When: July 6-7, 2002
Where: NHIS, Loudon NH


Friday 7/5
Got to the track around 6.  It was a long holiday weekend, so there was no traffic.  I registered and took a track walk... since NHIS had repaved turns 3 and 4 on the NASCRAP oval, they re-routed T12.  We didn't use the normal chicane, but they made 2 tirewall chicanes on the straight connector that the karts usually use.    I didn't really like them, as you were basically headed for a wall that was perpendicular to you as you came out of T11.  I ate dinner, hung out and went to bed.  

Saturday 7/6
Got up around 7..  took a shower, got some coffee at the Checkered Flag restaraunt.   I usually take 1 sugar with my coffee.. but this stuff needed 5 of them (ugh).   I went out for 8:15 practice, and had pretty slow times.  Second practice was better, but still off the pace.

GTL
I was on the second row of the Junior GTL wave..  I got a pretty pathetic start, and went into T1 at the back (no surprise there).  I worked pretty hard and picked up about 5 positions over the first 8-9 laps..  I was clicking off 1:28s-1:30s consistently.. I was feeling good, and was being pretty aggressive with passing.  I did battle with a couple guys and had fun passing back and forth.  Just before the halfway mark, we got red flagged.  At the restart, they gridded us in race order.   I got an ok start, but just don't have the horsepower to get to T1 before the SV650s etc.  I spent a couple laps getting back up to speed and got past the first of the riders I had previously passed in the first half, and the race got red flagged again.   Since it was past halfway, they stopped the race...  I had lost all the positions I previously worked hard to get.  That's racing, I guess.

GP Singles
I got an average start in this one.  It was a pretty mellow race... No crashes or major problems.  I go 5th place.. but I know I could have gotten better..  I need to work on the bowl...  I'm faster than before, but I still feel like I'm crawling through it.  I managed to grab 5th place, which is worth 9 points.

LWGP
My goal for this race was not to get lapped by one of my garage mates on his 250.  I think he got held up at the start of the race, but I managed to not get lapped by him.   It was a really fun race.. I was mostly by myself for it, but was feeling comfortable on the track.  I think having all my races on one day works for me.. it keeps things consistent. 

Sunday 7/7
On Sat eve I had swapped out my top triple clamp with a more solid bracket that Dave Arvidson and Steve Hecker had made.. so my goal was to go out and see how it felt.   The stock bracket is pretty weak, so I was hoping to get things feeling a little more stable.  I got up and did first practice.. which was a nightmare.  I think I'm just going to skip first practice from now on... I'm not a morning person, so I think it might just be screwing me up.. my times are always 5 seconds off the pace.  My battle shifter decided to stop working.  Between practices, I found out it was the shift lever switch, so I put the stock linkage back on until I could get a replacement.   Second practice was going better, but there were a few crashes, and eventually a red flag, so it was cut pretty short.  One guy had a getoff right in front of me between T10 and T11, which was kind of scary.

I spent the rest of the day working on the bike and hanging around... then I went home, fed the cat, unpacked and crashed (in a good way).