Journal Entry- Opie Caylor: Fontana
Hey everybody, Opie here. It’s that time again; only
it’s 3 hours earlier where we’re headed. After
Barber, the Safety First Suzuki rig headed west on I-20. Tuesday
evening I got a call from Mark Z. Mark is the truck driver
and Huey’s assistant in the pits. As it turns out, the
trailer lost a wheel bearing in Tucson, Arizona. Over the phone,
Mark explains to me what is happening and while he’s
doing so somebody on a dirtbike pulls up. As it turns out,
it’s a good friend of mine, Ben Thompson. Benny T races
in the WERA National Challenge Series and select AMA rounds
this year and his team is based right where our rig broke down.
Small world…eh? Mark was all tripped out about running
into someone I am good friends with that helped him get rolling
again, in Tucson, Arizona. Thanks again Ben for helping us
get back on the road. Also on the way out, Ivan who is a very
integral part of our team got so sick that they actually had
to stop by an emergency room in Yuma, Arizona. Regardless,
Mark still got the truck there on Wednesday evening – good
job!
 On Thursday morning, we all got to the track so that we could
unload the truck and get set up. I entered promoter practice
that day to get up to speed and I managed to get going pretty
good in a short period of time. Jim Rashid, the Crew Chief,
mentioned 1:32 ‘s as a lap time goal for the day. With
that in mind, I put on my brand new Leathers and gloves, made
of lightweight Kangaroo, and Arai Helmet and headed out onto
the track. Instead of just doing 1:32’s, I went ahead
and ended the day with some 1:30’s. I was reasonably
happy with that, I’ve done 27’s on a 1000, 28’s
on a 750 and this was my first time there on a 600. I was really
excited about the possibilities.
Friday went even better. I got into the 29’s in practice
in Supersport and Formula Xtreme and was really looking forward
to FX qualifying later that day. Huey and Mark readied my FX
bike while I concentrated on what I could do better on the
track. Qualifying started and I immediately got into the low
29’s. I came back in a few laps later and had Huey make
a couple of changes to my shock and headed back out. The changes
he made really made me feel comfortable spinning my rear over
some of the bumpier sections in the infield. I came back in
to grab a fresh rear tire. I went back out and wasted no time
in going for it and turned, two 1:28.9’s. I was pumped
because the fastest times were 1:27’s. Actually, I think
Hayes and Disalvo might have done some high 26’s, but
we were as close to the front as we had been this year. I was
pleased with the way things went.
Saturday, I woke up feeling sicker than I have ever felt.
I later figured out that whatever Ivan got, everybody on the
team got too – just at different times. Saturday is always
our busiest day. One round of practice for Supersport and FX,
then Supersport qualifying after lunch and the FX race after
the first Superbike race. Whatever it was that I had, it completely
robbed me of all my energy. I just went out and rode in the
two practice sessions. I was slow in Supersport qualifying;
my best was only a 1:29.5. And all I could do in the FX race
was hold on to the bars. The chicane at Fontana is so hard
to get right when you have no upper body strength. My best
lap in the race was only a mid 1:30. I was so bummed, after
going so quickly only to get sick. After the FX race, I couldn’t
even get off the bike! Huey actually had to lift me off of
it! I ended up finishing way back in 13th.
Sunday went a little better mainly because all I had to do
was go to Chapel Service, Supersport practice and then
the Supersport race. When Huey and I got to the track, we got
the bikes out of the trailer. Believe it or not, that nearly
finished me off. I had to go lay down for an hour after
that! Practice went okay, but all I tried to do was make sure
that I could go out and stay on the bike. Afterwards, I went
and layed back down. Later that morning, I went to Chapel Service.
That is always uplifting and the message was just what I needed
to get through the day despite how bad I felt. I ran into Ron
Barrick afterwards and found out what the minimum was that
I had to do to earn some purse money and score some points.
Ron told me that I had to complete over 50 percent of the race
distance, I had to take a green flag start and I had to take
the czechered flag at the finish. I just wanted to know what
the bare minimum was that I had to do. By the way, that’s
the new, correct spelling for czechered, you know - for
Vincent. I went back to the trailer and got some lunch and
layed back down.
After a brief nap, it was time to go racing. At the start
of the race, I got a great start. I went into turn 2 and almost
got collected in a huge pileup. The red flag came out and we
went back to our original grids. I got an even better start
the second time around. Attrition would play a role in where
I ultimately finished. Unfortunately for Ben Spies, he went
down on the restart. He and Barney made contact and Ben caught
his front brake lever on Barneys hip. Tony and a couple of
other guys were battling right in front of me and all I tried
to do was hold onto his group. Nicky Moore, who was battling
with Tony, tipped over late in the race and that moved me up
another position. As tough as it is in AMA Supersport, I’ll
take it however I can get it and even more so, as bad as I
was feeling.
I got back into the 1:30’s in the race and pulled off
my best AMA Supersport finish ever in 10th place. It’s
funny how things work out sometimes. My best Supersport result
ever and I am as sick as a dog!
Overall, it was a good weekend. We had some adversity to deal
with but everybody stepped up and did what they had to do.
I just want to say thanks to Kevin Schwantz for helping me
stay focused, Kevin Hanson for giving me the opportunity, Jim
Rashid for giving us good bikes that continue to get better
and Owen Weichel for challenging me in personal areas that
will make me a better motorcycle racer. I also want to thank
Sean Wyatt for helping us with getting the data acquisition
systems on our FX bikes. And I can’t forget Doc for keeping
me loose all weekend so that I could go out and continue to
ride regardless of how bad I felt. I believe that you have
to have a great team behind you to succeed and I feel that
it is God who has given me this and all other opportunities.
So, in closing I want to give Him thanks. He is the reason
that each of us has what we have and all the glory goes to
Him.
Talk to you soon!
Opie |
