Wow!!! What a final weekend!!! Old friends back on the track. Great races. It was a fantastic time.

Thank you sponsors for the great support all year. Zlock Racing, Lockhart Phillips, Cyclegear, SB Motorsports, Michelin, Competition Motors, Acme MotoWear, and Zupa Travel. Thank you friends. Connie and Matt Gougler(#35), Dustin Ranck (#77), Elaine and Mark Bothe (#43), Dave Salmi (#40), Brian Pinkstaff (#121), Oliver Jervis (#125), Kevin Pinkstaff (#21), Dan and Dale ZLock, and the Pinkstaff Family. Special thanks to Mike Gray #49...it was good to see you back riding a bike in 'anger'. Hopefully this means you're back out there next year. This weekend we were without Oliver Jervis and Dan Zlock...they were able to finalize the WMRRA #1 plate a few weeks ago and with that they called it a season. Congrats...although they missed one helluva race weekend full of some of the most exciting racing I've seen in person.

Thanks to Alan Schmidt (OMRRA #1 x 5) and Mike Sullivan (#74) for putting on a show in 600 Supersport. What an awesome race that was! Then not to be outdone Alan Schmidt, Kevin Pinkstaff, and Brian Pinkstaff put on the best race of the season in my opinion in Middle Superbike. Alan proved why he's OMRRA #1 plate holder by putting down a blistering 1:13.7 on a supersport SV that he's never ridden before. But I'm proud to say that Kevin Pinkstaff held him off for the win and Brian Pinkstaff kept him honest at a close third. Awesome job!!!

Finally before I get to results. Congrats to all the TomaterHaters for a great season. So much hardware I can't keep count. Mark, Dustin, Kevin, Brian, Dave S., and Oli...great results I count myself lucky to be able to draw upon your experience.

Results:

450 Clubman 1st place - CLASS CHAMPIONSHIP

This was a sleeper class for me all year, but early on Travis Ohge's (#440) (Lightweight Superbike nemesis) mom said that Travis was going to run this class today. I knew he'd give me a handful so I started to get my mind ready to race. The green flag dropped and I got a really good launch even with a nice power wheelie...Travis pulled ahead of me in the chicane area...but I made up my mind early that I was going to be assertive. As we went into Turn 1 I took the inside line and went WAY DEEP for me to take the hole shot. I held him off until the back stretch where he pulled ahead of me going into 7 when a red flag came out due to someone crashing. So we re-gridded for a re-start. The 2nd start was similar to the 1st...he got a little ahead of me...but I kept on the gas going into turn 1 and took him inside again. I led until the back side where he passed me and took the lead onto the front straight. He pulled me down the front straight and made some time on me...but I tried to go really deep into Turn 1 and so I took him again there. The next lap he came around me again down into 7 and lead me onto the front. This time I followed him into the corners into Turn 3 where I passed him inside. I got a really good drive into and out of 4 and was holding him off. From there I put down some solid laps never looking behind me. I made my fastest time on this bike of 1:20.1 So great progress for me. I came to find out later that on about lap 6 Travis' bike was having some sort of fuel problem. But I was absolutely pumped with those first few laps. I knew all year I could give him a race if I could just put my head down and stick with him.

450 Superbike - 8th (7th for the season)

I was not super motivated to race the 650 today. What can I say I just wanted to really hold position. Get a little faster if I could, but my head wasn't really around riding this bike today. I had some fun dicing with Matt Gougler and Maurice...but in the end my times were not down where I know I can get them to be. In my heart I think I was already thinking about next year on this bike.

Vicious Cycle Lightweight Superbike - 3rd (2nd Class overall)

Encouraged by my earlier race with Travis I was excited to show that it wasn't a fluke. We both got about even starts when out of now where Dave Heinricks on some 250 that Cedric Smith built him took off. He built a fast lead from the start and left Travis and I to start dicing it up. The pattern was I'd get him either in T3 or T4...he'd pass me on the back stretch. We'd go back and forth like that for a few laps...I was able to get a lead and I was holding him off for awhile. He came back the last few laps and we were dicing again. I'd brake deep into 1 to make up the gap he gained on the straight. It was a BLAST!!! In the end he held me off. But it felt good when afterwards we talked about where we were both strong and weak. The fact that I gave him a race made me happy. Afterwards looking at times we were gaining on Dave Heinricks too. So I'm looking forward to next year in the class if more bikes come out to race. I truly think breaking into the 19's on this bike a real goal for me.

In the end. The season wasn't perfect. But I'm happy with the progress I made on the SV500 and with the progress I made on my racecraft. Definitely some things to work on for next year.

I really want to put out a special thanks to Mike Gray who has helped me all year with advice on race craft along with Kevin Pinkstaff. I also have to especially thank Dave Salmi and Brian Pinkstaff for helping me a ton during the last track day. I think my line in 7-8-9 still needs work...but at least I feel like I have a good base to improve on.