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Lima Ohio National is now complete and all I can say is WOW! I made a prediction that we would make the main event and we were so close I could taste it. The KTM is working the best it ever has and the team is figuring the setups better and better every weekend. I cannot thank the team enough for all their hard work and devotion.
We started the day qualifying 20th overall… 20th!!! That’s our best effort to date, but even more importantly we were the fastest non Harley Davidson in the field. That’s an awesome feet and proved that we can run at the GNC level. I felt great on the bike with the settings we chose and thanks to RLJ Racing the motor was running real strong. Next task put it in the main event.
Unfortunately we did not make the top eighteen in qualifying and that’s required to get a front row start for the heat race. A front row start in this field of competitors is a must, besides at Lima the spray will set up back if you get to far behind so I was in for a war. I started the heat running 7th or 8th and went to battle trying to get closer to the front. I worked my way by a few guys ending up 6th. This was good for a front row in the semi qualifier where they take three more to the main event. Now this is where the story gets good, the semi was an epic race for Project K Racing.
We lined up third from pole for the semi and went to work. I got a horrific sideways start that left me watching the front row leave me on the line, but I gritted my teeth and burned it off into turn one under everyone and left turn two in the lead. I ran it into turn three a bit light testing the track surface and got passed by two guys. That was not to happen again. After that there was five of us battling for the lead and transfer spots. We changed the lead four or five times a lap is an awesome battle and I was right In the middle of it. I ran it in deep on the last lap and ran into the back of Logan Myers and that ended my run for the last transfer spot. I worked my tail off and am disappointed that we didn’t get the spot in the main like I had predicted, but I am also very excited because we have made so much progress with the KTM…
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| Race Report: Norwalk Ohio - Dayton Ohio
The team decided to go out to Ohio this weekend for some quality seat time on the KTM 950. We have made so many changes this off-season that we are basically starting over with the bike. All of our old notes, besides the gearing, are no longer any good. We decided that we need to get back to basics and re-configure our bikes set up sheets so this double header sounded like a good way to do that. Norwalk is a tricky, tight and narrow half mile that will bite you if you do not respect it. I have raced here three or four times and have always had a good time. Austin Luczak and his dad Mike came to Ohio to race the Am classes and help us with our program. Austin ended up winning the 250 Am race and finishing second in the open Am. Great riding from one of our local young guns… We started the night Pro program in good shape but had some issues with soaking up the bumps and handling in the turns. We adjusted the suspension and tried some gearing changes and ended up making the main event finishing 9th. We were happy with the progress we made but also thought we could do better. The whole team had good ideas on things to try for Dayton and we learned a few more things so I was excited to give her another go.
Dayton Ohio was the next stop and is always a good one for measuring the competition as it tends to bring the heavy hitters from the GNC series. We made more adjustments and started the day great, about .5 seconds behind the leaders. In the scratch heat I finished 3rd right on the factory Suzuki’s rear wheels. The qualifying heat went even better, as I placed second to Matt Weidman and had a direct transfer to the Main event!!! That was so huge for our team. We are now a contender!!! In the main event I lined up on the front row and when the light turned green BAM – I nailed the start and lead everyone into turn one. Kopp and Mees made quick work of me coming out of two, but there I was, running third at a hot shoe AMA race... I had a great run going until I hit a hole in turns one and two which almost resulted in a spectacular dismount, but I saved it and finished seventh…SEVENTH PLACE IN THE MAIN EVENT !!! WE ARE NOW COMPETITIVE WITH THE FIRST STOCK FRAME KTM GNC TWINS BIKE EVER !!!!
I am so excited for Lima Ohio in two weeks. I am going to train my butt off and be ready to make the National.. I hope that everyone who believed in our cause is as excited as we are, and you disbelievers – well you better jump on board…
Stay tuned…. Its going to get good….!!!!!
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Race report - Springfield, ILL
Start of a new year and like I have stated in the previous report, basically a completely new KTM 950. We changed so much on the bike this offseason it will be cool to see how everything reacts.
The first Twins class Grand National of the season is the Springfield mile. I never liked mile racing because Dad and I never had good enough equipment to keep up with the pack. I have always been able to ride with the best of the best, but always had to work for it. But now with this team I have access to everything I should need to be competitive, now I just have to make it work.
We got the bike completed two days prior to the race, so seat time was not an option. We ran the bike on Wednesday at Geneva short track and it seemed good to go. The J&M swing arm really made the bike hook up better than the longer stock one. Off to the mile….
We started practice and I knew we were in trouble right away. The track was super sticky and fast, the bike wanted to just go straight because it hooked up so well. We threw everything we could at the setup but just could not make it stop bucking and turn. It was brought to our attention that we had too soft of a rear spring and the shock was valved wrong for this swing arm. It was a guessing game when we put it together since we are always in unchartered waters with this bike.
All said and done, we learned a lot, we made the program and spent some valuable time on the race track. It’s a real challenge to be prepared for everything this type of racing throws at you, and when you and developing a new bike, well that takes a lot of patience…
We will be ready for the Ohio weekend coming up and we will see how the bike works on a cushion half mile. Till then, RJ
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May 10th…. Hello folks, here is a team update… We are hard at work on the bikes, Dave and Rhonda Waters have been burning the midnight oil getting everything back and assembled. Special thanks to Mike Luczak and Guy Ruger for all the help and late nights.. We are going to be cutting it close for Springfield but I have faith in our team. We have made changes to the entire bike but as usual these changes have taken more time than we originally planned.
First off the KTM 950 super enduro gets an all new J&M Swing arm for 2009. This change required us to take the bike to Maryland to the J&M race headquarters to have the swing arm fabricated and shock mount moved. This change has gained us an enormous amount of swing arm angle and a much shorter wheelbase. This was a much needed change since traction was an issue during the 2008 season. We have also replaced the front end with a more conventional dirt track setup. The stock front end had a leading axel and was creating a turning issue with the big twin. The new front end is very trick, using the Bear Racing triple clamps that adjust on the fly. This was a must to improve the handling of the KTM.
With the rule changes for 2009 we are now required to run restrictor plates, much like NASCAR. These plates are supposed to bring parity to the sport of GNC Racing. I hope their plan works, but so we are still in the horsepower range required to run upfront, we hired RLJ Racing from Holley NY to flow the KTM heads to get back what we might loose with the restrictors. We are thinking we are going to be close to the horsepower of the Harley Davidson’s but now with the new swing arm we should be able to put the power to the ground.
The KTM also gets a new Race Tech Gas tank. This change is huge because the stock gas tank is very oversized and heavy for dirt track racing. The tank is being custom made at race tech and we hopefully will have it mounted for Springfield. These changes are going to be huge improvements for the 09 season. I am very excited for this season and think we are going to get even more press then our 08 rookie season. Thanks to everyone who stayed on for 09, we all know how bad the economy is and due to its downturn we have lost some very valuable support. I hope these companies’s can find their way back to financial stability and jump back on board soon.
Other big news, The KTM gets a Twin brother…That’s right; we have two KTM 950 dirt trackers for 2009….Stay tuned for the big announcement!!!!!!
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I called an underdog team to find out about their plans for 2009 and how their program will fit in within this new game of AMA DMG Professional Flat Track Racing.
Hi Dave, Thanks for giving me some time today. I suspect you are getting ready for Daytona?
Hi Jennifer, Yes we are going to the indoor short track next weekend in Ohio then we will clean them up and off to Daytona. The Hazel crew will be taking the bikes down and RJ and I are flying down due to our work up here in NY.
Despite all the new rules will Project K Racing be back for the Twins series?
Yes, we will be back with the 950 in 2009. When we were first told that we would have to run 32mm restrictors, which would have side lined the KTM for 2009, we were terribly disappointed. Fortunately that was re-thought and we are now allowed to run 38mm inlets.
What if any rules will be beneficial to you and the Stock KTM?
Spec fuels, spec tires, no engine management. We are a small and very limited resource team. We cannot afford high cost fuels or high end technical products to be competitive.
Factory Riders in the sport are not the norm, I know you were hoping for some support for the KTM. What does the team hope to accomplish this year to achieve factory support for the years ahead?
Our goal this year is to start making mains and to be the first to put a KTM twin in a GNC main and hopefully that, along with press and media coverage, would help us get some support from the factory. The 950 motor is rock solid and could be a great weapon if left alone by AMA. I know flat track is not high on KTM’s race radar but we would love to change that!
If you were on the rules committee, what rule would you throw out and would this rule directly affect your team?
Throw out the rule on restrictors for bikes that are not at the front of the pack!! If AMA Pro Racing wants parity in flat track, let new bikes and teams compete unrestricted until they are running competitively. Harley, (which has helped the sport stay alive for many years) has had over 30 years to get their bikes hooked up and dialed in. No motorcycle company will dive into flat track if they know they will never have a chance to win!
Speaking with you at great lengths last year and being a part of this project are you satisfied with all the work you did on the motorcycle and are you completely comfortable that your bike is aggressive enough to win races?
We were happy with the progress we made considering that the first time we saw the bike was in January of last year. Everything we did was by trial and error with no factory technical help, financial help, or any other resources from the KTM factory. The only help we received on the technical side was from Bud Matto @ Matto cycle, We also received some insight from Joe Kopp, Kenny Coolbeth, and Kenny Tolbert. For a first time start up team and first time GNC KTM twin we were happy to be in the mix. We were most pleased with RJ Overholt's riding considering no one has taken a stock framed KTM and did this well. We even made the front row for the heats in Greenville, Ohio. As far as winning-not yet! But every year we are allowed to race unrestricted, we will be getting closer!!
Last year you struggled a bit with finishes, what if anything will change this year?
We had some handling issues that hurt us as the day progressed. Racing with a stock frame we knew we were at a disadvantage right from the start. We were staying with KTM's motto "Ready to Race" as much as possible. We are addressing that this year with a new front end assembly and rear suspension changes with help from Mike @ J&M Racing Frames, Davey Durrelle, and Daryl Baer from Baer Racing Products. Our 950 will still use a stock frame but just tweaked a little more this year.
Sponsorships within this economy have been tough on the riders who is on board this year?
Money is very tight this year. We have had some sponsors cut back or leave due to the economy but many have stayed with us; which include Waters Autobody, Matto Cycle, Elf Oils, Supertrapp, G2, Motion Pro, Shoei, D&D Powersports, Vortex, Power Sport Grafix, She Loves Racing, 5 Star Fab &
Steel, Steve Fortunato, Guy Ruger, RLJ Racing, and Vadnais Machine.
Have you learned anything about Flat Track, the bike or the industry last year as a full time team that you didn't realize before?
I've raced flat track since I was 9 years old so I'm used to the sport of flat track. The bike was much better than we thought for the first year out. We never missed the cut for the program, never had a DNF or had any other major problems with handling such as it being wobbly, twitchy, or erratic. I did realize that finding sponsorship for a sport that is all most invisible outside of a small motorcycle niche market is very, very hard and disheartening. Calls not being returned, promises not kept, and questions like, “What's flat track?” and “I've never seen that on TV.” In my opinion, Flat track is the best extreme sport no one has ever heard of!!
If you could change five things within the sport what would you change?
Five things: #1-outside the industry sponsorship-money, money, money! #2-TV coverage-with over 100 channels, a person’s time and money are as stretched thin as ever. People will flick around until they see something that will make them say "Wow, I've got to see that in person!!” #3-Keep the show going and keep it interesting. I think Mike Kidd is going in the right direction with this already with the Daytona Girl, t-shirt cannon, and Freestyle MX, etc...If it's boring they will not return!
#4-Education! Some fans have no idea what a steel shoe is, a quick change wheel, why riders were leather and so on. If we have a Jumbotron with a reporter going around the pits explaining this during the down time between heats, mains and intermission. And interview more of the riders and team members, big and small. "How do you feel you will do tonight against Kenny and Chris tonight?" Why are you running a KTM, Suzuki, Kawasaki, etc...? Asking the questions the crowd is asking themselves. And lastly #5-this one is almost impossible but have a ready to go dirt tracker
available at a motorcycle dealership!. If you could go into a shop and buy a bike, put numbers on it a go racing, flat track would take off in a big way.
Do you encourage non flat track fans to attend local races? And how do you use your power of persuasion?
I invite people all the time that know nothing about flat track to local
races. I am Vice-President of our local Motorcycle Club and we show that racing is a friendly, family oriented sport with great excitement.
Will Project K only be the team on the twins division or will you be racing a KTM in the singles as well?
We have at the present time no support from KTM factory so RJ is riding Hondas that he is very accustomed to. Also our main supporter is Matto Cycle in Pennsylvania and he is also a Honda dealer which helps. We also have gotten local support from Hollink Honda in Spencerport, NY. Also, we do have a couple of things in the works as far as the singles program on different brands but will wait to see how that turns out.
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