My Race Write-up from Oak Hill Raceway (TORN series Rd 3)
#1
08-10-2015, 08:48 AM
My Race Write-up from Oak Hill Raceway (TORN series Rd 3)
Yesterday, I drove to Alvord, Texas to compete in Round 3 of the 2015 TORN (cross-country) series. I was a little nervous because it was my 1st time to race in the UTV Intermediate class after being "promoted" from the UTV Novice class last week. Below is my race write-up.
WHERE:
Alvord, TX…it’s a tiny town about 50 miles north of Ft. Worth. This course was located at a MX track called Oak Hill Raceway. This property had lots of grassy pasture areas surrounding the MX track with just a few trees scattered here and there.
TRACK CONDITIONS:
The weather was sunny and super hot (102 degrees according to my truck).
The UTV track length was 4 miles long, including 1 mile on part of the MX track and the remainder spread out in the pasture areas surrounding the MX track and parking lot area. The MX track was apparently watered down prior to the race and still had standing water and mud in a few places. The rest of the course was dry and dusty.
MY PROMOTION:
In the week before this race, I received an unexpected email to let me know that I and a few others were promoted from the very crowded UTV Novice class to the smaller UTV Intermediate class. The email didn't explain why, but I can only image they wanted to even out the number of racers in those 2 classes. I was surprised to be selected b/c I have only raced my UTV twice and finished 4th and 5th in those two races. Apparently, they decided to call up the top 3 Novice racers in season points, which included me. My initial thought was to ask myself how can a 4th/5th place finisher in the Novice class compete against a much faster Intermediate class. Of course, there is only one way to find out.
UTV INTERMEDIATE CLASS:
There was a total of 7 side by sides in the UTV Intermediate class, including myself plus 2 other newbies from the old Novice class. The line up included 6 Polaris RZRs and 1 Can Am. Like my prior races in the old Novice class, I was one of the very few racers on a 900cc machine (most were 1k models). But that's ok... I don't mind being the underdog.
PRACTICE:
After getting up at 3:45am to make the 5 hour drive to Alvord, my son and I arrived at the track @ 9:15 am and we made 5 practice laps. On our first lap, my son yelled out a few times from the passenger seat as we hit unexpected dips and tight turns on the MX track (was his first time ever on a MX track). LOL I told him its just like a roller coaster and to hang on.
My first impression of the course was that it was fast and very wide (which I like) and the MX section didn't include any big scary jumps (such a relief). I'm not an MX guy and dislike big jumps, especially when I'm in my RZR. In any case, I knew the MX section would slow me down on this track, so I would have to make up time in the pasture areas.
THE START:
When we lined up, the UTV Intermediate class was the third class to start behind the UTV pro and UTV expert classes. We had approximately 50 feet to the first hard left turn, followed by a short straight and then a 180 degree right turn onto the MX track. I was lined up 2nd to the far left side (closest to the inside of the first turn). When I got to the starting line, the reality hit me that I am now racing at the same time as the Pros (never had that experience before in my 8 years of XC racing), meaning I would have to keep an eye on my rear view mirror to stay clear whenever they inevitably lap me.
Finally, the green flag went up and my 900xp roared to life quickly. I was able to get ahead of the racer to my immediate left, meaning I had the far inside line to the first left hand turn. As I closed in on the last few feet of the first turn, I saw 3 RZRs to my immediate right reach the turn just in front of me. As we rounded the first turn, I fell in line about 5th position. After the short straight, the line was backed up as folks took turns making the 180 degree right hand turn onto the MX track. I'm not much of a follower, so I tried to pass the line on the outside of the 180 degree turn. Much to my chagrin, I hit some thick, soft sand on the exit of the turn and got bogged down a little. Another guy passed me there leaving me in 6th position. As we made our way around the MX track, I soon realized the rest of my class was quickly pulling away from me (like I had lead in my tires). I'm not going to lie...it was disheartening to see that. I'd go so far as to say I was embarrassed, except that I don't really care what others think of me. LOL
I had another guy from my class chomping at my heels, so I stayed to the right side of the wide MX track and he made a clean pass around me as we rolled over some small jumps. It suddenly hit me that I was now in LAST PLACE after only 1 minute of racing and so I may have just drove 10 hours (round trip) just to get my butt handed to me in a UTV class where I clearly don't belong. I put that depressing thought aside and pushed the pedal harder with the hope that I could somehow catch my class in the pasture areas where I am usually faster.
LAPS 1 through 4:
As lap 1 continued, I maintained last position as our class made its way around zig zag turns and small man-made jumps in the dusty pasture areas. I could still see some of my class just ahead of me in the dusty fields and that motivated me to press onward and try to catch up. Near the end of lap 1, I noticed a fellow racer (Cash) standing next to his Can Am under some trees. He was apparently ok and not injured (standing up), but his car didn't look so good parked off to the side of the track. I was sorry to see a fellow racer from the old Novice class out of the race so soon.
On my 2nd lap, I picked up the pace and found my groove. I especially felt faster in the pasture areas and hit my turns just right. I knocked almost a minute off my lap time and felt better about my race. Soon after I started the 3rd lap, I saw another car from my class (JW) on the side of the MX track. That meant that both of my fellow racers from the old Novice class apparently got a DNF in this race and I could only hope that I would not be the next victim.
On my 4th lap, I saw another car from my class on the side of the trail. This meant I was now in 4th position. As happy was I was to pick up some positions, I didn't let myself get comfortable b/c there was always the chance that those racers might repair their machines and get back on the track. So I pressed onward.
LAPS 5 and 6:
So now its over half-way through the race, and I'm starting to watch my mirrors for the Pros. So much so that I would occasionally overshoot a turn or nearly miss an obstacle. The next thing I know is that I caught up to a slower racer from the Expert class. I don't know if the extreme heat was slowing this racer down or perhaps he was experiencing some mechanical issues. As soon as I caught up to him, I hit my horn and made the pass. Yippie. I finally passed someone who didn't DNF. That meant I was no longer the slowest paced racer on the course. Yippee! Soon afterwards, I saw dust from another slower racer from the Expert class. So I pressed onward and eventually passed him too. That felt good and lifted my spirits.
Finally, the Pros caught up to me. I pulled over and let Hunter Miller pass me on lap 5. Just a few minutes later, I pulled over for Cody Miller too. It was fun to see the big boys racing from such a close vantage point. But alas, I didn't get to see either one for very long as they quickly ran off and left me. Surprisingly, those were the only 2 pros to lap me. I was kinda proud of that accomplishment.
On my last lap, the heat was starting to get to me and sipping water from my camel back was no longer sufficient to keep me comfortable. I was starting to feel physically weak and uncomfortable, so I ripped my goggles off to get fresh air on my face. That felt good and I decided to press onward. Lucky for me, I was not following anyone at this point of the race and there was no dust to contend with.
I was also concern about my RZR in this ridiculous heat b/c my engine overheated during the last lap of my last race (round 2). I was able to finish that race, but my engine went into limp mode when I tried to drive it back to my truck. To fix this overheating problem, I relocated the number plate on my front bumper so it was no longer directly in front of my radiator. That seemed to do the trick as my RZR didn't have any overheating problems in this race. That was a relief.
RACE RESULTS:
I finished 4th out of 7. Honestly, I felt LUCKY to finish 4th. The reality is that I finished last place out of the 4 in my class who actually finished the entire 60 minute race. Perseverance paid off this time, but I can't depend on others getting a DNF to get me to the podium. I need to be faster, plain and simple. Hopefully, the next course we race on won't have an MX section and I can compete at a better level.
As always, I have to say a big THANK YOU to TORN for putting on another FUN event!
I hope you enjoyed my write-up!
WHERE:
Alvord, TX…it’s a tiny town about 50 miles north of Ft. Worth. This course was located at a MX track called Oak Hill Raceway. This property had lots of grassy pasture areas surrounding the MX track with just a few trees scattered here and there.
TRACK CONDITIONS:
The weather was sunny and super hot (102 degrees according to my truck).
The UTV track length was 4 miles long, including 1 mile on part of the MX track and the remainder spread out in the pasture areas surrounding the MX track and parking lot area. The MX track was apparently watered down prior to the race and still had standing water and mud in a few places. The rest of the course was dry and dusty.
MY PROMOTION:
In the week before this race, I received an unexpected email to let me know that I and a few others were promoted from the very crowded UTV Novice class to the smaller UTV Intermediate class. The email didn't explain why, but I can only image they wanted to even out the number of racers in those 2 classes. I was surprised to be selected b/c I have only raced my UTV twice and finished 4th and 5th in those two races. Apparently, they decided to call up the top 3 Novice racers in season points, which included me. My initial thought was to ask myself how can a 4th/5th place finisher in the Novice class compete against a much faster Intermediate class. Of course, there is only one way to find out.
UTV INTERMEDIATE CLASS:
There was a total of 7 side by sides in the UTV Intermediate class, including myself plus 2 other newbies from the old Novice class. The line up included 6 Polaris RZRs and 1 Can Am. Like my prior races in the old Novice class, I was one of the very few racers on a 900cc machine (most were 1k models). But that's ok... I don't mind being the underdog.
PRACTICE:
After getting up at 3:45am to make the 5 hour drive to Alvord, my son and I arrived at the track @ 9:15 am and we made 5 practice laps. On our first lap, my son yelled out a few times from the passenger seat as we hit unexpected dips and tight turns on the MX track (was his first time ever on a MX track). LOL I told him its just like a roller coaster and to hang on.
My first impression of the course was that it was fast and very wide (which I like) and the MX section didn't include any big scary jumps (such a relief). I'm not an MX guy and dislike big jumps, especially when I'm in my RZR. In any case, I knew the MX section would slow me down on this track, so I would have to make up time in the pasture areas.
THE START:
When we lined up, the UTV Intermediate class was the third class to start behind the UTV pro and UTV expert classes. We had approximately 50 feet to the first hard left turn, followed by a short straight and then a 180 degree right turn onto the MX track. I was lined up 2nd to the far left side (closest to the inside of the first turn). When I got to the starting line, the reality hit me that I am now racing at the same time as the Pros (never had that experience before in my 8 years of XC racing), meaning I would have to keep an eye on my rear view mirror to stay clear whenever they inevitably lap me.
Finally, the green flag went up and my 900xp roared to life quickly. I was able to get ahead of the racer to my immediate left, meaning I had the far inside line to the first left hand turn. As I closed in on the last few feet of the first turn, I saw 3 RZRs to my immediate right reach the turn just in front of me. As we rounded the first turn, I fell in line about 5th position. After the short straight, the line was backed up as folks took turns making the 180 degree right hand turn onto the MX track. I'm not much of a follower, so I tried to pass the line on the outside of the 180 degree turn. Much to my chagrin, I hit some thick, soft sand on the exit of the turn and got bogged down a little. Another guy passed me there leaving me in 6th position. As we made our way around the MX track, I soon realized the rest of my class was quickly pulling away from me (like I had lead in my tires). I'm not going to lie...it was disheartening to see that. I'd go so far as to say I was embarrassed, except that I don't really care what others think of me. LOL
I had another guy from my class chomping at my heels, so I stayed to the right side of the wide MX track and he made a clean pass around me as we rolled over some small jumps. It suddenly hit me that I was now in LAST PLACE after only 1 minute of racing and so I may have just drove 10 hours (round trip) just to get my butt handed to me in a UTV class where I clearly don't belong. I put that depressing thought aside and pushed the pedal harder with the hope that I could somehow catch my class in the pasture areas where I am usually faster.
LAPS 1 through 4:
As lap 1 continued, I maintained last position as our class made its way around zig zag turns and small man-made jumps in the dusty pasture areas. I could still see some of my class just ahead of me in the dusty fields and that motivated me to press onward and try to catch up. Near the end of lap 1, I noticed a fellow racer (Cash) standing next to his Can Am under some trees. He was apparently ok and not injured (standing up), but his car didn't look so good parked off to the side of the track. I was sorry to see a fellow racer from the old Novice class out of the race so soon.
On my 2nd lap, I picked up the pace and found my groove. I especially felt faster in the pasture areas and hit my turns just right. I knocked almost a minute off my lap time and felt better about my race. Soon after I started the 3rd lap, I saw another car from my class (JW) on the side of the MX track. That meant that both of my fellow racers from the old Novice class apparently got a DNF in this race and I could only hope that I would not be the next victim.
On my 4th lap, I saw another car from my class on the side of the trail. This meant I was now in 4th position. As happy was I was to pick up some positions, I didn't let myself get comfortable b/c there was always the chance that those racers might repair their machines and get back on the track. So I pressed onward.
LAPS 5 and 6:
So now its over half-way through the race, and I'm starting to watch my mirrors for the Pros. So much so that I would occasionally overshoot a turn or nearly miss an obstacle. The next thing I know is that I caught up to a slower racer from the Expert class. I don't know if the extreme heat was slowing this racer down or perhaps he was experiencing some mechanical issues. As soon as I caught up to him, I hit my horn and made the pass. Yippie. I finally passed someone who didn't DNF. That meant I was no longer the slowest paced racer on the course. Yippee! Soon afterwards, I saw dust from another slower racer from the Expert class. So I pressed onward and eventually passed him too. That felt good and lifted my spirits.
Finally, the Pros caught up to me. I pulled over and let Hunter Miller pass me on lap 5. Just a few minutes later, I pulled over for Cody Miller too. It was fun to see the big boys racing from such a close vantage point. But alas, I didn't get to see either one for very long as they quickly ran off and left me. Surprisingly, those were the only 2 pros to lap me. I was kinda proud of that accomplishment.
On my last lap, the heat was starting to get to me and sipping water from my camel back was no longer sufficient to keep me comfortable. I was starting to feel physically weak and uncomfortable, so I ripped my goggles off to get fresh air on my face. That felt good and I decided to press onward. Lucky for me, I was not following anyone at this point of the race and there was no dust to contend with.
I was also concern about my RZR in this ridiculous heat b/c my engine overheated during the last lap of my last race (round 2). I was able to finish that race, but my engine went into limp mode when I tried to drive it back to my truck. To fix this overheating problem, I relocated the number plate on my front bumper so it was no longer directly in front of my radiator. That seemed to do the trick as my RZR didn't have any overheating problems in this race. That was a relief.
RACE RESULTS:
I finished 4th out of 7. Honestly, I felt LUCKY to finish 4th. The reality is that I finished last place out of the 4 in my class who actually finished the entire 60 minute race. Perseverance paid off this time, but I can't depend on others getting a DNF to get me to the podium. I need to be faster, plain and simple. Hopefully, the next course we race on won't have an MX section and I can compete at a better level.
As always, I have to say a big THANK YOU to TORN for putting on another FUN event!
I hope you enjoyed my write-up!
#2
08-10-2015, 11:11 AM
Supersock
Hired Gun!
"Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!"
Hired Gun!
"Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!"
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