Team EMGO USA's Opie Caylor won his first WERA National Challenge Series race of 2007 this past weekend at Talladega Gran Prix Raceway. But it didn't happen until after some drama!

The weekend started off well enough. Opie qualified 5th in Formula One, with a 58.2, despite unbareably hot temperatures. Opie later explained that the ultra-hot temperatures along with a soft rear Dunlop N-Tec slick caused a bit of wheelspin. For 750 and 1000 Superstock qualifying, Opie decided to go to a harder compound rear Dunlop N-Tec to regain some of the grip. The adjustment made a big diference. In 750 Superstock, Opie took his sixth pole position of the season with a 57.7. Then, at the end of the day, Opie went back out on the same set of Dunlops and qualified second in Open Superstock with a 57.8.

On Sunday, things would go downhill quickly. Opie was second off the line in Open Superstock, and was quickly relegated to fourth place. On lap four, the top four started to encounter lapped novice riders in the combined expert and novice race. Caylor said "Going into turn four, we started coming up on lappers and there was this one guy down low on the inside of the corner. I decided to overtake him on the outside and just ride around him. At the last minute I guess the guy finally figured out where the line was and just started coming over on me. I had no where to go - I was already out so far wide to give the guy plenty of space but it didn't matter. I went down but at least I was able to pick the bike up and finish the race and salvage some points. Luckily, for me, I was wearing my Komodo leathers, boots and gloves and an Arai helmet, which kept me from getting hurt!" Caylor was scored in 9th position after picking up and reteching the bike and re-entering the race.

A little fired up after the Open Superstock race, Opie got a good start in 750 Superstock and followed Robert Jensen into turn one. On lap two, Lee Acree dove up underneath Caylor coming off the back straight. In doing so, Opies drive onto the front straight wasn't that good which in turn allowed Chad Lewin to come by going into turn one. Clearly frustrated yet bitterly determined, Opie gathered his thoughts and calmly set about winning the race. On the next lap, Opie drove past Chad Lewin on the back straight and moved back into third. Opie then jumped the small gap to Robert Jensen and drove past him exiting the fast turn one and moved into second. On the next lap, Opie jumped the gap from Jensen up to Lee Acree and then dove underneath Acree coming onto the front straight to take the lead. From there, with four laps left, Opie was able to open up a small gap to go on to win the race. "That has been a long time comin! Lee and Robbie and Chad have been ridin hard all year and really making it tough on me! These guys don't play! But neither do I! Huey back at the Marietta Motorsports has spent so much time tuning my 750. We've been working with different VP Fuels to try to figure out what works best in this engine. We found a really good combination of octane and oxygenation with VP's MRX01 and the motor just loves that stuff. All that power along with Dunlops unbelievable N-Tec tires was an unbeatable combination today!"

In the last race of the day, Formula One, Opie chose to ride his Pit Bull sponsored Team EMGO USA Suzuki GSXR750 due to the 1000's crash damage from the Open Superstock race. Opie got off the line okay but got swallowed up by a couple of 1000's going down the first straightaway. Sixth on lap one, Opie ran down, caught and passed James Stroud. He got around Stroud and set off after Acree in fourth. Opie ran a 57.2 to catch Acree but had to work harder to make a pass. The three leaders had pulled a small gap that was insurmountable once Opie had gotten past Lee. Opie would finish the race in fourth position.

To wrap up the weekend, Opie had this to say, "Overall, it was a good weekend. I finished 9th in the Open Superstock race even after the crash and I was lucky to do that! If I didn't have those really strong Vortex rearsets, I bet the peg and shifter would've gotten completely ripped off! But the Vortex Componets did a great job! At least I was able to salvage some points! I love 750's! I am really pleased with the way that bike is working right now. Thermosman really has the suspension dialed in and I feel like I can put that bike anywhere I want to at anytime. And actually Robert Jensen put it best after the 750 race. He said; "It's about time you won a 750 race!" I couldn't agree more. And in F1, I got fourth. I made some Suzuki money and picked up some points."