Jett Chandler, in only his fourth ever race weekend, impressed the Arroyo Seco Motorcycle Association (ASMA) regulars by taking Expert class wins in Unlimited Superstock, Middleweight Superstock and Middleweight Superbike on his Supersport-spec, Dunlop-equipped, 2007-model Honda CBR600RR. Chandler’s only non-win was a second place finish behind former ASMA Champion Roger Heemsbergen in Formula Arroyo Unlimited GP. Chandler and father Doug Chandler made the most of the Saturday practice day by putting in many laps of the difficult, technical, 1.4-mile Arroyo Seco Raceway. After some minor setup changes and some coaching from the three-time AMA Superbike Champion, the junior Chandler settled into lap times in the mid-1:11 second range that he was able to repeat on race day. Two out of three of Jett Chandler’s wins were closely fought, including some unintentional contact with fellow competitor Alejandro Pino in the Unlimited Superstock race. Pino, riding a Dunlop-equipped Suzuki GSX-R600, passed Chandler in turn two on the last lap of the seven-lap race. Chandler fought back and got around Pino two corners later. In the next corner, Chandler used a different line, the two riders made contact and Pino crashed out. Pino injured his hand and was unable to continue. Chandler’s other hard fought race was the Middleweight Superbike race, where he battled series regular Hunter Shingler. Shingler, riding his Pirelli-equipped Kawasaki ZX-6RR, took the lead early, but was passed on the second lap by Jett Chandler. Shingler was never more than a few bike lengths behind Chandler for the entire race. Domningo Degrazia, riding his Dunlop-equipped Yamaha YZF-R6, recovered from a bad start and caught the leaders two laps into the seven-lap race. Degrazia was clearly the best of the three on the brakes at the end of the long back straight, showing Shingler a wheel and briefly coming past into the sweeping carousel corner, but Degrazia left his best for the last lap, outbraking both Chandler and Shingler to take the lead into the carousel corner. Degrazia carried just a bit too much speed, ran wide, and was re-passed by Chandler at the exit of the same corner. Degrazia then lost the drag race with Shingler to the finish line. The finishing order was Chandler, Shingler, and Degrazia. Heemsbergen won two races on the day: Heavyweight Superbike and Formula Arroyo Unlimited GP. Heemsbergen pulled out to a comfortable lead in each race and controlled the pace on his Pirelli-equipped Suzuki GSX-R750. Heemsbergen, clearly the fastest rider on the day with laps in the 1:09s, was not challenged for the win in either race. Degrazia rebounded from his heartbreak in the Middleweight Superbike race by winning the Unlimited Superbike race. He battled early with Hunter Shingler, but Shingler dropped out of the race with an unspecified problem. Series regular and first-year Expert Kevin Edgington took the holeshot but dropped out of the race early, leaving the battle to Degrazia and series newcomer Rich Derousse on his Honda CBR1000RR. Derousse was able to match the pace of Degrazia but could not pass Degrazia and had to settle for second place. Other race winners: Ken Murray (Suzuki SV650S) – Lightweight Superbike and Lightweight GP, Thomas McFarland (Suzuki GSX-R1000) – Formula 40, Mike Ortiz (Honda CBR900RR) – Modern Vintage, Mike Browne (Ducati 999S) – Heavyweight Twins. Arroyo Seco Raceway is located near Deming, NM. For more information, visit ~http://www.ASMAracing.com~ or call Roger Heemsbergen at 505-494-4794. More, from a press release issued by Rubanatug Racing: Rubanatug Racing Continues New Racer Support Package (NRSP) Program Round #2 of the Arroyo Seco Motorcyclist Association Roadracing Series (www.asmaracing.com) was held on April 14th – 15th in Deming, NM and the New Racer Support Package Program offered by Rubanatug Racing (www.rubanatugracing.com) was once again in full swing. This months contest offered a full support package to THREE new racers for the License Clinic, gate fees, bike preparation, bike transportation, pit help and entry fees into the Beginner Race. Details of the contest were given in this earlier press release dated April 3, 2007: ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=28612~ Rubanatug Racing brought out our 3 NRSP winners to the track this past weekend and as an added bonus, two of the people that entered the contest, but did not win, decided to come to Arroyo Seco and race anyway. Talk about a serendipitous turn of events! Twelve (12) new racers took the Saturday License Clinic and 11 of them raced on Sunday (gravity ended one weekend early). Through the efforts of Roger Heemsbergen (track owner) and Phil Neuzil (race school instructor) who allowed a group of fellow racers to work with the License School students, almost everyone received one-on-one training. The contest winners were – Chuck Kiley (Phoenix), Doug Smith (Tucson) and Nia Pinnow (Phoenix). All three of the NRSP winners displayed ear-to-ear grins all weekend and will continue racing the ASMA Series the remainder of the season. Special mention should be given to Nia, who entered the contest and raced without ever haven ridden a road bike prior to this weekend’s races. She is undoubtedly one of the more impressive 15 year old girls you will ever meet. Check out the NRSP winners Race Reports in the “blog” section of our website. Thank you to all those that helped make this weekend a huge success. Please watch the Rubanatug Racing website for future announcements and additions to the New Racer Support Package Program as we work to expand and improve it for future events.