After a quick short nights sleep, we were back at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, but today we were gonna do battle on the ultra fast mile track known as the Springfield Mile. This track has been called the fastest dirt mile in the world, and as far as I know, they must be right because this is one fast track. I was super excited to get on the track today as I knew that my mechanics Carl and Rob had been working their tales off to make us some rockets, so I knew the Team Latus Harley Davidson XR750 was gonna be a fun bike to ride today.     

    Usually in the practice/qualifying sessions on the mile tracks alot of the guys will try and hook up with each other and use each others drafts and by working together and doing this they can usually get a faster lap time than going around by themself. I decided before today that I wasn't gonna play that game in qualifying, as I wanted to go out there and work on my bike set up and put in the best laps I could. I felt that I could learn more by myself than trying to race someone for a few laps. I knew this might hurt my lap times a little, but I was just wanting to get myself more ready for later in the day when it counted more. After the first two sessions I would up in the 5th spot, which I was real happy with as the first four guys in timing were all in my practice group drafting together in a pack working together. So I was the fastest guy out there by himself, and that was exactly what I was wanted. I felt really good with my first two sessions, so i decided that I would try and draft with Carr, Coolbeth and Cummings in my last qualifying session to see what I could do with them in the draft. So I take right behind Carr and I follow him down the back straightaway, and just as we enter turn three, his bike makes a big huge puff of smoke followed by more smoke, which kind of spooks me real quick. I've seen alot of bikes puff smoke out the exhaust on the miles right when they go to pick the throttle back up after the straightaway, but I could see that this smoke didn't come from his exhaust, as it came from somewhere down low in the motor area. We went down the next straight and his bike was still smoking but I knew that Chris did not know this, but I was not goona draft behind him as I was thinking that maybe his bike was gonna break and I did not want to be right behind him when that happened going 135mph. When we entered the next corner it seemed like his rear end was slipping around quite a bit, which made me think he was possibly putting a little oil down. So much for having a drafting partner for this session, as there was no way I was gonna follow him and try some drafts with all that smoke at times. So I take a quick look behind me to see if anyone else is close enough for me to slow down to and start drafting with as Carr finally pulled off the track and I see Coolbeth coming. So I slow it down as I know we only have like one or two laps left, and there goes Kenny. We roll through turn one and two and have a good run going down the back stretch, but as he drafts me going into turn three, he over shoots the corner and off the groove he goes, which kind of made me check up a little as it was kind of weird how he did it. I mean he entered turn three not really too hot or anything, but he just seemed to drift right off the groove. So I slipped back by him and went on my way. After that practice I found out that Kenny thought that was our last lap I guess and he was slowing down to pull off the track that lap I guess. So I never really got a good clean lap to draft with anyone, which kind of wasted that session for me. Oh well, as I felt my bike was working great, so now it's race time.

    In my heat race it was Bryan Smith, Coolbeth, Johnson, myself and the rest of the pack. Anyway, us four battled back and forth the whole race, with Smith taking the win, followed by Johnson, then myself, then Coolbeth. We had the fastest heat race of the day and I could tell that my bike was working really good, so I was ready for the final.

    In the final I was on the second row for the start, which is not a big deal as a good start is nice on the miles, but with the draft and all and if your bike is working good, it is much easier to work your way up than on other smaller tracks, usually. At the start of tyhe final, I got a great start from rown two and entered turn one in the fifth spot, and for the first 1/2 of the race it was pretty much Smith, Johnson, Carr and myself going back and forth with all of us leading at different times. I mean I would go to fourth, then back up to the lead, then to third and so on, typical mile racing at Springfield early in the final. But then about lap eleven or so, I noticed a little splatter of water or oil hitting my helmet sheild coming out of turn two. Just a little, but then it went away, then again in turn two the next lap, it happened again. It was starting to rain over on the back side of the mile, but not on the other side of the track, and it was getting quite greasy real quick in spots. It took the AMA staff a couple of laps before they figured it out and got the race stopped as quite a few of us riders were putting our hands up trying to let them know there was trouble on the track, as we realized it was not racing over on the front stretch by the officials, but it was on the back stretch. So the red flag comes out and we let this quick little shower pass by and the IMDA gets the track all ready to race again. So we have 13 laps to go now with a single file restart, and I line up in the thsird spot with Smith and Carr in front of me. Green light goes and we pretty much stay the same, as for the next ten laps or so it is still just Carr, Smith, and myself, but Mees and Schnabel had joined it at time too.  Then with two laps to go, the red flags come out as Rob Pearson crashed by himself  down in turn three and four. So the rule is that we have to finish the final with at least five laps on restarts. So this meant we were pretty much gonna have a five lap dash for all the glory. I was lined up in the fourth spot this time on the single file lineup, but as the light went green, I just spun it up and backwards I went, as I think I entered trun one in about the 10th spot or so. Uuuuugggghhhhh! I knew there was only five laps to go, but just as we enter turn three, Mees gets into Schnabel and down goes JR, and the red flags come out again. Well I guess I get my chance at a good start again, but my starting spot just was not too good, as it was polished off and very dry. But anything better than that last one should not be that hard I was thinking. So at the next restart, guess what, I had the same problem, but this time I was so worried about not spinning my rear wheel, that my bike just bogged off the line and I was way back there again, like 11th or so. So for the next few laps I pushed it really hard and just kept passing guys on the outside here and there. I was moving up, but laps were running out too. I ended up finishing in the 6th spot but would later be awarded 5th as Smith had won but got dq's for illegal fuel. SoCoolbeth ended up getting the win, followed by Carr, Mees, Cummings and myself. I was pretty bummed at myself for those last two restarts, but that's racing! Carl and Rob had my bike running great and I just flat messed up when it really mattered on that last start. But at the same time I know we were going fast enough to win that race, just things happened. Man two days of main event starts that really messed me up on both the TT and the Mile this weekend. But this will just light a fire under me for the next go rounds.

    Our next grand natioanl is Bull's Gap Tennessee on June 20th which is a clay 1/2 mile. But we do have the Dayton 1/2 mile the week before and the Peoria TT Hotshoe the day after Dayton.

    Untile next time, G'Day! Joe