CONSISTANT FINISHES THREE WEEKS IN A ROW

Two weeks ago I raced a Loretta Lynn qualifier at DT1.  It had rained a lot right before that so the track was a little muddy for practice and got really rough throughout the races.

I had a few really good starts and some good battles out front  I was able to finish up the day with a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

The next weekend I raced a Road To Mammoth race at Oatfield.  Again the track got really rough as the day went on.

I battled back and forth with my friends and for the third week in a row I finished with an overall 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finish.

Both weekends I had a lot of fun racing and pushed myself to get back up to speed after being off my bike for so long.  Getting my starts back and my speed consistent has been tough but I am working hard to get better everyday.

I am happy to be back at the track!

 

First race of 2017

So after The Mammoth race last year I started traveling and practicing for nationals.  As you know I got hurt and had two surgeries and have not been able to race in the last 8 months.  This weekend was my first race back at Glen Helen.  It was a Road To Mammoth qualifying race and there was a ton of people there.  The track was really deep and very, very rough.

Practice on Saturday was great.  A lot of riders on the track so we I had a lot of different battles and practiced hard to get back into race mode.

Sunday I was ready to get on the track and race!

My first gate in 8 months was not the best!  I was racing in the supermini class on my 85. (I practiced on my supermini but felt more comfortable on my 85 on the track) I came off the line great and when I shifted I hit neutral.  By the time I got going again I was really far back in last place.

I was able to battle for all five laps and made it up to 6th place.  Not bad for the start and being down on power.  I guess I have to remember not to hit neutral on the start!!!

It was fun to see a lot of my friends back at the races.  I had a lot of friends cheer me on at the line and watch the races throughout the day.

It was really fun to be back at the races and I had some great battles throughout the day.  I was able to finish the day on two wheels and with…..

6th place in Supermini

3rd place in Mini Sr 1

4th place in Mini Sr 2

I am ready for the next race!!!!

 

WINNING 2 NATIONAL TITLES THIS WEEKEND….

This weekend was the last Road to Mammoth race at Lake Elsinore.  Going into the last round of the race each of my classes had 3 or 4 racers that were in the points chase for the King of The West Championship.  Because the last round is a double points race, it came down to whoever won each race would win the Championship Title.

In the first round of races I got a 1st, 1st, and 3rd and knew that I had to win all the second round races to get the titles.  In my first race (Mini Sr 1) I battled through every turn.  I started out in second and passed for the lead.  I held the lead for three laps but I made a mistake and got passed.  I held pressure on the leader and set up three really great passes but got pushed out each time and was not able to make the pass stick.  I was very frustrated I wasn’t able to get around the leader and I finished in second place.

 

I was mad at the finish of the race but I had to get right back out on the starting line for my next race (85 9-12) and I was determined to get out front and stay out front.  I was able to win the race and take home the King Of The West Championship.

Right after I was on the podium I had to hurry back to the starting line for my next race (Mini Sr 2).  I knew what I had to do to finish first in points and I rode consistent for 5 laps and was able to get a second Championship.

I was so excited to bring home the two wins and have a chance to stand on the podium twice and thank all my sponsors that have helped me over the years.

I can’t wait to run the red #1 plate at Mammoth this year!

Now it is back to practice so I can go win more titles for my sponsors!

Mammoth Race at Oatfield

This last weekend was the Mammoth race at Oatfield.  I went to practice on Saturday to see how I felt on my bike and get a little practice in since my injury.  I was very excited that my arm felt pretty good and I knew I was going to be able to race on Sunday.

I was so happy to be back on the bike and I was excited to race.  The turn out at the event was crazy.  I had 34 racers in my class and I was ready for some good battles.  See me, I have the blue fender…..lets go Yamaha!

There was full classes in every race and the track got really rough.  The front racers in my class were putting down some really fast laps.  I had consistent starts all day and a couple of hole shots.  Getting good starts set me up to battle up front each race.

I finished out the race winning a couple and coming in second in a couple of races.  I got overall 1st – 2nd – 2nd place finishes.

LACR ROAD TO MAMMOTH QUALIFIER

This last weekend was the second round of the 2X Promotion, Road To Mammoth race at LACR.

We got to the track early on Saturday morning and the line was crazy long. I couldn’t believe how many people showed up for the second round of the qualifier race.  Several classes had two divisions because they had so many riders.  I had 34 people in my age group class.

Practice was great on Saturday and Sunday I was ready to race.  The gates were full….the track is a really fast track with big up and down hills.  It got rough and slippery throughout the day.

My starts were pretty good and I was able to consistently start in the front and I had some great battles throughout the day.  I finished up the day with overall 2nd, 3rd and 4th place finishes.

I had a great weekend hanging out with my parents, my friends at the track and racing.

GLEN HELEN MAMMOTH QUALIFIER RACE

This last weekend was the first round of the Road to Mammoth qualifier races at Glen Helen Raceway.  The weekend was not easy from start to finish…..

Our van needed a new drive shaft and it didn’t come in until Friday.  My Dad worked all night and when he got home from work he put in the drive shaft and then we left for LA.  When my Dad drove the van, the drive shaft was not in balance had to be changed back to the old part.  My Dad and I jacked the van back up to change the drive shaft again.

One of the bolts on the drive shaft was stripped out and my Dad had to chisel it off.  A piece of the bolt shattered apart and hit my Dad in the face and he got a couple of war wounds.

 

We put the old drive shaft back into the van and then we got on the road to drive to LA…. a little late but we were finally on our way.

When we got to the track Saturday morning the wind was sooooooo bad it was like a sand storm, and it was like that the whole weekend.

I know its hard to tell in this picture but there is 8 bikes on the track racing and you can’t see them because the wind is so bad.  The whole weekend everyone had to wear goggles to watch the races and when I was on the track racing sometimes it was hard to see anything in front of me.

I raced in 3 classes this weekend….Although the weather was bad, I still had 36 bikes on the line with me in my class.

85 9-12   – I finished 3rd and 2nd with an overall 2nd place

Mini Sr 1 12-13  – I finished 2nd and 3rd with an overall  2nd place

Mini Sr 2 9-14   – I finished 3rd and 5th with an overall  5th place

One of the things Glen Helen is famous for is the huge up hill.  The wind was blowing to the left and my Mom told me to make sure I stay to the right going up the hill so the wind doesn’t blow me off the edge.  During the race I knew it was faster to stay on the left and she caught a couple of pictures of me off the edge of the hill.  (I know it is hard to tell in the picture but this hill is really high up)

The wind was crazy but the racing was really fun.  I did fall in one moto and never got the out front start that I wanted but I was able to battle through and get several podium finishes.

 

 

TWO WEEKS OF RACING

We have officially started race season….two weeks ago was the first Mammoth Qualifier at Glen Helen.

I had not raced for four months and I was very excited to get back on the line.  Practice went well and I was excited to start racing.  The first couple of races I was definitely out of practice on my starts.   Because I didn’t have the best starts I had to race really hard to get back to the front of the racing pack.

Because I didn’t have the best starts, I raced really hard to pass a lot of kids and try to get to the front of the pack.

85 9-11

2nd and 3rd with a 3rd place overall finish

85 Mini Sr 2 (9-14)

11th and 8th with an 8th place overall finish

This last weekend we had the first round of Loretta Lynn Qualifying races at MMX.  The Loretta Lynn qualifiers are a little different because you race stock classes on Saturday and Mod classes on Sunday.

85 Stock

2nd and 3rd with a 3rd place overall finish

It was Valentines Day and I was LOVING racing

 85 Mod

3rd and 3rd with an overall 3rd place finish

I crashed hard in my race but was able to get back up and fight to 3rd

 We had a lot of fun on and off the track.  We stayed at a hotel down the street, played in the pool, went to a restaurant to watch Supercross, and played in the dirt.

I have to thank my “crew” that supported me all weekend and help me every week.

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK AT THE RACES!

 

MY HOUSE IS NOW CALLED “CROSS MEDICAL CENTER”

Last week I went to practice on Wednesday at Club Moto and I rode good, but I felt a little off.  On the way home my stomach was really upset and I got sick.  I got sick several more times that night and was not feeling very good the next few days.

On Thursday my sister Hailey had surgery to get her tonsils removed.  On Friday she was bleeding really bad and had to go back into the hospital and have emergency surgery.  On Friday she was in a lot of pain, because she had two surgeries and they put stitches in her throat, but she was doing better. (This picture was taken before the first surgery…she was not as happy after.)

I was also feeling better and I was excited to race the Mammoth qualifier race at Oatfield.  (Remember a few weeks ago I raced the Mammoth qualifier at Comp Edge and my bike broke in the open class during the second race and I didn’t get to finish so I didn’t qualify in that class)

My Dad and I went to the race by ourselves because my Mom had to stay home with my sister Hailey.  Saturday practice went well and I was excited to race on Sunday.  In the first race (65 Open) I got up to second place and was pushing on the leader but was not able to make a pass and finished the race in 2nd place.  In the second race (65 age) I got off the gate well, but the bike next to me hit me and I had to slow down a little so I didn’t fall.  I was able to fight back to third place and stayed close to the second place rider but I made a few mistakes and was not able to make a pass, I finished the race in 3rd place.

The third race of the day was the second 65 open race and everything started off good, I got a good start I was in second place right behind the leader and my suspension was not working very well.  On the second lap my back tire kicked me and I tried to save it but ended up crashing.  I ran to my bike to try to finish the race and when I picked up my bike I realized that my right arm had no strength and a sharp pain.  I got back on my bike and tried to ride, but it was really hard to hold on and every jump and bump on the track was hurting.  I definitely did not ride my best, but I tried really hard to finish the race the best I could.  I was able to finish the race in seventh place which gave me a 5th place overall finish, luckily I was able to qualify for the Mammoth race.

When I got back to the van, I realized that something was really wrong with my arm.  My Dad checked me out and we decided that I needed to go to the hospital to get my arm looked at.  I did not stay to race the last race, but I already qualified for that class at Comp Edge.  The doctor said that I dis-located my shoulder and broke my humerus up by my shoulder.

My arm is not too bad during the day as long as it doesn’t move, but at night it is really hard for me to sleep.  My Mom is taking care of my sister and I and it is like a hospital at my house.

Im going to heal up my shoulder and my arm and my Dad is going to go through my bikes and when I am all better, we will be ready to go!

A GOOD WEEKEND WITH A LOT OF BAD LUCK

This last weekend we went to LA to race a Road To Mammoth qualifier race at Comp Edge.  All weekend long I didn’t have very good luck, but I kept riding really hard and I never gave up.  Not very good results for the amount of effort I put in, but that happens sometimes.  Let me tell you what happened…..

Let me start by saying that the weather was horrible.  It was extremely cold and the wind was blowing so hard it was difficult to even walk.  Everyone was wearing layers and layers of clothes and it felt like we were in the snow.  The wind kept changing directions so it was a little difficult to go over the jumps.  Sometimes the wind would be at your back and help you clear a jump and sometimes it blew sideways and when you went into the air it tried to blow you off the side of the track.

Saturday we got to the track to practice and the first part of the day is open practice, which in LA means that all bikes get to practice on the track at the same time.  The track was really muddy in some spots, but I was getting the feel for the track.  After a few laps I started picking up my speed and clearing all the jumps.  I jumped the finish line jump and came up a little short and cased the landing.  When I landed the bike kicked me over and the bike and I went flying and landed at the bottom of the jump.  I was pretty hurt and I knew I was in a bad spot so I started to crawl off the track.  The flagger at the top of the jump didn’t see my crash and he didn’t put up the yellow flag to tell the other riders I was down on the bottom of the jump.  The fourth big bike was in the air coming over the jump and when he landed he had nowhere to go and totally ran me over.  After the bike ran me over, the guys bike, him and I were flipping.  My elbow pad was thrown away from me and my helmet even broke.  I was so sore on the entire right side of my body it was hard for me to even walk.

This is the jump I fell on in practice.

My parents wanted to go home and let me rest my injuries, but I really wanted to stay and keep riding.  I went out for the rest of the practices throughout the day and I did OK, but I wasn’t feeling 100%.  I was excited to get back to the hotel and take a bath to get warm and rest my muscles.  I knew that I would be ready to race the next morning.

When we got back to the hotel I had fun because a lot of my friends from the track were staying at the hotel also.  The hotel has a banquet room and we all hung out in there and watched Supercross together.  Ryan ordered pizzas for everyone and they were the biggest pizzas I had ever seen.  After supercross was over it was time to go up to my room and soak in the bath.

The next morning the wind got worse and it was time to go racing.  In the first race I had a really bad start. (The start is on cement instead of dirt and I was a little off on my clutch) I ended up going sideways out of the gate and had to let off the gas to get straightened out, so I was in about last place coming up to the first turn.  I was able to pass a lot of bikes in the first couple of turns and by the time I came out of the back I was in third place.  I was riding hard to catch the front guys, but they had really good starts and I had a lot of work to do to reel them in.  I was starting to get a little closer to second place and I was trying some new lines on the track to try to find some more speed and I went down.  I took a handle bar to my leg that gave me a really bad charlie horse, but I got back on my bike and kept racing.  I was able to finish the race in third place which wasn’t bad for the start I had and that I went down.

The second race of the day started just like the first, I was still off on my clutch and the bike went sideways again.  I again was able to race into third place and in the five laps of the race I was gaining on leaders but didn’t have enough laps to catch them.  I again finished the race in third place.  I knew I had to get a better start in the next race and I talked to my Dad about what I should change to do it.  The kids that I was racing are fast and I can’t let them get so far out infront of me if I want any chance of trying to pass them.

The third race of the day I was on the line and I was ready to go.  I got out of the gate much better and I was in third place by the first turn.  I was able to pass into second place and I was chasing down the leader.  On the second lap I was gaining on the leader and I felt something was wrong with my bike.  I knew it didn’t have as much power all of a sudden, I came over the finish line jump and I knew my bike didn’t have the power to hit it.  I tried to keep riding the best I could, but about two turns later my motor locked up.  I was so disappointed that I wasn’t able to finish the race, I was having so much fun battling.  Instead of a good finish I ended up with a DNF.

In the fourth race of the day I was going to have to race the fast kids on thier mod bikes with my stock bike.  I knew that it was going to be hard but that I could do it if I got off the line good and I rode really hard.  I did get off the line really good and by the second turn I was in third place.  I again was chasing down the second place guy and I was staying close with him when the pipe on my bike broke off.  Once the pipe came off my bike I had no power and it slowed the bike down a lot.  After my pipe came off I knew I wouldn’t be able to catch the leaders and I tried hard not to lose any positions.  I was not able to clear the two big jumps on the track, but I did push my bike to get everything else I could and tried to keep my speed up as much as possible.  I was able to finish the race in third place.

I rode really hard all weekend and I did really well, but I didn’t have the finishes to show for it.  With the DNF in the one class I didn’t qualify in that class and I will have to race at another qualifying event and in the other class I got 3rd place overall.

My Dad and Mom were very proud of me for pushing hard all weekend and the were happy that I never gave up….. It still would have been nice to have a win.  lol

Monday night my Dad let me take my motor apart to see what we needed to do to fix it.  It was cool to see all the parts that are inside the motor and I had fun taking it apart with my Dad.

LET’S HOPE I CAN PUT IT BACK TOGETHER.   🙂

MY….ROAD TO MAMMOTH 2012 (part 2 of 2)

Now that I was able to get to the track I was really excited to ride. Practice went well and I quickly learned the track. The track has a concrete start and right out of the gate you start a small climb that leads right into a huge up hill and then a really fast down hill. It was a really fast track and throughout the day it got really rough and I had to make sure I picked good lines.

Then it was time to race. Throughout practice my Dad worked hard to get the bike jetted correctly because of the high altitude. Although the bike got better, it wasn’t 100% and I struggled a little with top end power and then low end. I got really good starts and I was able to battle but with my motor not as good as the other riders I was able to pull out a fourth and a first in my class with gave me a second overall. In the open class, out of a full gate I finished fifteenth and thirteenth. My Dad spent the afternoon working on my bike and we know that I would be ready to go for day two.

The next day of racing my bike was running a lot better and I was ready to ride. My Dad and i worked on different sections of the track and i got ready to race.

In the first race I didn’t get the best start and I battled to the front and finished in a very close second. In the next race I made sure to make the pass to take the lead to finish in first and it gave me a first place overall finish in my age class. In the open race I finished in ninth and eleventh which gave me a tenth place overall finish. In all of my races I had pretty good starts, had great battles with really fast kids, and I was able to finish each race on two wheels

 
I finished the race in first place and as I was coming off the track I was stopped to give a TV interview. It was my first ever race interview and I was very excited to be able to thank my sponsors and tell them about my race. I was interviewed for TV twice during the races and it was really cool!

I was able to get to the podium four times winning two little bears and two big bears. I got 2nd place from day one in my age class, 10th place from day two in the open class, 1st place from day two in my age class, and 1st place for the overall Road To Mammoth race in my age class.

 
I GOT INTERVIEWED ON THE PODIUM EACH TIME AND IT GAVE ME A CHANCE TO THANK MY SPONSORS!

THANK YOU
MOM, DAD,AND MY SISTER
GRANDMA AND GRANDPA
51 FIFTY ENERGY DRINK
ME – MOTO EFX
BOSS SUSPENSION
DRAGON GOGGLES
CYCLE GEAR
INTERO
I COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT     ME-MOTO EFX    AND    51 FIFTY ENERGY DRINK

MY….ROAD TO MAMMOTH 2012 (part 1 of 2)

A few months back I raced in Los Angeles and qualified to go to the main event race in Mammoth Lake. The Road To Mammoth, two week event, is the oldest running continuous running motocross event in the USA. The track is located 8,000 feet up in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range and the track is only utilized for this one event each year.

We loaded the family into the Moto van and headed to Mammoth. We were all really excited because we had to drive right through the middle of Yosemite and none of us had ever been to Yosemite before. We had a really nice drive through Yosemite, but the ride was cut a little short… The transmission went out on the van and we were stuck on the side of the road with no cell phone service. My Mom had to walk down the road about five miles to get cell phone service to call AAA. Thankfully my parents found Tim that gave them a ride back to the truck and we waited for the tow truck…..thank you Tim

Finally the tow truck arrived

 

 

We had about a two hour delay, we arrived in a tow truck, but we finally made it to our condo in Mammoth.

Our van, bikes, gear and parts were now at our condo but we had to be able to get ourselves and my bikes to and from the race track each day. Luckily Tre and Kai came by our condo and picked up one bike to take to the race for us. Anthony and his Grandpa Ray moved things around and were able to fit my other bike, my riding gear, and my family in their van and we were able to get to the race track. I CAN’T THANK YOU GUYS ENOUGH FOR HELPING ME GET TO THE RACE TRACK. Now it was time to race.

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED…..

ROAD TO MAMMOTH QUALIFIER

The ROAD TO MAMMOTH began back in 1968 when a group of riders built a track 8,000 feet up in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range.  Every summer racers qualify for a chance to race the Mammoth Mountain classic event, the oldest continuous running motocross event in the USA.  Many of the top racers in the world have honed their skills at this event and staged some epic battles….Riders like Ricky Carmichael, Jeremy McGrath, Steve Lamson, Kevin Windham, James Stewart, Mike Bell, Donny Hansen and many more. It also become one of the major amateur events in the country as well. You can see the factory riders of tomorrow racing in the mini classes at Mammoth.

This last weekend I went back to Los Angeles to race the Road to Mammoth Qualifier at Lake Elsinore.  This was my first time back riding since I took a break with my elbow almost a month ago.  I was so excited to get back on my dirt bike.

We got to my Uncles house early saturday morning and had a couple of hours of sleep before it was time to go to the track for practice.  Saturday practice went well and I had so much fun.  I felt like I was a little out of shape and a little rusty but I think I did pretty good.  After practice we went back to my Uncles house and I played XBox with my cousin, it was so fun.

I went back to the track early Sunday morning to get ready to race.  The track conditions were really different from anything I usually ride on.  They didn’t water the track very much and it didnt hold up very well.  The braking bumps were huge and turned into whoops going into the turn.  The turns became very hard packed and slick like ice and most of the turns were totally flat with no rutts.  The entire track was so dry that during one of my races I couldn’t see the rider in front of me because it was too dusty.

All day my starts were a little off so I had to race for position which was difficult on this track.  In my first 65 race I was able to fight to the front and pull out the 1st place win.  In the second 65 race I was again able to fight back to first but then I made a mistake.  Because we raced the younger class in the second gate behind the older class, some of us younger kids caught up to the older class.  As I was battling through traffic and sliding around the track I went down.  I got back up and wasnt able to catch back up to the leader and finished the day with 2nd place overall finish.

My 85 race was also a little difficult because the track was so loose but I did good.  The class is 9-11 and they had some really fast (and big) kids in the class.  Both races were really fun and we had some good battles and I was able to finish the day with no falls and a 7th place trophy.

In the 65 class the top 5 riders qualify and in the 85 class the top 9 riders qualify……..so I am now officially qualified in both classes.  YA