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2007 is here and starts another season at YJR Racing. After struggling with engine problems for most of 06 changes have
been made, Speedwerks in Dover Delaware built a 2mm over engine and modified an Ontario header over the winter. Hopefully
this alleviates the problems and brings competitive power for the new season.
To go with the new motor we went with a new look. After 5 years of the White, Blue, Red color scheme, this year it is
all Royal Blue to better match the team colors. Check back here for updates.
VIR
March 10-11, 2007
First time out with the new motor. The first two practices of the season went reasonably well with some minor clutch
adjustment problems.When race time came for V6LW I got a terrible start as the clutch was like a light switch. I was last
off the line and fought back to seventh. After adjusting the clutch again I got another horrible start in Sunday's DSB race.
I was able to pass a few bikes and get back to 12th in DSB, 29 of 47 overall. Not bad as DSB was the lower class in the race.Time
for new clutch plates and springs. It was fun to have a weekend with very few mechanical problems after last years battles.
Carolina Motorsports Park
April 14-15, 2007
Another visit to one of my favorite tracks. Saturday brought two rounds of practice and the Formula 40 race. The clutch
was much better after a change of plates and springs. I am always by far the smallest bike in this class but I was able to
hang with the other lightweight experts until we caught the Heavyweight amatures. The other lightweights with bigger bikes
were able to work the traffic better and I lost touch but it was still fun to pass some of the big bikes. I got a fourth,
one off the podium. The weather was very theatening Saturday night. They kept announcing that they would blow the tornado
siren for one minute. That would be your only warning, head for one of the block structures. Fortuately it never got to that
point.
Sunday brought monsoon rains but I had the best race of my life even though I did not win. Ultra lightweight
Superbike was the third race of the day. It was raining so I had put duct tape covering my face below the eyes to the helmet
to prevent
fogging. On the warm-up lap the tape came loose and was in my eye. I tried
fixing it as I rode but by the
time I got to the line the one board was up.
I could not get my helmet re-hooked with my gloves on. When they threw the
flag I put my hand up and pushed off into the grass. I took off my gloves,
hooked my helmet, put on my gloves and
took off. I carried the front wheel
the whole length of the front straight. I did not know the little 400 could
do
it. I thought about just riding around for points as I was about 35
seconds back, but decided to push for a few laps and
see what happened. It
was real wet but not raining hard. Aftrer two laps I could tell I was
gaining. When I went past
the pit wall people were cheering and signaling
that I was catching up. Every lap there were more people out on the wall
cheering. I was going so deep into the corners that the rear wheel would
lift, the bike would shake and when I thought
I could not hold it I let off
the brakes and turned in. I made my way up to about 3 seconds off second
place at the
white flag. I caught him half way through the lap. He put a
slight block on me but I got by going into 8. I tried to get
on the gas
early on the las corner(14) and had a big slide and had to back off. He got
a better drive but I beat him
to the line by a foot.
When I came back in after the cool down lap I had about 15 people waiting
for me at pit
in. It was the most fun I have had racing.
VIR
Alton Virginia
June 23/24, 2007
After the rough weekend at RRR I was looking forward to getting out again. During the break I fabricated a set of shorter
dog bones to raise the back of the bike. This is because of the 2mm taller profile of the new Bridgestone design. I raised
the rear 5mm and raised the front an additional 2mm for a net change, including the tire of 1mm higher in the rear.
First practice was great. The response to the 1mm change was unbelievable. It dove into corners and I set a new personal
best in practice. And was running four lap averages at my previous best. I ran Formula 40 on Saturday. I am the smallest bike
in the class but it is fun to pass some of the big bikes. I was 25th out of 36 bikes. I went out for the lone Sunday
practice and felt something odd in the brakes. As I went under the bridge I decided I would run off at seven where there is
a lot of room as opposed to trust the brakes and have a problem. It was a wise choice as the brakes locked when I stopped.
I got some excitement as a corner worker ran onto the track to assist me and spooked 3 riders, one of whom was Nate Kern,
who ended up running off directly at me. After a ride back to the paddock the brakes seemed fine. I cleaned everything and
rode on the infield roads trying to make the problem reoccur. It finally did, somehow the master cylinder was not returning
fluid. I put on a spare master cylinder and bled the brakes and things seemed good.
The Ultra-lightweight race was the last of the day so it was a long wait. When the race started I got my usual crappy start
and was in 4th. The first two bikes were pulling away but I was swapping third and fourth sometimes twice a lap.
I was tucked in as tight as I could and looked up as I passed under the flagstand only to see a black flag. I put up an arm
and stopped at the turn one corner worker station. I assumed they had seen a problem with my brake repair. I asked the worker
what was up. She said, "What’s your number?" I told her and she said, "GO! GO! GO!". After some choice curse words I
took off in pursuit of 3rd. I never saw him again. At the end of the race I went t the steward and was told they
were after the guy I was racing against. He was leaking fluid. That’s is why I did not see him again. The pulled him
over a few corners after I stopped so I still ended up third.
Not a perfect weekend but still better than RRR.
Roebling Road Raceway
Savannah, GA
June 10-11, 2007
The weekend started well. Friday was Yustin’s elementary school
graduation, so I had the day off work. There was a very nice ceremony that lasted from 9:30 till about 11:00am. We all went
to a celebratory lunch and decided to get an early start to Roebling. Good thing we got an early start as things went downhill
fast. About 15 miles into the trip the motor home blew the inside left rear tire. We limped about 5 miles to the Carowinds
parking lot where it was thought there would be a good place to change the tire. There was plenty of space but twice men seeking
my companionship approached me. Who knew I was so attractive? After refusing their offers I was told that this is a meeting
place for those activities. I finished the tire change and left them to their “fun?” A friend later told me I
should have told them I enjoyed watching a man change a tire. Could have saved some hard work. With no luck in finding a new
spare after several detours through back roads we rolled into Roebling, 6 hours after we left on our 4-hour trip.
On
Saturday there were two rounds of practice. I decided to skip the afternoon race so I could find a tire for the motor home.
I was running an ignition box from a 600 as none of my 400 boxes wanted to work. It was also my first time out on the new
Bridgestone tire with a different profile and compound as well as my first time on the new pavement. In addition it was 98
and humid. The combination proved more than I could deal with as times were atrocious. The rev limiter was hitting at the
worst possible times and the bike would not turn I located another 400 rider and asked if we could test my igniters on his
bike at the end of the day. He agreed so we set out to find a tire. 4 hours and six stores later we had a tire.
Mark
Avery, the other 400 rider, was nice enough to test my ignition boxes that evening and proved they were good. I was able to
track down a short in a non-essential circuit and eliminate the problem Thanks Mark you saved me a lot of grief. I went to
sleep with one of the three problems fixed.
Sunday brought one round of practice and the race. I was able to use the
practice to learn the new pavement but the bike still would not turn with the new tire. After consulting a few people I found
out I needed to drop the front end to help with the new tire. There was no time left before the race so I had to duffer through.
There were three other bikes in the race in my class. I was able to beat one to get a podium and escaped the rest of the weekend
with no further drama.
A new set of suspension links will be formed to raise the rear as opposed to lower the front
and see if we can get the bike to turn like it used to. We will find out in two weeks at VIR.
Carolina Motorsports Park
Kershaw,
SC
July 21, 2007
This being the weekend of the big Harry Potter book seven release, the racing
took a back seat. After going to the book party on Friday and not arriving home till after 1AM it was up at 5AM and on the
road by 5:20. Being a busy weekend and close to home I decided to run only the practices and V6LW race on Saturday. Since
there was no overnight it was a chance to try out the new Nissan Titan as a tow vehicle. It did a great job and made that
early morning run much easier.
I arrived at the track just as the gates opened and signed-in in a hurry hoping to
get a spot with some electric. After rushing through registration and tech I asked to be put in the vintage practice group.
The Vintage group was scheduled later than lightweight and I wanted some time to get settled. First practice was great and
I felt really comfortable on the bike. The lack of sleep was taking its toll and during the second practice, with the slower
vintage bikes, a novice rider ran me off track in the carousel. I stayed up so no harm, no foul but I did need some food and
a nap. I grabbed lunch, and napped in the sun till my race was called. I once again got a poor start but stayed with the lead
pack. I was able to pass one bike to take third position. The rest of the race was like being on a bungee cord as I made and
lost time on the second place rider. I actually had the faster lap but could not overcome the gap he opened due to my poor
start. I did set a personal best lap so third was ok. Best of all I got to go home and sleep in my own bed.
Barber Motorsports Park
Birmingham, Al.
August 11=12, 2007
Barber offers a twin sprint weekends where the same classes run on both Saturday and Sunday. Temperatures on the tarmac
reached 120F so I was glad I had my new Nissan Titan and was staying in a motel to escape the heat. Barber is more of a rider’s
track with less emphasis on power. In the all-important ULWT Superbike a Ducati 800 won both days but I was able to Improve
from third on Saturday to second on Sunday. I also improved my personal best lap time.
Saturday LWTF40 - 6
Saturday ULWSB - 3
Sunday ULWSB - 2
Jennings GP
Jennings, FL
September 8-9, 2007
My first visit to this track. I got in about 1am Saturday morning. Saturday was practice all day so I slept late and skipped
the first round. The new clutch I installed slipped so I kept disassembling it and roughing the plates between sessions. I
went out for three sessions and learned my way around the track. Once I felt comfortable with the track I parked it to save
the clutch for race day. On race day the clutch began to slip after about two laps but I was able to finish mid pack, 6 out
of 10. It was a fun track but a long 8.5-hour drive.
VIR
Alton, Va.
September 22-23, 2007
Back in the motorhome with my pit crew Yustin. After putting the old clutch back in the problem was gone. A new problem
surfaced. After the first practice session I was summoned to tech for trailing smoke. I looked down and saw oil on my boot.
A look on the belly pan revealed a small pool of oil. The clutch gasket had failed from all of the on and off of the last
two weekends. A little form-a-gasket and I was back in business and set a new personal best.
LWTF40 - 10
ULWSB - 5
This marks the end of the regular season. Second in points in ULWTSB
Off to Daytona for the season finale and vacation.
Daytona - Race of Champions
October 18,19,20,21 2007
Daytona is unique in Many ways. It is a different track to ride, a different style of paddock, and a different
atmosphere. I go to Daytona knowing that I am at a huge disadvantage with my size but it is still a great deal of fun if I
go in with the right attitude.
We look at it as a vacation for the whole family. This year some friends went with us, and the schedule was spread out
so there was time for fun as well as racing. We got into town on Thursday morning and went straight to the track for sign
in and set-up. It was a paid practice day that I was not participating in so we took our time and got through tech as well.
I am usually alone at tech so it was nice having the extra hands to help with leathers, etc.
I had a schedule of Friday 2 practices in the AM, free the rest of the day, Saturday practice and race in the AM, free
the rest of the day, Sunday practice and race in the AM. With the open schedule we were able to visit Main Street for the
sights and spend some time in the sun on the beach.
Friday’s practice went well and I started to reacquaint myself with the banking. It is scary and fun at the same
time. Saturday brought rain. My scheduled race was Formula 40 and I am severely outgunned in that class. Cathy and I decided
I would be smart to sit that one out and wait till Sunday for the hopefully dry ULWSB race. After watching the F40 race it
looked like a smart decision as over half of the field crashed out. It cleared up and we were off to the beach.
Sunday brought iffy weather but I knew I would race either way, I just wanted to have the right tires on. I stayed with
slicks and the rain held off so it was fine. After my traditionally poor start I was chasing down another rider for several
laps until we caught a slower rider that had gotten a better start than we did. We got a little separated as we worked our
way past the slower rider. I put my head down on the last lap and was making a little progress when in the west horseshoe
the backend let loose. I went for a huge slide and when it caught I was thrown up out of the seat. Somehow I landed back on
the bike and kept going. I just rode it back to the line from there. I finished 6th in a field of 11. When I got
back to the west horseshoe on the cool down lap one section of the grand stand was standing, giving me an ovation, laughing
and thumbs up. I was laughing inside my helmet all the way back to the paddock. It was a good end to a good season.
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| Reynolds on Main Street |
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| Main Street Sights |
My friend Reynolds enjoying the main street action
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