This last race was a pretty good weekend, even if it did end woodless. We pulled in late with Marti, Jarmar, Amber, Jessie, Heather, and I. I had a bunch of pit help this weekend. Thankfully though, I did not even crash, so there was no bike to fix. Aunt Judy made the trip again and even brought some super cool red and black outdoor carpet for our pit area, which worked and looked awesome. And of course the pit Dad and the camera lady Mom came too. Johnson and Heidi showed up Friday night for some fun. The weather got a little nasty Friday night with a tornado spotted only a mile away. There were no worries from me though since we were had the "big rig"--the conversion van--with us.
Saturday morning started out rainy and I wasn't going to risk crashing. I didn't plan on practicing, but due to clearing skies there's no way I could just sit back and watch. I got out on the track about 2:00 and practiced until about 5:00. It was a pretty good practice with a chance to make a couple of adjustments here and there.
Saturday was a pretty nice day starting with the 30 minute GTU. I like to use that as kind of a race practice, turn some nice times and finish the race. I was kind of rusty because of the little break in between weekends. Most of the other guys went to Mid-America which is in Nebraska. It sounded like a fun time and wish I could have went. There was stiff competition this weekend and I knew I had to race better than I ever have. My lap times dropped from my personal best by another 2 seconds and I was really happy with that accomplishment. Faster times bring out the smaller problems. I really had to start tuning up my suspension, which I haven't played with too much. I was getting really bad wheel hop in braking. It's like the rear would come flying up into a stoppie with no effort then start bouncing, which is not the best thing. I basically had to slow way down let the rear settle then turn in fast. This was not very smooth and it just felt horrible. After my last race Saturday I brought the bike over to Trackside Engineering and had Ed take a look. The race sag was set and we lowered the rear a little to put weight back there. I could not wait to try the new adjustments for Sunday's practice. Saturday night we had a little fun with a mini stunt show by our pit with all the pit bikes. I've never seen such sweet stoppies on a Honda Elite. My fiddy did pretty mean burnouts and, of course, Johnson gave some wheelie lessons.
Sunday morning I got up for the first practice and right away I could tell the bike was better. I was feeling a lot better but was a little timid around the carousel where I crashed last race. My best finish Sunday was an 8th which I was happy with due to a very large fields and some stiff competition. At the end of the weekend, I was disappointed with no wood but had a great time with all the friends and family, I lowered my lap times and best of all, I did not toss it. Thanks to all that helped me out. It's always great to have the tasks done quick and right.
