic in the days before the GNF to get my front brakes up to snuff and was mounting the new Brembo front master cylinder and new lines just before I had to pack up.  I changed the oil, tightened up everything I could think of on the bike and loaded up everything on Monday night after getting back Sunday from the Floribama Riders' fall rally.  I left Tuesday after work with the 'ole open trailer in tow. I arrived at the track after dark to find Dave Gay and Scott Padgitt already set up with a pit space reserved for me.  Thanks, guys!  I unloaded and then hurried back to the hotel to try to get some sleep. 

On Wednesday, Scott and I swapped places in practice, but the times revealed the truth - the truth was that we were both really slow!  We were running 1:47's and finally got down to the 1:46's.  We needed to be running in the 1:42's to run up front, even though my personal best at Road Atlanta was a mid 1:46..  I just couldn't get it together and neither could Scott.  We only got three practice sessions because someone crashed hard and oiled turn 7 which caused a lengthy shutdown.  Henry Avello showed up late in the day and we helped him set up.  Another quick trip down the road to the hotel and I was asleep. 

I got to the track bright and early on Thursday with much anticipation for the day's races.  I mounted up new tires and got ready for our one and only morning practice.  I still was slow in practice but the new tires were feeling good and I just knew in the race I was going to just keep up with Scott.  The entire crew was finally ready to go racing!  Henry came in on the crash truck when something broke in his motor and he was spewing oil.  Lloyd Horton showed up and helped Henry get his bike cleaned up.  We finally got the call for my first race, D Superbike Expert - I was gridded in pole position and Scott was in the 3rd row.  The green flag dropped and I was in 3rd place going into turn 1 I got past Kith Burkingstock and honed in on 1st place, but Andrew Weiss was just pulling away from us.  He and his bike were just plain faster and it soon was evident that the rest of the pack was fighting for 2nd place.  Scott passed under me going into turn 1 on the 3rd lap and I just tried to stick to his tail.  He was faster going down thru the esses, but I was 3 feet behind him going into turn 6.  I passed him on the back straight with power and held him off.  He passed in turn one another time or two and I got him back everytime on the back straight.  I had a clean white flag lap and looked back after the finish line to see Scott in 4th.  Great race!!  And I finally beat Scott after getting beat up by him all year.  Plus I ran a new personal best lap time of 1:43.2.

My next race was Vintage 6 LW and I was gridded on the 3rd row.  I got a rough start and was 7th into turn one.  I knew that I had to get to the front if I had a chance so I started passing people left and right.  I'm usually more comfortable than most on the first lap.  We came down thru turn 12 and I was in 2nd behind Tony Webster and I passed him going into turn one.  The next six laps I was in the lead.  I looked back every lap coming out of turn 7 and I could see a whole pack of riders behind me and my lap times were suffering going back up to 1:45's and even a 1:46.  Karl Morrow had been hurt the day before in practice and I was longing for him to be there pulling me along running 1:43's.  Being in first place for so long is a lonely place to be.  I got the white flag and I just knew I was going to somehow pull this one off.  Borge Larson on his own FZR400 superbike passed me into turn one (see some repetition here?) and I stuck to him.  I almost passed him on the inside going into turn 6, but I didn't think I could make it stick so I just went thru right on his rear wheel.   When we came out of turn 7 onto the back straight, I got up on Borge's rear wheel and found I could just barely outpower him (thanks SpeedWerks!).  I passed him going thru turn 9 and set up in the middle of the track with a defensive line going into turn 10a.  He still tried a bonzi pass on the inside going into the corner but almost blew the corner.  I got a much better drive out of 10b and came up next to him going up the hill to the Suzuki bridge.  He set up in the middle of the track defensively and I was forced to try to pass on the inside.  I crested the hill and realized there was no way I was going to be able to pass him and still make turn 12 work out.  Borge got the win and I got a 2nd.  The national championship for V6LW is decided based on points, and I would have gotten 2nd in the points even if I had beaten Borge so it really didn't carry much more than bragging rights.  It was an excellent day of racing.  Alex Fleury had shown up earlier in the day, and he and I went to the Vintage banquet at the track and finally headed back to the hotel.

Scott and I were riding with Tony Webster on Team OGRE's endurance team on Steve's SV650.  I was mainly riding because OGRE's Tom Lees got hurt earlier in the year and I was standing in for him.  Scott hadn't ridden an SV in a while, so he took the morning practice.  Steve started off the first stint, but about 25 minutes into the race there was a large crash which brought out a red flag.  Steve restarted to run the bike low on fuel.  We did a pit stop and I mounted up on the bike for my 55 minutes.  My liner inside of my leathers tore and bunched up near my elbow and cut all the circulation off to my arm from my elbow down.  It was so painful and my lap times were very non-consistent since I kept making errors caused by not being able to feel the throttle or brakes except by the g-forces.  When my 55 minutes of pain was over I handed the bike off the Scott.  He did his 55 minutes and Steve finished up with the last stint.  We ended up finishing 4th, which isn't too bad for a bunch of non-regulars.  Team Velocity won the overall championship for the year and did a huge burnout on pit lane.  It was a great 3 days of racing and an excellent year of racing.  Thanks to all my sponsors, but special thanks goes to my wife and to 29 Dreams Motorcycle Resort!