AHSCS Round 9

Pre Race: The Arkansas series is coming close to an end, with only 3 races remaining. We figured out the points, and I needed to win 2 of the next 3, and one 2nd place overall finish to defend my title. Going into the race, I was more prepared than ever, and really felt good. I was ready for a great race.

Race: I got a good jump, and was in 2nd heading into the woods. I quickly made my way past Bryan Vaughan to take over the lead, then started charging. I finished the first 11 mile lap with a little over 30 seconds on Vaughan. I kept a pretty good pace the 2nd lap, and stretched the gap to over a minute. On the third lap, dad was telling me to ride safe and be smart. I was doing so until once again some bad luck kicked in. I was going down a fast, rocky downhill and hit something really hard with my front end. The tire went flat instantly. I finished that lap as quick as possible, but it is really hard to ride with a front flat. I went down a couple times pretty hard on the way to the pits. Fortunately, all of my Enduro Engineering and Moose hard parts protected the bike. Once in the pits, we changed the wheel out, but I lost about 4 minutes. I was now around 2 minutes down from Vaughan. The championship was going through my mind now, and I was so determined to catch him that I was probably riding a little bit over my head. I finished the 4th lap, now only 1:10 down from Vaughan. When I went through the check, people were cheering me on, and I was going for it. I got the pit board halfway through the lap, saying the gap was down to 40 seconds. I kept pushing, but amazingly I got another front flat. At this point my confidence was crushed and I just had to cruise into the finish. I ended up 2 minutes down from 1st overall. Thanks to everyone who was cheering me on, and  helped with the tire change. The only good thing is that the championship hope is still alive. After the race, we decided we are not going to mess around with the flats anymore. Once we got home Sunday night, we spent a lot of money ordering some bib mousse’. Hopefully this helps for the remaining two rounds. Next weekend, Ingram Racing is headed to Lafayette, TN for the Titan GNCC. Thanks for reading..

Results(Overall) 1. Bryan Vaughan (KTM)

                                 2. Zach Ingram (KTM)

                                 3. Parker Nolen (Yam)

                                 4. Aaron Lindsey (Yam)

                                 5. Jake Hines (KTM)

 Thanks to the following for their support: Bill Eddy’s Motorsports, KTM, Moose Racing, Rekluse, Enduro Engineering, Source MX, Alpinestars, Smith, Sixsixone, FMF, my family, and most importantly God.