DUNLOP/WERA National Endurance Series, Round 9

Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama

Saturday, September 25, 2004 by Dan Schmitt

The ninth round of the Dunlop/WERA National Series started under clear skies with the temperature in the mid-80’s at the greatest road course in the Americas. Bradley Champion on the Team Velocity Yamaha R-1 ran upfront with Tray Batey on the Vesrah Suzuki 1000 following closely. CherokeeChallenge.net ran third with Neighbor of the Beast and Army of Darkness running together in fourth and fifth. 

The next wave of bikes included Velocity Crew, Team Eclipse, Team Xtreme/Maxxis,Mad Kaw, Muskateers , Bells Suzuki II, Team Chicago, SMP Racing, Need a Sponsor, R.E.C.H. Racing and Dixie Mafia. Fritz Kling on the B & S Endurance II superbike pulled off the track with a dead engine after twelve laps. And then, Scott Brown fell in turn six, taking Army out of the running for a while. At the top of the first hour, Vesrah gained a two-lap advantage as Velocity made their first fuel stop.

Twenty minutes into the second hour, Batey was on the charge through the esses when Mad Kaw crashed at the exit. With nowhere to go, Batey went over the rider and off the track riding the front wheel. The red flag flew and safety crews went to work. With the flip of the flag for the restart, the SuperStock team took over the race. Team Velocity led with Cherokee, Eclipse and Neighbor right there. Velocity Crew led in Middleweight SuperBike and Dixie Mafia and Bell’s Suzuki battled for the lead in the Lightweight SuperBike class. The Vesrah crew had their hands full, changing the pipe, fairing, pegs, computer, etc. But they got the bike back running in twenty minutes and headed out to gain some points.

The skirmish for the win came both in the pits and on the track as these SuperStock teams, with no allowed quick-change equipment, went about their tasks of changing tires and refueling. With Steve Breckenridge at the helm, Velocity continued their one-lap advantage over Cherokee, Neighbor and Eclipse. Velocity Crew ran fifth and Dixie on the SV charged to sixth, Bell’s was out with engine problems again. Need a Sponsor, D & D, both B & S teams, SMP and Team Pennzoil were on the same lap fighting for seventh overall.

During the last hour, the Team Xtreme/Maxxis boys put on the big push as they charged to fifth and sixth overall on their GSXR 1000’s with street based Maxxis tires. Cherokee gained a lap on Neighbor as Eclipse held off the charge of Velocity Crew. With the showing of the checkered flag, Team Velocity took their second victory of the year. Team owner and rider, Chuck Ivey said, “We expect to do well at every race. Running SuperStock, we can’t expect to win the overall at every round, because we have to make the extra pit stops. As far as the teamwork, I think we have a great team, maybe the best.”

RESULTS:

1.Team Velocity Racing, Yam 1000, 2. CherokeeChallenge.net, Yam 600,  3. Neighbor of the Beast, Yam 600,  4. Team Eclipse, Suz 750, 5. Velocity Crew Racing, Suz 600, 6. Team Xtreme/Maxxis, Suz 1000 , 7. Team Pennsoil, Suz 1000, 8.  B & S Roadracing, Suz 600, 9. Need a Sponsor, Yam 600,  10. D & D Racing, Yam 600, 11. B & S Racing II, 600 Suz,  12. SMP Racing, Yam 600,  13. R.E.C.H. Racing, Honda 600, 14. Army of Darkness, Suz 600, 15.  Team Chicago, Yam 600.

 By Class:

HW/SBK: 1. Team Pennzoil, 2. OuterXtreme Racing, 3. Vesrah Suzuki

HW/STK: 1. Team Velocity Racing, 2 Team Eclipse, 3. Team Xtreme/Maxxis,

MW/SBK: 1. Velocity Crew Racing, 2. B & S Endurance II, 3.  SMP Racing.

MW/STK: 1. CherokeeChallenge.net, 2. Neighbor of the Beast, 2. B & S Racing.

LW/SBK: 1 Dixie Mafia, 2. Deals Gap Racing, 3. The Notorious P.I.G.

POINTS  OVERALL (after 9 rounds)

1. Vesrah Suzuki, 942, 2. Army of Darkness, 833, 3. Team Velocity Racing, 783, 4. Neighbor of the Beast, 771, 4., 5.CherokeeChallenge.net, 752,  6. B & S Roadracing, 652, 7. Dixie Mafia, 607, 8. Team Xtreme/Maxxis, 602, 9.  Bell’s Suzuki II, 563 10. Velocity Crew Racing, 551, 11. . Deals Gap Racing, 503, 12. Blue Ridge Performance, 466, 13. Team Chicago, 458, 14. Team HMR I, 424,  15. SMP Performance, 421

 Photos by Shoot to Thrill Photo     Sean Jordan

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