state championship race

[greg]

What a great day of racing!! Rad Canyon always does a great job with the state race, and I really appreciate everything everyone does there. The appreciation plaque that they gave me was very nice. I always feel like I dont do enough for the track though. I wish I had more time to devote to actually putting together a real marketing plan (and then really doing it).

After taking a way too long of break from racing, I didn't do so hot (back to being moto-fill), but it was fun riding again. Connor crashed in his first moto hurting his hip. He had a really hard time walking, and riding the bike was out of the question. He was pretty bummed that he couldn't race (there was way more crying about not being able to race then from the pain, but I thought he better just take it easy and not push it). He's recovering nicely from the bruises and scrapes, but nothing seems to have been broken or damaged.

Spencer.....what can I say about Spencer.....still has some trouble spots on the track, but he is going fast. If I could get him to be serious and actually train, WOW. I love watching the late teen expert classes, just the right mixture of speed and dumb ass to make the racing exciting. Anyway, he didn't push through the multiple restarts, etc of the pro-am to make a run for the main, choosing to just save it for his class, in which he took a second behind Mitch. Great racing by everyone in his class. Kind of sad, but this class being what it is leaves one of the fast kids on the sidelines for the main. Spence ended up taking the #1 state plate for the year, which is always cool. Congrats to him! I finally get to hang one of those very COOL awards on my wall.

It seemd like everyone had a great time, crowd was pretty good sized, fairly decent moto count, nice podium presentations, etc. So, I'd say another great year in the history books for Rad Canyon!

[bnd]

Thanks for the report Greg!

I didn't even realize the SCF's were Sat. night until that evening. Between me taking time off & Gallo being worked harder than a gov' mule, it's nice to see somebody post up on the weekend.

Tell all you lurkers what.........

...if you post up about your SCF's weekend, anything, I will take all the posters, put their name in a hat & draw out one winner for a Utah BMX.com t-shirt. How's that for bribing our loyal readers?

I am going to make an order soon so I'll let you know by PM, so let's go!

b.

[dajama5]

Good day of racing.

Xl please.

dc

[bnd]

I'll still enter your name Doug.

Who won the titles in 28-35, 36+, 36-40 cruiser & 41-45 cruiser?

Thanks,
b.

[b2]

:roll:

I'll still enter your name Doug.

Who won the titles in 28-35, 36+, 36-40 cruiser & 41-45 cruiser?

Thanks,
b.

haha. that was a cheap shot, Doug... the dude gets #1 28-35 and that's all he can say? I can't remember who got the others you're looking for, Bruce... sorry.

Lucas and I had a great time. He picked up his 8th win so he'll be in the gate with Charlie and Carson again for 5 & Under Intermediate--I hope he can get used to NOT WINNING again... (some of you saw his show on Friday night--fun with a capital F!). He ended up with #3 in 5 & Under. Thanks to Roland for making a big deal out of that for him! He really felt special on Saturday with the trip to the announcers' tower and getting to stand on the podium a couple times.

I picked up a 2nd place in the 28 - 35 N main... that's all I've gotta say about that... and I ended up with #2 in 28 - 35 for the year. me = stoked!

[Scott Mckay]

Greg, I just figured out who you are. I've talked to you at the track and on this board but never put the two together. I felt bad for Conner and hope he is doing well. Watching him and Wyatt race Novice and now Int. has been fun.

The State race was awesome. It was our first time experiencing it. That was by far the coolest local event we have been to yet. Wyatt just started at the indoor in Farmington. He really loves this sport and never stops thinking about it or pretending that he is Cody Kelly out in the back yard jumping. He finished second on Saturday to Alex Clift who by the way is really taking off right now. It is so fun to watch the 8 and 9 Intermediates grow and learn and push each other to the next levels. Wyatt finished 3rd in State.

The highlights to me however were the awards ceremony. Roland rocks. Seeing all the kids sitting together on the ground in front of the podium was great. Watching Uncle Ian and Heather win the Team trophy and celebrating with the kids. And the best part for me was when Holly had the 3 yr old Mason Hepworth come down to the podium and give him her first place trophy after he was devestaded earlier when he didn't understand why he didn't get one. That just about drew a tear out of my eye.

Scott

[K. Perkins]

Scott:

I'm with you on your perception of the 8/9 inter class. I've told you many times that we have a real special group of kids and parents in this age group. The parents are what makes it positive for these kids. Whether its the faster boys like Wyatt, Alex, Andrew, and AJ or the few that are fighting for that last couple qualifying spot, the parents are always offering words of encouragement to all the boys. We too were disappointed for Conner's injury. He's a good kid who just moved up and will be giving this class a run for their money. Get well soon kido. Conner, your injury may have created a new racer. Logan and I agreed that if he qualified mom would either sing the national anthem (be glad I didn't) or race at DP that night. Anyway, by default he qualified and so mom raced that night. I loved it! I'm out of shape but can see why people get hooked on this sport!

As for our best memory, it has to be Ron and his staff's sincere concern for these kids. When the State schedule was posted we were disappointed. We signed up for football expecting the State race to be on Suday as ususal (but Ron, I loved it on Saturday. Keep it there; a suggestion might be maybe to move the time back to the evening or later afternoon.) We had already paid for Reno Nationals and missed the first opening football game. Logan had a rough year last year recovering from some recks but was starting to get his confidence back so he was sitting in place for a state number (He was thrilled with #8 in this group of kids). When I spoke with Ron about the conflict this would pose, he offered several suggestions to us to try to get Logan to the race in time to quaify. Needless to say, I called him at 10:50 and he registered Logan for us. We showed up a few minutes before big wheels started (thanks to the Wilden's for loaning Porter a bike to ride); Logan got one or two warm-up laps and then motos were posted. We couldn't ask for more support and true desire to watch out for these kids. Ron, we really appreciate you and your volunteer crew!

ANother fun highlight was when a photographer/reporter from the NY Times came and introduced himself. He said that he followed my 4 year old and me down the track and back to the pit area with a camera snapping. He then asked my son Porter a few questions about BMX Big Wheels. All my 4 year old wanted to discuss was the huge trophy he won and that mom forgot his moto pants. It was a really special moment to see a kid this little open up with confidence. If anyone sees anything in the NY Times, let us know.

Another group of people that are special to us are the Hansens and the rest of the families that make us feel so welcome. Kristi and Andrew have put more into their team kids than we'd ever expect. Thanks guys!

Special thanks also to Brian Long for all the photos through the year. I can only imagine the time you put in at home to get them all posted to your website.


Kami Perkins

[Jackie]

I wanted to pile on about the 8-9 inter classes they are awesome! DIllan has really enjoyed the competitive racing in this class , because you never know who is going to get the win from day to day. DIllan had a solid State race and finished 3rd at the state race. Austin struggled out of the gate in 6 novice but finished strong and got 3rd as well.

They had so much fun we ended up getting their brother after his football game and went out to Tooele that night and we all raced. We had Michael Ervin, Mike Kelley , Dan, and myself in the cruiser class so it was fun.