I've been getting back into the racing thing after an electical shock that put me in the hospital for a week and then some brain issues. My balance has gotten a good bit better and i did well with a few track days so i figured I'd give it a shot. made the nine and a half hour drive to Iowa and pulled in at 3:15am. blew up the air mattres and crashed out. up at 7 and storming. so they closed the track. it was all dry by noon so they opened for a full day of practi. my first time at the track after all the medical shit so i took it slow. followed a chick i knew from some of the other races my first time out. got a feel for things and opened it up. my first time few laps around got me to a blistering 2:17 lap time. after the break, down to 2:00 flat. next down to 1:55. the day was done and i was freaken slow as hell. but i didn't expect to jump out and win. sunday came and i over slept. jumped out of bed 30 minutes before i had to hit the track. i got my crap together while my wife put the tire warmers on and got the coffee going. went out, and still the best i could do was 1:55. damn the luck. well it came time for my first race. the GTO. i was doing okay up to that point and felt good on the bike. still not real comfortable getting back after all the medical shit, but doing okay. started all the way in the back, right where i wanted to just to kind of feel myself out before pushing too hard. on the grid, the board is out, sideways, flag drops and off we go. i race the guys from the stop lights at home so my take offs are always good. i wanted to lay back at first and just finish, but when i let lose, i jumped from last to third place and past 12 guys before turn one. hit turn one and held it, turn 2,3,4,5,6,7 still holding third and second place low sided. hope he's okay, but thanks for the spot dude. 2 laps and i was doing it and all worry was gone still in second. but slipped in the rough spot out of the last turn and lost 4 places. but i made my way back up to 4th. stuck in forth place with the 3rd place guy about 100 yards ahead as he was going into turn 1 i started pushing it. lay back hell, worried as hell going into it and i was looking at my chance to finish on the podium for the first time. i was pumped. i was screaming in my helmet. no joke. i started tucking more, sitting up quick and at the very last second, cutting my breaking points down a little more each lap. 100% in the zone. 3 quarters into and and i hit turn one too hot. i was way off the bike. ass and head. toes on the pegs and still draging. i was low and no way i'd make it all the way around. i threw the bike up and tapped the front break a bit to stand me up before i hit the grass. i had my eyes set on turn 3. skip turn 2 and pick it back up. what i didn't have my eyes on was the lake sized puddle of water. the front end dove and the rear kicked from side to side. the rear slid bad to the left then kicked hard to the right and spit me off. fast and hard. i landed on my head and my shoulder. flipped a few times and came to a stop. everything was fuzzy as hell and it was tough to breath. as i started to move my hands to do a run through of my body to see if anything was broken, i heard a bike scream up on me and then the throttle chopped. i patted the ground "oh shit, i'm on the track!!!" i looked to the right and saw it was way off so i rolled to the left. once in the grass i tried to get up. made it to my knees and i was out cold. the next thing i know the race had been stopped and they had the medics out taking care of me. as odd as it sounds, all and all not a bad weekend. broke my shoulder, tore some tissue, got a concuion, and only broke a fairing stay on the bike and the rear break lever. that's it. got into the race and pulled out a LOW 1:46 lap time. showed myself i can still race and even did better than i ever had before and did that at a track i'd never been to before. i can't freaken wait for this shoulder to get better. i'm ready to get back out. and should any of the corner works from mid-america check out this site, or corner workers from any track for that matter. a BIG BIG thanks for the work you guys do. much respect. first time i ever went down bad enough to need the help, but it's great to know there is someone there when you're laying right on the line of a turn. Thank you guys for what you do and how well you do it. you guys are awesome.
the bike faired well for the flips and i wasn't too bad off for as hard as it hit. and that was by far the best i'd done in a race. made it close to the top and hung there for most of the race. it was a 25 minute race so a few more laps and i've had finished. i thought it was pretty cool. the wrecking part did kind of suck ass. but it was still a fun filled time while it lasted.
Glad ya had fun! See ya out there sometime. I was just making fun of your wording - like beating yourself up was not half bad - I actually laughed out loud. Keep it on two wheels next time!
