From a press release issued by Peyton Inge on behalf of the CMRA:
CMRA Season Finale at TWS
The Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association returned to Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas this past weekend for the season’s grand finale. And grand it was as racers of all ages took turns blazing through the challenging 2.9 mile, 15-turn road course. The track offers a bit of everything high speed, flowing corners, a double apex ‘er two, and a nifty section of whoop-sized bumps in the backfield that would do any dirt track owner proud. A favorite with a majority of the CMRA faithful, Texas World was a fitting battleground for the multitude of championship dogfights (easy there, Vic) that unfolded over the course of the weekend.
Saturday morning kicked off with surprisingly speedy Mini racing. Eric Williams, Collin Schultz and Taylor Myers all managed to capture overall wins in the Road and Track Suspension Formula 4, K&N Motorcycles Junior Motard, and the OnRoad OffRoad Suspension Formula 5 events. Each young star has distinguished themselves over the course of the season Lord knows what records they’ll be breaking next year!
The 2-hour Mini Endurance showcased some of the most enthusiastic bite sized racing action around. RG&D Racing (Aaron Gore, Austin Gore, Dustin Dominguez, Clayton Schutz, Alan Phillips) took the race win, completing 86 laps, and in so doing clenched the overall season win. A scant one lap behind, the Howlie Boyz (Dean Thimjon, Jason Swan, Jim Swan) locked up second place on the season.
The 5-hour Big Bike Endurance provided some of the most insane racing imaginable for about 11 laps. Speedster Derek Wagnon took the holeshot for Quadwealth/SCRC on the mighty KTM RC8. Comically starting from the back of the grid, however, was a heretofore unseen GSX-R1000 rocket ship piloted by yet another CMRA bred AMA rider. Sporting the number one plate, an honor earned by the overall Big Bike Endurance race team each year, Dustin Dominguez dropped the hammer for Moto Ace and settled on Wagnon’s tail within a lap. By lap three, the usually unflappable Wagnon was checking his six to see where Dominguez was lurking yup, about ten feet off ‘yer tail, good buddy! Dominguez would steal the lead shortly thereafter, but lose it just as fast when he overcooked Turn 3. Not to be dissuaded, he cranked the bike over and took the scenic route through the grass parallel to the track in third gear for 150 yards, clearing an unused portion of the racetrack in a spectacular jump in the process, before rejoining the rest of the field ON the track. (In case you’re wondering, Wild Bill had nothing to do with this excursion.) Forced to retire by mechanical issues a few laps later, the race went on to finish with a dominating performance by Quadwealth, who also clinched the championship with the win. Team Ridesmart (Dirk Anderson, Brandt Dillon, William Guthrie, James Caraballo, John Willenborg) and GMAN Racing (Harry Tomlinson, Garet Tomlinson, Michael Guillot, Danny Dominguez) would finish second and third, respectively.
In the Expert divisions, Danny Kelsey reigned supreme, on the season that is. While Kelsey was winless on the weekend, he earned sufficient points over the course of the season to capture the overall Number One plate, reserved for the Expert who earns the most cumulative points. As you might expect, Ty Howard, Derek Wagnon, Carlos Lescale all captured multiple race wins on the day. Brandon Cleland hounded Lescale all weekend and managed to grab the Island Racing Services C Superbike race.
In the Novice divisions, a plethora of unknown, freakishly fast Provisional Novices descended on the weekend to ruin the best laid plans and championship hopes. Fate too, took a hand in the melee, by blowing motors and jamming Kawasaki transmissions. Said Rune Medhus, “the competition definitely got stiffer at TWS. I would like to have seen what would have unfolded if my motor hadn’t blown in practice.”
In the end, Jose Silva cleaned house and earned seven (7) championships in the process on his RaceworX-tuned Kawasaki. Intoned Silva, I think I’ve learned as much as possible [from the Novices] and am looking forward to moving up [to the Expert ranks] next season. They better look out!!
As the final seconds of the race season ticked away, one could only wonder what next season holds. One thing is for sure, it’s gonna be a blast!
RACEWORX A SUPERSTOCK EXPERT: 1. Ty Howard (KTM RC8); 2. William Guthrie (BMW S1000RR); 3. Brandt Dillon (Suz GSX-R1000); 4. John Deuser (Suz GSX-R750); 5. Tony Ta (Yam YZF-R1); 6. Harry Tomlinson (Suz GSX-R1000).
ONROAD OFFROAD SUSPENSION A SUPERSTOCK NOVICE: 1. Jose Silva (Kaw ZX-6R); 2. Guillermo A. Gonzalez (Yam YZF-R1); 3. Peyton Inge (Kaw ZX-10R); 4. Will Zamora (Yam YZF-R1); 5. Joseph Nguyen (Yam YZF-R1); 6. Tony Nguyen (Suz GSX-R1000).
212DECALS.COM B SUPERSTOCK EXPERT : 1. Derek Wagnon (Suz GSX-R600); 2. Carlos Lescale (Yam YZF-R6); 3. Brandon Cleland (Yam YZF-R6); 4. Conner Blevins (Kaw ZX-6R); 5. Danny Kelsey (Suz GSX-R750); 6. Blake Cochran (Yam YZF-R6) .
LONE STAR TRACK DAYS B SUPERSTOCK NOVICE: 1. Jose Silva (Kaw ZX-6R); 2. Craig Thomson (Yam YZF-R6); 3. AJ Flores (Suz GSX-R600); 5. Mike James (Kaw ZX-6R); 6. Peyton Inge (Kaw ZX-6R).
SOUTH CENTRAL RACE CENTER C SUPERSTOCK EXPERT: 1. Carlos Lescale (Yam YZF-R6); 2. Ryan Andrews (Yam YZF-R6); 3. Brandon Cleland (Yam YZF-R6); 4. Derek Wagnon (Suz GSX-R600); 5. John Orchard (Yam YZF-R6); 6. Hayden Schultz (Suz GSX-R600).
MOTO LIBERTY C SUPERSTOCK NOVICE: 1. Craig Thomson (Yam YZF-R6); 2. Jose Silva (Kaw ZX-6R); 3. AJ Flores (Suz GSX-R600); 4. Mark Windham (Suz GSX-R600); 5. Bobby Davies (Yam YZF-R6); 6. Mike James (Kaw ZX-6R).
D SUPERSTOCK EXPERT: 1. Shawn Adams (Suz SV650); 2. Daniel Adams (Suz SV650); 3. Eric Falt (Suz SV650); 4. Alan Phillips (Suz SV650); 5. Andrew Sukach (Suz SV650); 6. Rich Wu (Suz SV650).
ONROAD OFFROAD SUSPENSION D SUPERSTOCK NOVICE: 1. Mike Canzoneri (Suz SV650); 2. Frank Rodriguez (Suz SV650); 4. Joseph B. Toner (BMW 650); 5. Juan De Hoyos (Suz SV650); 6. Kacey White (Suz SV650).
212DECALS.COM A SUPERBIKE EXPERT: 1. Ty Howard (KTM RC8); 2. William Guthrie (BMW S1000RR); 3. Danny Kelsey (Hon CBR1000RR); 4. Brandt Dillon (Suz GSX-R1000); 5. Billy Gonzalez (Yam YZF-R1); 6. Tony Ta (Yam YZF-R1).
A SUPERBIKE NOVICE: 1. Jose Silva (Kaw ZX-6R); 2. Will Zamora (Yam YZF-R1); 4. Guillermo A. Gonzalez (Yam YZF-R1); 5. Peyton Inge (Kaw ZX-10R); 6. AJ Flores (Suz GSX-R600).
B SUPERBIKE EXPERT: 1. Carlos Lescale (Yam YZF-R6); 2. Brandon Cleland (Yam YZF-R6); 3. Danny Kelsey (Suz GSX-R750); 4. Conner Blevins (Kaw ZX-6R); 5. John Deuser (Suz GSX-R750); 6. David Rice (Kaw ZX-6R).
B SUPERBIKE NOVICE: 1. Jose Silva (Kaw ZX-6R); 2. Peyton Inge (Kaw ZX-6R); 3. Matt Vastine (Suz GSX-R750); 4. Sam Carey (Yam YZF-R6); 5. Richard Bevis (Suz GSX-R750); 6. Patrick Kelly (Apr RSV1000).
ISLAND RACING SERVICES C SUPERBIKE EXPERT: 1. Brandon Cleland (Yam YZF-R6); 2. Ryan Andrews (Yam YZF-R6); 3. Carlos Lescale (Yam YZF-R6); 4. Conner Blevins (Kaw ZX-6R); 5. Blake Cochran (Yam YZF-R6); 6. Hayden Schultz (Suz GSX-R600).
RIDESMART MOTORCYCLE SCHOOL C SUPERBIKE NOVICE: 1. Jose Silva (Kaw ZX-6R); 2. Mark Windham (Suz GSX-R600); 3. Dean Dufrene (Suz GSX-R600); 4. Eric K. Johnson (Yam YZF-R6); 5. Peyton Inge (Kaw ZX-6R); 6. Bobby Davies (Yam YZF-R6).
D SUPERBIKE EXPERT: 1. Darrell Ricks (Suz SV650); 2. Daniel Adams (Suz SV650); 3. Shawn Adams (Suz SV650); 4. Alan Phillips (Suz SV650); 5. Rich Wu (Suz SV650); 6. Bill Adams (Suz SV650).
FASTLINE MOTORCYCLE SCHOOL D SUPERBIKE NOVICE: 1. Eric Williams (Suz SV650); 2. David Canzoneri (Suz SV650); 3. Mike Canzoneri (Suz SV650); 4. Noah Reese (Suz SV650); 5. Karl Hansen (Hon CBR600); 6. Scott Vivion (Suz SV650).
HEAVYWEIGHT TWINS EXPERT: 1. Ryan Andrews (Pierobon F042); 2. Ryan Warren (TriDay 675); 3. Jeff Martin (Duc 848); 4. Darrell Ricks (Suz SV650); 5. Andrew Sukach (Suz SV650); 6. Craig Montgomery (KTM RC8).
RODRIGUEZ CABINETS HEAVYWEIGHT TWINS NOVICE: 1. Rune Medhus (Ducati 999); 2. Patrick Kelly (Apr RSV1000); 3. Paul Coste (TriDay 675); 4. Rodney Barkalow (Hon RS125).
LIGHTWEIGHT TWINS EXPERT: 1. Austin Gore (Suz SV650); 2. Daniel Adams (Suz SV650); 3. Darrell Ricks (Suz SV650); 4. Shawn Adams (Suz SV650); 5. Alan Phillips (Suz SV650); 6. Bill Adams (Suz SV650).
RIDESMART MOTORCYCLE SCHOOL LIGHTWEIGHT TWINS NOVICE: 1. David Canzoneri (Suz SV650); 2. Mike Canzoneri (Suz SV650); 3. Eric Williams (Suz SV650); 4. Rodney Barkalow (Hon RS125); 5. Noah Reese (Suz SV650) 6. Steve Wilson (Suz SV650).
125 GRAND PRIX EXPERT: 1. Rodney Barkalow (Hon RS125); 2. Jay Newton (Yam TZ125); 3. Kevin Johnson (Hon RS125); 4. Wyatt Sperry (Hon RS125).
FORMULA 1 EXPERT: 1. William Guthrie (BMW S1000RR); 2. Brandt Dillon (Suz GSX-R1000); 3. Danny Kelsey (Hon CBR1000RR); 4. Billy Gonzalez (Yam YZF-R1); 5. Tony Ta (Yam YZF-R1); 6. Craig Montgomery (Yam YZF-R1).
ROAD & TRACK SUSPENSION FORMULA 1 NOVICE: 1. Jose Silva (Kaw ZX-6R); 2. Will Zamora (Yam YZF-R1); 3. Craig Thomson (Yam YZF-R6); 4. Rune Medhus (Ducati 999); 5. AJ Flores (Suz GSX-R600); 6. Tony Nguyen (Suz GSX-R1000).
FORMULA 2 EXPERT: 1. Darrell Ricks (Suz SV650); 2. Daniel Adams (Suz SV650); 3. Shawn Adams (Suz SV650); 4. Bill Adams (Suz SV650); 5. Alan Phillips (Suz SV650); 6. Rich Wu (Suz SV650).
ROAD & TRACK SUSPENSION FORMULA 2 NOVICE: 1. Eric Williams (Suz SV650); 2. Mike Canzoneri (Suz SV650); 3. David Canzoneri (Suz SV650); 4. Josh Henke (Suz SV650); 5. Rodney Barkalow (Hon RS125); 6. Scott Vivion (Suz SV650).
FORMULA 40 HEAVYWEIGHT EXPERT: 1. John Deuser (Suz GSX-R750); 2. Harry Tomlinson (Suz GSX-R1000); 3. James Caraballo (Kaw ZX-6R); 4. Brady Ipock (Yam YZF-R6); 6. Pete Martins (Suz GSX-R1000).
FORMULA 40 HEAVYWEIGHT NOVICE: 1. Guillermo A. Gonzalez (Yam YZF-R1); 2. Rune Medhus (Ducati 999); 3. Eric K. Johnson (Yam YZF-R6); 4. Richard Bevis (Suz GSX-R750); 5. Richard Schiller (Yam YZF-R1); 6. Greg Gilstrap (Hon CBR1000RR).
FORMULA 40 LIGHTWEIGHT EXPERT: 1. Bill Erzal (Suz GSX-R600); 2. Eric Falt (Suz SV650); 3. Bill Adams (Suz SV650); 4. Andrew Sukach (Suz SV650); 5. Malcolm Doan (Suz SV650); 6. Gilbert Lee Epperson (Hon CBR600F3).
FORMULA 40 LIGHTWEIGHT NOVICE: 1. Karl Hansen (Hon CBR600); 2. Scott Vivion (Suz SV650); 3. Frank Rodriguez (Suz SV650); 4. Steve Wilson (Suz SV650); 5. David Tipton (KTM 690); 6. Juan De Hoyos (Suz SV650).
UNLIMITED MOTARD: 1. Robert Bradlaw (Hon CRF450); 2. David Tipton (KTM 690); 3. RandolphDel Greco (Apr SXV 5.5); 4. William Kitchens (Apr SXV450); 5. Ross Vivion (KTM SMR 560); 6. Lindsey Leard (KTM SMR450).
CLASSIC UNLIMITED: 1. Danny Dominguez (Kaw ZX-7R); 2. Bill Erzal (Suz GSX-R600); 3. Gilbert Lee Epperson (Hon CBR600F3); 4. Jim Wansley (Hon CBR600F3); 5. Michael Reardon (Suz GS500); 6. Steven Isenhower (Hon CBR600F3).
CLUBMAN: 1. Jerrett Martin (TriBon 750); 2. Eric Williams (Hon RS85); 3. Joseph B. Toner (BMW 650); 4. Jesse Davis (Hon CBR250R); 5. Michael Reardon (Suz GS500); 6. Ryan Ambrose (TriBon 750).
E SUPERSTOCK: 1. Ryan Andrews (Hon CBR250R): 2. Alan Phillips (Kaw EX250); 3. Ryan Max Johnson (Kaw EX250); 4. Brandon Altmeyer (Kaw EX250); 5. Jay Newton (Kaw EX250); 6. David Tiede (Kaw EX250).
ROOKIE EXPERT: 1. Hayden Schultz (Suz GSX-R600); 2. Sean Gurevich (Kaw ZX-6R); 3. Adrian Marquez (Suz GSX-R600); 4. Dominic Bethel (Suz GSX-R600); 5. Chris Hamilton (Suz GSX-R600).
K&N MOTORCYCLES JUNIOR MOTARD: 1. Collin Schultz (Kaw KLX110); 2. Trey Walker (Yam TTR110); 3. Gabrielle Harber (Yam TTR90); 4. Brett Munoz (Yam TTR90); 5. Adin Jose (Yam TTR110).
ROAD & TRACK SUSPENSION FORMULA 4: 1. Eric Williams (Hon RS85); 2. Brandon Altmeyer (Kaw EX250); 3. Wyatt Sperry (Hon RS80); 4. Ryan Max Johnson (Kaw EX250); 5. Jesse Davis (Hon CBR250R); 6. David Tiede (Kaw EX250).
ONROAD OFFROAD SUSPENSION FORMULA 5: 1. Taylor Myers (Hon RS65); 2. Jay Newton (Hon NSF100); 3. Nick Doolan (Hon RS65); 4. Roger Albert (Hon CBR150); 5. Lee Henry (Hon CRF150); 6. Ryan Warren (Hon RS65).
ONROAD OFFROAD SUSPENSION FORMULA 6: 1. Jay Newton (Hon NSF100); 2. Randy Thompson (Hon NSF100).
FORMULA 7: 1. Rob Rundell (Hon NSF100).
CMRA 5-HOUR BIG BIKE ENDURANCE OVERALL: 1. Quadwealth/SCRC (Ty Howard, Bryan West, Jeremy Louder, Derek Wagnon, Ryan Andrews), KTM RC8, A Superbike, 161 laps; 2. Team Ridesmart (Dirk Anderson, Brandt Dillon, William Guthrie, James Caraballo, John Willenborg), Suz GSX-R1000, A Superbike, 157 laps; 3. GMAN Racing (Harry Tomlinson, Garet Tomlinson, Michael Guillot, Danny Dominguez), Kaw ZX-10R, A Superbike, 156 laps; 4. Lone Star Track Days (Mark Niemi, Andy Galindo, Gabe McClendon), Kaw ZX-6R, C Superbike, 155 laps; 5. ST II (Chris Fields, Kenny Smith), Yam YZF-R6, C Superbike, 153 laps; 6. NORDCO Racing (Brandon Young, Todd Larson, Michael Rochester), Yam YZF-R1, A Superbike, 152 laps.
CMRA 2-HOUR MINI ENDURANCE OVERALL: 1. RG&D Racing (Aaron Gore, Austin Gore, Dustin Dominguez, Clayton Schutz, Alan Phillips), Kaw EX250, Formula 4, 86 laps; 2. Howlie Boyz (Dean Thimjon, Jason Swan, Jim Swan), Kaw EX250, Formula 4, 85 laps; 3. Scarey Racing (Greg Anderson, Sam Carey, Ricky Parker, Chris Carey, Matt Hall), Kaw EX250, Formula 4, 82 laps; 4. Green Time (Rich Wu, John Deuser, Briar Baum), Kaw EX250, Formula 4, 82 laps; 5. Underground Minis (John Black, Wyatt Sperry, Roger Albert), Moriwaki 85, Formula 4, 82 laps; 6. RyderHard Racing (Ken Ryder, Jane Ryder, Mark Niemi, Ulug Bayramoglu, Shawn Diamond), Kaw EX250, Formula 4, 79 laps.
More, from press release issued by Danny Kelsey’s publicist:
Kelsey Captures CMRA #1 Plate
Danny Kelsey captured the CMRA #1 plate as well as the Formula One, A Superstock, and A Superbike Championships this past weekend at Texas World Speedway during the CMRA’s final round of sprint racing action. Riding through a myriad of issues, Kelsey secured the titles with three third place finishes after a year of triumphs and accomplishments.
For Kelsey, this was the conclusion of a season that brought many unexpected surprises. Kelsey reflected, “At the beginning of the season, I was so glad that Mitch McGinnis stepped up and sponsored me with the two Honda 1000’s as my longtime mechanic, coach, and suspension guy Marcus (McBain) told me that he would be working in Vegas for the first 5 months of the year. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to race all the races this year. With McGinnis stepping up with two great bikes and the necessary logistical support I realized that I would be able to race the full CMRA season.”
Things clicked well for Kelsey and McGinnis, and some early season successes demonstrated that not only would the team would be competitive for their respective class championships, but perhaps the CMRA overall championship would be attainable.
In April, the team got a big boost when GP Suspension cartridges where installed in all the team bikes. Although, Kelsey had been using Dave Hodges’ product exclusively on his previous CMRA sprint championships, this really upped the performance of the Honda’s and brought consistency in tuning for the team. As the team continued to rack up wins, McBain returned from his out of state work and began rebuilding shocks, forks, and adjusting geometry to get maximum performance. This resulted in four wins at Eagles Canyon Raceway in August and the team carried that valuable momentum into the final rounds.
Entering into the final round, Kelsey held a 57 point advantage. His two main rivals Carlos (Lescale) and Brandon (Cleland) had performed well throughout the season and the team realized that it still had to perform at a high level at the final round to ensure championship success.
As with many “plans”, by lunchtime the team was down to only one track ready bike with 3 races to go in the afternoon. With the clutch in the teams’ 750 having gone out with no spare on hand, and a freak oil seal failure on one of the CBR’s caused by a tire sticker being sucked up the fork leg during the warm up lap, Kelsey would have to perform under intense pressure as Lescale and Cleland had effectively wiped out 30 points from Kelsey’s lead. Any more mishaps and the team would be in jeopardy of losing the season.
Kelsey lead the team to success though. After securing a clutch from competitor Derek Wagnon, the team’s GSXR was now race ready again. Despite losing his knee puck on the warm up lap of the Formula One race, Kelsey completed the weekend with three third place finishes and secured the team’s success as well as Kelsey’s first CMRA #1 plate in sprint racing action.
After an emotional day, Kelsey commented, “This day did not go as planned by any means. As has been said before; championships are won not on your good days, but on how you perform on your bad days. What is also rewarding is that the people that started with me in my road racing career are still here with me. David Hirsch (Michelin), Wayne Wilder (Komodo), and Marcus McBain got me started”¦and here we are a few years later. This is great! Lastly, I have to really thank Mitch McGinnis a lot. Although I have won championships before, his support is the only thing that made the CMRA overall championship possible. He stepped up for me, and I will always be thankful for his help and support.”
Mitch McGinnis had a final say on the season, “I had no expectations for this. At the beginning of the season I think just getting the bikes on the track in a competitive state was all I was hoping to accomplish. As the season wore on and we all realized what was possible it became a lot more work. Danny kept putting in more effort on the track, and it helped keep me focused on what I needed to do with Honda CBR 1000’s. When you start working with a rider, you “hope” to achieve results”¦with Danny it was quickly evident that he would bring in the results and that I just simply needed to make sure the bikes performed competently. I can’t think of a better rider to work with.”
The “quiet heroes” of this season also need to be thanked, and that is the sponsors. Michelin, GP Suspension, Komodo, Penske, Bazzaz, Blevins Paint and Body, Hotbodies, Woodcraft, KMC Controls, Lone Star Track Days, DP Brakes, Penske Racing Shocks, Powerstands Racing, M&M road racing, and Sherwin Williams paints all stepped up to ensure success this season.
Finally, the team would like to thank the CMRA. Despite many clubs having to “cut races” due to the economy and other circumstances, the CMRA has continued to provide a quality 10 race championship series not only for sprint racing, but endurance racing. Nancy, Walter, the Board of Directors, and the whole staff deserve a thank you from the racing community.