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The peristyle and triple-jump took a toll on Cruse's rehabbing vertebrae.
Team K&N Rider/Suzuki City's Sherri Cruse's first return to racing after a back injury was X Games 16, her first X Games and according to Cruse, it wasn't her best showing. And for good reason, during the first outdoor race of the season Cruse fractured her T7 and T8 vertebrae, along with severely spraining her wrist.
Team K&N Rider/Suzuki City's Sherri Cruse's first race back after her injury was the physically daunting 2010 X Games.
"Rehab has taken longer then I really wanted," says Cruse. "The hardest part was not being active, or on the bike. I am just now getting back to my full training schedule and it's the end of August, but things are going great."
The first X Game practice was on Wednesday at the Los Angeles Coliseum and it went well enough. But, there are two triple-jumps right after the start, which comes right after a long runway down the peristyle, and it has an extreme steep face and landing, and that took a toll on Cruse.
The peristyle and triple-jump took a toll on Cruse's rehabbing vertebrae.
The peristyle jump takes riders 120 feet from the floor to the top of the stadium, between the infamous arched columns (hence the name peristyle), where riders then make a U-turn and launch back onto the stadium floor. It's an impressive feature and unique in Supercross racing, and it can be brutal to riders even in the peak of conditioning.
The second practice was cut short due to a delay in the schedule, and the third was a timed-qualifier.
"I had some issues with my back hurting and just was not feeling like myself during the timed qualifier," said Cruse. "I used the time to try to learn some of the rest of the track, but I was not doing the triples. My qualifying time was off from where it really should have been."
The race was held on Thursday and was carried live on ESPN. Cruse had the outside gate, which was a disadvantage in her opinion. And because of the live television coverage there wasn't time for a sight lap though, but the track hadn't been ridden much so it was fine. Cruse says she was pumped for the race, much more then she had been for practice.
"I got a good jump off the gate and a decent start, running in third or fourth. Right after the first rhythm section I was high in the berm, and another racer came in and slammed into me. We both crashed. My throttle was stuck in the other bike's rear spokes. Her bike kept running, mine died, and I was in dead last. I got going again, but the main event was only six laps (a little over six minutes), and I finished a disappointing eighth."
"The X Games really put me in check - I thought I was ready," remarked Cruse. "Although I struggled in some of the practices, when it came to race time, my adrenaline really kicked in. I was still stoked to be a part of the event though."
Cruse grew up racing motocross and then switched to the World of Off Road Championship Series (WORCS) for a while. She won the Women's Pro WORCS in 2006.
"I went pro in the outdoors after that and focused again on riding moto-cross. I had ridden a lot of arenacross style tracks growing up, so I was pretty excited for the X Games. I rode the Women's Super X the first year they ran it, which was 2008, and I took home a Silver medal. That was one of the biggest moments for me."
There are three races left in the WMX Nationals that Cruse plans on racing in next. "I might do a few WORCS races in the fall too," adds Cruse. "I just started riding and training with Destry Abbott (professional motorcycle racer with successful clinic in Glendale, Arizona) and I think that will end up being really helpful."
It was another unplanned occurrence that put Brown behind the wheel of a vintage 1971 Alfa Romeo T33 at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion.
"Actually it was quite a ride. I had just finished doing the season prep on the car and upgraded it with a new sequential transmission. I wasn't scheduled to race the Morgan that weekend and I just happened to get thrown into the car about ten minutes before the Sunday morning warm-up.
Shaking down a steering issue in the LS7 powered Morgan Aero 8 GTR is how Paul Brown got seated in the car. A first in class and fourth overall at the Road America road race was the result.
Those were my first laps in the car since last year, not to mention the new combination, and holy crap, what a difference! It's such a well balanced car that is just a joy to drive... good power, great breaks, awesome handling and the light weight makes it a real contender."
That's K&N sponsored Paul Brown commenting about piloting his LS7 powered Morgan Aero 8 GTR to a first in class and fourth overall at the Road America road race run at Elkhart lake, Wisconsin, all the while battling against the big dogs.
"I started fifth in a really strong and diverse field, with everything on track from a Le Mans winning Audi R8, to Trans Am series tube chassis cars, and Daytona Prototypes."
The ultra lightweight Alfa Romeo with a 3.0L V8 that revs to 9500 rpm, was it's like driving a big shifter cart according to Brown.
"I took the Morgan quickly to the front and proceeded to battle a Trans Am car, and JC France in his Daytona Prototype, lap-after-lap. We all ran very close and clean the whole race. I bobbled late in the race and let JC France get by in his DP car, so I ended up finishing fourth overall and first in class by almost 20 seconds," adds Brown, indicating that if not for his slight driving gaffe, he would have been standing third on the overall podium.
Brown has had an intimate relationship with performance and racing for well over 25 years, he satiates those desires through racing and as General Manager for Tiger Racing. Brown has competed against some of the best drivers in road racing, finishing in the top-ten in over half of the events he's entered.
It was a fortuitous steering problem during the Road America race, however, that not only kept him intensely focused throughout the experience, but it was the very reason he was in the Morgan in the first place.
"Yeah, a problem with the steering rack is how I got put into the car. We had an issue with the power steering rack and it turned out that it was bleeding pressure past one of the seals. This caused the steering to be a little vague. Left was fine, right was a guess for most of the race. I just had to take my time and feel out the steering before I committed to the turns. It was a little unnerving a couple of times, but I quickly adapted to the situation and concentrated on the race."
"K&N has been a fantastic company to work with both on the product side with the superior quality of their filters, but also on the technical side with the depth and knowledge of its staff," articulates Brown.
"I have had many conversations with K&N's technical department on almost all aspects of our race engines, which has helped us work through many issues over the years."
Regarding his schedule for the rest of the season Brown says, "Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the Ultimate Track Car Challenge this year. It came down to bad timing... too many events back-to-back, and we just couldn't work out the logistics. This did open up an opportunity for me to race a vintage 1971 Alfa Romeo T33 at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion. That little Alfa is a killer car. Ultra lightweight with a 3.0L V8 that revs to 9500 rpm, it's like driving a big, shifter cart."
"As with all "vintage" cars, it seems that you're always chasing glitches," continues Brown.
"This time it was the Lucas mechanical fuel injection. Even with the problems, we managed to put on a hell of a show running from 15th to third, and posting fastest lap by almost two seconds in the '66-70 FIA group. Then we also ran with more modern cars in the '71-76 FIA group, where I piloted the T33 from 25th to seventh. I had a lot of fun sliding the car around in front of the crowd while moving towards the front. They seemed to enjoy it too."
For the last part of the season Brown says he is honored to drive the K&N G35 in the Redline Time Attack Series, plus he will try to fit in the NASA National at Miller Motorsport Park.
We are also finalizing the details on a return to the SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge Series for next year with a possible end of the year debut at Miller in October," says a thoroughly booked-up Brown. "I'll keep you posted."
When asked how he got involved in racing Chris had to take a pause and consider. "I guess you could say I was born into it. Dad's been runnin' since he was 17, and I've been around it my whole life. I started in Legend's cars when I turned 14" says Gerchman.
Gerchman says he started in Legend's cars when he turned 14"
A couple years later, he moved into the modified class, and as his successes progressed moved up to a modified where he currently runs with the Lucas Oil series. During the first race of this years' season, he destroyed his car due to what turned out be a pit error. They scrambled to get the car back together before race two, and succeeded. That scramble certainly paid off. He has won the last four out of five races, setting a record in his class for number of wins in a row by the same driver. He is sitting 2nd in points, and is only behind by four points with five more races to go.
When discussing some of his favorite moments, Chris shared that he recently ran in a shootout race that did not include points, just dollars at his first race at the Toyota Speedway. He started at the back of the pack, and with three laps to go, had managed to move into 3rd place against two seasoned heavy hitters. One was racing at his home track, and won had 25 wins behind him. Twice he was close to making a final pass to take the lead, and twice the 1 & 2 leaders made moves that caused caution flags and restarts. He's pretty pumped about what could easily have been.
When discussing what the future holds, Gerchman says "We have bought a Super Late, and are hoping to be ready by the end of the year for a test drive at the showdown race at Irwindale's Toyota Speedway, and maybe then move into some Camping World West type of racing." Long term, his goal is to continue to race professionally, paying his own way until he makes it to the top. Chris' confidence is well founded. He has already made a name for himself in a very short period of time.
He was introduced to Bob Harris of K&N by a friend of a friend, and two years ago they became a product sponsor. "I absolutely love their products," says Chris. "They are the best in the business. I use their air & oil filters, as well as their breathers for the crank case. K&N is a true friend to the racer."
(Left to Right) The Williams racing family Cody, Rip and Austin (not pictured is Logan).
Rip and Becky Williams from Orange, California have three sons, Cody 21, Austin 20 and Logan 15 Growing up the boys spent a good deal of time working on their dad's cars at the shop and in the pits. There dad, Rip Williams, is a Hall of Fame Sprint Car racer inducted just last year.
The Williams family and the John Jory Motorsports family have now been working partners for twelve years.
When Rip suffered a broken foot in a 2008 season opening crash, John Jory Motorsports team owner Jack Jory said, "Let's put Cody in the car." When Rip was healed and ready to return mid-season, Jory said, "We'll run two cars."
Cody went on to be named Sprint Car Hall of Fame Co-Rookie of the Year. Rip jokes that Cody made the H.O.F. in his first year and it took the Ripper thirty-one years. This year, Austin joined the Jory team in a third car.
The John Jory Motorsports team has been together for 16 years. Rip has won over 60 main events for John Jory. This would include CRA, SCRA and USAC/CRA. The Williams family and the Jory family have now been working partners for twelve years
Austin has been racing USAC/CRA for two years. Just like Cody and now Logan, he started racing Ford Focus with Hall of Famer Wally Pankratz. Austin was named Rookie of the Year from Victorville Raceway and also received USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year honors in 2009. On July 24, 2010, Austin won his first main event ever at Victorville. He said it felt really good to get his first win. Cody and Austin now only need 103 more wins in order to catch their dad.
This is Cody's third year of racing with USAC/CRA. Cody won his first main event last November at Victorville's Turkey Night. In 2008 he was the North American Rookie of the year. Cody's best finish this year until recently was with USAC/CRA at Petaluma, coming home in second place. That is until last Saturday, which is when Cody notched his second ever main event victory, once again in Victorville Raceway in Victorville, California. For the time being Logan, the youngest hot-gun Williams racer, will remain under the tutelage of Wally Pankratz.
"Our K&N filters have been the best," remarked Becky. "When the engine builder breaks the engines down, there is no dirt in there, and they are easy to take care of."
Rip says he feels good that his sons have been there with him, learning and working to prepare the racecars. That time in the shop together is an opportunity for father and sons to bond, and allows dad to give one-on-one time with each, passing on the knowledge he gained through hard knocks, and also gleaned from some of the masters of the sport. Cody is now learning to fabricate Midgets at the Edmunds facility.
The Williams' plan for the future is to keep racing with John Jory Motorsports. "Hopefully the economy will get better and there will be more cars on the track," say Becky. "We all plan to go as far as our talent will take us."
Falken Tire podium sweep at Formula Drift Round 5. Photo By: Larry Chen of DriftFotos.com.
Formula Drift teams and drivers slid into Sin City to play their hand at Formula Drift Round 5, which took place at a custom-built, high-speed-entry course at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was a scorcher all weekend, but the extreme temperatures were not going to stop Formula Drift's finest from competing for the gold. Nor did the heat stop a sold-out crowd from packing the stands in order to catch their favorite drivers in some up-close drifting action.
Very first Formula Drift win for Tyler McQuarrie. Photo By: Larry Chen of DriftFotos.com.
Earning his first Formula Drift win ever on Saturday was Tyler McQuarrie and the Falken Tire/Autosport Dynamics Nissan 350Z. With Tyler's 1st place finish in the second-ever Falken Tire podium sweep, he was able to move into the top 10 overall for the Formula Drift Championship points chase.
Tyler's 1st place did not come easily, as he went for a One-More-Time with Michael Essa in the top 32 before advancing on. Then he had to battle his way through Falken Tire teammate Darren McNamara in the top 8, and then on to defeat the event's 2nd place qualifier, Conrad Grunewald.
Tyler McQuarrie and the Falken Tire/Autosport Dynamics Nissan 350Z. Photo By: Larry Chen of DriftFotos.com.
He moved in to the semi-finals to battle Tony Brakohiapa and after proving victorious, he went on to meet another Falken Tire teammate - Daijiro Yoshihara - in the finals. Tyler would take the win after his competitor forfeited due to car failure.
With two wins under his belt so far this season, Daijiro Yoshihara and the Falken Tire/Discount Tire Nissan 240SX S13 came to Las Vegas in 3rd place overall in the chase for the Championship, only a few points behind Tanner Foust in second. Defeating every competitor he came across at Round 5, except for McQuarrie, Dai would take the 2nd place spot atop the podium. He also gained some crucial Championship points, and with Foust ending his night early in the top 16, Dai was able to pass him in the overall standings and take the 2nd place position.
Going into Round 5, Vaughn Gittin Jr. and the Monster Energy/Falken Tire 2011 Ford Mustang built by Autosport Dynamics were 1st in points overall, and after taking 3rd place at the event, he managed to maintain his points lead leaving Las Vegas. Vaughn's chance of moving on to the finals was shut down by Daijiro when they battled in the semi-finals. Vaughn moved in to the consolation round to go head-to-head with Tony Brakohiapa, whom he quickly defeated.
Vaughn has now podiumed 4 out of 5 Formula Drift rounds thus far this season; taking 1st place in Long Beach, 2nd place in Atlanta, 2nd place in New Jersey, and now 3rd place in Las Vegas. Now 22 points ahead of Dai - who has now podiumed 3 out of the 5 events - and only two events in the season left to go, it is going to be quite an exciting road to the Championship!
Tyler McQuarrie, Dai Yoshihara, and Vaughn Gittin Jr. all use K&N filters on their Formula Drift competition cars. "The key to four podiums and leading the Championship this season is communication, consistency, and reliability" says Vaughn. "Not only do I need to keep my driving top-notch, but my team and my car need to be consistent as well. The reliability of using K&N air and oil filters allows me to keep my mind focused on driving, and not on the car."
Next up on the Formula Drift tour is Round 6 at Infineon Raceway September 10-11 in Sonoma, California.
