Prescott, Arizona

The third AMA Grand National Pro Singles race was at a brand new mile track over 2000 miles from home in Prescott, Arizona. Since we were at a new track and the AMA was trying out new chemicals on the surface for the first time, Steve Morehead and Mike Kidd decided to give us two free practices followed by two qualifying practices. The first session we just tried out the track and got the feel for the surface. In the second session my team and I started looking at the times and tried to determine what the track was going to do for the third and fourth session. Overall in qualifying and practice I landed a front row heat race start by qualifying 12th.

Photo by: Tom Hnatiw

In the heat I had last pick on the front row and the fastest qualifier picked up high so I had bottom pick closest to the infield. I got on awesome jump into one. I actually had the hole shot, but Jeffrey Carver quickly got by me by carrying more momentum on the outside. I started to settle in and really try and make clean laps. Turn one and two I struggled through all day because it was a dry and dusty with really no groove or racing line forming. Turn three and four were awesome, you could go as fast as you felt comfortable to and it was a lot similar to our traditional mile like Springfield. Coming to the checkered I was in 5th place. I was losing so much time in turn two I just was not comfortable. After the checkered however is when bad luck came into play. Crawford got in a little too hot under Labelle and high sided off the back of Labelle. When Crawford and Labelle started sliding, it formed a huge dust wall where I couldn’t see anything, but glimpse of them sliding. All that was going through my mind was I don’t want to run either of them over because that would not be too cool going this fast especially. Well before I knew I ran head on into the air fence. I did a couple of flips and landed on top of the air fence knocking my head off the track outer rail. My head felt fine, but I immediately got pain in knee and in my hand. I started thinking there is no way I am going in the ambulance after traveling for 33 hours straight to get here, so I got up and hobbled my way back onto the back of a bike to get transported back to my pits.

My team got quickly to work after I gave them the ok to and they started getting ready for the main. I was just very happy in a way that it was after the checkered and that I didn’t have to ride a semi to make the main. After getting the bike back together after robbing parts off of my brother’s bike, we started analyzing some things with the bike and made some radical changes for the main.

In the main I lined up on the second row. I had an ok start, but going into turn one and two a huge dust ball formed again, so I dropped back some to give myself some clean air. After the halfway flags came out and the track was clear, I started putting my head down because I could actually see and started making up places I lost. I got all the way up the 13th from last in six laps. I was super happy with myself because not only was the bike starting to come around, but I was also riding in pain. My mechanic Rich Hanson actually had to help me get on the bike for the main and help me get off of it after the main. I got some valuable points to finally put me in points and overall after a little bad luck I was happy with my performance. After being home for a couple weeks now, I am going to get my knee checked out next week because it’s still bothering me. Other then my knee I feel fine now and it’s just a precaution reason that I am doing it because there isn’t any way that I will miss Springfield in a couple weeks. Thanks for everyone’s support and I’ll see everyone in Springfield!

-Shayna Texter