Originally posted at nhra.com
“I am so thrilled to be on the East Coast! I have only been here for about a week and I am already having the time of my life.”
Corning, CA. -
I had an early flight out on Tuesday, March 2, so I spent Monday night in Sacramento with my sister, Kristin, and her husband, Shaun. My mom, Terri, had driven me to Sacramento, so my mom, sister, and I went out to dinner. We had some great Ethiopian food downtown. After dinner it was late, so my mom headed for home. Kristin and I went back to her house and played Dance-Dance Revolution. For those of you that don’t know, Dance-Dance Revolution is a video game were the dance steps are shown on the TV screen and you have to keep up with the steps, on a mat, on the floor. Kristin and I are not known for our dancing skills, but it was great for some laughs. By the time we had finished I was exhausted and my abs were sore from all the laughing. I was clearly the dancing champion, but if you ask Kristin she may disagree.
Three planes later, I was finally in Greensboro, N.C. When I came down the escalator two of my favorite people were waiting for me, John Widmann and Bob Newman. John and Bob had both been there for a couple of days working on our pro stock bike at the Gann’s shop. It was late, so we headed straight for our hotel. I have been so excited about this adventure that it makes it tough to sleep at night, and finally being on the east coast made it even more difficult.
When we arrived at the Ganns’ the next day, we all came to the conclusion that it would be tough to have our bike ready for testing in Valdosta, Ga. Since the Ganns’ Suzuki was all together and I am very comfortable on their bike already, we decided we would run it for the first couple races. We loaded up their bike and all of our stuff and headed for Valdosta.
I have always wanted to attend an AMA race. Just being a spectator at one would have been awesome, but being able to compete was even more incredible! We pulled into Valdosta Friday, March 5. We pulled my bracket bike out of the trailer and tried to make some test passes at the test and tune, but we had some issues. We finally got everything right on the bike, but we were running out of time. I don’t think it was meant for us to go down the track that day! On Saturday we were definitely shooting in the dark. My bracket bike usually runs 7.70s and we were trying to run Top Gas. Top Gas has an 8.80 index. Instead of detuning the bike very much, I was trying to slow the bike down with my own judgment of when to let off the throttle. The first qualifying pass I let off at the 1000-foot mark. That was unsuccessful and we went 7.87 at 131 mph. We only had one more qualifying pass so this time I clicked the bike into fourth gear, and then let off right after. We went 8.27! Bob, John, and I were thrilled! That put us in the 14th qualifying position out of 41 bikes.
On race day I was very excited and couldn’t wait to get to the track. We were all feeling confident and I was ready to go some rounds. I did my burn out and the bike sounded great. I cut a .020 light and the bike launched hard. Unfortunately we had an ignition problem and the bike shut off right after the launch, sending me face first into the front fairing of the bike. That one hurt! Luckily we didn’t hurt the bike, and aside from being a little sore, I was just fine. We were a little bummed, but that’s racing!
I have watched Larry “Spiderman” McBride run his Top Fuel Bike so many times online, but seeing it in person was a way different story. It was spectacular watching it in person. Some day I want to ride one of those monsters, it may take a while to convince my dad though. I know he is proud of my racing, but I think I still give him heart failure. Just wait until I climb on to a Top Fuel Harley! There were a ton of beautiful and fast bikes out this weekend, I was in motorcycle heaven. Another class that I absolutely loved was the Pro Street class. Those guys are insane! I had the pleasure of meeting one of the riders, Mike Kovacevich. He is a great guy, obviously a little on the crazy side to ride one of those bad boys. I asked him if he wanted me to ride his bike for him. Even though he told me to go ahead, I decided I had better leave the 7-second passes with no wheelie bar up to Mike for that day. I wouldn’t mind giving it a try someday though. More heart failure for my dad!
The AMA race was an amazing experience. I met so many great people, and every one was super nice to us. On Monday we tested on the Pro Stock bike. Testing went very well and it was awesome to be back on the Pro Stock bike. My trip to the East Coast has been a dream come true. Before I left California I got to see my grandparents for a while. They are the best and are super supportive of my racing. They are from Montana, so they keep up with me through my blog. My Grandma told me that when she reads my blog she thinks I am going to die from so much excitement. After this trip she may be right!
We leave for Gainesville tomorrow. I cooked breakfast burritos for everyone this morning, but now its homework time. I have to keep up in school! Hope everyone is doing well, and I hope to see you in Gainesville at the Gatornationals!
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