SORCS Round 7 Madisonville Tennessee

Back On Track in Tennessee

Round Seven of the SORCS series is history, and what a wild race!
The Tennessee track was great, I heard several people comment on the course and many said it was the best track yet. A big congrats goes out to Eddie and the entire SORCS team for a great job. Everyone worked really hard to keep everything running smooth. The biggest thing everyone had to deal with during the race was the heat. The heat was really bad during the race. It was very hot and lots of people were struggling with heat and dehydration. But hey, you can't do anything about the weather but enjoy it.

The night before the race, Madisonville got a hard rain and on Sunday morning, upon arriving at the track, we saw lots of mud everywhere, and with a big crowd, parking was at a premium. Phil scoped out a good spot, but it was muddy everywhere. We did eventually get the pits setup and got down to business.

First things first, When the green flag dropped for the Fourstroke B start, Cam got a great holeshot! Going into the first turn, he held of several attempts at passes and almost gave Brenda a heart attack! He stretched out going into the second turn and kept it on 4 wheels (almost). He led the whole field down into the motocross section. On the first lap, the field was tight with Zach Lovell overtaking Cam in a motocross turn. Scott got a horrible start and came off the line in last. Going into the wood section, it was Zach, Cam and Scott. The track was a mix of tight woods, a motocross section, a grass field and plenty of off-camber action. Going into a sweeping off-camber turn, Zach's quad got sideways and Zach had a tremendous getoff! I think he flipped about 3 times. He was OK and remounted in third place. Going into the motocross section for the second lap it was Scott followed closely by Cam, Zach was in third place and Jody Waldroup was in forth. Jody ran into some problems on the first lap when someone crashed in front of him and the quad landed on the rider. Jody stopped to help the downed rider and then continued on. That put him at a disadvantage but it was certainly nice of him to stop and help a downed rider. After the second lap, everything settled down for some good fast, technical racing.

Everyone was cutting fast lap times on the last two laps. Scott stretched out his lead significantly, while Cam maintained a good pace to secure second. Zach charged hard and did a good job of overcoming the crash. When the checkered flag dropped, it was Scott taking first place, Cam came home second, and Zach got a well deserved third place, especially after his crash. A lot of people would have probably dropped out after a crash like that but Zach kept it going for a good finish. Overall, Cam's bike handled great, he rode really hard and got a good finish. Scott was smooth and fast. It is deceiving how fast he is! He was also trying out some new jetting and suspension settings and worked with those during the race. The competition has been really good in their class and I am really proud of their determination and skill during this series. They are really maturing as riders and it is showing on the track. Cam was stoked after the race. That holeshot really got him going and gave him a big confidence boost. Scott really enjoyed the race and said the temperature really didn't play into the outcome of the finish. It's nice to have a race that you can really enjoy and not have any major problems. The last couple of races, before Tennessee, have been a stuggle for Scott with suspension problems, bent tie-rods, and crashes, but he has ridden smart and minimized the problems for good overall results. In the Fourstoke B class, Austin Allen finished fourth and Jody Waldroup claimed the top 5 position. In the overall, Scott placed 6th and Cam placed 8th.

Richie Brown had a good race in the Pro class and finished in second place. I think he led for several laps. Ryan Morphew took first place in the Pro class. Derek Robinson got 1st place in his class, and fourth overall. Ty Blair finished second in his class. Scott Insinna had mechanical problems and was forced to drop out with a broken radiator fan. Overheating was a real concern for bikes and humans at this race!

Sean Callahan got another first place finish in his class and his son Blake finished fourth. Good job Blake! Both Phil Bearden and Phil Griffin took home second place trophies in their respective classes. Phil Bearden came in the pits after the race with a course marker stuck between the carb and the rear shock. It looked like someone had tried to exorcise his bike! Phil Griffin was sporting some really neat riding gear! Phil G tried to ride a good conservative race. He said he didn't want to do anything stupid and not be able to pick up that new KTM 300EXC from Neely's. He said he was scheduling a day to pick it up and a day to break it in. Phil, if you have trouble with your schedule and can't break it in, I VOLUNTEER!!! That would be a tough job, but I would be willing to sacrifice for a friend :-) !!!!

Brenda was all over the track getting some great pictures. The dust was hinderance all day while trying to shoot, but she still got some awsome pics. When the race was over, everyone was orange all over, and Brenda & I were still orange when we went into Wendy's to get a bag of burgers for our long trip home. You can get some really strange stares when going into a resturant when you are orange from head to toe! If you don't believe it, just try it sometimes.

Well, that wraps up Round 7. We all made it home in time for a decent nights sleep, and headed off to work or school. We are very thankful for a safe trip and safe race for all. It is always good to see your racing friends and spend a little time with them. We can't wait for Aonia!