I just wanted to get on an update everyone on what RLT Racing has been up to these past couple weeks. Well, we headed out to race in Michigan with good friend and west coast buddy, Chad Cose. Michigan has been a track I have liked in the past. I got 3rd here as a basic expert and I usually go good there. The track was pretty cool, like it always is. The bike I usually run on clay half miles has been out of commission the last couple weeks. We have been having some issues frying spark plugs so we think something is messed up with the timing. My mechanic Bryan suffered a loss in his family, so we haven’t had time to fix it yet, so Shayna has allowed me to use one of her XR 750′s in the meantime. I ran the bike at Hagerstown and we got close to making the show there, but the bike seemed down on power. We ran it again in Michigan and noticed that the caliber was locking up the rear wheel which is why it has felt sluggish. I went to my back up bike, which is my mile bike built for horsepower. I was up to 5th behind Coolbeth in the heat and felt like I was reeling him in, but the bike started handling really goofy and I got shuffled backwards. I think it had a little too much juice for the track in Michigan and we struggled with handling. It was a stressful day, but I was excited to head out west and get to Cali.
 
We stayed at the Cose household for the week prior to the Sac Mile and that was fun. It feels like my home away from home. We enjoyed the california weather and spent a day in San Francisco which was awesome. What a crazy town! I feel like whoever built the roads there were drunk, because man they are full of hills!
 
Lodi was having a race the night before the mile. Everyone in the country has heard of the Lodi Cycle Bowl. It is one of the oldest tracks in america. I was stoked to even get to see the track, let alone ride it. There were 54 riders in the open pro class, most of which have had about 10,000 laps around there. After practice, I had the 5th fastest time. There were a bunch of top name dudes there, so that was a good confidence builder and I felt I was getting faster and faster. I didn’t qualify too great, but I rode a smart heat race and took advantage of a mistake by Sammy Halbert to win my heat race. I was going to be on the front row, which was awesome. I didn’t have a good starting spot at all, but I got off the line in 5th and had a solid 5th going, until I went into turn 3rd and tucked the front end. Some people said, they have never seen a better front end save in their life. I feel like I did a split trying to muscle it from crashing. However, I lost 4 spots and ended up finishing 8th. I was pretty bummed at the outcome, but it was cool to put my sponsors on the map in Lodi in front of a big crowd and I can’t wait to come back and try and win one there.
 
The next day was the Sacramento Mile, which I was pretty pumped for. It’s been a struggle on these west coast races trying to get some help in the pits. Norm Cose and the Water’s team helped us out when they could. Shayna’s bike was set up for Brandon Robinson who is 6′ 2″ and im only 5′ 6″ so I was having a very hard time reaching the handlebars. I searched the whole pits looking for barbacks, but couldn’t find any, so I bent the bars back toward me and did what I could. The bike was wobbling all day and I wasn’t sure why. I was 11th the last session, so I saw some light at the end of the tunnel, but the bike was still acting up. In the heat race, I was struggling so bad. The bike was wobbling and swerving, it was dreadful. I tried to race the semi, but it was getting worse. At 130mph, I had to hold on as much as I could to keep it on two wheels. It turned out the front wheel berrings were broken and the wheel was moving back and forth on me. I was upset to say the least. With the proper help at the track, this problem could of been solved earlier on in the day, but doing it by myself, I didn’t have the time to research the problem. The night was somewhat saved as my baby sister got a 3rd place and her first podium of the season! I felt a W, but she rode great and I think over the course of the weekend, we proved that we can still do this, we just need more help and knowledge in our pits.
 
Next up is Castle Rock, WA. I have always liked this track and have podiumed here in the past, so I am excited. In the meantime, I want to thank all my sponsors for all the support. You guys are awesome and we couldn’t do this without you.