Despite Crash, Team Velocity Racing Takes Heavyweight Superstock Victory at Willow Springs ROSAMOND, Calif. Chuck Ivey, Reuben Frankenfield and Mark Crozier had a challenge during round four of the WERA National Endurance Series after a crash set them back, but Team Velocity Racing wound up taking the Heavyweight Superstock class win during the six-hour race at Willow Springs Raceway on Saturday, June 4. The team initially rode their Yamaha YZF-R1 to a finish of third overall after a late-race battle with Army of Darkness, but their finish was elevated to second after another team was penalized for a technical infraction. Crozier started the race for Team Velocity Racing, getting the hole shot at the start and leading the opening lap. “The first hour was cool,” said Crozier. “I kept the leader in sight for a while, then I had some other guys running with me. I kept it steady and did a consistent pace. It was a good day. The crew did a great job and we never gave up.” After the first hour, Crozier handed the Yamaha over to Ivey. Early in his stint, however, Ivey crashed after a violent rear-tire slide. The bike was not too badly damaged, and Ivey was able to return to the pits. The crew had the bike ready to go again in just five minutes, and Ivey re-entered the race in 17th overall. During the remainder of his stint, Ivey was able to bring Team Velocity Racing back up to fifth overall. “I wasn’t happy with the times I’d done in practice,” commented Ivey. “On the second lap of my stint, I was already two or three seconds faster than I had been in practice. After the crash, I put my head down and went as fast as I could. The bike wasn’t perfect, but I put in some fast times and was able to make up some positions.” Frankenfield rode the third stint, followed by Crozier and Ivey again, as the team strove to make up for the time they had lost in the pits. During the last hour, Frankenfield was able to catch up to and pass Army of Darkness. As the race wound to a close, however, the Yamaha’s fuel light came on and he had to begin riding conservatively in an effort to avoid running out of fuel. Army of Darkness caught back up, but was unable to pass before the checkered flag came out and finished less than four seconds behind Frankenfield. “The fuel light came on when there were still ten minutes in the race. I’d done five laps with the light on in practice, but I didn’t know about ten minutes. I started short-shifting and not running at full throttle. Strategy really played into our finish,” said Frankenfield. The class win has furthered Team Velocity Racing’s lead in the Heavyweight Superstock championship. Their next chance to earn points will be at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on June 15, during round five of the National Endurance Series. Fans can keep up with Team Velocity Racing at www.TeamVelocityRacing.com. More, from a press release issued by WERA: Strong Turnout for WERA National at Willow Springs ROSAMOND, Calif. Last weekend at Willow Springs Raceway marked the first of two Western rounds for the WERA Dunlop National Endurance Series and the WERA Michelin National Challenge Series. Many of the series regulars made the trek across the country for the event, resulting in a strong turnout that included a number of local riders. For Saturday’s six-hour endurance race, 23 of the series’ regular competitors and four local teams took the green flag. Vesrah Suzuki earned their fourth overall victory of the season, taking the Heavyweight Superbike class win en route to winning by eight laps. Mark Junge, Tray Batey and John Jacobi shared the Suzuki GSX-R1000. Team Velocity Racing won Heavyweight Superstock, taking second overall with Chuck Ivey, Reuben Frankenfield and Mark Crozier on a Yamaha YZF-R1. Third went to Army of Darkness, who finished less than four seconds behind Team Velocity Racing. Sam Fleming, Ben Walters and Scott Fisher also won Mediumweight Superbike on the Army of Darkness Suzuki GSX-R600. Dalke Motorsports took their second consecutive Mediumweight Superstock win, with Josh Smith-Moore and Brian Dalke on a Suzuki GSX-R600. The Lightweight Superbike class win went to Cale Swiger, Chris Parrish and Russell Stoddard on the Ghetto Customs Suzuki SV650. Sunday’s National Challenge Series event featured 16 sprint races of eight laps each. In the expert division, local racer Michael Beck won A/Open Superstock and Formula 1. Tray Batey won B/750 Superstock and Heavyweight Twins Superstock. Chris Siglin took the win in C/600 Superstock, David Siminski won B/750 Superbike, and Josh Herrin won C/600 Superbike. Chris Parrish took another victory in Lightweight Twins Superstock, while Tommy Aquino won Formula 2. In the novice division, Nick Scoggins won C/600 Superstock and C/600 Superbike. Tony Palarie took first in both B/750 Superstock and B/750 Superbike. J.B. Layman won A/Open Superstock and Terry Heard won Formula 1. David Nguyen took the win in Heavyweight Twins Superstock. The WERA National Series will have a short break before teams return west for round five of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, June 25-26. Complete results from the weekend as well as updated championship points can be found at www.WERA.com. More, from a press release issued by Jessica Zalusky: JESSICA ZALUSKY IS CLOSE TO HOME AT ROAD AMERICA Elkhart Lake, WI – Kawasaki Team Green rider and Roadamerica fan favorite, Jessica Zalusky, raced in both Formula Xtreme and Supersport aboard her Kawasaki Ninja ® ZX-6RR’s at Roadamerica, June 4-5. In Formula Xtreme, Jessica finished in the 25th position, while struggling to race due to the wet conditions. “I am not a very experienced rain rider, but I wanted to finish,” Jessica said following the race. In near perfect conditions for Supersport, Jessica was able to gain positions to finish respectively in the 31st position. Jessica will race next at Laguna Seca on July 8-10. Jessica would like to thank her crew for their relentless efforts, sponsors and supporters for their support, and Doug Chandler for his guidance and track expertise.