Hurricane Hills Race Recap!

Round #14 of the PA State Harescramble Series was held at Hurricane Hills this past Sunday in Clifford, PA. Yet again, racing conditions were absolutely perfect. I hit the road Saturday to meet up with pit-man Jimmy B at our racing buddy Biggs’ house, which isn’t all that far from the track, since DHaggs senior was still on the DL with a sewn up knee cap. By cutting the ride from home in more than half we had plenty of extra sleep when we awoke Sunday morning. After we arrived at Hurricane Hills and set up camp we walked a lot of the track to see if any changes were made; from what I saw it was the same exact track layout they ran last time. I don’t know if it’s because there is a lot of room in the pits but it always seems as if there isn’t that many people that make the trip to the PA/NY border. It’s always a different story when you get down to the starting line because usually all the top guys are there. I guess it’s good that there isn’t a tremendous turn out because the track is short and that would make for a lot of bottle necks in the technical sections.
I got a great start and held the hole shot for most of the motocross track. I lost a few positions before heading into the woods. The first spot where they drop you into was so rocky and so slick you would think that they just pulled slime molded rocks from out of a nearby creek. After that there was only one other spot on the whole track where there was actually some dark sloppy mud. The track was fast, dusty, dry, rocky and really whopped out in some sections. They really need to do something different there because it’s always the same track and the huge up-hill they have on the fare side of the facility is getting really chewed up! I was pushing pretty hard on the first lap and I got some arm pump which came and went but I just couldn’t shake my sore fingers. I had a heck of a time holding on through some of the super rocky sections. Of coarse there were rocks, we’re still in PA and Hurricane Hills has a lot of those big slate looking rocks that clutter the track. Sprinkled in-between are the little loose rocks that make you concentrate in fear of your front end rolling on one. The track still doesn’t have bar code scoring so I had no idea what place I was in or how far I was from the guy in front of me each lap. I ran a good race and felt good, I just have been off schedule this year and to be competitive at this level I understand that being inconsistent isn’t going to keep me at the top. Because in this sport it’s not necessarily who goes that fastest at each race but who can be the most consistent throughout the whole season. I ran a good race, I pushed as hard as I could and I still managed to get 7th place. I’m still not happy with my results this year but I am learning a lot and getting prepared to battle with the same guys next year.
Placing in the top 5 for the season in the PA State Series is out of the question. My new focus is to finish strong this year and look forward to regrouping for next season. The last round of the PA State Series is this weekend at Dutchmen MX park and it’s the worst track on the circuit. It’s flat as a parking lot and it’s 80 percent motocross track, not even close to a harescramble track. Since I’m out of the points hunt for the season I am heading to NJ to compete in the Atlantic GranPrix Series Race. Ohio GNCC is next weekend and this track will prepare me more than Dutchmen will so I’m heading east on Sunday. On a side note: DHaggs Sr. is slowly improving. He is a little bummed that he will be missing this weekend’s race but he is still sticking to racing in Ohio next weekend. I intend to keep you posted on his progress.
Thanks again to Jimmy B for making the ride with me this past weekend, Biggs for letting me crash at his place, and thanks to everyone else for your support.
I would like to thank my sponsers: DHaggs Harescramble Racing, MSR, Scott USA, TAG Metals, Scott Powersports, Kenda Tires, Twin Air and Pivot Works!