Big Buck GNCC

April 15, 2007 - Union, South Carolina

Pre-race

I will be the first to admit that I wasn't as prepared going in to this race as I would have liked to have been.  The only time I was able to ride in the three week break between North Carolina and this race was the day before we left.  I had my valves checked out, got a new front rim (I had a really bad wobble in my stock rim ever since I crashed at Georgia) and sent my suspension off.  The suspension turned out to be a not so great idea as it was way too soft when I got it back.  Hopefully I'll be able to get that stiffened up for the upcoming races.

We arrived at the track about 3pm on Saturday and waited for the ATV guys to load up so we could get our spot.  The ATV pro race was going on so we watched them a little bit and were kind of concerned because of all the dust we saw.  Once we unloaded it was time to get to work on some small finishing touches to the bike.  Both wheels had to be taken to the Maxxis guys to get fresh tires and Randy worked hard on getting my skid plate to stay on.  The top tab snapped at Florida and we had to hold it on with safety wire at Georgia and North Carolina.  During the break Randy got it welded back together and the thing looked good as new!  However after my short ride on Thursday, it snapped again so we had to break out more safety wire!  We finished up all of that and then headed to town to get some dinner and a good nights rest.

When it started to rain Saturday night we were all a little relieved as everyone knew that course needed a little water!  But then it kept raining and when we woke up Sunday morning, guess what...still raining!  When we got to the track the Youth race was going on and it looked pretty nasty.  In fact, I think the kids race had the worst conditions of all!  Things got a little better for the 10am race and by the time our race rolled around things were looking a little bit better. It still wasn't going to be a walk in the park though!

Race

I practiced a lot of starts before the race and was doing pretty good but when the green flag flew and the race began, my bike didn't seem quite as ready to get going as I was.  I rounded the first corner near the back but was able to get by some riders in the first few corners in the field before heading into the woods.  I tried to just ride smart and pick good lines because I knew that the frontrunners were going to be riding fast and smooth.  But then something funny happened...my goggles went flying off of my helmet.  I still cannot exactly tell you how it happened because I really have no idea.  One second they were there and then they were just gone.  I was able to stop and get some more at the beginning of lap 2 and that made things a little bit easier for awhile until they came off too!  At that point I was thinking to myself that I had to finish strong just to afford all the goggles that were flying off of my helmet!  I stopped again on lap 3 and made sure those things were on tight this time!  Fortunately they held on the entire lap until it was time to pit for gas.  I was running in the top 5 at that time and was just really hoping to hang on for a decent finish.  I kept pushing it hard but it seemed like everyone was on the gas!  Scott Watkins and Thad Duvall were railing around up front in 1st and 2nd while it seemed like Rodney Smith and myself were trying to keep them in sight.  Dustin Gibson was also there putting pressure on all of us!

By the time the white flag came out it was still anyone's race.   I went into the scoring check 8 seconds behind Watkins but Smith was only 3 seconds behind me!  I think Duvall had some bike problems and had to drop back a little bit , but everyone else still wanted on that podium.  Watkins was riding so fast out front that I was just doing all I could do to stay with him.  When he made a little mistake I was able to get by him for the lead but was almost instantly passed by Smith!  Right after that, though, Smith went down pretty hard and then so did I.  It took my bike a little longer to start than I would have liked but I was still in the running for a podium spot.  I pushed as hard as I could and was able to take the checkered flag in 2nd place a little ways behind Watkins. Gibson rode an awesome race and finished third with Smith making it across the line in 4th after getting going again after his hard crash.

I was so happy to have finally made it up on the podium after getting close a few times this year but it's already time to keep looking forward and focus on the races coming up.  I'd love to make it back up there again soon but I know that that is much easier said than done!  There are so many fast, hungry guys in this class that are capable of winning.  I'm just really having fun trying to race with them!