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DUNLOP/WERA
National Endurance Series Round 5 Grattan Raceway,
Grattan, MI July 17, 2004 by
Dan Schmitt Returning to Grattan
Raceway is like a great homecoming for Team Chicago. Steve Karson and I learned
how to go fast at this race track in Michigan. Yes, we raced at Blackhawk Farms
earlier in our careers, but Grattan teaches you so much. And like they say,
‘you ain’t racing ‘til you can run with the fast guys from Michigan!’
Over the years I have become part of the family with E. J., the track owner. I
have spent many enjoyable weekends at Grattan. Reaching the halfway point
in this ten-race series, the challenge of Grattan Raceway is the tight technical
corners and the fast straightaway with a few rises and descents. Some of the
local heroes came out to mix it up with the national teams. With the flip of the
green flag, this six-hour race began at 10:30 AM. Tray Batey on the Vesrah
Suzuki and Reuben Frankenfield on the Team Velocity R-1 swapped the lead as the
teams negotiated the two streams of water crossing the track, left from the
3-inches of overnight rain. Fritz Kling on the Taylor Knapp Racing R-6 ran third
with CherokeeChallenge.net fourth. Roger Bell was smoking the field on the
Bell’s Suzuki II SV, running fifth. Army, Neighbor, Chicago, Xtreme/Maxxis,
FDK, HMR II, Deals Gap II, and Dixie Mafia ran in a tight pack for the next
half-hour just a few clicks back. At the one-hour mark,
Bell’s make an early pit stop, moving Army of Darkness to fifth, taking FDK to
sixth. Neighbor grabbed seventh. During the second hour, and with Joe Gill
riding the Taylor Knapp R-6, they scooted to second overall, with Velocity
third. But before the hour was out, disaster struck Taylor Knapp as the
temperature began to rise to 250 degrees. With the water gone and the oil
cooked, their primary bike was out. They went to their back-up bike to salvage
some points. Neighbor and Army continued to run together in sixth and seventh as
Vesrah continued with a one-lap advantage. I followed Steve and raced the second
hour. I had to be a little cautious in the first and sixth corners, as water ran
across the track from the three inches of rain that fell the night before. At the halfway point,
CherokeeChallenge.net continued to run steady 1:26 laps on their Yamaha R-6, and
held off the attack of Army in fourth. Team Velocity held on in second with
Vesrah first. A few teams ran off the track, B & S Roadracing in turn one,
and SMP in turn 5, but the majority treated the water respectfully, crossing in
a upright manner. Phil Caudill took over the Team Chicago R-6 and moved us to 12th
overall, we still need a little more horsepower. Another slow front tire
change, running SuperStock legal, moved Team Velocity back to fourth during the
fourth hour. Team Xtreme/Maxxis Tires made the big push to seventh as Amchu
Racing took sixth. Bell’s Suzuki continued on the boil as they moved back to
fifth overall, first in the Lightweight class. We changed the rear tire as Steve
took over again and it took one-minute and ten seconds, not as fast as we used
to change the rear tire on the older R-6. We need to practice a little more. During the fifth hour, the
contest in the Middleweight SuperStock class heated up for second in class.
Deals Gap Resort II on a R-6 Yamaha moved to striking distance of Neighbor for
second in class. Team Chicago was a lap back. Cherokee led the class, second
overall and running strong. Vesrah had a seven-lap advantage when disaster
struck. Coming out of the ‘hairpin’, turn ten, Mark Junge tried to pass on
the outside, got pinched off, the bike went into a wild tank-slapper, and
Mark’s thumb got caught between the handlebar and the gas tank. With a bursted
thumb, requiring ten stitches, Mark limped back to the pits. Losing time in the
pits, the overall was up for grabs. It was now Frankenfield on the Velocity
Racing R-1 and he began to ride like a man possessed, knocking off 1:22 laps.
This last hour charge moved Velocity to second overall, but with the checkered
flag, Vesrah held on for victory. Cherokee retained third, one lap up on Army of
Darkness. Frankenfield stated, “They sent me out on a seek and destroy
mission. They put on a new rear tire, and I ran down Army and Cherokee.”
Phil took over after I rode
and spent the last thirty-five minutes trying to run down Deals Gap and
Neighbor. He ran out of time and we had to settle for fourth in class, eleventh
overall. We have now moved to thirteenth in the Overall point standings.
Hopefully, before the next round, the Hindle pipe will arrive and I will install
the new HyperPro rear shock. Next issue, I will report on the horsepower gains
from the new pipe and the injection controller from 4 & 6 Racing.
Next Round, Summit Point,
July 31 RESULTS: OVERALL:
1. Vesrah Suzuki, Suz 1000, 2. Team Velocity, Yam 1000, 3. CherokeeChallenge.com,
Yam 600, 4.Army of Darkness, Suz
600,., 5. Neighbor of the Beast, Yam 600, 6. Deals Gap Resort, Yam 600, 7. Bells
Suzuki II, Suz 650, 8. Dixie Mafia,
Suz 650, 9. Amchu Racing, Suz 600, 10 Team
Xtreme/Maxxds, Suz 1000, 11. Team Chicago, Yam 600, 12. Blue Ridge Performance,
Suz 650, 13. Need a Sponsor, Suz
1000, 14. Touring Sport Racing, Apr 1000, 15. Yeager Racing, Suz 650 By
CLASS: HSB: 1. Vesrah Suzuki, 2.
Touring Sport Racing, 3. HMR II HSS: 1. Team Velocity
Racing, 2. Team Xtreme/Maxxis, 3. Need a Sponsor MSB: 1. Army of Darkness,
2. Amchu Racing, 3. R.E.C.H. Racing MSS: 1.
CherokeeChallenge.net, 2. Neighbor of the Beast, 3. Deals Gap Resort LSB: 1. Bell’s Suzuki II,
2. Dixie Mafia, 3. Blue Ridge Performance POINTS
OVERALL (after 5 rounds) 1,Vesrah Suzuki, 543, 2.
Army of Darkness, 520, 3. CherokeeChallenge.net, 417, 4. Neighbor of the Beast,
379, 5. Bell’s Suzuki II, 375, 6. Team Velocity Racing, 374,
7. Team Xtreme/Maxxis, 357, 8. B & S Roadracing, 356, 9.FDK, 350,
10. Blue Ridge Performance, 313, 11. Dixie Mafia, 293,12. Yeager Racing,
291, 13. Team Chicago, 264, 14. Deal’s Gap Racing, 262, 15. Canton Racing #1,
256 Photos by
Sean Jordan |
Visitors as of 02/10/2011
For information on Team Chicago: realteamchicago@sbcglobal.net or teamdan45@gmail.com
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