Honda of Houston Racing results Ponca City and Loretta Lynn's‏

Living in Houston ,
you would think that we could get used to it being hot. I mean it is 98 degrees
with about 70 to 80 percent humidity all summer long. I like to say we live in
the armpit of Texas .
But you can never really get used to this kind of weather. I try to tell people
all the time that there is no better training for Ponca and Loretta
Lynn’s than here, and I still strongly believe that. You can even look at
the Pro Outdoor Nationals at Freestone and see how well guys like Kyle Regal
and Andrew Short did. This year a couple guys decided that I wasn’t as
crazy as I look when I say that. Chris Plouffe, Mitch Alcorn and Jamie Gardnier
all came down and stayed for a few weeks prior to train in our heat and for
Naveen to help them get their bikes dialed in. Mitch doesn’t even ride a
Honda, but we let him hang out with us anyway. Those boys along with Vann all
pounded out motos everyday in the heat, and I really think it paid off for
them.   

Unfortunately just before these two races, two of our team riders got
hurt. Both Kyle Swanson and Lance Vincent had qualified for the national but
Lance had shoulder surgery a couple days after the qualifier, Kyle broke both ankles
and had surgery to have those repaired. So we gave the call to a couple of our
support riders to fill in.

These two weeks are by far the toughest in amateur motocross. We do two
weeks in Texas
at the first of the year, but the weather in March helps you maintain your
sanity a little better. The long days of summer along with constant sweating
really gets everybody, ummm should I say hot under the collar. We here at Honda
of Houston Racing are a really tight knit group, so we spend a lot of time
together. It really shows at the end of the week, not just with results, but I
like to think that we made some sort of impact. It really is all about these
kids and it means the world to all of us here at HHR to know that we have been
some sort of influence on these kid’s lives.

Ponca City was extremely tight and dry this year.
The track is exactly the same, but for some reason it was narrow and really
hard to pass on. Even after a good rain one night it was dry and hard packed
the next day.

Vann Martin with his Powered by Naveen motors pulled some great starts
in his heat races and started off the week with a couple top 3s in the B
classes. He got off the gate a little late in the mains but still managed top
ten in all three of his classes. He has really improved over the last year and
a half and continues to show everybody that he works extremely hard.

Jonah Cormier is one of the guys that we called up as a fill in rider.
He is a novice rider from Louisiana
that we have been helping some for a while. He also pulled some great starts on
his Powered by Naveen motor. Jonah paid off with a championship that should
help with his confidence at Loretta’s.

Jamey Gardiner is also one of the guys that we called up. He has been
with Red Seven for a while, and with our partnership with Red Seven getting
stronger he was a perfect fit. He has not done many of the Amateur Nationals,
so this was a big learning experience for him. He has some serious skills, but
also some distractions as all kids do.

Loretta Lynn’s had a huge flood this year, as everybody should
know. But the track was probably the best it has been in years. Since the
flood, the Tennessee
area has not had much rain, so the week started out a little dry, but the crew
there does a great job with the track and it was still good. When it did rain,
it sent the humidity level through the roof, and put them behind. They were not
able to work the track as much as they usually do so the track got super rough.
It was also one of the hottest years that I have ever been there. These two
ingredients play right into the hands of those guys that work hard.

Chris Plouffe came to Texas
and worked his butt off to make sure that he was prepared when he got to
Loretta Lynn’s. Naveen and Chris really put in the time to make sure that
his bike was just as prepared. He put himself in the right position to win both
classes and came away with a championship in the 450 B mod class. He even had a
front flat tire the entire 3^rd moto but rode his heart out to get 4^th
and won the title! He was on the podium in 5 of his 6 motos, that is a huge
accomplishment.

Vann Martin also has been working equally as hard getting ready. Those
boys were pounding out motos everyday in the hottest part of the day the weeks
before we left. We knew that he wouldn’t get a very good start going against
the 450’s on a 250F but knew that conditioning would play a part later in
the motos. He came from way back in the pack to right at the top ten in all
three motos. He showed that not only did he have the speed, but the heart and
conditioning to make it work. He crashed a couple times in the 250 class but
again showed that the skills are there.

Jonah Cormier has never raced Loretta Lynn’s before. The C class
is just as tough as all of them and he never gave up. Couple that with an
awesome engine package and great support from his family and Jonah still came
out with a top ten after a couple crashes. He knows that he has his work cut
out for him in the B class, but I know he is not scared to put in the work.

All in all it was another great two weeks, motocross is like the best
roller coaster you have ever been on. At first you are super scared, but when
it is over, the memory is awesome!!