South Carolina GNCC

Pre Race: On the long drive to Union, South Carolina, we stopped at a shop to pick up a cheap rear sprocket to get us by for the weekend. We contemplated getting a whole new system, chain and sprockets, but decided the rear sprocket was all that was needed. It was about a 15 hour drive, and by the time we got to the track Saturday evening, I was ready to get out of the car. We found a good place to camp and pit, then went to sign up. I got my new transponder and new rear sprocket on and went through tech inspection. Sunday morning I watched and cheered on my brother Jake who proved to be a force to reckon with in the Big Wheel (12-13) class. After his race we went to check out the well know Big Buck creek jump. I was expecting it to be really big and scary, but it was actually pretty easy. After that, I headed back to the trailer to start resting and getting mentally prepared for the race. I was ready to go!

Race: I was on the line, and feeling really good about the day. The track was going to be dusty, but I truly felt that I was going to produce a great finish in the 250A class. I didn’t get a very good jump off the line, and was toward the back of the pack headed into the woods. Almost instantly when I got into the woods I started hearing a terrible chattering noise every time I hit a bump or got on the gas hard. I slowed down and looked down at my bike, but couldn’t figure out what the problem was. I finished the lap, and quickly spotted my dad close to the check. I pulled over and explained what was happening, he got on the bike and instantly knew what was wrong. The teeth on my front sprocket were completely gone! We rushed around for a second not knowing what to do, then we ran to the closest vendor and luckily they had a sprocket. We changed it out as quick as possible, but by the time I got back going I was at least 20 minutes down. My race was pretty much ruined, so I just wanted to go out and put in a solid 3 laps. I did just that, and my last  couple of laps were top 4 lap times. After studying the results and lap times, I know that I could have definitely finished 4th or better in the 250A class. I will never make the same mistake about chains or sprockets again. This race obviously did not go my way, but this has made me very unhappy and disappointed, so I’m going to work really hard from now until the next GNCC.

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