SUNDAY, JULY 13, 2025 – WARMUP and RACE 2
Sunday morning was fairly routine. I was becoming aware of the growing familiarity of the whole MotoAmerica experience. A year prior, I had been so incredibly anxious that I was incapable of relaxing, focusing, or enjoying myself. Now, with a handful of MotoAmerica races under my belt, I was feeling much more comfortable and in control. Of course, this is how life works –- if you want to grow your comfort zone, you need to step outside of it. I had been expanding my comfort zone as a MotoAmerica racer for a full year now, and I was beginning to enjoy the process and appreciate the growth, not just becoming more comfortable, but also more confident. That’s really the key. Comfort alone can lead to complacency, which can stifle growth. But confidence can push you to challenge the limits of your comfort zone and motivate you to continuously seek to expand it.
One of my favorite inspirational quotes, coined by Nelson Mandela, is, “I never lose. I either win or I learn.” Of course, learning is only one step toward growth and improvement. The application of new insights is essential. During Race 1, I had picked up my pace significantly and had begun out-riding the bike’s setup. One of the skills I had been honing throughout my racing career, but especially this season working with Carbon as my Crew Chief, was how to identify and communicate about my bike’s performance, and relate it to track conditions, strategy, and race craft, and how it handles specific sections of the track, and under acceleration, braking, and turning. I have learned how to pay better attention to these details and how to convey them to my crew, but there also tends to be a special and unique language shared between a rider and his Crew Chief or mechanic. Carbon and I have gotten really good at this, which has allowed him to turn my post-ride comments into adjustments on the bike that have always helped to make me more comfortable and ultimately faster.
After telling him about some chatter I was feeling on the front-end in heavy braking zones during the first race, he made some small changes to my suspension, but also gave me some tips about how to ride these sections of the track better. He instructed me to use the morning warmup to test the new setup, rather than trying to set any lap records.
So, that’s what I did. I pushed hard enough during the morning session to see if I felt more or less confident on the bike, but not enough to take any unnecessary risks. As usual, Carbon got the bike dialed in, and I was pleased with the changes, not only on the bike but also on my riding style based on his coaching.
With no further modifications needed on the bike setup, all that was left was swapping out the tires for freshies, setting pressures, and topping off fuel. I had learned to trust my team to take care of bike prep, so I was able to spend the next few hours until the final races relaxing and making sure I would be ready to do my job when the time came.
The typical MotoAmerica fan-oriented festivities were scheduled throughout the rest of the morning, and this weekend, there were three Superbike races, the 2nd of which was the first race of the Sunday schedule, just prior to my final race of the weekend. That gave me plenty of time to enjoy the action without having to worry about having enough time to get ready for Race 2.
Today’s autograph session was a Hot Pit Walk, meaning that the fans got to visit the racers from the Hot Pit, rather than the paddock. Still not entirely used to being treated like a celebrity, I nevertheless did my best to give the fans the very best experience, not just signing posters, T-shirts, and hats, but also taking selfies with them or even letting them take pictures sitting on my bike. They seemed to really enjoy it, and so did I.
But all good things must come to an end, and we were instructed to clear out by MotoAmerica staff. The Fan Walk seemed all too brief, but you know what they say – time flies when you’re having fun!
Now it was time to start preparing for the race, so I went back to the RV to begin stretching, gearing up, and getting into my competition headspace. I took my time getting ready while Fong, Herrin, and Beaubier battled it out in their second of three Superbike races. About halfway through their race, I made my way back to the garage to begin final preparations for mine. Confident that the bike was ready, I concentrated on making sure that I was.
Shanea made the countdown announcements as the Race Control calls came through her radio. At her instruction, I mounted the bike and readied myself to be sent to Hot Pit. Bike on and started. Warmers and stands off. I rolled out of the garage and Shanea directed spectator traffic to give me a clear path to the track. I pulled through the Hot Pit and wormed my way toward the front of the waiting pack. The marshal released us, and I barged my way past a couple of riders taking their time, then followed the front runners onto the track for our sighting lap. Once again, we ripped around the track at near race speeds until exiting the final corner and onto our grid spot. Shanea was waiting for me at mine, and when I pulled in and stopped, she grabbed my helmet and gave me her customary kiss, then exited the track.
We were released onto our warmup lap, and, per usual, I used it as an opportunity to do a practice start, then hung onto the leading pack as we made our way back around the circuit and to our grid spots for the final time of the weekend.
Head down, elbows out, chest on the tank, eyes fixed on the light box. Lights on. Revs up. Lights out. GOOOOOOOO!!!
My bike surged underneath me as I got an even better start than Race 1. I also upgraded my strategy from the prior day, cheating my way toward the middle of the track over the T1 crest, then to the inside line into the early apex of T2. Well, best laid plans, and all…
Halfway through my braking into the turn, the leading group bunched up and apparently didn’t have enough room for all the bikes trying to cram their way to the apex. I saw smoke as tires skidded, followed by the pandemonium of bikes swerving to try and avoid the melee. I started adjusting my line and braking in an abundance of caution as I saw at least one bike hit the deck and skid through the traffic, toward the outside of the track.
Within a few split seconds, the chaos had settled, but my evasive action left a gap to the apex, and once again, Adan took full advantage of the opportunity, not waiting for a second invitation. Damn it!!!
Oh well. I gathered myself up, tightened my line to the turn exit, then got heavy on the throttle to try and chase him back down. As in yesterday’s race, I was hanging with him in most parts of the track, though each of us clearly had advantages in others. Nevertheless, I was slowly reeling him back in and growing in confidence that I might be able to retake the position at some point. Well, best laid plans, and all…
Somewhere midway through the 8-lap race, as I’m entering the heaviest braking zone, into the final turn — the super tight, no camber, left-handed T11 — Josh pulls alongside me on the inside and prepares for a block pass. Apparently, he overestimated how much room he would need to slow his bike for the turn and locked up his front wheel. His bike violently bucked and skidded, and for a moment, I was fairly certain he was going to crash. Somehow he managed to save it, but at the cost of making a smooth entry to the turn, for himself –- and for me! In my effort to avoid what seemed like an inevitable collision with Josh, I had to come to an almost complete stop, killing my drive out of the turn. His bike seemed much faster than mine, so as we opened our throttles to launch back onto and up the front straight, he easily pulled away from me. The worst part was that Adan had now cleared well off into the distance, and with only a few laps to go, my new strategy would have to be consolidating my position for the remainder of the race.
As a result of the near-incident at T11, AJ had closed back in on me. I spent the rest of the race trying to hold him off. I made a few mistakes as I was pushing hard to finish strong, and at one point, when I blew my braking into T2 and went wide, he showed me his front wheel as he almost had enough room to dive underneath me, but I managed to get back on the throttle early enough to stuff him into the turn and maintain my position.
The last two laps were much cleaner as I tightened up my lines, and was much smoother on brake and throttle. Not taking anything for granted, I focused on hitting all my marks and being as sharp and fast as I could.
One final turn. Hard on the brakes, drifting to the far right on the track, perfectly timed tip in, late apex, stand the bike back up, rip open the throttle, head down, shift through the gears, and race to the checkered flag! Perfect!
I crossed the finish line and felt an incredible wash of relief! Another amazing race — and race weekend — in the books! At this level of racing, a “win” is very personal for me. In other words, I’m not competing for a race victory or even a podium, but for personal glory. That includes faster lap times, better positions, championship points, and finishing strong. When I’m disappointed in my performance in the first race, it’s so incredibly satisfying to learn from my mistakes and improve my performance and the ultimate outcome in the next race. By all these accounts, Race 2 was a huge success. There was still plenty to learn and improve on, but also so many reasons to be optimistic and proud.
Another cool-down lap, soaking in all the cheering from the tens of thousands of fans. As usual, I made a huge spectacle of waving back at them, pointing as if I recognized them personally, and throwing heart and thank you signs. It was especially fun clowning my way down the Corkscrew, where I knew that Sam and Penelope had been watching the race. I couldn’t spot them in the crowd, of course, but I hoped they noticed me as I came around, and that I was pointing directly at them.
After finishing the lap, I made my way into Parc Ferme for the final time of the weekend. It means so much to be greeted by my team, especially when I’ve had a successful race. They were all smiles, and after pulling off my gloves and helmet, Shanea handed me my phone so I could look up the results. Not the top-10 finish I was chasing, but another very impressive P13!!! And 3 more championship points!
I was elated and fully enjoyed “detention in bike jail” as I shared hugs with Shanea, my team, and friends who had come out to watch. I checked in with some of the other riders and exchanged anecdotes from the race. This time, I hung around until we were all released back to our pits, soaking in and enjoying every minute.
For the rest of the afternoon, I took my time packing up our pit and loading the truck and RV. Shanea had done so much all weekend long that I insisted she go enjoy herself. She, Hailey, and Andie jumped on the e-bikes and cruised around the paddock, explored the Fan Zone, and watched a few of the remaining races.
Race weekend Sunday afternoons are the worst!! All the packing and loading, with nothing but a long drive home to look forward to, is a total downer. But it is what it is, and it’s a necessary part of the whole experience, which makes it well, well worth it.
I had a lot of help tearing down the pit, but I tried to do as much of the work myself as possible. Not only did I owe that to my team, but it also gave me some quiet time to reflect on the weekend. What a mixed bag it had been, full of ups and downs, highs and lows. Overall, it was objectively another huge success for me and the team. However, unlike the two previous rounds, this one had taken quite an emotional and psychological toll on me. I was exhausted from all the wrestling with my demons. Sure, I eventually won most of these battles, but they really wore me out. They were another reminder that my healing journey may have many milestones, but is never really over. My mental health adds a layer of challenge to my racing, and the stress of racing absolutely challenges my mental health.
So, I decided to consider this weekend to be a significant milestone in my recovery. I learned a lot about myself and where I have the most opportunity for growth. I made a lot of mistakes, both on and off the track. I’m not proud of that, but I’m also not ashamed. I’m human, and I’m healing.
Just like the very personal ways I define a “win” in my racing, I choose to focus on my progress, not on perfection. I have a long way to go, in racing and in life, but that’s very exciting to me. The racing is over for the weekend, along with all my battles – with my on-track rivals, and with my demons. But win or lose, I always learn and grow, and the journey continues…