| 10.15.06 I wasn't ready for my race season to be over, so we decided to try out the Sandmasters Series at Savannah MX in Savannah, NY. Brian Twist and my friend Patrick Byrne came with us and the Bogino's went to try out the track too. We got there late, so I didn't get a chance to walk the track. There was only one other 90, which kind of sucked, but it gave me a chance to get MX seat time. In practice I hit the first jump and broke my tranny. Tough lesson to learn, but next time I'll know not to go out on a new track so hard. Dad and I got my quad fixed and I went out for the first Moto. Ran easy to get a feel for the track, but still won with a pretty big lead. The other 90, mostly runs enduro races, so his set-up was more for the long run, rather than short term power. Easy win again in the Second Moto. Nice trophy. AJ Bogino (#913) had an awesome day. He had to run his 300 with 450's and 500's in a gate of 12. He had great starts, but would fall back to 3 or 4th by the first turn. It really showed how good AJ is, because by the third lap he'd be in second and in both Motos he had the lead by the last lap, winning both. His skills and stamina beat more power. It showed me how important practicing is in MX. The track is pretty tight and a little tough for quads, but it has some nice jumps and the sand is fast. I look forward to having Savannah to run at next year. 10.8.06 Round 9 and final race of the PenNY Championship Series at MapleShade. We convoyed down to PA from Freedom Saturday night with the Reimer's, Kozak's and Ryckman's. Mitch Czarnecki (#83) and his Mom and Dad came with us to try MX and Danny Fornasier who runs up in Canada and his parent's came too. Dad changed motors in my MX quad, giving me more power. The quad ran great in practice but I was a little nervous hitting the jumps. I took the holeshot in the First Moto and led a lap, but Curtis Nichols (#16) and Jordan Kozak (#4) passed me on lap 2 and then Kyle Melillo (#99) got by me. I finished in fourth. MapleShade has been my best MX track, but I just wasn't comfortable. I felt the quad was bottoming out and I was a little scared with the better motor I was going to hit the jumps wrong and break. Pulled the holeshot in the Second Moto, but Curtis and Jordan passed me again. By the second lap I was feeling better on the quad and got back on the throttle, still took it easy on the jumps though so I wasn't making any time on Curtis and Jordan. The last lap Danny Fornasier (#38) got right in on me which pushed me to run harder and I forgot about being nervous. On the last lap Danny and I battled, he almost passed me headed into the second to last corner, but I held my line and took third. Overall third place finish for the day. 10.7.06 Round 12 of the FAB EDT series at Freedom Raceway and the last race of the series. Great weather, great day. We drove the new Toterhome Dad and I built. The Ryckman's and Kozak's were there. Garrett is doing great and Mr. Kozak ran the light. Jordan didn't race, so him and Garrett flagged in the sweeper corner. It was cool seeing them on the track cheering me on. In the heat my quad died at the line. I got it restarted and stayed on the throttle but it was going in and out. Held on for fourth. PJ did awesome and got the holeshot. Dad checked out the quad, pulled the plug and cleaned the carb. It seemed to be running fine and we couldn't find the problem I had in the heat. I took the holeshot in the Main and was feeling pretty good about the power, but PJ was running hard and was right on me. He took the pass and I wasn't able to get back around him. Great job PJ. Congrats on your first win. I took second and was pretty happy with the finish and my run. 9.24.06 Round 8 of the PenNY Championship and the last race at Cohocton MX. Welcome back to The Bogino's. Nice to have them at the track again. I was determined to have a good run at Cohocton and beat the whoops, but they had taken them out. Still Cohocton has been my worst track and I wanted a decent run. The track was wet for the First Moto and had some pretty deep mud in some spots which I felt gave me an advantage. I knew I had to get a good start and get up front before going into the first jump. I was having a great run and keeping even with Jordan Kozak. He'd pick up ground on the jumps, but I'd pull in the corners. The whoops were gone, but the corner headed into the table top was a swamp. I hit the mud and got stuck. I got my quad pushed out and got back on the throttle taking second to Jordan. I planned my second run and had a great start in the second Moto. Jordan, Curtis Nichols and I were trading off the top 3, until Jordan hit the mud where I did in the First Moto and just could not get out. Curtis took the win and I took second, Jordan third. Because Jordan had trouble in the second Moto and ended in third I got First overall, but I was happy because I finally beat the track. 9.16.06 Round 11 of the FAB EDT series and the last race at Batavia Motor Speedway. TT quad felt great in practice and I wanted the win. Everything was right on. In the heat I had all the smoke and no one could touch me in the corners. I took the holeshot in the main and thought I had an easy win, but PJ Gable found his line and was on my but. He pulled in close on the last lap and I worried he was gonna get the pass, but I held tight to the corners and stayed on the throttle for the win. Nice job PJ! 9.10.06 PenNY Round 7 at MapleShade, I pulled the holeshot in the First Moto and had a great run. Jordan Kozak (#4) passed me coming off the tower jump for the lead, but he never really pulled away. I took second only a few feet behind him. After such an awesome run, I had the confidence that I could lead the Second Moto, but I had a bad start and Jordan was on his game, so I took another second. Second overall and not too bad, my MX skills are definitely showing improvement. 8.19.06 Round 9 of the FAB EDT series at Batavia was a rain out. They tried for a few hours to get the track race ready, but the rain just wouldn't go away. I was pretty disappointed, because Dad and I had done a lot of work and testing on my TT quad and we wanted to see if we had gotten it dialed in. It turned out to not to be a bad day even though we had to hang around and the race was cancelled anyways, because most of my friends were there and Garrett and his family came to the track, so I still got to have my birthday party with everyone. Thanks everyone for the gifts. 8.12.06 Round 8 of the FAB EDT series at Freedom. The Kozak's came by to hang out, which was cool, because the next MX race is a few weeks away. Practice went good, my quad seemed to be running well, just a little down on power. Ran decent in the Heat, but slow off the line. Dad and I went through the quad before the main, making just a few changes, including tire pressure. I got the hole-shot in the Main, but JT Mosher (#22) got around me early in the race. We battled pretty hard for a few laps, but I was watching really close to how JT cornered, until I found his weak spot the same place on each lap. The last lap, I got him set-up going into that part of the track and got around him to take the win. Probably the most fun and challenging run I've had this series. Learned a lot about patience and looking for the other guys strengths and weakness. Great job to JT, we had a blast! 8.05.06-8.06.06 We headed to Batavia Motor Speedway Saturday for the FAB Series Round 7. During practice my TT quad felt really good, so we only made air pressure adjustments before the Heat. As usual, they watered right before my heat and we had to run hot laps, so my tires got real slick from the wet clay and parts of the track had standing water. Came off the line pretty good and was running really well with a little looseness in the corners, until the last turn on the inside track. I spun out, hitting a hay bale. Luckily before the final they couldn't get the water truck running, so we got to race a dry track. Came off the line side by side with Levi Johnson, but he pulled on me in the back straightaway. Every lap I was able to get right in on him in the inside track, but he just had more smoke in the front and back stretch. Finished with a 2nd. We left the track right after my final, because Dad and Stacey surprised me by going over to Garrett Ryckman's (70x). Garrett had a pretty bad accident last weekend in the second moto at the Unadilla ATVA MX National. He ended up with a compound fracture of his left leg that required screws and staples. He might be out for 6 to 9 months. Really sucks, because he's one of my best friends and I am really going to miss him on the track. He's doing good though and hopefully he'll heal pretty quick. The Kozaks' and Reimers' were there too, so I ended up hanging out with Garrett and Jordan, building legos and playing PS2. We had a really good time and decided to spend the night there. Sunday, Dad got up early and started driving down to PA for Round 6 of the PenNY MX challenge at MapleShade. The MX quad just was not running good at all. After practice we changed the jet and checked a bunch of stuff. The first Moto I ran OK and took 4th, but I was bogging down and just didn't feel like I had any power. I told my Dad we should check the plug and when we pulled it, it was bad. Put a new one in and I was ready to go. Jordan Kozak's (#4) Dad, put Garrett's (70x) number on Jordan's, his brother Johnny's, Zack Reimer's and my quads. 2nd Moto, I got the hole shot and felt really strong until going into the first corner Curtis Nichols (#16) came in hard and we got tangled up. It took us a little to get untangled and going again, so the pack passed us, but after coming out of it in 9th, I was able to get back up front and finish in 3rd only a quad or 2 out of 2nd. Finished 4th overall. Probably my best MX run yet, considering the tangle up and how far back I fell, so I was pretty happy. 7.23.06 We went to Ashtabula, OH for Round 5 of the ATVA Extreme Dirt Track Nationals. We got in mid-afternoon Friday, and set up next to the Reimers' and Ryckmans'. Around 5:00, we got ready for practice. My TT quad ran really well and I was very happy with the set-up. Saturday we woke up to rain. Lots of rain. All practice and qualifiers were canceled. Pretty much just hung out with Garrett and Devin Laird, playing guitar hero and messing around. We had a surprise birthday party for Garrett's little sister Jessica who races a 50. She got girl stuff, yuck, but the ice cream cake was good. Sunday we had to run both Saturday's schedule and all the mains. So everything was shortened. We started practice around 8:00 and the track was still a little muddy, so my quad pushed a bit in the corners. Garrett and I were in Heat 3. PJ Gable (#87), Zack Reimer (#3), Devin Laird (#30) and JT Mosher (#22) ran in Heat 2. My quad handled great and I won my qualifier, with Garrett in second about a tire behind me. Almost a photo finish. I got 3rd line choice in the final, but had a bad start, because my quad loaded up at the line waiting for a quad from the previous race to get towed off. I got shuffled back in traffic down the front straightaway. Picked up power in the corners and was working my way back up front when I got hit pretty hard in the rear end, smashing my rear bumper and the brake line. By the last lap I had no brakes, but was able to hold on for 5th place out of 20 riders. I had an awesome time. Congrats to all the local riders, we all did great. 7.16.06 This weekend we went to Cohocton for Round 5 of the PenNY series. We got in on Saturday and my friends Curtis Nichols (#16) and Garrett Ryckman (70x) asked me to stay over with them in a tent. During practice that night, my quad seemed down on power, so my Dad tore it apart that night and in the morning put in a new clutch and reed cage assemblies. During the morning practice, my quad had excellent power and I did a few of the jumps. The first Moto went really well. I got the holeshot, but Jordan Kozak (#4) got around me and I fell in behind him. I really ran good. I got a little air, landed right and had rhythm in the whoops. I had speed in the straight aways, but lost time on the jumps. Garrett (70x) passed me a few laps in and I finished with a strong third. There was a long wait between motos, because we were the second to last class to race and my night in the tent didn't get me a lot of sleep. The second Moto didn't go so good. I just couldn't get into a groove. I was off and even though I ran great in the straights and corners, I was hitting the jumps wrong and landing on the gas. I was running in second to Jordan and saw Garrett coming on fast, so I got anxious and pushed too hard hitting the last whoop. I landed hard off balance and on the throttle. Blew the transmission, before even finishing the first lap, so I got a DNS. MX is a lot of fun and I am determined to get some good seat time in. Looking forward to heading to Ashtabula, OH for Round 5 of the ATVA Extreme Dirt Track National Series next weekend. 7.08.06 We hooked our trailer up to the Fonte's truck and headed, with Steve and Steven (#81) down to Birch Creek Motorsports in Ringgold, VA for Round 4 of the ATVA Extreme Dirt Track Nationals. It was a long ride and we got in early so it was a long wait until practice, but this was my first National Event, so I was real excited. My Dad's friend Dave Box from NC came over and spent the night with us, which was cool. My quad ran real well it the first few practices, but I felt it was down on power in the last practice. After I went to bed, my Dad, Steve and Dave re-ringed the motor. Quad was back up in power and morning practice went really good. I was in Heat 2 for qualifying and came second out of the gate, but passed the leader in turn 3 and held on to the lead to finish in 1st. This gave me 2nd lane choice out of 18 riders in the main. My class was chosen to race our main between the pro classes Saturday night, so we raced in front of a big crowd. On the line my quad bogged and left the light slow, but I got up in front and was in 2nd battling for 1st when I spun out in turn 4 on the second lap. I got stuck on a dirt mound, was slow getting back on the track and just couldn't get back up front even though my quad was really strong, the front riders got too far in front of me. Finished in 4th place. Very cool for my first year in production and first National. Steven did great too, he qualified for the main in Youth Production and finished in 9th. Looking forward to Round 5 at Ashtabula, OH in 2 weeks. Special thanks to the Fonte's. 7.01.06 This weekend we went out to Freedom Raceway for the FAB Dirt Track Series. AJ Bogino rode down with us, just to watch. We got there around 11:00 and not many people were there yet, so we picked a good spot and saved spots for my friends. This was my first time at Freedom this season, but the track was pretty much the same as last year. During practice, we realized I needed more top-end so we made the gearing change before the Heat. I was sleeping a little on the line so I got a slow start, but my friend Mitch (#83) flipped on the inside track before we finished the first lap, so we restarted. This time I got the holeshot and stayed out front, finishing in first. The pack was pulling on me during the Heat, so Dad wanted to give me a little more low end, but I was comfortable with the set-up, so we didn't make any changes. JT Mosher (#22) got the holeshot in the Final, but I was on his tail and Garrett was on mine. Each lap both Garret and I were pulling on JT and had the power to pass, but he was blocking us pretty good. Just before the last lap going into the sweeper I went high to cut in low to pass him on the inside, but spun out just as Garrett was coming hard on the inside line. We crashed front ends which got me straightened out and kept me in front of Garrett. We raced strong to the finish, with JT taking first, me second and Garrett third, just seconds apart. 6.25.06 Decided to head down to Cohocton and run a District 4 race, since I can really use the seat time on my MX quad. Our goal was not to break anything and finish the race, which I accomplished. Garrett was down on power and had a tough day finishing fourth. Curtis ran great and placed second. I got the holeshot in both runs, but went easy on the jumps. I ran steady and kept my quad in one piece, taking third place overall. Congratulations to AJ Bogino (#913) for taking first in Youth Quad with his Honda. What was cool was there was a guy there taking professional pictures. There was one he took of me, Curtis and Garrett hanging out before the race at the trailers and Curtis' Mom got the three of us each a key chain with that picture. That was awesome, thank you! 6.23.06 Ran the oval under the lights at Batavia again. Had a great time. Zack, Garrett and Mitch were there. PJ showed up with his new production quad. I hadn't seen him since last year, so it was cool to hang out with him and the rest of the guys. My quad ran pretty good. The oval is a fast track and a lot of fun to run. 6.11.06 Sunday we headed down to Watkins Glen in the Kenworth with the Bogino's (AJ #913). Very cool. AJ and I got to play PS2 while we drove. First time for me at this track. It looked fun but a little scary. During practice, I found out it wasn't that scary, but was definitely a hard course. In the first Moto I got the holeshot, but then went the wrong way and ended up off the course. I got turned back around and was working my way back up front, but before even finishing the first lap, I hit a jump really wrong, flipped my quad over backwards and did some heavy damage to my front end with a few other smashed parts here and there. I lucked out and had bailed before it flipped all the way over, so I only got a few scratches. After getting checked out by the EMT's, I asked my Dad if we could get the quad fixed before the second Moto. I was determined not to let the track get the better of me. Thanks to Pete and his on-board welder, we were able to get it race ready. The second Moto wasn't that much better. I just couldn't get a rhythm and hit the jumps right, so the chain broke. DNF for the day. Back to the practice track. 6.09.06 We went to Batavia to race the 1/8 mile oval under the lights. We got there just in time for practice, which was good because I had problems with the quad pushing a little. We made gearing changes but found out pretty quick during the heat, we had gone the wrong way! Not having to let off the gas at all, was the big clue. We changed the gearing again to give it more power. With that change, I not only kept up, but won. THANKS DAD! 6.04.06 We had planned to race both Freedom (TT) and MapleShade (MX) this weekend, but Freedom got rained out. We decided to head down to MapleShade Saturday afternoon and got to see the last few classes run. Congrats to AJ (#913) for taking 1st place in Youth Quad on Saturday. Garrett, Zack, Jordan and families got in just after we got set-up. Hung out with the guys and played some PS2 in our trailer. Woke up to rain and cold Sunday. We headed out for practice giving me a chance to get used to the track. Back in April they had the minis run the practice track, because of the conditions. We ended up Race 3, so there was not a big wait. I got the hole shot in the 1st Moto, but was passed by Andy Magyan (#95) and held on for 2nd after a really awesome battle with Jordan (#4). Got the hole shot again in the 2nd Moto and was running out front, when I looked back Garrett (#70x) and Jordan (#4) were battling it out right behind me. Jordan had some bad luck and ran off the track going up the tower jump, when his tire got into a rut at the edge. Garrett was running 2nd and giving me a tough run for 1st, until the last lap when we got into lap traffic. Garrett was trying to pass a lapped rider when he got bumped and hung up with #95. I took 1st in the Moto and 1st overall. Practicing jumps on my practice track last weekend paid off and I'm feeling more confident riding MX. 5.27.06 Batavia TT: We got to the track around 11:30. After the driver's meeting, they had us go out and run hot laps to dry the track. I ran my MX quad instead of my TT quad, so it would stay clean for the race. Took the TT quad out for practice with the new set of a-arms my dad built that have both adjustable camber and caster and it felt pretty good. We didn't make any changes for the heat. I got the hole shot and ran in front, but Levi Johnson (#80) was on my tail the whole time. It was a great battle, but I held the lead and finished first. That was a big achievement for me, because Levi mostly runs the Extreme Dirt Track ATVA National Series and placed 3rd in points last year. Changed front air pressure for the main. Levi got the hole shot and I got squeezed back a few spots going into the 1st turn, but had worked my way back up to 2nd before the back stretch. Tried to work on Levi, got in close on the corners but he'd pull on me in the straight aways. Finished in 2nd, just a few feet behind Levi. Tough day for Garrett, he spun during the heat in the same turn I had problems with last time and then his ignition power cable disconnected in the main. For me though, it was an awesome day and it looks like we are on the right track with the TT quad. 5.21.06 Cohocton MX: It was a nice day at the track when we got there Saturday. Garrett and I checked out the track and he showed me around because it was my first time there. After dinner I played Guitar Hero on PS2 with my friends. When it got dark we all played Ghost in the Graveyard, Team Tag and roasted marshmallows. Sunday we woke up to rain, wind and colder temps. Things ran pretty quick. After the driver's meeting we went out for practice. The mini classes only ran the bottom part of the track. Not having a lot of experience at motocross, my timing was off, but I managed and got the hole shot in both motos. I held the lead for most of the first lap in Moto 1 and was running a solid third until my chain broke crossing the start/finish line and earning me a DNF. I held the lead through part of the second lap in Moto 2 and again was having a second/third place run, until my chain came off in the last turn and then broke again crossing the start/finish line with 1 lap to go. Another DNF. Took 7th place overall and earned 8 points towards the series. We plan to get the bulldozer out and put in some jumps and moguls on my practice track, so I can work on my timing before next race. 5.13.06 This was the first race of the FAB series at Batavia Motor Speedway. I ran my 90cc Production TT Quad. My friend Garrett was there and also Mitch (he started a week before me in production last year). Ben who races 90cc Stock was also there. I was excited to see him, because I haven't in awhile. We raced about 3/4 of the new clay track, it was brutal at some points because the roller was broken, so they didn't get the chance to smooth out the track. In the heat race, I did pretty good. I was battling back and forth with Garrett for the lead, but got hung up coming to the front stretch and fell back to third. I got back on it and finished second to Garrett. I think I kept up good. We changed some gearing before the final because it was a little off. We hoped to put a smaller sprocket in the rear, but we did not have it with us. So we borrowed a slightly smaller one from Paul Reimer and I went onto the second race. Almost got the hole shot, and I was running well. I was about to pass for second and spun out in the 6th corner. I finished the race in 5th place out of 6 (pretty much last, because Zack Reimer who came in 6th was running his 70cc). After the race, Garrett and I rode our bikes a little. Then we went up for our trophies. Congrats to Steven Fonte (#81) who took 1st in both the heat and finals, with his Yamaha Blaster in 3 classes. I got a trophy with a little guy on it holding a wreath. Can't wait till the next race. 4.23.06 We headed out for our 3 1/2 hour (felt like 5, Dad got lost) drive to MapleShade on Saturday afternoon. I got to sleep in the trailer for the first time. Saturday night I hung out with Garrett Ryckman (#70x) and Jordan Kozak (#4). We had a good time trying to build a campfire and just messing around. Sunday we woke up to lots of rain, but it was OK because we had the time to have a big breakfast. Racing didn't get started until after 11am, so there was a lot of waiting. The guys and I walked around and watched some of the bike and quad practices. Because of all the rain, the course turned into a muddy mess after a few runs. I made a new friend, Curtis Nichols (#16). He runs a 90 Predator like my MX quad and is a nice guy. We finally were called to run, but after we got ready to stage, they decided to move the mini classes to the upper track. That was probably good because I think we'd have had a hard time with the conditions. Garrett shredded a belt during practice, so he didn't get to run the 1st moto and Curtis' motor seized, so he didn't race either moto. Turns out Jordan's quad was skipping during the both motos. I was lucky, my quad ran awesome. I was able to get the holeshot and dominate in the 1st moto. Garrett was fixed by the 2nd moto and we had a pretty good battle going. He almost got me a few times, but I held on and took the win again, just a couple of feet in front of him. I had a great time and think this year is going to be really cool getting to race with Garrett, Jordan and the guys in the PenNY MX series. I hope Curtis gets his quad fixed, so we can hang out next race. 3.26.06 It's been a busy winter and it's almost race season. I have been practicing on my 300EX and as soon as it dries up a bit, I can get my production quad out too. I got the chance to ride a Hare Scramble course to practice for GNCC. My Dad, Brian and Wade built an extreme off-road course for 4x4 quads out back near my practice track. We have been having a lot of fun running it. Continuing work on my MX quad and have been doing a lot of work on our trailer. I installed my new tool box in the garage area yesterday. I can't wait for next month. 1.06.06-1.08.06 I had a good time at the Blue Cross Arena doing the mini quad exhibition during the Monster Trucks. Thanks to John Ross and Don Jones for the invite. It was great seeing everyone and hanging out with the guys. The Fonte's were there Friday and Saturday. We all got our picture taken with Grave Digger. Friday night, I couldn't get my quad to hook up and I hit every wall. Saturday was fun signing autographs during the pit party. Had a much better night after we installed my new a-arms (Thanks Dad!) and grinding the tires. Took second in the final. Sunday quad ran great. Took second in the first moto and first in the second moto. The final was canceled because Anger Management rolled and got oil everywhere. My friends Andrew, Zack and Alex came on Sunday. It was a surprise. Can't wait to start the race season. See you in April. |
| Williamson, NY |
