Destry’s Endurocross race (Ohio) October 4

Race Day:
After the track walk it was time to get ready for our two practices. I struggled a little in the first practice, but I felt way better during the second. After that, it was time for our one lap sprint for gate pick. I posted the 8th fastest time and was happy with that, because it was going to give me a good gate pick.
 
Heat 1:
I had a great start and tucked under a couple guys. It looked like I was going to get the hole-shot, but my back end slid around and I came to a stop. Luckily I didn’t go down, and I was still able to pull off a 5th place start. The first few laps were pretty hectic with riders going down everywhere. On the second lap, I saw Damon Huffman’s bike sitting by itself in the rock pile. I was thinking where the heck is Damon! I found out later he went down and dislocated his ring finger (ouch). I got caught up in a couple bottlenecks and went down once. I ended up 4th and moved on to the semi.
 
Semi 1:
This time I didn’t get the best start, but I was still around 5th. I felt I rode a lot better in this race, but there were two rock sections that had tight left hand corners. This section gave just about everyone fits all night. It seemed like there would always be a bottleneck every couple laps. At one point, I stopped before it and had to wait for it to clear up so I could get by. I was pretty disappointed to have to go to the LCQ (finished 4th in the semi) and take my chance there.
 
LCQ:
In the LCQ they only take the winner to the main (like the semi) and it was still stacked with a lot of great riders. I was 4th out of the first corner, and after a couple laps I was able to get by Matt Karlsen. I had a good pace going and was happy with the way I was riding, but so were Jamie Lanza and Damon Huffman in front of me. It’s only a four lap race and it goes by quick. On the last lap I was able to get around Damon when he was stuck in the first rock pile. I still ended up finishing 2nd and missing the main by one.
 
Overall Summary:
I felt night and day better here then I did last week in Denver. The course was really tight again and it definitely didn’t favor the 450. I was still happy with the way I rode and had a great time, so it was worth the trip back there!
 
Results (top 3):
1st Taddy Bluzusiak
2nd Geoff Aaron
3rd Ricky Dietrich
 
Other Notes:
The race was held at the OSU campus (Ohio Sate University). The coliseum was really nice (along with the campus) and they had a lot of great fans show up. It was a little tough for the Endurocross organizers since the OSU football team was on TV at the same time our race was going on. They still had a good turnout though, but I guarantee you it will be a lot bigger next time. It was most of the spectators first time and everyone I talked to said it was the best motorcycle racing they’ve ever seen!
 
Damon Huffman went into this race with an 11 point lead over my other teammate Ricky Dietrich. After Damon dislocated his finger, in the first heat, they wanted to take him to the hospital but he fixed his finger himself! Once he got it back into place, he was ready to race again. He still had a rough night and didn’t qualify. That pretty much shows you how hard it is to make the mains. Ricky made it in (his semi) and then took the points lead over again (with a 10 point lead over Damon). We only have one race left in Vegas and it’s going to be a great showdown with both of them fighting for the #1 plate.
 
I’d like to thank Craig Adam’s, Jeff Decker, and Jason Smigel for helping me get my bike ready for the race. Craig was also my wrench man for the night races, since Jonny isn’t back from England yet.
 
This was my last time riding the 450 at the EX. At the final round I’ll be on my 2009 250F. I’m really excited about that and plan on being in the main there! I have next week off and then I’ll be heading to Taft, Ca. for the final WORCS race. It’s going to be a great show with Dietrich, Bonds, and Caselli all trying to win the championship. Dietrich and Bonds are only separated by 4 points so it’s going to be a close one!
 
Best Wishes,Destrywww.destryabbott.com2008 Sponsors: Kawasaki Racing, Monster Energy, Thor, GPR Stabilizers, Dunlop, Pro Circuit, Stephen Gall Training, Scott Goggles, SIDI, HoyFox.com, Motion Pro, BRP, Braking, Works Connection, Shoei, CTI2, Red Baron, Maxima, Kicker, OGIO, Acerbis, Steahly, Trick Fuel, RK/Excel, Renthal, Bent, Hinson, AP Designs, IMS, Jonre Multimedia, Cyto Sport, N-Style, Zip-Ty, UNI, Parkway Chiropractic, Tire-Balls, and ZLT.