Destry’s Denver EX race report
Endurocross
Denver, Colorado
September 27, 2008
Race Day:
After the opening ceremonies it was time to head to the Monster Kawasaki semi and get ready to race. I didn’t have a great gate pick, because I crashed in my hot lap and lost a lot of time. I actually had a great lap going until the last rock section, which was a problem for me all night. I was in the first heat out, and they only take two out of it to go to the main.
Heat 1:
After the first corner I was probably around 8th. I made a pass, but then would get tied up with another rider and would lose a spot. I think I made it up to 4th at one point, but Ricky Dietrich and Taddy had already checked out from the rest of us. With two laps to go, I went down and got stuck in the big rock pile. I lost quite a bit of time and ended up finishing 5th in the heat race.
Semi 1:
In the semi they only take the winner and I still had a lot of fast guys in this race, so I knew it was going to be tough. I had a better jump, and was 4th around the first corner. Matt Karlsen and I banged bars through the dreaded wood chip part of the course. I moved back to 5th, but by the time the first lap was over I got myself into 3rd. Then I believe I made another pass into 2nd before things started to go bad for me. First I crashed on a dumb log that I shouldn’t have crashed on. Then a lap later, I had a big get-off on this log section where you could double them. I ended up nosing the front end into the log, and went flying over the bars. I wasn’t feeling to good at this point and I could hear the bike on the rev-limiter, since the throttle was stuck wide open. I was trying to hurry up and get back to the bike, but then I heard it just shut off. I thought the bike just locked up. I took off my goggles and pushed it to the side. I tried starting it and to my surprise it fired up. I put my goggles back on and started to try and make passes again. On the last lap, I was able to get by Karlsen and finish 4th (which wasn’t bad with everything that had happened). 
LCQ:
I had another great jump and was third into the first corner. Not to far into the first lap we went into the wood chips. It looked like I was going to move into 2nd , but then suddenly I was on the ground and my head landed straight on the last log. The first thing I thought of (besides a massive headache) was the fact that I had a pack of guys behind me. I had one guy hit me, and went right over me. It left a pretty good gash on my side, but my head was hurting more then anything. I got up and slowly walked over to my bike and went back to the pits.
Overall Summary:
It was really a tough night for me. I just was struggling and never could get into a nice flow and feel comfortable out there. The course definitely seemed tighter and more technical then the last few I’ve done. I usually like that kind of stuff, but I need to do a little more practicing for the next one. I wish I was on the 250F instead of the 450 for this one. I took some really big hits, in the races, and I’m just happy to be able walk away from this one. I know I’m going to be really sore the next few days!
Results:
1st Damon Huffman
2nd Geoff Aaron
3rd Taddy Bluzusiak
4th Ricky Dietrich
5th Colton Haaker
6th Ty Davis
7th Nick Brozovich
8th Bobby Prochnau
9th Jamie Lanza
10th Eric Rhoten
Other Notes:
The best part of this trip was, by far, seeing Josh Morros up in Utah. Jason Smigel and I flew into Salt Lake (Friday morning) before flying over to Denver. It was so awesome to see him, since the last time I saw him was when he crashed. He’s really looking good and after hanging out with him for a while, I’m really confident he’s going to make a full recovery. Today (Sunday) he called me, and was talking a lot compared to just a couple days ago. His progress is unreal and I know he’s even amazing the Dr.’s! By the way today is his 17th B-Day (Sep. 28). Happy B-day Buddy!
This was my first Endurocross race since the first round in July. I’ve only practiced riding EX once since then, and it showed. I’ve been so focused on winning the H&H championship and doing well at the ISDE it just hasn’t given me a lot of time to get ready for this one. It definitely showed out on the track, and I know I’m going to hit the EX track this week before flying out to Ohio on Friday.
It was really good to see one of my old race buddies Donnie Book at the race. He’s one of those guys I used to team up with, and he was the last guy to overall an AMA H&H on a 250. He was hanging out with Ty Davis and helping them out a little bit.
I attached some photos from Mike Farmer.
Best Wishes,
Destry
www.destryabbott.com
2008 Sponsors: Kawasaki Racing, Monster Energy, Thor, Dunlop, Pro Circuit, Stephen Gall Training, Scott Goggles, SIDI, HoyFox.com, Motion Pro, BRP, Braking, Works Connection, Shoei, CTI2, Red Baron, Maxima, Kicker, O’GIO, Acerbis, Steahly, Trick Fuel, RK/Excel, Renthal, Bent, Hinson, AP Designs, IMS, Jonre Multimedia, Cyto Sport, N-Style, GPR Stabilizers, Zip-Ty, UNI, Parkway Chiropractic, Tire-Balls, and ZLT.
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