Race Report - WERA Grand National Finals: Road Atlanta (Pt. 3)

An hour later, Brandon Bones was standing over me in the dark, trying to get my attention. "Get up," he repeated.
"Hunh?"
"Do you want an AMA bike tomorrow or not?"
I paused, trying to wrap my head around what he was saying.
"I suppose I should put on some pants, then."


Fast forward to 7 am, Sunday morning: I was wide awake and had been for half an hour, eagerly anticipating the truck that was just then pulling up to our pits. Chad Herrmann, AMA #71, hopped out of the truck and unloaded his white Lucky 7 Racing R6, along with a set of tires and a barrel of fuel. The previous night, Brandon had wandered the pits, looking for anyone who would have a spare bike on Sunday. Chad listened and immediately offered his bike up, as he lived not far away and wasn't riding. The end result: I would be riding a fully-built, regular-AMA-top-ten professional's race bike for 600 and 750 Superbike. We got Chad's bike teched as fast as we could, swapped tires, fueled up and made it to the gate just in time for the first of the two ten-minute practice sessions I would get that morning. I went out very cautiously but was soon extremely comfortable flipping the bike side to side and enjoying the wonder that is full aftermarket suspension. By the time practice was over, I had already beaten my best time from the day prior and felt very ready for the races that afternoon.





600 Superbike: I was gridded at the very back for 600 Superbike, because in lieu of qualifying, WERA did the grids based on season points, of which I had very few. Luckily, the superbike grids were not as large as the superstock ones, so it would not be such a tangle in the first few laps. The flag waved and I took off, getting a decent drive but still getting forced back by the more aggressive riders in the first few turns. I tried to keep the aggression and red mist reined in during this race, as it was not my bike I was riding and putting so much as a scratch on it would mean that it would become my bike, and lots of my money would become not my money. Because of this I actually rode more smoothly, however, and ended up passing several riders anyway. When I finished the race and came into the pits, Kevin was whooping and hollering - I finished 7th! I could hardly believe it. However, Chad himself came over to congratulate me on my finish, and even laughed when I told him I had been trying not to push it. Admonishing me that he didn't lend me the bike so that I could do laps, he said to get out there and race.





750 Superbike:: With those words of encouragement still in my mind, I told myself I'd get out there and see what I could do. I didn't expect much, however, as most of the bikes alongside me on this grid would outclass me by 20 to 30 hp. Still, when the green flag dropped, I let out the clutch and shot forward, and this time I didn't back off into turn 1. Instead of being the sheep, I was the wolf, and I went from the back of the grid to mid-pack in one turn. I kept it tight to the inside and got on the gas hard on the exit, hard enough to lift the front wheel cresting the hill, and then prepared for another squeeze entering the chicane and the esses. I glued myself to the bike in front of me and made full use of the pro suspension to straighten the chicane, running rumble strip to rumble strip, then powering down through the chicane and up to to turn five. I took the bike in front of me on the exit of five, widening it to make use of the rumble strips again. Man, is good suspension good! The next bike in line was a full corner or so ahead of me, so I put my head down to make up some ground. I didn't manage to reel him any closer before we hit the massive back straight, however, and with his power advantage he put a lot of distance between us. I would have to make it up on the brakes. Thankfully, the brakes on this bike were the most powerful I've ever felt, thanks to incredibly firm Performance Friction Sintered Carbon pads. Slowing for turn ten, the pucker-inducing sixth-gear-to-second hard left I mentioned earlier, I made up some of the ground I lost on the straight and then made up more again coming into turn twelve, a hard downhill right which is far steeper than it looks on TV. Another couple laps of that made short work of the gap, and I was soon drafting him down the back straight, trying as hard as I could to tuck into his bubble so I could keep up. By that time he knew I was behind him, however, and had moved his brake markers up to prevent me from getting past. I peeked up the inside every corner I could for another couple laps, but he always managed to close the door and stave me off. Finally, coming into turn ten, he overcooked it and ran off into the gravel, luckily staying upright. I nearly followed him straight in, only barely managing to rip my eyes off of him and back to the exit of the corner. After a brief moment to collect myself, I began charging ahead again, trying to find whoever was ahead of me, but within a lap or two my rear tire began to move around. Normally it wouldn't really bother me, as I'm used to the rear stepping out, but then again, normally I'm racing my own bike. So, content with my performance so far and not wanting to take any risks that weren't needed, I decided to play it safe and simply keep the position I was in. It was just as well, as just a few laps later the race was over - with a finish of 7th place for me again!





I was ecstatic. Two seventh-place finishes, at the Grand National Finals, on somebody else's bike?? Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think that could happen. Yet, with the help of my pit mates and the friends we made in Atlanta, it did. We loaded up Chad's bike back into his trailer, returned the gas I hadn't used, thanked him over and over and over, and then turned our attention to loading and cleaning up our pits, as my race was our last of the day. Our group spent one last night at Corey's uncle's place, thanked him profusely as well, and then we all split our various ways to either the airport or the long road home.

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So now as we drive, I think of all the people who made this weekend possible for me - there are so many. Corey Baum for organizing the trip, and along with Will Grenier and Brian Trudeau, goading me into coming. Brandon Bones, for conning me into doing WERA in the first place. John Baum and Doug Krekow for making getting there a possibility. My brother Kevin, for coming along just for the ride and making sure we were set with anything we needed, be it food or an extra wrench. Walt and Barb, Corey's uncle and aunt, for opening to us their arms, house and even toy hauler. Dmitry Akhutin, for lending me both a Suzuki to ride in the Schwantz School and a new Dainese race suit, without so much as a second thought. Troy McCrae for lending me his boots, not to mention some kick-ass tires! My friend (and now manager) Katie Perry, and my girlfriend Lauren, for flying down to watch and pat my back, even after my bike blew up. Gino from Zyvax and Chip from KWS, for helping me try to fix it. Chad Herrmann, for lending me his to use after we figured out I couldn't. Mike McLane, for uncountable hours spent helping me do everything to turn it into a full-on, gorgeous-paint-job race bike from the showroom floor. Mike Castro of Fuzimoto, for turning it into a rocket. My teammates: Eric Anderson, Randy Bailey, Eric Featherstone, Chris Fratini and Kevin Klemmer, for supporting and encouraging me throughout the year and helping me paint, fix, or otherwise just do, everything that needed to be done. All my sponsors, always, for everything they do for me: Studio819 Photography, PNWRiders.com, Pennell Powersports and Bridgestone, Adrenaline Freaks Track Days, V-holdR Cameras, RaceTech Suspension, MorePower Racing, Powerstands, Vortex, Motorex Fluids, Pipercross Filters and Junior Monkey Design. This is by no means exhaustive - I'm certain I've forgotten someone somewhere and I feel terrible for the possibility, because without all the help I truly would not be able to live this dream. They are the heroes, so support me in supporting them in any way you can!