The John Penton GNCC in Ohio is going to have to wait till next year. We originally planed to leave Fri at noon but with a dreadful weather forecast for Millfield we decided to push back our departure time to 2am Saturday morning giving us time to roll into the facility in time to catch the pro ATV’s on Sat. When I awoke at 1:30am I looked up the weather again and it called for rain and thunderstorms all day Sunday with a 90 percent chance. It’s not that we can't race in the muddy rainy conditions; it’s just that we didn’t want to drive 16 hours for it to be cancelled due to thunderstorms. So what did we do, we stayed packed and headed out the next morning to Paxious, PA for Round #2 of the East Coast Harescramble Series at Irish Valley MX Park. We were really bummed out that we were able to make the GNCC but after this weekend I’m pretty darn sure we made the right call.
We arrived at Irish Valley Raceway about mid afternoon, picked out a spot in the pits, set up camp, made some lunch and then decided to walk some of the 9 mile course. The weather was perfect; tons of sun and not a cloud to be found in the sky. Dusk rolled around and we fired up the grill again for some dinner and threw the NASCAR race on the TV, then it was early to bed to get a good night sleep. When we awoke Sunday morning we were blessed with a gorgeous view and the sound of dirt bike engines running as alarm clocks in the distance. We packed up camp a bit, registered to race, watched the kids race take off and then prepared for our race which was set to take off at 1, which turned out to be 1:30ish.
When the green flag dropped I kicked my bike, twisted the throttle, and got a bit of a bog out of my bike which cost me valuable seconds for the holeshot. I was pretty much dead last after the second turn. The first quarter mile they snaked you up and down a hill and then you headed out onto the motocross track for a mile and the rest of the course was made up of off camber, grass, endurocross, and rocky mountain trail sections. For some reason they decided to wet down the motocross track and it was super slick so when I came off a drop-off I pinned it and made one of the greatest saves I ever made. I can’t even explain it; let’s just say it looked like I was wrestling my bike as if it were a teased bull in front of a thousand taunting fans. I regained composure and tried to catch back up with the field, having never raced at this track before I was a little cautious on the first lap. At this level of competition this is not a good strategy, these guys take off and they don’t look back. I need to find the same attitude on the first lap, and keep it for the remainder of the race. I felt great physically and with the exception of a check and go on the first lap I pretty much went as fast as I could for the entire race. On the second lap I dialed in the rocky up hills that were tucked away in the misleading picturesque woods line. I also managed to find some traction in the grass off camber field sections. There was a bit of mud on the MX track but as far as out on the mountain there were two really bad sections. They were very technical but nothing crazy; the sections had some huge ruts with tons of exposed tree roots. It was on the third lap that I got cross rutted in the second swamp and went down. I got up pretty quick, got the bike started and continued on my way. When I came through the scanner after my third lap I was in eight place. I put my head down and charged on the fourth lap which was my fast lap all day. Just about a quarter mile before the finished I was passed by pro Jerod Stoner who was the overall leader. He took the checkered which meant that my race was over and I wasn’t able to go out for another lap. I was confused because I felt so good and I knew that I had a couple of laps still in me. After all was said and done I still held onto
8th place for the day. If I can just get over that first lap I would be able to stay with the meat of the pack and show them more of a tire. Overall I feel like I am learning more and more each week and getting a little bit faster, which is what this year was going to be about anyway. I just want to keep building up my experience and speed and continually keep giving my 110% effort, that’s the best I can do – and that’s what I’ve been doing!
DHaggs Sr. ended up in
11th place on the day after losing his shifter on a huge downhill on the second lap. He managed to find it and get himself out of the valley and back to the pits. This was his first mechanical mishap while out on the track.
Pitman Jimmy B continued his race appearance streak despite a nagging cold. He still managed to take some pictures and provide assistance where needed.
This weekend we have off and then racing will resume in a few weeks. Thanks for your support!
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
South Penn Enduro Riders - OxBo Hare Scramble - June 1st 2008
