Well the season is beginning to wind down. I have three weeks off
until the Vintage finals in Atlanta and then the next weekend I'll be
racing the final Pro Twins race of the year on the streets of Miami.
With the first place I was able to take this past weekend at Summit
Point, I have finally dug myself out of the points hole I had put
myself in as a result of crashing at Pocono. Thus if I win the final
race at Atlanta, I retain my Vintage IV National title. If I take
second, chances are I'll lose my title. Presently there are about 4 or
5 guys nationally that have 80 or more points and thus have a shot at
the title. Of them, only one concerns me, Brad Morrison. He is an
excellent rider and is riding for a team owner that showed up on the
scene this year with 2 well prepared bikes.  Both are 2-strokes.  One
is a 500cc Suzuki Titan, the other is a 750cc Suzuki Water Buffalo.
The 750 is water cooled and rides in a Sealey frame, I understand he
has been offered $15,000 for the bike. The 500 is a Vintage III bike
and the 750 is Vintage IV legal. Brad has been able to get 90 points
this year using the 500 in Vintage 4 while they sort out and save the
750.  He was able to beat me 2 weeks ago at Nelson Ledges while riding
the 500, I suspect he was able to hold the throttle open over the
very bumpy back straight, which I could not, due to the Guzzis high
unsprung weight caused by the rear drive unit. I might be concerned
since Atlanta is like Nelson in layout and speeds, but thank god,
Atlanta is not anywhere near as bumpy. If he rides the 500 at Atlanta,
I think I can beat him, but the 750 could prove to be too fast for my
Guzzi. I can only hope they are unable to sort out the carburetion and
handling on the 750 before the final on 10/31. My ace in the hole is
that the 750 has an illegaly wide rear wheel (3.5" vs. 3" max), and if
I should lose to it I could always protest it.
  The race this past weekend went well enough. Mother Nature added some
drama as the weather was cold and it rained about a half hour before
our race was to go on. The race director delayed the race and scheduled
some heat races before the Vintage final and they were able to dry off
the track and put some heat into it. The air was crisp and cool and the
Guzzi was screaming. Fans were telling me it sounded spot on and I can
tell you it was making some awesome power. Of course the track was
slippery, but throttle control was a must as the rear would spin coming
out of just about every corner. The track was so slippery, that the rear
end would come around going INTO turn 10. Much like a flat tracker, I 
was "backing her in". I won by a large margin.
  My biggest fear is that I have let the maintenance down on my
machine.  If next month you read in this column about how my motor blew
up, you'll know why.  I have 14 races on what ammount to experimental
WISECO pistons from Raceco. I guess they have passed the test as far as
being good enough, but now I am pushing the envelope as far as seeing
how long they can last.  The trick is to replace them just before they
blow, tough to time right.  My clutch has also been feeling less crisp
on the starts and could probably use a new plate. I have been unwilling
to take care of these things due to my wrist injuries received at
Daytona (yes, still bothering me) and Pocono.  It is still quite
painful to spin wrenches in high torque situations (motors mount bolts,
frame bolts, cylinder head stud nuts).  Rather than give up racing, I
have given up maintaining the bike at the level that I used to. If I
have to give up racing because the bike fails then so be it, then I'll
have 2 reasons. I have been unwilling to stop racing because I feel my
ability took a jump this year and since it took me 5 years to reach
this level of skill, I intend to enjoy it.
  The last Pro race of the year should prove interesting as Miami is the
track where I had my best Pro finish to date (3rd). The points situation
is interesting too as I was just bumped out of the top ten as a result
of the races at Texas. Battley and Kraft are tied for 9th with 26 points,
I have 25. Since Battley is not going to Miami, I need only 2 points
(14th place) to make it into 10th overall for the year. If I am able to
beat Kraft by 2 points (in the race), I'll pull off 9th. Thus it should
provide a low key yet purposeful weekend. I am taking 2 weeks off to do
Atlanta and Miami, staying down south and not returning home between
races. My wife will fly down to northern florida and I will pick her up
on my way down to Miami.  See you at the races....