WWW.DHAGGSRACING.COM: April 2008

Monday, April 28, 2008

NEOC Round # 2 April 27th Race Recap!

Round #2 of the North East Off-Road Championship took place this past Sunday in Millville, NJ at the Cumberland Valley Fair Grounds. It has been 30+ years since a motocross race has been held on these grounds so needless to say when you pulled into the parking area you could sense excitement in the air. With a couple of rain showers throughout the night a cloud covered sky lingered throughout Sunday morning. The week’s previous weather was dry and the few showers made for absolute perfect racing conditions. Regardless of the weather all the riders anticipation was focused on the “enduroX” sections that laid within the fair ground boundaries. I must admit that, though the effort was greatly appreciated, I was a bit disappointed with the EnduroX section. There were a few hills with logs running parallel to the ground on the front side, and there were some small log sections that you could snake through, and there were some small table tops and some big whoop sections. The track was a bit on the shorter side as well but the organizers did the best they could with the land they were provided. It was a fast track with nothing really to hard to separate the field. It was all flat with a bunch of S-turns, straight aways, long sweeper turns, and a bit of woods. It was really one lined and since we were racing in the Jersey sand it got chewed up right away. It reminded me of Flying Dutchmen, the track I dislike so much that it isn’t even on the schedule for this year.
Off the starting line I had a really good jump; I just missed grabbing the holeshot by one bike. The line got off clean, made a hairpin left turn and then a sweeping right turn, through the scanner and off to the backside of the grandstands. I at least held onto second for these couple of turns and then we hit the sections were you made a bunch of S turns. Everyone just took off like they were sprinting for one lap. Turns out that these guys are really fast and on a track like this there was no stopping them. The whole race was pretty uneventful for me. I was back in the pack by the first lap and after rolling through the scanner I just put my head down and try to set a pace. I had to pit about half way through so Pitman Jimmy B and his trainee for the day, Pitboy T. Schully were on hand to dump my gas. For the second half of the race I felt great physically but mentally I was struggling because I just couldn’t get over how the track reminded me of Dutchmen. I really can’t wait to get on an open trail with some nice hill climbs, rocks – and I mean some rocks, not boulders, and some places on the trail where you have to make some critical line choices. It wasn’t until the last lap that I was able to pick up a couple of places putting my in 11th for the day. Yes I was one away from cracking into the top ten but I know that I’ll get that goal shortly. As far as the long term goal I want to keep progressing and at least keep trying to show these guys a wheel even if it’s for a little bit. It’s frustrating being out there at this level and knowing that your racing for mid pack results, but I guess racers have all been here before. Realistically, I just started riding dirt bikes five years ago, and racing harescrambles a year after that, so I’d hope that this level of competition would be all that it’s hyped up to be. These guys are the best, the best below the pro level and I might not be able to run with the pack yet but I’m giving it my all and soon enough I’ll see some improvement. With that said lets look forward to next week.
Racing resumes next week at a very technical track – Evensville MX Park. Last year was the first time racing at this track and it is very challenging and somewhat fun. It’s such a tough track that the AMA picked Evensville for the second round of the Junior National Harscramble race which will be held on Saturday. On Sunday we will be racing in Round #3 of the PA State Harescramble Series. Then the following weekend we will be headed to Millfield, OH for Round #6 of the GNCC Series.
Thanks again to Pitman Jimmy B and Pitboy Todd for making the trip to help me pit. They really worked great as a pit crew and took some great pictures and even some video which will be up shortly.
I would like to Thank my Sponosrs: DHAGGS Harescramble Racing, MSR Racing, Scott Powersports, Kenda USA, DP Brakes, Scott USA, TAG Metals, Decal Works, Twin Air, IMS, Devol Eng., FMF, TM Designworks, Cycra Racing

NEOC Cumberland Valley FairGround Pics!

Get Better Court!

EnduroX Section

Focused...

Just Missed the HoleShot

Nice CloseUp Turn Pic

Logs Were on the Other Side of this Jump!

Small Log Section

Not Even Muddy!?

Into the Woods Section

Pictures By: Pitman Jimmy B and timdphoto.com

Sunday, April 20, 2008

NEOC Cumberland Valley Fairgrounds Race Info

(Click to Enlarge)

For Directions and other information about the Cumberland County Fairgrounds click on http://www.cumberlandcofair.com/

*This race is going to consist of EnduroX, Woods section, Grass track and it's Mega Spectator friendly.
* There will be a Vendors Row, so bring your chump change cause there will be something for everyone.
*TEXAS ROADHOUSE will be doing the grillin' so Bring empty bellies and your stompin' boots too! Andy the Armadilla will be coming with them to entertain us and give goodies to the kids.
*The Battle of the Bands will be Rockin you all Saturday Night. Classic Rock!!
Band 1 "Gray Station Band" Band 2 "Stay Wit It" Band 3 "Volunteers"
*It's been 30+ years since the last motorcycle race was held at the Cumberland County Fairgrounds. This is special to the Cumberland county area and all the native moto heads from that era ('70s). We have vintage pictures from the last race run on these grounds courtesy of B & B Cycles. We also have the original pit pass and program from that event courtesy of Eric Hartem. They will be displayed for all to see.

View Vintage Pictures HERE! and HERE!

Monday, April 14, 2008

ECEA Round #1 Tri-County Race Recap

Round #1 of the East Coast Harescramble Series was held this Sunday in Port Elizabeth, NJ, which was put on by Tri-County MC Club. I’ve never rode on this track before, but knowing that a National Harescramble was held here last year I was excited to see what Tri-County had to offer. The good news of the day was that the forecasters seemed to be wrong again with their weather predictions because we were blessed with a great day for racing. By the start of the race the sun was shinning and there was a slight breeze, it wasn’t until the end of the race until we saw some cloud cover and some sprinkles of rain.
While signing up we learned that the track was over 12 miles long, which is how a harescramble track should be. The track was awesome, obviously all sand but in the woods was more like deep dark mulch sand, perfect for traction but also perfect for numerous, whoops, braking and acceleration bumps, and bottomless ruts. It was really nice being on such a long track because it evened out the field and it didn’t feel as if everyone was riding on top of each other. And again most of the track was tight single trail, like most of the typical southern Jersey tracks. The morning race only ran 7 miles of our loop which was pretty rough but the cut 6 additional miles of virgin trail was where I personally felt the most comfortable on the track. There were a lot of miles where you could flow pretty well but they always like to throw those tight trees in there where your handle bars barely fit in between them. There were also a lot of elevation changes throughout the track which were a bit challenging. It had some nice screaming up hills and some drop offs that went straight down. It really reminded me of a Rausch Creek type track but without the rocks.
By the time we were ready to start there were about 20 riders in my class. There were 20 pros in front of us, which shows you what kind of competition shows up at an East Coast race. I got a good start probably top 5 into the first turn but on the second turn a guy in front of me wiped out and I got stuck behind him while seven or eight people passed me. I probably went into the woods around 15th or so. On the first lap I put on a good charge but I didn’t want to go all out because I didn’t know the track since I’ve never raced there before. Once I had a feel for the first lap then I could judge how to attack the lap. I was hoping to get 5 laps in but I was clocking 43 minute laps so that wasn’t going to happen, especially when the pros were clocking 34 minute laps. Officially we should have only done 3 laps but they sent us out for four knowing that we would be out for over 2 hours. On the second lap I put on a good charge and felt really comfortable on the bike and track. First lap through the scanner I came through 18th and when I came through on the second lap I passed three guys and moved up to 15th place. After the second lap I decided to pit since I still have my stock tank on the machine which will not make a 2 hour race. Pitman Jimmy B was there to dump my gas and have goggles, gloves, and water available. He told me that they were definitely keeping us out for four laps so I got out of the pits and put in a hard third lap. I really focused on keeping a good pace and keeping mistakes limited and small. By the end of the third lap I started feeling fatigued and I knew that the white flag lap was going to be a struggle. When I came through the scanner on the last lap I picked up another spot and now sat in 14th place. The last lap was brutal! I was feeling tired and sore and the track was really chewed up, it was really hard to find a smooth line to relax. Again I managed to find some strength and kept pushing forward. At about the 7th mile marker I got squirrelly and bounced off two trees on each side of the trail - I looked like a pinball in a pinball machine. I picked the bike up, got myself together and pushed hard to the finish. I finally made it to through the scanner and I managed to pick off 2 more guys on the last lap which put me in 12th place for the day. I looked on the board and noticed that I finished the race in 3 hours and 5 minutes, a little longer than the 2 hours that it should have been. I was happy with my efforts on the day, especially going for 3 hours at the first race of the season. I’m still looking to break into the top 10 sometime soon.
DHaggs Sr. put in a good race as well, finishing in 2 hours and 40 minutes. It took a little getting used to his bike after doing some engine work during the week. He ended up finishing 8th in Senior B on the day.
Thanks to DHaggs Sr. for prepping my bike early on in the week and thanks to PitMan Jimmy B for working the pits and getting some pics. Racing resumes in 2 weeks on April 27th in Millville, NJ at the Cumberland County Fairgrounds. I can’t wait to get some practice on the Endurocross style course.
I would like to thank my sponsors for all of their support this season; DHAGGS Harescramble Racing, MSR Racing, Scott Powersports, Kenda USA, DP Brakes, Scott USA, TAG Metals, Decal Works, Twin Air, IMS, Devol Eng., FMF, TM Designworks, Cycra Racing, Elf Oil!