We arrived in Columbus on Saturday afternoon, and with the race being on Sunday, this would give us a little time needed for rest after some non stop driving the last week it seemed. As you probably figured out, there is a much shorter route from Kansas to Ohio than going back to Rapid City, SD. But then we had to get the truck back, so that is how it had to happen.

    Sunday morning in Columbus and the weather is looking great! Once we got on the track for practice and qualifying, the first session was as deep a cushion as I had ever been on before. I mean it was some deep rough sand that would just bog the motors down in the corners, and then the straight aways were very deep and rough too, which actually seemed worse than the corners as the handlebars would just go back and forth down the straights, at the same time we are trying to go a hundred and some miles an hour before throwing it into these corners that were rougher than rough. After that first session, I was in the third spot on the time charts. Then they went out and did a little track prep and after that session I was in the third spot again. Then in the last session I was in the fourth spot. Overall I was third fast for the day, but the track was changing so much each time we went out, that it was kind of hard to tell exactly what the track was going to be like the next time you were out there. This was a huge mile track, as actually I think they call it a mile and an eight, as our lap times were 42 seconds, where our lap times at the Springfield mile are around 34 seconds. So yah, almost 8 seconds longer per lap, which is huge.

    I had pole in heat race three, with Sammy Halbert, Jake Johnson and others. Sammy got the holeshot and beat me to turn one, but I was hot on his heels. I could see that Sammy was getting through turn one and two better than I was, but I was better in turn three and four. Quite a few times I was really close to getting back past Sammy in turn four, but he would come firing back and get a gap on me again in turn one. I seen what Sammy was doing in turn one and two, and the last few laps I was able to change my line down there and mimic what he was doing. Sammy came home with the heat race win and I was second, but I knew that once I changed my line in turn one and two, that it helped me out, so I would have to put that one in the memory bank for the Dash For Cash coming up soon.

    I had been in a few other Dash For Cash races this year with no luck in them at all it seemed, so I was hoping to turn that around right now. At the flash of the light, I timed it perfect and my Team Latus XR750 www.Latus-HD.com jumped out of the hole and the holeshot was mine. Right away I headed for the exact line Sammy had shown me in the heat race and got through turn one and two great and headed down the back stretch. Then I charged turn three probably way harder than I should have as I knew they had prepped the track since the last time I was out here, but I knew it was time to put the hammer down and throw caution to the wind. I finished the first lap and never got drafted by anyone, so I knew I had put in a great lap, and if I just kept doing the same thing, this one should be mine. I felt better and better each lap and I just knew that they were not gonna catch me this time. We got to the checkered flag first and came home with our first Dash For Cash win of the season which gave out an extra five points towards the championship points.

    We had been changing our gearing quite a few times today, just about every time I went onto the track I think. But after the Dash, we kind of gambled and changed it one more time, as I knew they were going to prep the track one more time and Carl and Rob and I  just really felt that this would help us that little bit more. I mean in the Dash, obviously we had a great set up, but I have learned over the years that you cannot always be happy with a performance early in the day such as a Dash or a Heat race, as the track is always changing and the other riders are usually trying to get their setup better too especially after you beat them in the Dash like that.

    I knew going into the main event, that if I could get the holeshot, that I really felt I could break away again and win this thing. On a mile it is pretty easy to get into a drafting battle with someone and pull them along with you, even though they may be slower than you in the turns, the draft lets them pull up on you in the straights, and I really felt that I had some different lines than anyone else out there now, and I did not want to show them too much.

    At the start of the main, I jumped out of there great again and had the holeshot going into turn one, but as we exited turn two, here comes Bryan Smith as he drafted past me down the back stretch. Dang, I was hoping to not have to deal with the draft today like I was able to avoid in the Dash, but Smith was there now and I'm sure many more right behind him too. For the first couple of laps I would pass him in the middle of the turn and them he would draft me down the straights. This was kind of frustrating for me, as every time he drafted me, this would let him have the clear shot at entering the corners and I would kind of have to take what ever line he did not take. I felt that this was really messing up my lines in the corners, and I knew that if I could just get a clear shot at a corner entry, that I would hopefully be able to get away and break his draft on me down the straights. Finally on lap three or four, I got that chance going into turn one as he did not draft back by me this time, so I entered turn one way hotter this time, just trying get that little farther away from him. It must have worked, as the next straight I was not passed again on this next straight either. I knew this was my time to try and split from the pack. Usually on mile tracks the draft will help keep the pack together for the most part or at least keep riders closer to each other, but this mile was rough enough in the corners and straights that the draft was not as near as effective as usual. These next few laps I was charging really hard, as I had kind of struggled at the last few races or at least before Sturgis I had struggled and I was more ready than ever to give this ride everything I had.

    I was still using that line that Sammy had shown me in the heat race in turn one and two, but it seemed to be drying out very fast up high in turn two, so I started searching around to try and find some better traction in places. Then around lap 6 or so, I entered turn one real high and noticed some really good traction there, then I also found some good wet dirt down low in the middle of turn one and two. I could tell I was the only one on this line so far, as I could only see my tire marks there each time I came around for another lap. Turn three and four was much different, as turn three was very dry slick and skiddery with some pretty big breaking bumps, and turn four had some decent moisture on the very outside exit of it. So I kept entering turn one high and higher each time, and man was this line ever working for me. I could drive it in there really hard, then blip the throttle a couple of times and then I'd just grab a huge handful and go for it. Then turn three I would make sure and get into there way hotter than I probably should of, but I knew that with me doing this, that the rest of the riders were probably slowing down more for these bumps. I mean at times it is very hard to ride really aggressive like this, but today was one of those days for me where I was gonna give it everything I had to see if I could get this win. Both ends of the track were so different from each other that it really made me concentrate alot more on my corner entries and make sure I hit my lines, which at the same time took my thoughts of how close they were to me still. I had changed my lines alot from the first couple of laps until now, and even though these new lines felt good to me, ya never know what other lines someone might be making work behind you.

    Just past the halfway I started getting into some lapped traffic, which was good for me as each rider I came up on was giving me a goal to get by them at whatever point. I mean with a 42 second lap time, and me leading this race the last 15 laps or so, it seemed like a very long time since I had not got to race with anybody since Smith the first few laps. So each rider I would focus on and try to get by them at whatever point it was as I was coming up on them. Then around lap 19 or so, I noticed I was catching Chris Carr, and I thought, he must be having some bike problems. Then in the next lap or so I got by him going into turn one, but then right after that I seen that Jared Mees was not too far in front of him. Wow, then I realized that I was probably just having one of those days where it seemed I was hauling butt. I guess Carr and Mees were not having problems, I was just having a great ride it looked like.

    I ended up coming home with this huge win, for sure the largest distance win in my career, as I won this one by some 22 seconds over Bryan Smith in second place and I lapped all the way up to the 7th spot. What a great day!  They were saying after the race that this may have been the largest margin of victory ever in GNC racing over the years. Wow, that's cool!

    Then I got to take my mechanic Carl Patrick and my son Kody for the victory lap, and what a good one it was. Now we are onto the Peoria TT race next weekend, which I am really looking forward to.

    Until next time, G'Day! Joe