Dominguez Turns Up the Heat in Hallett; Howard Lowers the Lap Record

The Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association (CMRA) returned to Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in Hallett, Oklahoma this past weekend, marking its seventh event of the of the ten event race season. Riders were greeted with typical summer weather in Oklahoma, mostly sunny with blistering temperatures: officially it was 100 degrees F on Saturday and 102 degrees F on Sunday, with the heat index hovering near 110 degrees F for both days. However, while the weather was on everyone’s mind before the races, after the race weekend was over, the general consensus from those that were there was that the only thing hotter than the weather over the weekend was the action on the track. The weekend drew 466 total entries, with 414 Mini and Big Bike sprint entries, 25 Mini endurance teams, and 27 Big Bike endurance teams mutually deciding that the oppressive heat was worth gridding up in. The heat didn’t seem to bother the fans much either and quite a few showed up to watch the racing action, including CMRA alum and 2009 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike champion, Danny Eslick. The Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, native made the trip over on Sunday afternoon to visit with some old friends, relax and watch a few races.

August in Oklahoma shows no mercy to either thermometers or leather-clad racers on pavement, and several riders did suffer from various degrees of heat prostration over the weekend, though none seriously. But while the heat was brutally intense for all, Dustin Dominguez proved that he could not only take the heat, but he could turn it up a few degrees when he needed to. Dominguez nearly had the perfect weekend, entering 11 races and winning 10 of them. Dominguez’s wins on Saturday came in the RentMyNinja.com E Superstock race, and the 5-hour Big Bike endurance race, where he, along with teammates Derek Wagnon, Jeremy Kidd, Joe Prussiano and Dustin Meador, rode Dickie McFarland’s Moto Ace GSX-R1000 into victory circle over the always competitive Village Idiots (John Orchard, Chris Headley, Chad Tieszen and Brandon Cleland) on a Yamaha YZF-R6, and the Kawasaki ZX-6R of Lone Star Track Days (Andy Galindo, Garet Tomlinson, Mark Niemi, Chris Romeo and Harry Tomlinson).

Dominguez fell short of a perfect Saturday when Steve Gaspard’s Rheen Racing Too Kawasaki Ninja 250R suffered tire problems in the 2-hour Mini endurance race, costing Dominguez and his teammates, Aaron Gore, Jeff Hughes, Clayton Schutz, Michael Schutz, a chance at the top of the box. But while Rheen Racing Too was having issues, the Team Gleam Honda RS85 of Marcus Beedle, Connor Blevins, Bryan West and Ryan Andrews asserted themselves at the front of the pack, and won over the hard-charging Scary Racing Kawasaki Ninja 250R (Sam Carey, Chris Carey, Brent Wood) and the eurtoast! team (Zeb Harris, James Erwin, Alan Phillips, Tim Barnes, Chase Barnes), also on a Kawasaki Ninja 250R.

But if Saturday was good for Dustin Dominguez, Sunday was even better, as he won every race he entered, although it wasn’t always easy. As usual, Dominguez, who races both a Kawasaki ZX-6R and Suzuki SV650 in Big Bike sprints, came under pressure from Darrell (D.J.) Ricks in the SV650 classes. Despite Ricks turning the fastest lap of the two in several races, Dominguez’s strong starts and defensive riding allowed him to maintain the lead and cross the stripe first in every match-up between the two racers.

Dominguez experienced even more pressure when he gridded up on his Kawasaki ZX-6R, only this time the pressure came in the form of 14-year old Jake Lewis. The Princeton, Kentucky native was doing his first CMRA event in over a year, and the first CMRA event ever since moving up to a Honda CBR600RR from 125 Grand Prix bikes and MH250s. Because he had no points with the club in 2010, Lewis was gridded on the back row in all of his races, but wasted little time slicing through the field and making a run at Dominguez who, contrary to Lewis, had the luxury of being gridded on the pole in all of his races. In the three meetings the two riders had on the day, twice Jake Lewis turned the fastest lap of the two, but he ended up short of the win each time. In what was perhaps the most thrilling race of the day, the Island Racing Services – Superbike C Expert race, Lewis himself cranked up the heat and ran down Dominguez before the first lap was completed. The two then put on a show for the crowd and raced virtually side-by-side for the rest of the race. On more than a few occasions the two riders were wheel-to-wheel and bar-to-bar, but the racing was always clean. At the end of the 8 lap race, it was Dominguez who won out over Lewis by the mere 0.100 of a second. After the race, Lewis said, “I think I was faster than Dustin was in a few spots, but he knows how to protect a lead; he can get real wide. In the Bus Stop, he would back it in and I would back it in and we’d be right next to each other, sideways. We almost touched wheels one lap. I couldn’t get by this time, but maybe next time. Still, today was fun.”

At the end of the Sunday, Dominguez would bring home the win in the Exel Transportation – Formula 2 Expert, LMSTrackdays.com – Superstock B Expert, South Central Race Center – Superstock C Expert, Lightweight Twins Expert, Superbike D Expert, Island Racing Services – Superbike C Expert and SASuperbike.com – Superbike B Expert races. Dominguez, who often rides back-to-back races, was really feeling the effects of the heat by the last race of the day, though, and as he sat on his bike under the momentary shade of a tree before taking his place on the grid, he half-jokingly remarked, “I’d like to petition to have this race shortened to four laps. I’m tired.”

While Dustin Dominguez was the big winner on the weekend, he wasn’t the only racer who was burning up an already hot Hallett race track. Ty Howard and his thundering KTM RC8 continued their domination of the RaceworX – Superstock A Expert, AVTEQ – Superbike A Expert and Formula 1 Expert classes. Howard continued his 2010 unbeaten streak at Hallett, but perhaps more notably, he lowered his own lap record for motorcycles at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in the counter-clockwise direction. The previous record was set by Howard in May of this year at 1 1:15.398, but in the Formula 1 Expert race on Sunday, Ty hammered out a 1:15.370 on lap number two as he was came under pressure from Derek Wagon and his Suzuki GSX-R750. Because of the excessive heat, few were expecting a new lap record, but with the season Howard has been having on his Big Orange KTM, smart money never bets against it.

Nemo Cockrell, who won the AMA Roadrace Top Novice at the Road Race Grand Championships at Mid-Ohio last month and then promptly asked to be bumped to Expert from the Novice ranks, suddenly created an opportunity for others to win the Novice races he’s been winning most of the season. Cockrell found the Experts a little more difficult to handle in his first try, but he did have one of the more exciting rides of the day in the Rookie Expert class, a class created for first year Experts. Starting from last spot on the fourth row, the Yamaha YZF-R6 mounted Cockrell slowly and methodically moved towards the front of the field, picking off one rider per lap until the seventh lap when he made a move on Suzuki GSX-R 600 mounted Alonzo Contreras. From there he held off Contreras to win his first race as an Expert by a scant 0.189 seconds.

Another exciting race was the GMAN Productions 125 Grand Prix race, which featured CMRA regular young gun James Camacho, Jr. and another young gun from Mustang, Oklahoma, Austin Medrano. Camacho, Jr. took the point early on but Medrano caught up quickly and a titanic battle for the lead began. The pair swapped the lead several times over the next few laps, and even traded paint a few times. It was Medrano who got the measure of Camacho, Jr. on the last lap, though, and took the victory by a scant 0.185 seconds.

The CMRA returns to Eagles Canyon Raceway in Decatur, Texas on August 27 – 29 for a schedule that includes a 2-hour Mini Endurance race, a 5-hour Big Bike endurance race, and a full slate of Mini sprint races and Big Bike sprint races. For more information about the CMRA, its event schedule, or detailed race results, visit ~www.cmraracing.com~.

CMRA Round 7 – Hallett Motor Racing Circuit Race Results, August 7 and 8, 2010

A Superbike Endurance 1 Moto Ace (Suz GSX-R1000) 2 Mini Haters (Suz GSX-R1000) 3 D2 Cycles (Suz GSX-R1000) 4 ODB’s (Suz GSX-R1000) 5 Too Tall Racing (Kaw ZX-10R) 6 Performance Cycle (Suz GSX-R750)

C Superbike Endurance 1 Village Idiots (Yam YZF-R6) 2 Lone Star Track Days (Kaw ZX-6R) 3 K&S Racing (Hon CBR600RR) 4 Loose Nuts (Yam YZF-R6) 5 SWMO Racers (Suz GSX-R600) 6 ST II (Yam YZF-R6)

Sonic Springs Formula 2 Endurance 1 Faltless Racing (Suz SV650) 2 Team Kamikaze LSTD (Suz SV650) 3 Sonic Springs Racing (Suz SV650) 4 Hellcat Racing (Suz SV650) 5 SV Assassins (Suz SV650) 6 Team EDS (Suz SV650)

Classic Endurance 1 Group Therapy (Hon CBR600F2) 2 Double D Express (Kaw ZX-7R)

Formula 4 Mini Endurance 1 Team Gleam (Hon RS85) 2 Scarey Racing (Kaw EX250) 3 eurtoast! (Kaw EX250) 4 Howlie Boyz (Kaw EX250) 5 Eurtoast II (Kaw EX250) 6 Underground Minis 250 (Kaw EX250)

Formula 5 Endurance 1 Top Dog Racing (Kaw KLX160) 2 Rheen Racing (Apr RS150) 3 J&R Racing (Hon CBR150)

Formula 6 Endurance 1 KSDS (Hon NSR50) 2 Team JP (Hon XR100) 3 Team Duc (Hon NSF100) 4 GPR Racing (Derbi GPR125)

Formula 7 Endurance 1 Underground Minis (Hon NSF100) 2 Spider Monkeys (Hon NSR50)

Jon Broom/Zac Chapman Road to Recovery / Road & Track Suspension Formula 4 1 Marcus Beedle (Hon RS85) 2 Austin Gore (Hon RS150) 3 Ryan Max Johnson (Kaw EX250) 4 Hunter Morgan (Hon RS80) 5 Sam Carey (Kaw EX250) 6 Joey Howells (Kaw EX250)

OnRoad/OffRoad Formula 5 1 Marcus Beedle (Hon RS65) 2 Taylor Myers (Kaw KLX160) 3 Jay Newton (Hon NSF100) 4 Lee Henry (Hon CRF150) 5 Roger Albert (Hon CRF150) 6 Allan Boyd (Hon RS85)

OnRoad/OffRoad Formula 6 1 Roger Albert (Hon XR100) 2 Jay Newton (Hon NSF100) 3 Wyatt Sperry (Hon NSF100) 4 Jonas Valentine (Hon NSR50)

Formula 7 1 Wyatt Sperry (Hon NSF100) 2 Jonas Valentine (Hon NSR50)

RentMyNinja.com E Superstock 1 Dustin Dominguez (Kaw EX250) 2 Ryan Max Johnson (Kaw EX250) 3 Austin Medrano (Kaw EX250) 4 Joey Howells (Kaw EX250) 5 Sam Carey (Kaw EX250) 6 Austin Gore (Kaw EX250)

RaceworX – Superstock A Expert 1 Ty Howard (KTM RC8) 2 William Guthrie (Suz GSX-R1000) 3 Danny Kelsey (Suz GSX-R750) 4 Brian Cox (Hon CBR1000RR) 5 Brent Wood (Yam YZF-R6) 6 Brandt Dillon (Suz GSX-R1000)

LMSTrackdays.com – Superstock B Expert 1 Dustin Dominguez (Kaw ZX-6R) 2 Jake Lewis (Hon CBR600RR) 3 Brandon Cleland (Yam YZF-R6) 4 Danny Kelsey (Suz GSX-R750) 5 Blake Cochran (Suz GSX-R600) 6 Alonzo Contreras (Suz GSX-R600)

South Central Race Center – Superstock C Expert 1 Dustin Dominguez (Kaw ZX-6R) 2 Jake Lewis (Hon CBR600RR) 3 Brandon Cleland (Yam YZF-R6) 4 John Orchard (Yam YZF-R6) 5 David Rice (Kaw ZX-6R) 6 Alonzo Contreras (Suz GSX-R600)

Superstock D Expert 1 Dustin Dominguez (Suz SV650) 2 Darrell Ricks (Suz SV650) 3 Eric Falt (Suz SV650) 4 Shawn Adams (Suz SV650) 5 Michael Martin (Suz SV650) 6 Andrew Sukach (Suz SV650)

AVTEQ – Superbike A Expert 1 Ty Howard (KTM RC8) 2 Derek Wagnon (Suz GSX-R750) 3 Danny Kelsey (Suz GSX-R750) 4 William Guthrie (Suz GSX-R1000) 5 Dewayne Davis (Suz GSX-R1000) 6 Brent Wood (Yam YZF-R6)

SASuperbike – Superbike B Expert 1 Dustin Dominguez (Kaw ZX-6R) 2 Derek Wagnon (Suz GSX-R750) 3 Danny Kelsey (Suz GSX-R750) 4 Brandon Cleland (Yam YZF-R6) 5 John Orchard (Yam YZF-R6) 6 David Rice (Kaw ZX-6R)

Island Racing Services – Superbike C Expert 1 Dustin Dominguez (Kaw ZX-6R) 2 Jake Lewis (Hon CBR600RR) 3 Brandon Cleland (Yam YZF-R6) 4 John Orchard (Yam YZF-R6) 5 Baus Barker (Suz GSX-R600) 6 Tony Ta (Yam YZF-R6)

Superbike D Expert 1 Dustin Dominguez (Suz SV650) 2 Darrell Ricks (Suz SV650) 3 Cameron Kirk (Hon CBR600F3) 4 Bill Erzal (Suz GSX-R600) 5 Eric Falt (Suz SV650) 6 Shawn Adams (Suz SV650)

Heavyweight Twins Expert 1 Ronnie Hay (Duc 1098) 2 Craig Montgomery (Tri Daytona 675) 3 Ted Phillips (Apr RSV1000) 4 Ryan Warren (Tri Day 675) 5 Jeffrey Martin (Duc 848) 6 Conner Blevins (Hon RS250)

Lightweight Twins Expert 1 Dustin Dominguez (Suz SV650) 2 Darrell Ricks (Suz SV650) 3 Eric Falt (Suz SV650) 4 Conner Blevins (Hon RS125) 5 Shawn Adams (Suz SV650) 6 Daniel Adams (Suz SV650)

GMAN Productions 125 Grand Prix 1 Austin Medrano (Hon RS125) 2 James Camacho Jr (Hon RS125) 3 Hunter Morgan (Hon RS125) 4 Conner Blevins (Hon RS125) 5 Brandon Kovach (Hon RS125) 6 Marcus Beedle (Hon RS125)

Formula 1 Expert 1 Ty Howard (KTM RC8) 2 Derek Wagnon (Suz GSX-R750) 3 Brian Cox (Hon CBR1000RR) 4 Dewayne Davis (Suz GSX-R1000) 5 Danny Kelsey (Suz GSX-R750) 6 Ted Phillips (Apr RSV4)

Exel Transportation – Formula 2 Expert 1 Dustin Dominguez (Suz SV650) 2 Darrell Ricks (Suz SV650) 3 James Camacho Jr (Hon RS125) 4 Conner Blevins (Hon RS250) 5 Daniel Adams (Suz SV650) 6 Shawn Adams (Suz SV650)

Formula 40 Heavyweight Expert 1 Brian Cox (Hon CBR1000RR) 2 John Orchard (Yam YZF-R6) 3 Cecil Keeling (Suz GSX-R1000) 4 John Deuser (Suz GSX-R750) 5 Darnell Dorsey (Suz GSX-R1000) 6 Harry Tomlinson (Suz GSX-R750)

Formula 40 Lightweight Expert 1 Richard Kirk (Suz GSX-R600) 2 Eric Falt (Suz SV650) 3 Bill Erzal (Suz GSX-R600) 4 Mike Sweeney (Suz SV650) 5 Michael Martin (Suz SV650) 6 Bill Adams (Suz SV650)

Unlimited Motard 1 Ted Phillips (Apr SXV 5.5) 2 Chris Randle (Hon CRF450) 3 Bruce Crone (Yam YZ250F)

Super Motard 1 Alan Phillips (Yam YZ450) 2 Lindsey Leard (KTM SMR450) 3 Chris Randle (Hon CRF450)

Classic Unlimited 1 Cameron Kirk (Hon CBR600F3) 2 Richard Kirk (Suz GSX-R600) 3 Bill Erzal (Suz GSX-R600) 4 Blake Loehr (Hon CBR600F3) 5 Joe Rodriguez (Duc 748R) 6 William Kitchens (Hon Hawk)

Clubman 1 Ryan Ambrose (Tri Bonneville 650) 2 Marcus Beedle (Hon RS85) 3 William Kitchens (Hon Hawk) 4 Eric Williams (Hon RS85) 5 Britten Geary (Hon RS85) 6 Jerrett Martin (Tri Bonneville 650)

Ridesmart – Rookie Expert 1 Nemo Cockrell (Yam YZF-R6) 2 Alonzo Contreras (Suz GSX-R600) 3 Blake Cochran (Suz GSX-R600) 4 Baus Barker (Suz GSX-R600) 5 Brandt Dillon (Suz GSX-R1000) 6 Tony Ta (Yam YZF-R6)

Road & Track Suspension – Superstock A Novice 1 John Keene (Kaw ZX-6R) 2 Toni Bui (Suz GSX-R750) 3 Eddie Thornton (Yam YZF-R6) 4 Brad Feltes (Duc 1198S) 5 Zeb Harris (Suz GSX-R600) 6 Guillermo A. Gonzalez (Yam YZF-R1)

Lone Star Track Days – Superstock B Novice 1 Travis Goodman (Suz GSX-R750) 2 Toni Bui (Suz GSX-R750) 3 Chaun Goins (Yam YZF-R6) 4 Derek Steptoe (Yam YZF-R6) 5 Ralph Wheelbarger (Yam YZF-R6) 6 Thierry Bareille (Yam YZF-R6)

Moto Liberty – Superstock C Novice 1 Derek Steptoe (Yam YZF-R6) 2 Thierry Bareille (Yam YZF-R6) 3 Ralph Wheelbarger (Yam YZF-R6) 4 Chaun Goins (Yam YZF-R6) 5 John Keene (Kaw ZX-6R) 6 Kirk Myers (Yam YZF-R6)

OnRoad OffRoad Cycles – Superstock D Novice 1 Hayden Schultz (Suz SV650) 2 Jordan Scott (Suz SV650) 3 Scott Eichhorn (Suz SV650) 4 Jerrett Martin (Suz SV650) 5 Isachar Perez (Suz SV650) 6 Nicolas McDonald (Suz SV650)

Superbike A Novice 1 Eddie Thornton (Yam YZF-R6) 2 Thierry Bareille (Yam YZF-R6) 3 Travis Goodman (Suz GSX-R750) 4 John Keene (Kaw ZX-6R) 5 Derek Steptoe (Yam YZF-R6) 6 Toni Bui (Suz GSX-R750)

Superbike B Novice 1 Toni Bui (Suz GSX-R750) 2 Travis Goodman (Suz GSX-R750) 3 Adrian Marquez (Suz GSX-R600) 4 Sean Gurevich (Kaw ZX-6R) 5 Michael Ruhnke (Suz GSX-R600) 6 Daniel Blankenship (Apr RSV1000)

Ridesmart – Superbike C Novice 1 Eddie Thornton (Yam YZF-R6) 2 Thierry Bareille (Yam YZF-R6) 3 Chris Hamilton (Suz GSX-R600) 4 Kirk Myers (Yam YZF-R6) 5 Adrian Marquez (Suz GSX-R600) 6 Sean Gurevich (Kaw ZX-6R)

Road & Track Suspension – Superbike D Novice 1 Hayden Schultz (Suz SV650) 2 Jordan Scott (Suz SV650) 3 Jim Whitten (Suz SV650) 4 John Paul Jose (Suz SV650) 5 David Canzoneri (Suz SV650) 6 Lori Miller (Suz SV650)

Road & Track Suspension – Heavyweight Twins Novice 1 Brad Feltes (Duc 1198S) 2 Isachar Perez (Tri Daytona 675) 3 Carl Price (Duc 848) 4 Daniel Blankenship (Apr RSV1000) 5 Marcus Beedle (Hon RS125) 6 Joe Rodriguez (Duc 748R)

Ridesmart – Lightweight Twins Novice 1 Hayden Schultz (Suz SV650) 2 Jordan Scott (Suz SV650) 3 Jim Whitten (Suz SV650) 4 Marcus Beedle (Hon RS125) 5 David Canzoneri (Suz SV650) 6 Jeff Kulchinski (Suz SV650)

Road & Track Suspension – Formula 1 Novice 1 Eddie Thornton (Yam YZF-R6) 2 John Keene (Kaw ZX-6R) 3 Toni Bui (Suz GSX-R750) 4 Ralph Wheelbarger (Yam YZF-R6) 5 Mitch McGinnis (Hon CBR1000RR) 6 Kirk Myers (Yam YZF-R6)

Road & Track Suspension – Formula 2 Novice 1 Jordan Scott (Suz SV650) 2 Hayden Schultz (Suz SV650) 3 Isachar Perez (Suz SV650) 4 Jim Whitten (Suz SV650) 5 David Canzoneri (Suz SV650) 6 John Paul Jose (Suz SV650)

Formula 40 Heavyweight Novice 1 Toni Bui (Suz GSX-R750) 2 Mitch McGinnis (Hon CBR1000RR) 3 Guillermo A. Gonzalez (Yam YZF-R1) 4 Adrian Marquez (Suz GSX-R600) 5 Daniel Blankenship (Apr RSV1000) 6 Carl Price (Duc 848)

Formula 40 Lightweight Novice 1 Jim Whitten (Suz SV650) 2 Scott Eichhorn (Suz SV650) 3 David Canzoneri (Suz SV650) 4 Henry Martinez (Suz SV650) 5 Lori Miller (Suz SV650) 6 Bruce Crone (Suz SV650)