Interview: Shogun Endurance

www.cmraracing.com
2004 Issue 4
CENTRAL MOTORCYCLE ROADRACING ASSOCIATION
Interview: Shogun Endurance
The First Turn
New Record for Sanchez
Congratulations to Michael Sanchez and crew
for posting a new track record at Oak Hill
Raceway in April. Michael set the record while
riding his Shogun Motorsports GSXR-750 in the
last event of the day, the B Superbike Expert
event. The new mark, a 1:22.565, which was
timed using AMB electronic scoring, eclipsed
John Haner’s 2002 record of 1:23.22 by nearly
7/10s of a second!
“Don Finelli did a phenomenal job of setting
this bike up,” said Sanchez after the event. “The
bumps at Oak Hill are no longer there with
Don Finelli, because the suspension is working
so good. Off course, I also want to thank
Brooks of Shogun Motorsports and Sum Of All
Parts.”
Oak Hill Improvements
Thanks to several hard-working club members,
improvements were made to Oak Hill Raceway
which make the facility more convenient for
our racers and more appealing to the eye. This
includes paving in the tech barn and registration area and removal of the fence (which used
to run through the middle of the parking area),
butane tank and trees to allow for more parking. These areas were also leveled.
Also, special thanks to Chris Kotowski, Brad
Kelly, Gabe Sanchez, Norm and Tyler
McDonald and Marcus McBain for resurfacing
turn six. Norm, Tyler, Will Gruy, Noah Bearden
and Brooks Gremmels teamed up to remove
the old fence. My apologies to anyone that I
missed.
CMRA at Fontana
CMRA-member Ben Spies topped the
Superstock division at round two of the AMA
Chevy Trucks Superbike Series at California
Speedway in Fontana, California. Riding his
Yoshimura Suzuki, Spies beat out Damon
Buckmaster by 1.8 seconds for the win and now
sits in a tie atop the series points standings with
Anthony Gobert at 62 points apiece.
Results: 1. Ben Spies (Suz); 2. Damon
Buckmaster (Yam); 3. Jamie Hacking (Yam); 4.
Jason DiSalvo (Yam); 5. Aaron Gobert (Yam).
into fourth and kind of settled in, did what the
motorcycle would allow me to do. I found the
limits of the bike about the second lap, it was
moving around quite a bit in the rear and we're
still having a lot of issues with the front end. I
got into a little thing with Clint McBain and
Opie (Caylor), we just kind of rode around, not
really battled. We've been struggling all weekend, it hasn't been the best weekend for us."
Haner is currently 10th in Chevrolet Superbike
points after three rounds and 9th in the Repsol
Superstock point standings after two rounds.
According to press releases from Bill Syfan of
Proforma, CMRA-racer John Haner rode his
Hooters Suzuki GSX-R1000s to solid but personally disappointing finishes after a frustrating
weekend at round two of the AMA Chevrolet
Superbike Championship at California
Speedway in Fontana, California. Haner finished
9th in Saturday's Chevrolet Superbike Final, 11th
in Sunday's Repsol Superstock Final and 16th in
Sunday's Chevrolet Superbike Final.
Of the ninth-place finish, Haner said: "I didn't
have that great of a start, until turn two. I got
HAS/Shogun Racing rider Heath Small finished
11th in the AMA Lockart Phillips USA Formula
Xtreme event at California Speedway. Heath
skipped the Supersport race after a crash in
Sunday morning warm-up re-injured the shoulder he had separated a month ago at Daytona.
"I had a small crash this morning in Formula
Xtreme practice, which re-injured my shoulder
a little bit," said Heath. "I went to the care center, and we skipped the Supersport race to concentrate on the Xtreme race at the end of the
day."
New Class Sponsor
Special thanks to CMRA racers Christopher
Corder and his father, Stephen Corder, who are
now sponsoring the Formula 40 Expert class in
CMRA events. The class will now be known as
the Mr. Corder Racing Formula 40 and will offer
a $175 purse. The class payout will be $100 for
1st, $50 for 2nd, and $25 for 3rd.
We’re sure that Jim Anderson thanks you as
well, since he was the first to benefit from the
purse money this year. Congratulations to Jim
and thanks again to Christopher and Stephen
Corder.
ON THE COVER:
Michael Sanchez set a new track record at OHR.
Unless otherwise noted, all photos by Shan Moore
2
News items, tid-bits and anything important to CMRA or Roadracing in general can
be e-mailed to shan@trialscomp.com for inclusion in The Inside Line.
- Shan Moore/editor
2004 CMRA Schedule
Central Motorcycle Roadracing Assotiation
May 1-2, MotorSport Ranch
Cresson, Texas (Counter Clockwise)
Sat - RS / 2 HR Mini / 5 HR CMRA
Endurance / Mini Sprints Sun - Sprints
May 21-23 Hallett Motor Racing Circuit
Hallett, Oklahoma (Counter Clockwise)
Fri - Riders School/ Practice/ RRC Sat - 5 HR
CMRA Endurance/ Mini Sprints Sun - Sprints
June 19-20 Texas World Speedway
College Station Texas Sat - 8 HR CMRA
Endurance Sun - Sprints
July 16-18 Hallett Motor Racing Circuit
Hallett, Oklahoma
(Clockwise) Fri - Riders School / Practice
Sat - 2 HR Mini / 5 HR CMRA Endurance /
Mini Sprints Sun - Sprints
August 28-29 MotorSport Ranch
Cresson, Texas (Clockwise)
Sat - RS / RRC / 6 HR CMRA Endurance /
Mini Sprints Sun - Sprints
September 25-26 Oak Hill Raceway
Henderson, Texas
Sat - RS / RRC / 4 HR Mini /Mini Sprints
Sun - Sprints
PO Box 123888
Fort Worth, TX 76121
(817) 377-1599
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President - Steve McNamara
Vice President - Charles Ergle
Brooks Gremmels
Keith Hertell
Barry Nichols
Jesse Johnson
Lindsey Leard
steve@lonestartrackdays.com
chuckster3340@msn.com
brooks@shogun.com
mkhertell@yahoo.com
bnichols@grandecom.net
jester@frenzy.com
lindsy.j.leard@lmco.com
Race Management - Nancy Selleck nancy@cmraracing.com
Race Director - Walter Walker
walter@cmraracing.com
Cornerworking - Barry & Roxanne Nichols cornerworking@cmraracing.com
Track Chaplain - Fred Chapman
flchapman@yahoo.com 817-613-6309
Newsletter - Shan Moore
shan@trialscomp.com
www.CMRARACING.com
October 9-10 MotorSport Ranch
Cresson, Texas (Counter Clockwise) Sat - RS
/ 3 HR Mini /4 HR CMRA Endurance / Mini
Sprints Sun - Sprints
CLASSIFIED ADS
1990 FZR 400, frame off restoration in
1998,only ridden 10 times since completion, polished frame, steel braided
lines,new chain, Barnett clutch, tires,
FZ1 blue paint. tune up last year. all
documents. $1200.00 call John at 214215-2958 or jetheridge@earthlink.net.
3
First Turn
www.CMRARACING.com
Racing Products
Racing Oils
Radiator Coolant
Fuel Additive
hand Cleaner
Brake and Parts Cleaner
and More
Advertise your business
in The Inside Line
Call us for more information
214-226-7900
Or visit us at 222.n737nc.com
Contact Shan Moore or Nancy Selleck.:
shan@trialscomp.com
nancy@cmraracing.com
4
Look for our contingency program
in 2004
AlienAutopsy
“A techie’s guide to the trickest bikes!”
We dissect Bill Underwood’s 2002 R6
Bill Underwood’s 2002 YZF-R6 caught our eye because of how clean it was. it had several
aftermarket goodies that had been meticulously mounted and the bike was obviously well prepared.
Current Mods:
Ivan’s Jetting Kit
Akrapovic Exhaust
Penske Rear Shock
Race Tech Gold Valves
Stiffer Fork Springs
AirTech Body Works
Vortex rear Sets
Fast Lap GP Shift
Steering Damper
5
Interview
ShogunENDURANCE
Beauty tames the Beast
Paige LaBella, Noelle Glenn and Barb Facsko
make up the newly formed Shogun Motorsports
Endurance team which will be competing in the
CMRA Endurance Series this year. This trio of lovely
ladies have intentions of being more than just a
token ladies team, and already have a respectable
track record between them.
“I have been racing for three years now and I was
wanting to step up to 600s,” said LaBella, who is
originally from Boston, but living in Oklahoma City
now. “Barb was looking to put a female endurance
team together, so I wanted to be a part of it.”
For Noelle Glenn, who won her first-ever race in
Hawaii just a couple of years ago, the Shogun
Endurance team was a perfect challenge.
“It feels great to go out there against the guys,”
said Glenn. “I think we are all pretty much the same
- there are a lot of different talent levels out there
and it feels good to add a female presence. Barb and
Paige had the idea, along with Brooks Gremmels,
and they were going to look at a few girls and we all
went out there and rode and they decided to add
me to the team.”
Barb Facsko has the most racing experience of the
three, with about thirty years of racing experience.
“My brother-in-law is a motorcycle mechanic and
he got me into roadracing about 15 years ago,” said
Facsko. “I’ve been wanting to put together an allwomen’s endurance team on a big bike because I
have always raced a YSR-50 and I mentioned it to
Brooks Gremmels and he was all for it. We have put
the team together as an all female team to promote
women in motorsports. We would like to see more
women on the grid and we would like for women to
see that it is within our/their reach to be competitive
in this sport. Plus women should feel comfortable
with other motorcycle sports as well. ”
“This is our first season and we are planning on
doing just local racing, but we are hoping to progress
on into the national races later on,” added Facsko.
So, keep an eye on the number 17 Yamaha with
the familiar Shogun color scheme, and don’t worry
about being polite - these ladies may not be so
lady-like on the track. ■
6
Marcus McBain’s
The following article is part two of a three part series by Marcus
McBain of Racing Performance Services which will cover the basics of
bike set up for Road Racing.
Basic Spring and Sag Setup
As we discussed in the previous installment of the "tech tips", there are three components to suspension setup...Geometry, Spring setup (sag/preload), and
Compression/Rebound damping. Since most riders/racers need to have their
geometry setup by a professional, we will not discuss this in depth. We will however discuss how to set your basic spring and sag settings.
As mentioned in our previous article, springs are simple components that offer
little to no tuning value independently. Tuning changes with springs are generally
made by changing springs. Again, this goes back to the fact that the vast majority of
springs are "straight rate" springs that provide the same amount of resistance to
the suspension in the first inch of travel as the third inch of travel. Once you properly setup your sag, you can usually only cause a negative result if you dramatically
add or reduce preload on the fork or shock spring(s). To preface the remainder of
this article, we will cover the terms associated with setting static, rider, and total sag
on your motorcycle.
➧ Preload - This is the amount of static tension that is applied to the fork or
shock springs. There are two ways to modify the preload. The first is the internal
spacer inside the fork that a suspension builder will cut down or add to that provides your adjustment range for your external preload adjusters. Many times when
the external preload adjuster will not allow proper sag to be achieved, it is because
the suspension builder improperly cut the internal preload spacer. The second preload adjustment is the external adjuster(s) that are located on the top of your forks.
(This is what riders actually adjust with) Usually, it is the large knob that requires a
14mm or 17mm socket or wrench to adjust. On a shock, preload is adjusted via the
collar that is on the topside of your spring.
➧ Free Sag - This is the amount of travel used by the motorcycle under its own
weight. Free sag is derived by measuring the difference between the bike fully lifted up (suspension top out) and the bike at rest.
➧ Rider Sag - This is the amount of travel used by the motorcycle when a rider is
placed on it. Rider sag is derived by measuring the difference between the bike at
rest and with the rider sitting on the motorcycle in a full race position.
➧ Total Sag - The combined travel used when the Free Sag and Rider Sag are
added together.
➧ Rebound Damping - This is the adjustment on your shock or forks that controls
how fast/slow the motorcycle "comes up/rebounds". On the forks, this will be the
small adjuster on the cap of the forks
➧ Compression Damping - This is the adjustment on your shock or forks that controls how fast/slow the motorcycle "goes down/compresses"
➧ Stiction - This is typically the measured difference of the "at rest" position of
➧ Measure the difference between the zip tie and
the dust seal. This is your rider sag.
➧ Typical rider sag for the forks is 10mm to 30mm
depending on tuning strategy and bike model.
Measuring the shock
o Free Sag
➧ Bounce on the rear of the motorcycle several
time to promote free movement. Let the rear settle
out.
➧ Find a secure point on the sub-frame that is at a
12 O'clock position relative to the rear axle on the
swingarm. Hold the measuring tape at a secure spot
on the sub-frame and measure to the top of the
axle.
➧ Continue to hold the measuring tape exactly in
the same position.
➧ Next, have your two helpers lift up the rear of
the motorcycle to "top it out" and observe the
measured difference.
➧ Typical free sag for the shock is 5mm to 15mm
depending on tuning strategy and bike model.
forks. To measure stiction, compress the forks and
slowly let them come back up. Measure the position of the fork dust seal. Next, lift the front end up
and slowly let the forks return to the at rest position. Measure the position of the fork again. The
difference of the two "at rest" positions is your stiction. Excessive stiction is caused by improper wheel
installation, bent forks, bent triple clams, and usually forks that need to be serviced.
Getting Started
The goal of setting your sag on your racebike is
two fold. The first goal is to allow the springs to
work at an optimal level relative to their design.
The second goal is to discover if you indeed have
proper springs for your motorcycle. The most
important item you need to measure sag correctly
will be 2 people in addition to yourself. Having
enough people to help will ensure proper measurement. To begin, take a zip tie and secure it
around the inner fork leg. Tighten the zip tie
enough so that it will stay in place on the fork, but
not so tight that it is difficult to slide up and down
on the fork leg.
Measuring Free Sag and Rider Sag
Free sag (also called static sag) is critical. Free sag
provides "give" when the rider encounters elevation changes, abrupt transitions, or in fast sections
where allowing the motorcycle to move without
actually taxing the suspension is a benefit. Rider
o Rider Sag
➧ Have one of your helpers hold the front of the
motorcycle to steady it.
➧ Have the rider sit on the motorcycle in a race
tuck position.
Sag is set so that the rider does not overtax the
➧ Bounce on the rear of the motorcycle to prospring on the shock or fork. To measure sag, use
mote free movement.
the following process:
➧ Find a secure point on the sub-frame that is at a
12 O'clock position relative to the rear axle on the
Measuring the forks
swingarm. Hold the measuring tape at a secure spot
o Free Sag
on the sub-frame and measure to the top of the
➧ Bounce on the front forks several times to proaxle.
mote free movement. Let the forks settle out.
➧ Continue to hold the measuring tape exactly in
➧ Place the zip tie flush with the dust seal.
the same position.
➧ Carefully have the two helpers lift up on the han- ➧ Next, have the rider get off the motorcycle and
dlebars until the forks "top out".
allow the bike to come to rest.
➧ Measure the distance between the zip tie and the ➧ The measured difference is the rider sag.
top of the dust seal. The measured difference is
➧Typical rider sag for the shock is 20mm to 35mm
your "Free Sag"
depending on tuning strategy and bike model.
➧ Typical free sag for the forks is 15mm to 35mm
depending on tuning strategy and bike model.
Compression and Rebound damping
This is the most difficult item to set on your raceo Rider Sag
bike and almost impossible to teach in a text docu➧ Have one of your helpers hold the back of the
ment. These are also the "money" settings as propmotorcycle to steady it.
er compression and rebound settings enable the
➧ Have the rider sit on the motorcycle in a race
motorcycle to move up and down in unison so that
tuck position.
the rider has a "balanced" motorcycle. Again, it is
➧ Bounce on the front of the motorcycle to prohard to teach and because virtually no two motormote free movement.
cycles have exact fork or shock assembly and it is
➧ Place the zip tie flush with the dust seal.
therefore irresponsible to put "baseline" settings
➧ While the rider is still in the tuck position, lift up
together. To put this final statement into perspecon the handlebars as the rider gets off the motorcy- tive, a half turn of difference in tightening the lockcle. DO NOT ALLOW the motorcycle forks to comnut on the fork cap will result in the actual rebound
press the zip tie down from rider movement.
adjuster being more than a turn off! Because of this,
➧ Have the rider and other helper hold the bike in we will not discuss specific tuning on compression
at rest position.
and rebound damping in this article.
Total sag and putting it all together
Now that you have measured your free sag and rider sag, you can now see what
your total sag is. Typically, you would want to see a total sag number of 35mm45mm. Again, different tuning strategies and bike model will dictate the final
desired number. Total sag becomes important, as most riders do not have the
properly installed spring(s) on their racebike. When this is the case set the total sag
for both ends of the motorcycle to 35mm-45mm. This will promote a state of tune
that will allow enough travel for the rider to be able to comfortably ride on the
racetrack and at the same time not be so stiff that the suspension cannot absorb
bumps.
Final thoughts
There are many tuning strategies with spring rates and sag. Some highly skilled
tuners will use variations of sag to actually enhance geometry characteristics. This
article is designed to help you understand the basics of measuring and setting sag.
It is my desire that after reading this that you will be able to set your motorcycle
sag in a manner that promotes safer operation.
Marcus McBain
Owner - Racing Performance Services
www.roadracinghelp.com
9
Oak Hill Jr. Motard
Jake Chapman on the gas
2004 CMRA Championship Jr. Motard Series
Round three
Oak Hill Raceway
Henderson, TX
Apr. 4, 2004
Jacob Chapman, on his TTR90, quickly grabbed
the lead at the start of Sunday morning’s Jr.
Motard race with Summer Moorehead in second and Ethan Yost in third. Later on the opening lap, Randall Falt made a good pass on
Brandon Altmeyer in the carousel turn to take
over the fourth place position. After bit of shuffling around, Chapman came home in first with
a comfortable lead over Moorehead with
William White working his way up to third
ahead of Yost and Falt.
Junior Motard: 1. Jacob Chapman; 2.
Summer Moorehead; 3. William White; 4. Ethan
Yost; 5. Randall Falt; 6. Brandon Altmeyer; 7.
Ashley Wilson. ■
10
William White (left) exits turn seven in the Jr.
Motard race.
Below: the start.
Ethan Yost (# 64 below) and Brandon Altmeyer
(#91 below right), during some intense action.
11
Oak Hill Sprints
Will Gruy leads Daniel Browning out of turn seven.
2004 CMRA Championship Series
Round three
Oak Hill Raceway
Henderson, TX
Apr. 3-4, 2004
Beautiful weather and a revamped race track
greeted 208 riders making up 576 total sprint
entries and a record 52 mini endurance teams
at round three of the CMRA Championship
Road Racing Series at Oak Hill Raceway near
Henderson, Texas. Several CMRA club members, headed by Norm McDonald, reworked
portions of the track (turn six, in particular),
removed fencing and overhauled parking and
tech areas, giving OHR a real face lift for the
new season.
Second year CMRA-expert Michael Sanchez
won every race he entered over the weekend
and set a new track record, a 1:22.565, while
riding his Suzuki GSX-R750 during the B
Superbike Expert race, which he won over Jeff
Grant and Brian Lee. The old record was a
1:23.24 set by John Haner in 2002.
Sanchez admitted before the weekend that he
had been working very hard on his starts and
the hard work obviously paid off as the Shogun
12
Motorsports/Dunlop-sponsored rider nailed the
start of the first Yamaha contingency-paying
event of the day, the C Superstock Expert race,
and by turn one had put his YZF-R6 three bikelengths ahead of the pack. By turn two, he had
pulled a five length cushion over Bryan West
(GSX-R600), Phillip Lawlis (GSX-R600) and Jeff
Grant, riding a Kawasaki ZX-6R.
“I got a pretty good start this time. I’ve been
focusing on my launches a little more,” said
Sanchez, who got the meat ball flag the last time
he was at Oak Hill. “I think my starts are where I
have been lacking in the past.”
Lawlis got a good start as well and passed
West under braking, going into turn two, to take
over second, while CMRA-veteran Craig
Montgomery wasn’t so lucky at the start and
rounded turn two in fifth.
“I kind of stumbled at the start and then somebody in front of me stumbled too, and from
there it was just kind of a chain reaction,” said
Montgomery. “When you are racing with fast
guys, it’s not too easy to get through traffic, but
even if I had a clean start, I wouldn’t have
caught up with Mike - my times just weren’t
there.”
Montgomery was still feeling the effects of a
concussion he received a few weeks ago in a
practice crash, not to mention a broken foot
which required him to tape a metal plate to his
boot in order to shift gears.
On lap two, Sanchez had pulled clear of the
pack and was trying to stretch the gap on
Lawlis, who was running solo in second. West,
Grant and Montgomery were circulating in a
tight formation another three seconds back.
On lap three, Montgomery got a great drive
coming out of turn six, a fast left-hander, and
moved ahead of Grant, however, the Kawasaki
rider would have none of it and moved back
underneath in seven when Montgomery went a
little wide. On the following lap, Montgomery
moved ahead of Grant for good with a pass on
the brakes going into turn two. A lap later,
Montgomery put the same move on West to
take over third.
Up front, Lawlis was making a bid to catch
Sanchez.
“It seemed like I was making up ground on
him on the brakes, but I was losing it coming
out (of the corners),” said Lawlis, of his attempt
to overtake Sanchez. “I was just trying to figure
something out and stay with him the best I
could.”
Oak Hill Sprints
Starting lap six, Lawlis began to develop a misfire and in turn two waved Montgomery by into
second.
“I was hoping it wasn’t major,” added Lawlis. “I
took me a few turns to figure out I was out of
gas. I was hoping I could make it in, but I couldn’t.”
Lawlis coasted to the side of the track and
watched the finish from the infield as Sanchez
crossed the line with 13 seconds to spare over
Montgomery. West, Grant and Orchard rounded
out the top five.
“My main concern was to just finish the race
up front because this is a Yamaha (contingency)
weekend and we could really use the money
right now,” said Sanchez. “I just focused on the
start and put my head down. Don Finelli did a
phenomenal job of setting the bike up and I just
rode it - all I have to think about are me and
the tires. I want to thank Don, Brooks Gremmels
of Shogun Motorsports, and Sum Of All Parts.”
With the win, Sanchez pocket $1675 in Yamaha
contingency and CMRA purse money of his
$3350 total take for the weekend. Other money
winners included Daniel Browning, who topped
the 125 GP race, Heavyweight Twin’s winner
Michael Nellis, and Jim Anderson, who won the
Mr. Corder Racing Formula 40 Heavyweight
Expert race.
Heavyweight Twins
One of the most exciting races of the day was
the Heavyweight Twins event which featured a
$500 purse. Ronnie Lunsford grabbed the lead
at the start, pushing his Ducati 999 to a clear
bike-length advantage going into turn two over
Eric Falt, riding his SV650, and Michael Nellis
(Hon RC51). Chase Vivion held the fourth position on his SV650.
Nellis moved around Falt going into turn six to
move into second while Jim Anderson (Hon
RC51) was starting to make up ground from a
sub-par start.
By lap three, Jason Pirtle (SV650) had moved
ahead of Vivion for fourth with Lunsford holding
five bike-lengths over Nellis and Falt.
One lap later, Anderson had found his way
around both Vivion and Pirtle and was starting
to make ground on Falt and Nellis. Anderson
passed Falt in turn six and soon caught Nellis. A
battle developed between Nellis and Anderson
which carried the duo to the front where
Lunsford was starting to tire.
Vivion bottomed out his suspension in turn
one, bending his shift lever. When he entered
Phillip Lawlis was extremely quick at Oak Hill
Thomas Gathright
Oak Hill Sprints
turn two and went to downshift, the lever wasn’t there, putting him off the track.
With two laps to go, Nellis was pushing
Lunsford hard with Anderson looking for a way
around both of them.
Nellis tried a pass on the outside of turn two,
but Lunsford got the drive at the exit and held
him off. Nellis finally made a move stick going
into turn three. Later in the lap, Anderson
passed Lunsford on the outside of turn six.
Across the stripe for the next to last time, the
order was Nellis, Anderson, Lunsford and Pirtle.
Anderson put a wheel under Nellis in two,
but Nellis held his ground and came out slightly ahead. Anderson tried another move in the
final turn, running hard to the inside. Nellis
shut the door, but ran a little wide at the exit,
allowing Anderson another chance. Anderson
got a good drive out of eight and looked like
he might have enough momentum to take the
win, but Nellis crossed the line .08 seconds
ahead of Anderson with Lunsford in third and
Pirtle in fourth.
“My main goal was to just stay with Ronnie,”
said Nellis. “Around lap five or six, Ronnie started to get tired, you could just see it in his riding
style - he sat up a little straighter and his back
end started moving around a bit - and I was
able to get around him.”
“I was just so glad to finally run with
Lunsford,” added Anderson. “That was probably one of the best times I’ve had in a long
time.”
C Superstock Novice
In the C Superstock Novice class, Joe Browning
(Yam) got the jump at the start with Brad Kelly
(Suz) in second and Kyle Rivers (Yam) in third.
Kelly moved into the lead with a nice pass
going into turn two. Browning latched onto
Kelly and the duo ran nose-to-tail until turn
seven, the carousel turn, where Kelly went
down.
“I’m not sure if I lost the front or the back,
but I was off the brakes and on the gas and it
just spun around on me,” said Kelly. “I got a
real good start, but that’s just the way it goes.”
“He was way hotter than he should have
been going into the corner and he just tucked
the front,” said Browning. “I was afraid I was
going to hit him and I was ready to jump off
the bike to make it lighter, then I saw an opening and went for it.”
Browning managed to avoid Kelly and his
bike but lost several positions with the maneu-
Craig Montgomery won the Superstock D Expert race
ver and across the stripe for the first time it was
Rivers in the lead with Nathan Weber (Suz) and
Cory Burleson (Suz) in second and third.
By lap four, Browning was back up into second
position and dogging Rivers. With Rivers sticking
tight to the inside lines, Browning made an
attempt to pass by diving in hard on the brakes
at turn three. Rivers held tight and fended off
Browning’s challenge. On the next lap, Browning
dove in even harder and, despite nearly losing
the front end, made the pass for the lead.
Once in the lead, Browning established a small
gap and stretched it to the finish where he
topped Rivers by eight seconds. Weber, Burleson
and Jan Stadler (Suz) rounded out the top five.
In the Combined Super Motard, Formula 2,
Vintage Lightweight race, Eric Falt (Suz DRZ400)
got another one of his patented starts and led
until passed by Kyle Martin (Hon CRF450) on
the inside of turn one. Martin led going into turn
five with Ryan Andrews (Yam YZ426), now in
second, followed by Jody Hudson (Hon
CFR450), Zachry Lee (Hon NSR500) and Falt.
At the end of lap one, Martin had pulled a
small advantage over Andrews with Jason Pirtle
now in third on his SV650.
On lap two, Pirtle passed Andrews and was
starting to reel in Martin, eventually passing him
on the next lap, going into turn four.
At the finish, the order was Pirtle (first F-2),
with a 2.30 second advantage over Martin (first
Super Motard). Andrews was third (second
Super Motard) with Will Gruy (3rd MTS) in
fourth and Zachry Lee in fifth. First F2 Novice
was Jon Francis on an Aprilia RS250 while
Anthony Wagner was first Vintage Lightweight.
Race 13 was another exciting race. Craig
Montgomery was the clear overall winner and
top Superstock D Expert, but Daniel Browning
(Hon RS125) and Will Gruy staged a fantastic
race in the 125 GP event, which paid a $500
purse. Browning grabbed the lead in 125 event
but was challenged early by Tyler McDonald,
who crashed out spectacularly in turn four while
making a bid to catch Browning. Next to challenge Browning was Gruy on his Yam TZ125.
Gruy showed Browning a wheel in turn seven
and passed him going into turn eight, but
Browning got back inside of him in turn two.
From there, the two passed back and forth four
or five times before until the final lap when Gruy
lost it in turn three.
At the finish, it was Montgomery crossing the
line over seven seconds ahead of Browning (first
125) with Kyle Martin in third overall and second Superstock D Expert. Eric Falt was fourth
overall with Jesse Johnson the second 125 in
fifth overall. Jon Francis took top SSD Novice.
In the AF1 Racing Formula 5 division, Jon
Francis, riding his Aprilia RS250, took the lion’s
share of the $250 purse by taking a 27.44 second win over Anthony Smith (Hon RS60) and
Charles Cofer (Apr RS50). Francis set fast-lap at
1:42.92. Richard Eads was top F-7 finisher ahead
of Derek Wagnon and Stacy Bourland. ■
Above: Ryan Andrews (48) leads Michael Nellis (32) and Mark Niemi (55) in Superstock B action.
Below: Mark Price exits turn one.
15
Oak Hill Sprints
Counter clockwise from top left:
Harry Tomlinson (#2); Buck Beasley
(#671) leads Nathan Howell (#309);
Joe Browning (#420);
Michael Humphries (#18).
16
Counter clockwise from left:
David Petitpas (#313);
Jeff Robinson (#842) and Ara Tidwell (#230)
in the carousel turn;
Dave Alsobrook (#139);
Jason Peterson (#351) leads
Carlo Garavaglia (#237) out of turn eight.
17
Oak Hill Sprints
Above: Brian Lee (106) leads Andy Galindo (46) and Shane Stoyko.
Below left: Ben Andrews leads David Price. Below right: Ronnie Lunsford, Michael Nellis and Jim Anderson in the Heavyweight Twins race.
Oak Hill Mini Endurance
Team K&N won the second round of the Mini Endurance Series
2004 CMRA Championship Mini
Endurance Series
Round two
Oak Hill Raceway
Henderson, TX
Apr. 3, 2004
Photos by Glen Weir
Round two of the CMRA Mini
Endurance series got underway at
Oak Hill Raceway in Henderson,
Texas with a record number of
teams (52) filling the grid. Team
K&N, with Tyler McDonald and
Will Gruy at the controls, took
advantage of the last of three red
flags during the event to replace a
damaged wheel, enabling them to
salvage the overall win. Hunkered
Down Racing (Troy Sturtz, Dustin
Meador, Eric Yost), riding a Honda
RS80, finished second in the overall standings followed by Team
Bling (Michael Schutz, Clayton
Schutz, Charles Cofer, Duane
Alexander) on an Aprilia RS68.
Twenty-two minutes after the
start of the 6-hour event, the first
red flag brought all of the teams
into the pits while the track was
cleared after an accident. At the
time, Team K&N had been battling
with Hunkered Down Racing for
the lead.
After the restart, the teams
made one lap before another red
flag came out, sending everyone
to the pits again.
Team K&N took control of the
lead on the second restart of the
day and began to put laps on the
field and by the three-hour mark
had established a five-lap lead.
Just into the fourth hour, a
wheel bearing began to come
apart on Team K&N’s Yamaha
TZ85. However, a third red flag
soon appeared and Team K&N
was able to make most of the
repairs during the stoppage and
when they returned to the track,
were still one lap ahead of
Hunkered Down Racing.
For the final two hours, Team
K&N tried to maintain consistent
lap times to the finish and
claimed the overall win by a sixlap margin. Team K&N also took
the Formula 4 win over
Hunkered Down Racing with
Mystery Dance (Derek Delpero,
Chuck Ergle, Jesse Johnson,
Raymond Paris, Stephen Guynes)
in third on a Honda RS80.
The Formula 5 winners were
Team Bling followed by Acculign
(Mark Essinger, Chris Thomas,
Alan Tan, Troy Green) on a Derbi
GPR and 2Wheelz.com (Jon
Weems, Frank Shacklee, Mark
Niemi) riding a Honda CRF150.
In the Formula 6 division, HiZoot (Phillip Fisher, Scott
McDermott, Nathan Winchester)
took the win on a Yamaha YSR60
with Indenile Racing (Les Banta,
Mark David, Dustin Dominguez,
Rick Wagner) in second on a
Muz SM125 and Cycle 1 (Barb
Prussiano, Scott Levine, Richard
Desmond) in third on a Muzzi
SM125.
Team Lean won the Formula 7
class on a Yamaha YSR60 with
Danny Mosley, Bobby Palmer,
Phillip Fisher on board, followed
by Hyper Cycle (David Wilson,
Stacy Bourland) on a YSR50 and
Speed Demonz (Dirk Anderson,
Devyn Anderson, Carter
Burkholder) on a YSR50.
Kender Garden topped the
Production class with Dennie
Spears, Alan Phillips, Jeff Phillips
riding a YSR50. She use to be
mine was second on a Yam
YSR50 ridden by Jon Brown, Tony
Lorino and Greg Sampson while
Team Ag Racing rounded out the
top three on a YSR50 with Byron
Smith, Bryan Smith at the helm.■
Oak Hill Mini Endurance
Left: Team Bling (91) won the
Formula 5 class.
Below: Team Cross Roads Honda
(14) leads HSN Racing (156).
Below left: Minis through turn
three.
20
She Used To Be Mine (158) in
turn seven.
Left: Mystery Dance (82) finished third in Formula 4.
Oak Hill Mini Endurance
GMAN Racing 2 (20) leads GSF
Racing (67) above.
911 Racing (right).
22
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