Eric Telger Racing departed its headquarters on Sunday, the 14th en route to Lexington, Ohio; the home of the ever so popular Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. About three hours into our trip, as we were approaching Indianapolis, we suddenly found ourselves at a rest stop with a blow-out on the toy hauler. We stopped to change the tire, but quickly found that the spare tire was so badly dry rotted that there was no way we could mount it to the hauler. Luckily, we were very close to a Tractor Supply store that just happened to have what we needed, so we unhooked and drove there to pick up a new spare, plus an extra just in case. Denise and I got back to the rest area where Ernie was waiting with the hauler, and we quickly changed the tire and were on our way.

 

Ernie and I planned on doing a track day on Monday to familiarize ourselves with the track, and then planned to take Tuesday off so we were fresh for the races on Wednesday and Thursday. Since the WERA event was a double header, it was even more important for us to recover well and rest up. Luckily we brought one of the best chefs in the country to prepare us some food to help with recovery. The list of things Denise wants to take on these trips sometimes seems long and silly when we are packing, but it’s usually quickly appreciated once we are at the track and eating the meal she has made.

 

Monday went fairly well for both of us, we both made good progress in learning the track, but both of us were a little disappointed in our pace. Ernie was a tad quicker than me with a 1:39, as I was stuck at about a 1:40 lap time. As the day went on, though, I was noticing that my front tire wear was extremely excessive, and made a few adjustments to try to correct that, but nothing seemed to help.

 

Tuesday was a day to relax, and we did that. We both changed tires to get ready for Wednesday, and did some other odds and ends, but really just kind of took it easy. We walked around the track to check out some riders and their lines, and we made a trip to Wal-Mart for some groceries, but we did our best to chill out and rest. Tuesday proved to be quite a bit cooler than Monday, and we were glad to have it.

 

Wednesday proved to be an eventful day for me. I found that my brakes just weren’t working the way they needed to for me to run a good pace. I noticed that my brake lever had some significant wear going on, so I set out to look for a replacement. Luckily, I was pitted next to Rick Lind, an extremely nice (and fast) expert racer who also races an R6. He had a lever that he was willing to let me use to try, and wouldn’t you know it, all of a sudden I had brakes again. I don’t mean they were a little better, I mean the stock brakes on my R6 were now better than my brakes on my Honda… with nothing stock about it. I was so excited to race on this bike, finally having figured out why my brakes were horrible.

 

My first race was Race #3 (C Superbike, Novice). I started in front row, and got an ok start and quickly found myself running in 2nd. I could tell that the lead pack was really picking up the pace, but I also knew that I could keep that pace. I was passed on lap 2 to put me in 3rd, but I was right on the heels of the front runners, just hoping that they’d make a mistake and allow me to capitalize on it. However, on the 7th lap of the 8 lap race, I found that I was the one to make a mistake and tucked the front in the keyhole just before the back straight away. I was extremely disappointed to crash out, but the worst of it was I’m not sure what happened. My bike wasn’t damaged too badly, but it was just enough for me to not be able to make my next race (Race #7, B Superbike, Novice).  As I was repairing the damage, Ernie told me that I had significantly upped my pace, as I hit a 1:35.8. He wasn’t too excited about that, as that meant he had some serious ground to make up to beat my time, but that helped turn my mood from being upset with myself to happy with myself really quickly. I knew that I could run that pace, even though I crashed out of this race, and I was out to prove it.

 

As I said, I missed my next race (Race #7) but the bike was ready to go for my next one (Race #14, C Superstock, Novice) thanks to Dustin Louwaert, who provided me with another brake lever after I broke Rick’s. I got a pretty good start; I started from the 3rd row and was running up in 3rd by the first turn. However, because I had just crashed, I wasn’t quite comfortable just pulling the pin and keeping that blazing pace from the race before. I ran consistent 1:37’s in this race, and was beat out of 5th place at the finish line by .02 seconds putting me in 6th. I was upset by that, but it was ultimately my fault. I botched up my line going through the last couple of corners, and the guy hunting me down just did a better job of getting through it faster, so there’s no one to blame but myself.

 

My last race of the day was actually postponed until Thursday because WERA ran out of track time to get it completed on Wednesday. I was now going to be racing in the morning before lunch. This was good and bad news for me. I had been fighting some front tire wear issues all day, so this gave me a chance to sort that out before the next race. However, this also meant that I would have 5 races on Thursday, plus an 8 hour drive home afterwards.

 

Wednesday night was a bit stressful as I found myself hunting for tools to change a spring in my forks. I had a lot of help from Dave Grey; I can’t thank him enough for giving me a hand to make that change because it ultimately made all the difference in the handling of the bike. Up to this point, I was happy with my rear, but my front just didn’t feel like I wanted; I knew something just wasn’t right. By the end of the week, the entire bike, front to back, was working like a dream. I made a small adjustment to the rear shock at the beginning of the week and didn’t need to touch it again the rest of the week.

Thursday was fun, plain and simple. I went out for practice to check out my fork settings, came back in to make a couple small adjustments, and went back out to see how they felt. At this point I was done making changes; I had found my sweet spot and was now ready to race.

 

My first race of the day was race #18 from Wednesday (B Superstock, Novice). I again started from the front row, and got an ok start. I found myself in 3rd coming out of turn 1, but I knew I could get around at least the guy running in second. After a lap, I was able to do just that, however, I was quickly passed by another rider. I ultimately finished in 3rd, but was extremely happy with that result after the events on Wednesday. My fast lap for this race was a 1:36.9, and I was really happy to see that for a race ran in the morning. Mid-Ohio is notorious for being slick in the morning, and putting a race in like that gave my confidence the boost it needed for the day.

 

My second race of the day was Race #2 (CSBK). I started from the 3rd row and was able to quickly make my way up into 2nd. Unfortunately, I left the door open and lost a spot early in the race, and wasn’t able to regain that position before the end of the race. I did my best to make up ground, and even put myself in the position to take the spot at the line when the competitor made a mistake in the last couple of corners, but I just wasn’t quite close enough. If I would have had another 100 feet, I would have had it, but I was happy with another solid 3rd place finish.

 

The 3rd race was #6 (BSBK), which I missed the day before due to my crash. I started in the third row again, and again got a great start and quickly moved up to 2nd. I held this position the entire race, although I was challenged a couple of times. My best time of the week came during this race, which was a 1:35.19, which was about .35 seconds faster than Ernie’s best of the week. Sorry man, losing 2 events in a row must be tough…

 

The 4th race was #13 (CSS). I started from the 2nd row, and pushed through up into 2nd fairly early. I had the pace earlier in the day to pass the leader, but physical and mental fatigue were becoming factors. I held 2nd until the 5th lap, when I was passed and lost a position. Another solid 3rd place is welcomed, but I was a little upset at myself for this one because I felt like I had a good shot at this win, but just couldn’t get it done.

 

The last race was #17 of the day (BSS). I started from the front row and was running in second coming out of turn 1. I latched onto the leader as he tried to pass an expert racer, but wasn’t able to pass the expert when he did and lost ground as he continued to push. Half way through the race I realized I wasn’t being contested at all, so I backed off the pace just enough to ensure I finished where I was, which ended up being 2nd place.

 

Again, I want to thank Rick, Dustin, and Dave for all of their help during the week.  A special thanks goes out to Ernie Miller as well. We have been working really hard together to make this year a success, and his help has been essential to my success.  I also want to thank all of my sponsors, each and every one of them contributed in a big way to make this a successful event for me. Not only are your products worth having and promoting, but your contribution to my efforts, and more importantly, the sport, are fundamental to the success of the sport. Thank you for supporting the sport that we love.

 

Lastly, I want to thank all of my friends and family that support me. Looking at this sport from the outside probably looks crazy and senseless. But thank you for your support anyways. To my wife: (aka. The Chef)(aka. The Crew Chief)(aka. The Cocktail Party Host) you are one in a million, maybe more like one in a billion. You’re awesome, thank you for everything you do to help, and everything you do to stay out of the way when it is necessary.

 

Points Standings after Mid-Ohio:

 

Class                                                            Points                           Place

B Superbike:                                                 30                               4th

B Superstock:                                              47                               2nd

C Superbike:                                                 30                               4th

C Superstock:                                               32                               3rd