RitcheyRacer RaceReview2007 Lake Whitney Spring NationalsOK so, I started planning this trip last year, right after the World Mini's. It was going to be simple, just like our 2006 trip. Me Khylar and a couple other racers from our region, and our friend, Jordan, from So. Cal. we were going to Texas. Road Trip! YEAH!!! Bring it on! As the year wore on and the Spring Nationals were just around the corner........ Dang it, Josh broke his leg. Dang it, Shawna got 2 new jobs. Life just kept going on around us and our road trip gang was getting slimmer by the minute. A couple other opportunities arose that seemed to make more sense, so I changed plans. I had to let someone down in the process. It was Jordan from So. Cal. Dude, I have to say, I am so sorry for making the wrong decision. I should have went through with plan A, cause the "other opportunities" didn't pan out at all. Khylar left 1 week early with the Sanayei's to get in some practice and Darrell prepped the trailer so I could hook up and head for Texas by myself !!!!!!!!!!!! Incidentaly, the "StupidShawn Award" goes to me for changing my plans, which changed the plans of Jordan. What did we all learn from this?????? Rely on yourself. Anyway, I headed out on Sat. morning. I got to Sacramento, Ca that night, and then to Tucson, Az. the next night, and then on into Lake Whitney, Texas sometime around 4 am on Monday. Just in Time for practice! The rest of that day was a cloud, but gosh darn it, I was there with the race bikes, In Time!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!! Moving on... the weather was about 80 degrees and 38% humidity. Not deadly for a Washantonian, but mix a little dust and a little sun-burn, and Whoo Wheee! Tuesday was practice. I watched all 3 practices with my son, Khylar, and he rode "middle of the pack" through all. There were approx. 100 riders in each class and his lap times were comparable to the top 10-20. Wednesday started racing. The good thing with moto 2 ( and most of the moto's had 2-3 divisions) was, the track was still kind of "fresh". The bad thing with moto 2 was, the time change was 2 hours ahead, so it was really 5am to me. There are 40 gates, so all the classes with more sign-ups are split into 2-3-maybe 4 divisions. They generally pick the top 10-15 riders and then have all others ride a "consolation race". They then pick the top few of the "consi" riders to fill the 40 gates at the "Main". It takes Wed through Fri to get through all the 1st motos and consi races, then Sat and Sun are dedicated to the Main's. Here are a couple slide shows of the pictures and images I captured. Most of my pictures are from the pit area, you can get racing photos at the following links. 
The one really exciting moment for me was.... Nico Izzy and Trent Pugmire battling for 1st. They ended up getting hooked up in a turn, and both laid it down. Izzy jumped up, I thought he was going to conck Pugmire in the head and then thought twice. They shared some angry emotions and finally (1 lap later) Pugmire and Izzy tried starting their bikes. Pugmire finally got his started and finished the race, while Nico was hauled off in the Medic cart. Both riders showed up for the Consi and, of course, made it to the main. Here is the slide show of what I was able to photograph.
It was an awesome experience! I thank every rider and every sponsor, for the class act at the Lake Whitney Spring National 2007. For more results... check out the following link: http://www.lakewhitneymx.com/results/index.asp?s=&e=2 Darrell flew into Texas on Saturday, and I flew out on Sunday. They moved on to Oak Hill races in Decatur, Texas. The weather has been extreme heat, humidity, and HAIL???? The practice track was a nightmare on Tuesday, but has mellowed out for 1st moto's on Wed. Can't wait to update these results
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