When: May 17, 2003
Where: NHIS

Friday 5/16
I didn't get out of work until after 5pm.. so I hit major traffic.  As I was headed up 93, I noticed a car with a motorcycle trailer (and a race bike) pulled off with its hazard lights blinking, so I pulled over.  One of the LRRS regulars ran out of gas.  We dumped the gas out of the Z50 into a gas can to get them to the gas station.. just as AAA pulled up.  So we dumped the gas back into the Z50 and I took off.  Got to the track after Reg had closed.. so I unpacked, changed the oil in the bike and got ready for the weekend.  Thanks to Rick and Nancy for feeding me in the warm trailer..

Saturday 5/17
The weather was looking good..  a bit chilly, but it was mostly sunny and dry, so I wasn't complaining.  I went to Registration and got everything for the day.   There was a slight problem (as always) but I got it straightened out.  First practice was slow as always.. and second practice went much better.  I was ready for the afternoon!

GTL
The powers that be had let me move my GTL to this weekend.. so there I was.  I got a good start, and was happy with my riding for the first half of the race..  I passed a lot of people and was doing pretty well.  About the time the halfway flag had shown its (long overdue) presence, I was utterly exhausted.  I kept hanging my right foot off the bike on the straight to wake it back up, and my left foot didn't want to work anymore.  I kept having to get on the brakes too early in a lot of turns, because it was taking too long to downshift.. and some serious mistakes were the result.   Dane had gotten a pretty bad start, but I knew he was there somewhere.  About 4 laps from the end, he came by me.  I kept up with him until I hit a false neutral coming out of T3.  He got a pretty big lead on me.  Luckily for me, he also made a couple mistakes on the second to last lap, and I caught right back up to him.  The fact that my left foot wouldn't shift (and all I wanted to do was pit in and give up) be damned, I put my head down to see about getting back in front of Dane.  On the last lap, I got right up behind him coming through T9/10.. and I took the outside line through T11, going fast enough to get in front of him for the T12 chicane.  I managed to hold him off to the finish line and beat him.  Woo Hoo!   I'm glad I didn't give up, as we had a good time.  This was only a taste for GP Singles though...

GP Singles
I got a decent start for this race as well (thought Zack is really the man when it comes to starts!) and we were off.  I was a tad slower than GTL, but was still feeling pretty good.  I got around a few people (including some of the Motards) and was by myself for the first half of the race.  Of course, Dane caught up with me and passed me through the bowl (I *really* have to work on that corner!).  He and I battled back and forth for the entire second half of the race.  We came up to an Amateur in T3, and Dave Arvidson (who was in the distance ,on a Motard for the first time) but I wasn't close enough to outbrake Dane.  I felt badly for the Amateur.. First Dave outbraked him in T3, then Dane and I split him coming out of T3, with me taking the long way around the outside.  We did a pretty good job of slowing each other down, and I got back around Dane..  He got past me into T1 down the inside on the white flag lap, but we were really close by the time T3 came around again.  We had caught up to Dave..  and I was on a mission..  We went 3-wide into T3.. with me on the inside, Dane on the outside, and Dave in the middle.  I was going way too fast, and had to pile on the brakes like a madman.. and thought for sure I was going to crash.   I had to go really deep into T3, but managed to get it all together in time to get through the corner.. and made the pass.  Of course, Dane got me on the inside going into the bowl.. but I hammered the throttle and got right back on him.  I was about a half inch from his back tire as we went through T9/10.. and got hard on the gas for the drag race to T11..  This was the last lap and I had one last chance to get him.   I was confident in my speed through T11 and felt I could either get him on the outside, or hold a really good line through T12 and pass him on the gas to the start/finish.. but I made a big mistake.. and missed a downshift into T11.  Dane got away with no chance of me catching him (well done, dude!).  I got my act back together out of T12, and Dave got a better drive out of the corner.. so we had a drag race to the line.  Luckily, my bike had enough power for me to just beat him to the flag.   Overall a fantastic race.  I haven't had that much fun racing in ages!!   Special thanks to Dave and Dane for lots of fun dicing.

LWGP
Got to the grid and the expert wave started.. there was a pileup in T1, so they red flagged it and sent us back to pre-grid.  Chris and Craig had collided and both went down.. with the ambulance picking up Chris (both were OK).  I lost my spirit for racing, and just used the race as practice.  I had made up some ground to a pack of bikes, but kind of gave up and they got away.  I was pretty exhausted from the days activities, so I just made sure to finish the race on the rubber and be done with it all.

A pack of us went out to dinner after some wrenching, then it was off to bed.   Glad I remembered the heater this weekend.. it was chilly out!

Sun 4/27
I blew off first practice, but went out in second practice to scrub in new tires.  I was taking my time, and almost got taken out by an idiot in T11, who came by me on the left, then swooped right to the curb with half his bike still next to mine.  Not sure how I managed to save it, but the guy behind me (who I let through into T12) gave me a big thumbs up.  Scary.  After practice I packed up, took a shower and went home.   Another successful weekend!