...ARCHIVED FROM THE HOME PAGE
SEASON FINALE
Beausejour, Canada
Didn't have the greatest of luck this weekend! Scrambled to get the sled back together after what happened in Antigo. With the motor work being done by LRM, I had to drive there the day before we left to pick it up, then drive back home then turn around and get back on the road to Beausejour. FUN STUFF I TELL YA!
As for the race results, lets just say they weren't good. Was in a battle with Mike Emerson for 1st place, when the motor locked up good and tight at the end of the front straight, and there I sat for the last couple laps. The champ was done for, so I used my stocker for the open class. I kept pace with the crowd and pulled off a 3rd place finish.
2-15-05
The weekend of February 12-13 took us to Antigo, WI for a USSA Pro Star race. The weekend was an exciting and eventful time and went smoothly... for the most part. Saturday brought fairly warm temperatures again, quite similar to the previous weekend. I registered for and ran in the Semi-Pro Champ 440 class. The first qualifying round was alright, but my holeshot was just not there like it had been in the past. In the second round again, the sled was just not running right. So after a glimpse into the the right side cylinder, I noticed a lot of aluminum build up, which meant only one thing. We had a problem. After a quick teardown, the synopsis turned out to be a broken ring that wreaked havoc on the cylinder walls and head. So we took care of it, and put it back together for the final, after missing the third round of qualifying. In the final I had to start in the back row. I nailed the hole shot, and went into the first corner in 6th place. Although, the shortness (7 laps) of the race, allowed me to advance only one place, and I ended up in 5th place.
Sunday was a bit colder, but the most noticeable change was the sun disappeared behind the overcast sky. This allowed everything to freeze again, which made for some of the best racing conditions one could ask for. The first round of qualifying stacked my up against Gary Moyle, Dale Loritz and Matt Schultz. I, of course, finished last, but hey, I wasn't to far off the pace. The next round pitted me against Jeff Ludwig, among others, and I actually LED a lap, after absolutely NAILING the holeshot. Finished second that round, which was HUGE in terms of qualifying for the final. The third round, I finished in 3rd place. I qualified 7th for the final, which again was a big thing for me, considering the competition. I MADE THE FRONT ROW!!! No last chance, no nothing. Just made the front row. For the Final at the end of the day, I was asleep for the holeshot, and got off the line last! I was doing alright, keeping pace with everyone, but on the second to last lap, my motor locked up tight, and I had to park it on the outside of the track. Only 4 of the 10 that started the race were able to finish with Terry Wahl winning. Turns out that one of the crank bearings in my motor went to hell, and thats what caused the motor to lock up.
We have some fixing to do, but that all comes with the fun. The track stayed smooth all weekend, and the organizers, the ussa officials, and the racers all welcomed us with open arms. I look forward to going back next years and for many years to come!
2-8-05
Team 69 Racing will be attending the USSA Pro Star race in Antigo, WI this coming weekend. We will run the Semi-Pro Champ and Pro Champ classes. Hope to see you there!
2-7-05
This past weekend we raced the WSA Extreme Ice race in Garrison, MN and had the best weekend of the entire year. Saturday I ran the Semi Pro Open class. Went undefeated in qualifying and took first in the final. Sunday I ran Semi Pro Champ and again went undefeated in qualifying and again won the final. A clean sweep for the weekend. WAS A LOT OF FUN!!!! Finally had some luck go OUR way instead of the usual dose of bad luck that we are hit with every weekend.
The track help up surprisingly well considering the 50+ degree temps we had to endure on Saturday. We had some water to deal with, but the guys at Garrison are some kind of geniuses and got the track perfect for Sunday and it was smooth and fast again.
Thanks go out to my DAD and to Jeff Piersak for gettin the sled WICKED fast and gettin it to handle perfect. See ya'll in Beausejour!!!
1-31-05
UPDATE!
Team 69 racing will attending the WSA Extreme Ice event in Garrison this weekend, and not the USSA race in Freeport as originally planned.
1-30-05
January 29-30: Hill City, MN
Champ sled ran great this weekend, and I won the Semi Pro Open and ran the Pro Champ class, and was running strong in the final until my steering broke, AGAIN!! The stocker is all bent up and doesn't run right anymore. We are gonna work with it again to see if it's fixable. Stay tuned for more results!
1-24-05
Congratulations to all the guys from the Wausau 525 race committee. This weekend went absolutely flawless, and everyone had fun! The had very good money in the Pro Champ and Pro Open classes, so I figured I'd give it a whirl. Let's just say that its safe to say that I need another year or two in semi-pro before I can compete with the likes of the Wahls and Moulton and Ludwig. I did not qualify for the open final on saturday with a 5th, a 4th, and a 4th in my qualifying rounds, and finishing 3rd in the LCQ, of which they pulled the top 2. Sunday was a little better, after some early morning bugs during hot laps, we got the sled to run really good. First heat was with both Wahls, Phillip Moulton, and Brian Bewcyk. Oh great. Dead last... OH well. Next heat race I got 2nd, and the final heat race I got 3rd. I knew I was close to qualifying for the final and getting in the money... but only to my dismay, I missed it by 1 frickin point. Oh well, I would get in through the LCQ, RIGHT??? riiiiiight..... Got everything ready for the LCQ got lined up flag dropped....everyone left....why wasn't i moving!!!!!! Well, my motor bogged at the line....first time it had ever done that. DAMMIT!!!! Was able to pass 2 guys, but spent to much time doing that and wasn't able to get into the top 2. SO, no champ final for me. Back down to SEMI-PRO!!!!
The weekend was awesome!!! I can't wait to go back to Wausau next year, although, hopefully it doesn't snow out and take us 9 hours to make a 4 1/2 hour drive. Next weekend is the Hill City, MN race. I don't know if i'm going for sure yet, as we might take the week off to get ready for our hometown race in Freeport. Thanks to everyone!!!!!! Chris
1-17-05
Back from Eagle River!!
Had a ****ty weekend out in ER to say the least.... lets just say, i gave the fans what they wanted to see, and that is some spectacular crashes. Friday night thunder, qualified 4th on my champ sled, then someone ran into me, put me in the wall... not to bad of a crash, no major damage to me or my champ sled. Saturday, 1st qualifying round of semi pro champ i won my heat, 2nd round, didn't go as good as the first. Had the #11 sled of shaun beilke on my ass and couldn't shake him off, so i held it pinned in to the corner a little longer then i normally would, well held it a little TOO long, and i went to turn, hit a bump, and went in to the wall.... HARD!!!! People said that i bounced off the ice and flew through the bales. Fun stuff. Sled was in pretty tough shape. Busted the handle bars clear off and other dents, chips, and cracks everywhere. I, on the other hand, wasn't feeling to good. My ribs hurt pretty bad and got to take my first ambulance ride ever. More on that later...
So, sunday, a new day, felt pretty good (other then the sore ribs) and i was pumped to do well on my stocker. Number one qualifier in the semi pro class and the number 4 qualifier in the pro class. First race, i nailed the hole shot and had about a 6 sledlength lead in the first half of a lap, but, as my luck would have it, the track de-railed (came half way off) and i was unhappy. Pulled off the track and wouldn't ya know it, they through a red flag for someone who crashed. With the help of about 10 guys, we got the track put back on in about 4 minutes and i was ready to rejoin the race!!! RIGHT??? Wrong. They stopped me and said i can't go back on cuz i used tools to work on my sled during a red flag, and thats a no-no.... oh well, i have another race coming up in about 5 minutes, i'll just have to win that one.
Next race comes up, i get lined up, pretty pissed off at what just took place, so i was on a mission. Flag dropped, i nailed it... and SPUN at the line. This is one of the worst feelings in the world. Everyone taking off and you just sitting there waiting for your sled to hook up. It finally took off, and away i went. Passed a few people in the first corner by running a VERY high, smooth line. Passed another person in the 3rd corner on that same very high,smooth line. Next lap, went high again, and thought, wow, this is working pretty good. Coming out of corner 4 on that lap, i went a little TOO wide and my front right ski hooked one of the hay bales that line the front straight. I was sent sliding down the ice, doing my best to duck and dodge the oncoming 90mph sleds.... then, i saw it, one of the sleds was going straight for my sled, which was endo-ing down the straight.... CRASH... he hit it.... both sleds rolled together for about 75 feet before coming to a stop in the infield... And thats when it hit me.... OUUUUUUCHHHH!!!!!!!! My ribs just BURNED...... i walked....er....crawled to the infield and sat there.... looking at my junk pile of a sled.... soon the corner workers and and medics were at my side... and i was off again... to the ambulance again!!!
They said that it was probably a hairline fracture to begin with, but the 2nd crash just made it worse.
