Hampton, Virginia

We left Louisville Sunday afternoon headed for Virginia.  It wasn't going to be a quick trip since we didn't have to be there until Wednesday.  We drove a few hours and pulled into a rest area somewhere in West Virginia for the night.  On Monday morning, we got on the phone and made a few calls.  Jim Chester hooked us up with the a practice track in Blacksburg, South Carolina.  They are race oriented with dragsters, funny cars and motocross. Trick Tank is their name and racing is their game.  We parked in their lot and the boys took off for some track time on one of their four tracks.  They rode until the lights came on and rode some more.  On Wednesday, they rode some more and then cleaned up the bikes and the trailer.  We headed for Hampton that afternoon and stopped at a rest area at the Virginia state line and watched some TV.  Then on Thursday, it was off to Hampton.  We got there around noon and the boys were back at work again with the track crew.  Pam flew in that morning and then I picked Tara up at the airport later in the day. 

This was a two day event and there was another event in Ohio too, so the riders were split up. We were looking to score some advancement points.  The AMA has designated that Arenacross will be the fast track to Supercross. It takes 100 points in the Lites class and 50 points in the Arenacross class.  Chris has the most points on our team so far.  This would be a good weekend for all of them to gain some valuable points.  Everybody made the night program, so we were ready to go at show time.  In the Lites qualifiers, Chris, Max and Corey all transferred to the Main event.  Brock didn't fare as well and didn't make it.  In the Main event, all three of our riders rode really well considering the talent that was in the race.  Chris scored a 9th and Max was right behind him in 10th and Corey was 15th.  In the AX class, it was pretty much a carbon copy in the qualifiers.  Chris and Max transferred, but Brock and Corey didn't.  In the Main event, Chris and Max swapped positions.  Chris scored an 11th and Max was 12th. 

After a good nights rest, the boys were ready to go again.  The track was pretty much the same as Friday night and practice went well.  However, when it came to the racing, things changed a little.  In the Lites class, it was Brock and Max making it to the main.  Chris bounced off the track in the whoops and failed to qualify.  Cory crashed out when Jim Chester took him down. In the main, it was Brock scoring a 13th and Max was 15th. The boys had their best showing of the year in the AX class.  Brock, Chris and Max all made the main together.  In Corey's LCQ, he didn't get a very good start, but several riders crashed out on the first lap and suddenly he was in second place.  He rode really good, but one of the downed riders got back up and started a charge.  Corey got passed on the last lap and didn't make the cut.

On Sunday, only Chris manned up for the Open Expert class.  He got a fourth, but couldn't beat the 450s off the line.  Both Corey and Brock worked as yellow flaggers.  Max slept in.  I worked as the Toyota mechanic and stayed pretty busy.  I set the sag on a couple of bikes, adjusted the suspension on a few more.  Then I sold some ASV levers from my stock.  Then I mounted a new tire, adjusted some levers and then changed out a clutch.  I was ready for the Superbowl. 

Since the Cowboys were already eliminated, I had to choose a team to root for.  I don't like the Giants or the Patriots, so it was difficult to choose.  Well, I rooted for the Giants.  We all gathered at the hotel where they had a big screen TV set up in the Atrium/Bar area.  Earlier in the day, the crew started a couple of football cards and of course I had a few squares on both.  No luck for me or Pam though.  The winners were ecstatic though.  The Giants won and that's that.  Now I can start watching Razorback basketball, they're doing pretty good. 

On Monday we said goodbye to Pam and Tara, as they left for the airport and back to Arkansas.  Pam has a Monster Truck show in Kansas City this weekend.  We're heading back to the Trick Tank track for some training and a motocross school on Saturday.  We'll be there for around 10 days until we head out for the next round at Pikeville, Kentucky.