This week the team gathered at the famous Sunday Creek Raceway to once again take on the woods of Ohio.  The Wiseco John Penton has not only become a staple on the GNCC circuit, but a regular stop for team SBR as well.  Although the weather for race day was definitely hot, it was a much more bearable heat than in years past.  The open field sections were plagued with dust but once you reentered the woods you were greeted with some great racing conditions.  I’d say lady luck was on our side when it came to the weather, but she was pretty selective when it came to the results. 

So, do you want the good news or the bad news first?  Good news it is!  The Derisi Racing backed Honda of Colton White put on an exciting show this weekend.  Each race that Colton attends he gains a little more experience, acquires a few more skills, and learns from whatever mistakes he made.  Ending the day with a 1st place in the Sport 15+ class, we are looking forward to watching him work again in 2 weeks.  Silver Masters 55+ rider Donnie Pruett finds himself on a four race-winning streak.  Donnie has always done well in tough conditions where smart riding is critical, so let’s see if he can put the #920 Quadtech backed Honda on top again at Snowshoe.  Vet B rider Dan Webb once again put in some solid work and wound of taking home a 9th place finish for the day.  Dan is sitting 4th in points, which should give him a front row advantage for the in town start coming up.

In reality we shouldn’t call it bad news just bad luck.  24+C rider Jason Gautier began his race by taking the 3rd position on lap 1, but on lap 3 he experienced a mechanical issue causing the quad to overheat.  Making the decision to save the machine, Jason ended his day 18th in the class.  16-18C rider Daniel Gwinn also experienced a race ending mechanical issue.  Just a few minutes into lap 1 he began losing power until the quad just refused to run.  There is no doubt that Daniel will view this as a learning experience and continue to push him each race.  As for me, Vet B rider Cliff Vowell, I never made it into the woods.  As the class made their way through turn 4 the racing tightened up and I ended up slamming into the barrier and hitting the ground.  Thankfully the only thing I injured was my pride, but I can’t say the same for the quad.  A broken spindle means a phone call to the great folks at Waynesburg Yamaha and some work before Snowshoe.

That just about sums it up for the Slightly Bent Racing crew from Ohio.  You win some and you lose some, but at the end of the day we all went home safe.  With the Snowshoe race just around the corner some of us have wrenching to do and others will be practice riding in preparation for the rugged West Virginia Mountains.  We wish everyone safe travels and look forward to seeing you in 2 weeks! 

We would like to thank our team sponsors for helping to make 2014 possible:  BRM Offroad Graphics - Discobed - Fly Racing - Honda of East Toledo - Leatt

We would also like to thank those companies who have sponsored some of our individual riders:  Axis - Combs Powersports - Derisi Racing - Elka - FasstCo/Flexx - Fox - Gaerne - GT Thunder - Hinson - Hiper - HMF - Houser - IMS - ITP - Lonestar - Mark’s Offroad - PowerMadd - Protaper - Quadtech - Streamline Brakes - United Cycle - Waynesburg Yamaha - Wiseco