9 months and 23 races later it all came down to this race. as i just found out, i was 2 points ahead of owen kapalski for 1st place. 1.5 hours to go!
i had a hard time sleeping last night, pre race jitters? or no mountain dew? woke up to a dreary day, a little chilly, slight mist.
but the sun broke out around noon and it turned out to be a pretty nice day.
rounded the corner to the track and it looked muddy. guess it rained pretty good yesterday evening. rain + dutchman = muddy mess! i wasn't expecting that as it hardly rained at all down here.
season ending dutchman 11/21
for some reason EVERYONE showed up for this one! rick, traci, and tyler pulled in, but rick wasn't racing. i believe matt smiley was in attendence. borich was walking around but not racing. there was 17 people signed up for c class when i got there.
talked with jlhughes for a few minutes. he said owen picked up the 450r he dominated with last d-man race. found rick and tyler. tyler was racing the a class on the old faithful painfully stock looking 400ex. all pimped out with the hose clamped stock silencer and trail wolfs!!!!!!!! i gave him a little advise telling him to turn those trail wolfs around, they'll hook much better. for some reason, he listened to me!:eek:
made my rounds thru the pits making sure everyone knew their role in todays race. either take owen out, slow him down till i arrive, or start behind me.
but owen brought a secret weapon of his own, his brother todd! who's fully capable of making my day miserable! todd's mission was to take me out on the start!
talked with jlhughes for a few minutes. he said owen picked up the 450r he dominated with last d-man race. found rick and tyler. tyler was racing the a class on the old faithful painfully stock looking 400ex. all pimped out with the hose clamped stock silencer and trail wolfs!!!!!!!! i gave him a little advise telling him to turn those trail wolfs around, they'll hook much better. for some reason, he listened to me!:eek:
made my rounds thru the pits making sure everyone knew their role in todays race. either take owen out, slow him down till i arrive, or start behind me.
but owen brought a secret weapon of his own, his brother todd! who's fully capable of making my day miserable! todd's mission was to take me out on the start!while warming my bike up it ran for a minute then shut off and didn't want to start. it finally did and started fine the dozen or so times i did it before the race started. the start would be key in the mess today as once again we started last.:mad:
the track vendor was out of my quick load tearoffs, so i had to get regular scott 89's. which i make work but are definately not correct. i put all 10 on my goggles plus the 1 quick load i had. needless to say... vision was a little fuzzy.
the track vendor was out of my quick load tearoffs, so i had to get regular scott 89's. which i make work but are definately not correct. i put all 10 on my goggles plus the 1 quick load i had. needless to say... vision was a little fuzzy.
sitting in the staging area getting near time to line up and the quad in front of me was riderless. time to head out and still no rider! half the field got out on the track before i got around. had to line up way left when i wanted to be mid right. never lined up on the left before and looking to the first corner and all the guys on my right... it wasn't looking good!
a class goes and jlhughes gets the holeshot and leads them thru the first few turns before disappearing out of sight!!!!!
our turn. horn blows and i watch everyone go.:mad: finally get moving and am around mid pack at best out of 26+ racers. first few corners were a mess. nobody was getting crazy or anything but roost was horrible and ruts were deep, already. plus owen was out in front, along with todd, jon rotterkamp(sp?), and a host of other people i didn't want up there.
a class goes and jlhughes gets the holeshot and leads them thru the first few turns before disappearing out of sight!!!!!
our turn. horn blows and i watch everyone go.:mad: finally get moving and am around mid pack at best out of 26+ racers. first few corners were a mess. nobody was getting crazy or anything but roost was horrible and ruts were deep, already. plus owen was out in front, along with todd, jon rotterkamp(sp?), and a host of other people i didn't want up there.
discovered that when i pulled a tearoff it pulled my goggles with it! not good. i used about 4 on the first lap alone, each time having to reposition my goggles. quickly caught the autosport/utility class. guy on a scrambler got crossed up in a rut at the worst possible time in the worst possible place. a whole train of us had to wait till he got straightened out before we could go. none of the leaders were in that train though, they were gone.
decided right there to run my race like it was just another race. don't try to keep up with anyone, don't take any chances or do anything stupid. alot of guys don't finish these mud races or have to ditch their goggles and slow down. just go the entire 1.5 hours and i feel i'll do good.
decided right there to run my race like it was just another race. don't try to keep up with anyone, don't take any chances or do anything stupid. alot of guys don't finish these mud races or have to ditch their goggles and slow down. just go the entire 1.5 hours and i feel i'll do good.
ran in traffic the first 2-2.5 laps. my helmet was so caked with mud it was hard to hold my head up. it was also pushing my goggles down onto my nose making me eat alot of mud. alot of mud! i reached up to grab a handfull of mud off it but then got my glove all muddy which made my grip all muddy. learned my lesson.
finally got out of traffic and the conditions were starting to take their toll. guys were goggleless, quads were broken, and people were pulling over to let us by. saw owen a small switchback or two ahead of me but that was like miles in these slick conditions.
finally got out of traffic and the conditions were starting to take their toll. guys were goggleless, quads were broken, and people were pulling over to let us by. saw owen a small switchback or two ahead of me but that was like miles in these slick conditions.
half way and there was a small pile up in the one section the scrambler was stuck at on our first lap.some guys were going over the banners and cutting the corner to get around. i said, go with the flow, and dodged the corner.
following a strong running raptor who came up to a rather large guy on a v force that wouldn't let anyone around. raptor dude was all over this dude but with slick corners, couldn't get around. he was throwing his hands up in disgust but finally got around when the force messed up in a corner. now i was behind the force. tried yelling but he was deaf to that. continued pressuring and he finally let me by. raptor dude was gone though.
following a strong running raptor who came up to a rather large guy on a v force that wouldn't let anyone around. raptor dude was all over this dude but with slick corners, couldn't get around. he was throwing his hands up in disgust but finally got around when the force messed up in a corner. now i was behind the force. tried yelling but he was deaf to that. continued pressuring and he finally let me by. raptor dude was gone though.
next lap. in the woods section i came upon another v force. he let me by but then it felt like my bike was starting to cut out:( then it started popping, spitting, and sputtering. come on baby! i let the force by then it just quit in the next corner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it start back up and idle but as soon as you give it gas it dies. turned up the idle and wiggled the battery connections but that made no difference. scraped all the mud off my helmet then owen comes by! he was stuck in the corner when jon rotterkamp tangled with a blaster!
i had a huge lead on him, 2 minutes or so and he had no goggles as they broke on the first lap! unbelieveable! bike runs all season and quits in the last 30 minutes when i had the championship locked up(maybe). :furious: had to get towed back. congradulated owen, talked with ben rollison and jeff kearney then left. talk about a long ride home.:cry:
i had a huge lead on him, 2 minutes or so and he had no goggles as they broke on the first lap! unbelieveable! bike runs all season and quits in the last 30 minutes when i had the championship locked up(maybe). :furious: had to get towed back. congradulated owen, talked with ben rollison and jeff kearney then left. talk about a long ride home.:cry:
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TheJaspMan
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