Courtesy of Tyler Porter's Fight for Dirt Track:

August 18, 2013 - Well, I will start off by saying this: This race report is going to be a LOT easier to write. Those of you who read my race report last week probably got the hint that I was nearing the end of my rope. I did get some pretty comical replies, such as "put the gun down" or "it's down the highway not across the street" from what I wrote after Peoria, but I also received some VERY heartfelt replies that meant a lot to me and mentally, probably put me closer to the right track. I try to take a little extra time with my race reports so that they don't seem like the same old racer babble that you are used to reading, and when I get a reply back with some advice, a quick story, or some motivation, it really means a lot. I enjoy and appreciate every bit of support that I get!

If you read the column on www.fightfordirttrack.com this week, you knew I was running late. VERY LATE. I was up all night Wednesday night doing some last minute dealer orders for a few events I have going on in September for my real job at Memphis Shades. I tried to back that all nighter up with another all nighter on the column, but what I found out was, not even a milkshake and a monster energy was going to keep me awake long enough to get the column wrapped up. I finished up with the column at about 11am, dropped my street bike off at the Dyno shop for a little fine tuning while I was gone, and then headed to Indy. I called the promoter ahead of time and told him I was racing, but that I would be super late and wouldn't practice. The race was at Mid America Speedway, a track that I frequent a lot, so I know my gearing, tire choice, air pressure and that sort of thing. It was a nice relaxing drive up, I was able to catch up on some phone calls and sing along to the radio like somebody cared. I packed up the official dog of dirt track, Luke for this trip since the weather is nice and he doesn't get to go on too many road trips with me any more.

They were running behind a little on track work, so I actually did get to practice, despite showing up nearly 3 hours late. I finally had my personal Kawasaki back and man did it feel good to ride my own equipment! I can't knock anything I have ridden this year as I have been on some of the best bikes you can build, but there is just something about being on your own bike. The track wasn't that great in practice, but I knew my gearing was dialed in and that when the sun went down for the heats, we would have a great track to race on. Looking at my heats, it was easy to see that I was in the easy heat. Hey, trackside software sets that stuff up, so all I can chalk it up to was that I got really lucky. Lining up for my heat though, I thought to myself, "if anybody could screw this chance up to go to the main, it would be me" The light went green and I got off the line ok, but had to squeeze the inside rider out of the turn and then the guy on my outside, when I felt his bar hitting me, I just pulled the throttle to try to take his bars away from him. What actually happened was that my brand new tire absolutely ripped up some traction and it felt like I was shot out of a cannon. I was in the lead!! I didn't know what to do! It is strange for me to be on a track with no one in front of me! There for the first lap I thought for sure that everybody went down in a heap, but going back into turn 1, I had a clear track ahead. I was hoping that since I had the lead they would do a "green, white, checkers" type thing, but apparently they have to keep things fair. 6 laps felt like 60 and when I got the white flag, like a rookie idiot I slowed down to make sure I didn't make a mistake when I had things in the bag. I ended up taking the checkers, but I did notice that as the race went on, I was losing big time traction coming off of two, so I needed to mess with my tire pressure.

Coming off the track was awesome. I really felt like "The People's Champ" or something. I have made a lot of friends in my time around the sport, and to see so many people actually pay attention to my race and then be yelling and cheering for me as I went through the pits was really really awesome. So many times I feel like I am in this deal very alone, being my own mechanic, driver, team manager, agent, fleet specialist, dog sitter, publicist, but seeing people from different teams and a few of my sponsors who were able to make it out giving me some applause, thumbs up and some high fives made me feel like I was on a team of 50. I rode back to the pit, parked, and went off in search of some help with what to do with my tire for the main. I originally thought that I had overheated the tire, so I needed to go up in air pressure, but since I was already running pretty high stuff, in the mid 20 range, I didn't feel too comfortable moving up any higher. It was suggested that I move it down so that I don't spin the tire as much and keep it cooler that way, and I figured I would try it.

In the main, here I am lining up on the front row. Jared Mees, Brad Baker, Rob Pearson, Henry Wiles and....Tyler Porter? I tried to keep my confidence up, and I told myself that I was going to forget all the names on the jerseys and they were going to have to fight if they wanted by me. I didn't get the best jump and being on the outside of a short track is never a good thing, but after getting shuffled around, I felt like I was probably 7th or so. I tried my best to keep charging and to not let that lead group get away, but they were inching away from me. Jake Constantine came around me and it fueled me up, I was NOT going to let it get away from me that easily. He was sliding all over the place, nearly 90 degrees from me a few times while I was up on top of my bike and driving forward. However, I just didn't have the confidence to run it back in on him and make contact. I did get a drive on him and made a pass, but I couldn't make it stick. With a couple of laps to go Doug Lawrence came up in the inside of me. I wasn't going to let "Mr. Fresh" have that spot, and I just laid over on his bike while his front tire did a little work on my pretty white Alpinestars boots. Dougie ended up getting the spot and at the checkers, I was 12th of 16.

I'm not super proud of the 12th because I know that I rode in defense mode instead of offense mode for a lot of the race. However, just making the main was a big deal, as 38 riders showed up to do battle in the open class Friday night. It was a big stepping stone for me though. It sure made me feel good about my next race at the Springfield Short Track!

Saturday I headed over to the Indy Mile. I don't race on the miles, I don't feel comfortable with them and I can't afford the wear and tear on the motor that they cause to the 450's. However, instead of just being a casual fan with a pro license, I saw that Dominic Colindres was without any help, so I volunteered to be his tuner for the day. He is a very easy kid to work with, we made one gearing change and a little bit of air pressure changes here and there but mainly, he just rode his rear end off. He was 5th in qualifying, lost his heat race by something like 0.003 to Stephen Vanderkuur and I really thought we could win the main. We debated on tire pressure before the main, and he wanted to keep a lower pressure in it and I was scared of it over heating the tire and it going away. Dominic led a few laps and was pretty close to the hunt, but came home in 4th place. I sure was hoping for a win as a tuner and a victory lap, but it wasn't meant to be.

The main thing is, nobody got hurt on the mile this year which I was overjoyed to see. I know all of the racer's too well and I hate seeing any of them hurt doing what we do. I'm hitting send on this email, loading up for Memphis where I will be getting my presentations ready for our NVP in Wisconsin on Thursday. I have a dealer showcase Saturday and Sunday and then it's back to Kentucky to get ready for the Springfield weekend. I was REALLY hoping for a twin to ride in Springfield on the mile, but it looks like things are not going to work out that way, so I will just be racing the ALL-STAR short track on Saturday night. Hopefully I can keep this momentum going. Thank you again for all of your support and I hope you enjoy this report a little more than the last one! Have a great week!