Hey everyone, this last weekend was a 1/2 mile at I-96 Speedway. Before arriving at the track I had asked a few people what the track was like, and they told me it was a small half-mile that grooved up and that¹s what I¹m used to back at home. I was pretty confident that I could do well there. We got to the track early, unloaded the bikes and started talking gearing. The sky was getting very dark and looked it might rain so we put the pop-up tent down over the bikes, and went to look at the track, I was excited that the track looked like my hometown track. About 30 minutes later it started pouring rain, it rained for about 20 minutes and it soaked the pits and track.

We had to wait it out for a few hours before it began to dry up, in the meantime we continued to work on the bikes. It felt like it took so long before they make the call that practice starts in 30 minutes. My teammate Mike LaBelle and I start our gear on, finally the horn goes off for the first practice. I go out and feel really fast, I was 2nd fastest in the practice session. We changed one tooth on the gearing to get it a little closer. I can¹t wait for the 2nd practice, I feel really confident. Then I go out and made mistakes every lap. There was one more practice to get a good qualifying time and try not to make any mistakes. I go out one more time, and made some great laps, didn¹t make any mistakes. I rode hard and qualified 4th. I was very happy with my times. I knew I could do well here with a front row start in the heat race. We have about an hour to wait before the heats during which my teammate Mike LaBelle and I signed autograph sheets for the fans. Finally the horn goes off and we head to the starting line. I start second on the inside on the front row, we all line up, light goes green we are off. I didn¹t get the start I wanted, and spun off the line but I found some traction and put myself into 4th in the first turn. I worked my way to 3rd and stayed there through the rest of the race.

I was on the front row in the main and that¹s where I wanted to be. I¹m on the outside of the groove, which is even better. My team was happy with my ride when I came in from my heat. We made some ride height adjustments to the suspension for more traction and was ready for the main. We had a lot of waiting time before the horn goes off for the finial. We walk the bike to the starting line; I¹m really getting nervous as we line up. I¹m on the top of the grove on the outside, the light goes green, and I get a great start I found myself in 4th behind Brad Baker, Jeffery Carver, and James Rispoli.

The bike was hooking up so well, I was right on the rear of Rispoli and Baker but they weren¹t making any mistakes. I was pushing so hard but it was hard to pass and I could not find an opening. I stayed right there; the whole time each lap was the same, I would try going high around them then going low but I just couldn¹t get a drive to pass them. James and Brad were banging into each other on the straightaway, I was waiting for one them to make a mistake so I could go under them but nothing changed. I stayed in 4th for the rest of the race. I was happy I gained more points and got a top 5 finish that is always my goal. I would like to thank all our sponsors for helping me live my dream and a special thanks to Team Weirbach for the fast bikes. The next round will be in Calistoga, CA 8/14/10, stop by the pits and say hi.

Mikey Martin 91y