Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Bruce Wilkins

Alton, VA — Easter Sunday saw a second day of rising young gun Nicky Cummings recording convincing wins and building momentum early in his 2004 road racing season. Adding two wins today to his two wins on Saturday, Cummings and his CBR600RR Honda capped a remarkable early-season weekend in the CCS Southeast/Mid-Atlantic event at VIRginia International Raceway.

Cummings, of Mt. Morris, Michigan, started 21st in the Expert Middleweight Superbike race, yet by the end of the first lap had already worked his way up to fifth. By the second lap he was within a few bikelengths of race leader Trey Younce of Charleston, South Carolina. On the fourth lap, Cummings passed Younce going down the front stretch and held on to a solid lead for the remainder of the race. Cummings’ fastest lap of the race was a 1:31.7.

Younce, on a YZF-R6 Yamaha, finished second, but noticed rapidly-deteriorating transmission problems when he came into the paddock. That ended his day and the possibility of a repeat of the day before when Cummings and Younce battled virtually the entire afternoon.

Finishing third in the Expert Middleweight Superbike race was Greg Ludt, a U.S. Marine Staff Sergeant from the Cherry Point Marine Air Station, in his first-ever podium finish as an Expert. Former professional skateboarding star Ned “Peanut” Brown finished fourth. Both Ludt and Brown piloted YZF-R6 Yamahas.

In the Expert Speedscreen Unlimited GP race, Cummings again started from far back on the grid. Despite racing against several riders on 1000cc and 750cc bikes, Cummings took only a couple of laps to pull up close to race leader Matt Elliott on a GSX-R1000 Suzuki.

During the intense see-saw battle, Cummings dominated on the technical side of the course on the 600, while Elliott would regain the lead on the front stretch with the 1000. On the final lap, as the two bikes headed side-by-side into Turn 1, they swapped paint hard and Cummings went into the grass. He remained upright, managed to quickly return to the track, and finished only several seconds behind Elliott. Shannon Huffman came in third on a GSX-R750 Suzuki.

While Elliott apologized to Cummings in the post-race interview over the track public address system, there apparently was no apology needed as Cummings good-naturedly took the incident as just “some hard-racing” and let it go at that. “It was a battle for the lead…that’s all, and I just went off in the grass… things like that happen,” Cummings said. “I think we were just both having a good time out there.”

While Cummings had close racing with Younce in the Middleweight Superbike race and Elliott in the Speedscreen Unlimited GP race, the Expert Middleweight SuperSport race was a different matter entirely. Cummings took very little time to work his way not only to the front, but to distance himself away from the field, taking the checkered flag while the rest of the podium finishers where still in the Hogpen turn before the beginning of the front stretch.

Jason Moss of Greensboro, North Carolina finished second on a YZF-R600 Yamaha, while Ludt earned his second podium finish of the day on his Yamaha.

Tom Cummings, father of Nicky Cummings and former holder of a National Number in AMA dirt track, was satisfied with the weekend. “I think he’s got up to speed, where we were last year, so we’re happy,” Cummings said. Keeping his son’s bike fast and together was mechanic Robert Zerbisias. The team will return to VIR for both the WERA Cycle Jam in May and the Formula USA event in June, the elder Cummings said.

In other races, Dan Burnette won the Amateur Middleweight Superbike race on a Suzuki, Tommy Eckefeldt won the Expert SuperTwins race on a Ducati; and William Baragona won the Amateur SuperTwins event on a Suzuki.

Joe Ribeiro won the Expert Heavyweight Superbike race on a Suzuki. Burnette recorded his second and third wins of the day in the Amateur Heavyweight Superbike and the Amateur Speedscreen Umlimited GP races.

Darren Danilowicz won the Expert Lightweight Grand Prix event on a SV650 Suzuki with Michael Santelia finishing second on a RS125 Honda. Meanwhile, Nicholas Colley won the Amateur Lightweight Grand Prix race on a Yamaha, with Niels Grove finishing second on a Suzuki.

The Amateur Middleweight SuperSport event was won by Kenny Rodriguez on a Honda; Danilowicz collected his second victory of the day in the Expert Lightweight Superbike race; and Baragona won the Amateur Lightweight Superbike race.

Reet Das won the 125 Grand Prix event on a Honda with Steve Scott finishing second on a Yamaha. Don Poetzsch won the Expert Ultra Light Superbike event on a MZ, while James Hillis won the Amateur Ultra Light Superbike class on an Aprilia.



More, from a press release issued by OMS Sports:

Nick Cummings Takes Four At Virginia International Raceway

Defending Formula USA Grand National Champion rebounds from a slow start at Daytona to dominate CCS expert race action at VIR – winning four classes on one bike, the Honda CBR600RR

ALTON, Va., (April 12, 2004) – Teenage flyer Nick Cummings (Mt. Morris, Mich.) survived a gnarly get off at Virginia International Raceway this past weekend to capture race wins in four separate CCS expert classes (GTO, Middleweight GP, Middleweight Supersport and Middleweight Superbike) – all on one bike, the versatile Honda CBR600RR.

“This year I was more focused, that’s for sure,” said Cummings, who raced twice at VIR last year without getting on the box. “And we tried a bunch of new things on the bike and we seemed to come up with a pretty good combination. I really just needed the seat time and it turned out to become great racing.”

Coming from behind in two of his races, Cummings did suffer a fairly spectacular accident as well. “Yeah, I went down, did a bunch of flips and my hand ended up being pretty swollen all weekend,” said Cummings. “But I had it X-rayed today and nothing’s broken. The doctor said I probably just pulled a muscle, so I’ll for sure be ready to go at the next Formula USA race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisc. (April 23-25).”

In his last Formula USA race at Daytona, Cummings scored two top 15 finishes in the superbike class (13th) and sportbike class (12th). He’s amped to be racing Road America, a track that’s he’s only raced on one other occasion.

“I raced 125s at Road America a while ago,” said Cummings. “All I can remember was that it was raining, I was leading, then I crashed. So I’m definitely looking forward to putting the Honda CBR600RR up on the box there. The track’s got great flow, so we’ll see how the weekend pans out. But I plan on putting some respectable times up the first day we’re there.”

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

World Endurance
Assen, Netherlands
4/11/04
Final Qualifying Results:

1. Suzuki-Castrol Team, FRA, Suz GSX-R1000 (Vincent Philippe, FRA/Olivier Four, FRA/Matthieu Lagrive, FRA);

2. Yamaha Austria Racing Team, AUT, Yam YZF-R1 (Horst Saiger, AUT/Thomas Hinterreiter, AUT/Igor Jerman, SLO):

3.Yamaha – GMT 94, FRA, Yam YZF-R1 (William Costes, FRA/Sébastien Gimbert, FRA/David Checa, SPA):

4. Endurance Moto 38, FRA, Yam YZF-R1 (Gwen Giabbani, FRA/Frederic Jond, FRA/Stephane Duterne, FRA);

5. Herman Verboven Racing 2, BEL, Suz GSX-R1000 (Barry Veneman, NED/Hoen Vleugels, BEL);

6. Pajic – Kawasaki, NED, Kaw ZX-10R (Mile Pajic, NED/Arno Visscher, NED);

7. WRT-Honda Austria, AUT, Hon CBR1000RR (Erwin Wilding, AUT/Karl Truchsess, AUT);

8. Yamaha Phase One Endurance, GBR, Yam YZF-R1 (Sébastien Scarnato, FRA/Dean Ellison, GBR/Stéphane Mertens, BEL);

9. Bridgestone Bikers Profi 1, GER, Suz GSX-R1000 (Tim Röthig, GER/Ralf Schwickerath, GER);

10. Shell Endurance Academy, GBR, Yam YZF-R1 (Henry Fincher, GBR/Marko Rothlaan, EST/Alek Buseki, POL).

From a press release issued by Keith Code of California Superbike School:

Will Eikenberry smoked all comers at The Streets of Willow Springs CCS event today, repeating his 5-for-5 performance from the WSMC races held on the Willow Springs big course two weeks ago.

Eikenberry, who held the previous lap record at The Streets, retained the distinction of being the fastest man around the newly re-configured circuit, setting a new official motorcycle lap record of 1:18.7 on his Dunlop-shod, California Superbike School-sponsored, stock-engined 636cc Kawasaki ZX-6R.

Eikenberry is chief mechanic for the California Superbike School, preparing and maintaining the school’s fleet of Kawasakis.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

After reading your post 4/7/2004 AMA Pro Road Racing Participation Declining and reading some of the various opinions on message boards and websites, it is abundantly clear that racing has taken a significant step backwards in the United States. It is my opinion that everyone is to blame, but AMA Pro Racing and the manufacturers should take the brunt of the responsibility.

The AMA has failed the racing community in three areas. The first of which is that the AMA has ignored the real-world challenges of the privateer racer. It also has failed to promote a class that is undeniably a “Pro” class. The fundamental cause of the previous two points in my opinion is the lack of any consistent integrity when dealing with manufacturers. The AMA has not been able to successfully sanction and encourage promoters in a manner that creates product value. Because of this, AMA Pro Racing is nothing less than a courtesan to preferred manufacturers. It can only be reasoned that AMA Pro Racing has taken this position in lieu of the current class structure. Supporting this statement is the fact that a privateer has no choice but to compete in a class that has no less than 6-10 full and/or semi factory riders. This points to the idea that rather than have the manufacturers (factory teams) compete in one or two “Pro” classes, it appears each manufacturer picked one or two of the four classes to compete in that gave them the easiest chance to win. This would be laughable was it not for the fact it is damaging the viablity of this sport in the United States. Again, the situation with the manufacturers would not even play out, if AMA Pro Racing provided one ounce of product value and direction.

The factory riders need to take the blame also. Although the Pro (paid by a factory) riders that have consistently whined about privateers, WHEN HAVE THEY ONCE APPROACHED THE AMA to create a privateer class or classes? They haven’t. Did they forget what it was like to be a privateer? The factory riders have additionally failed to do anything to promote their own and privateer safety. It must be true that we would all sell our soul to be a factory rider, because many (not all) seem to forget where they came from. I have a great admiration for the talents of Aaron Yates, but I wonder if he ever once sat down to think about the solution to his alleged problem with backmarker at Daytona?

The privateer rider is also to blame. We have continued to support a series that doesn’t provide value to us. I am as guilty as any as I will participate in an AMA National this year, and my desire to race only overrides my common sense. It can be said that it is much harder to influence change from the outside, but there is no legitimate audience to hear the privateer on the inside.

Lastly, we need to look at the manufacturers. I would ask them, “Is the spirit of competition gone? Is it that difficult to compete on a level playing field? Are you so desperate to win, that you would drive our racing in this country down the toilet?” I encourage the manufacturers to spend less money per team and support “satellite” networks that would be able to pursue outside sponsorship. Outside sponsorship will be the key to making racing in this country something more than a hobby for the financially able.

It is my final opinion that the AMA really blew it this year. Last year was arguably the best class structure and rules that I have seen. The 750 (Superstock) class was a true privateer class with only one or two factory teams. This afforded a non-factory rider a great avenue to show their skills. The structure of the Superbike/Formula Xtreme/Superstock allowed privateer riders to enter more classes and get the valuable track time required to get a safe and competitive set-up together. It also allowed a privateer more revenue opportunities. Lastly (and most important), the current Superbike class structure (over the last two years) allowed privateers to build affordable competitive machines that a good rider could beat a factory rider with. (Is this why the factories bailed out of this class?)

AMA Pro Racing is broken. The treatment that should have cured the illness but failed (Take Back The AMA platform) only emphasizes the cancer that is deeply rooted in the organization. Sometimes the most humane way to treat a lame animal is to shoot it. I don’t know if we are at that point yet.

Marcus McBain
Houston, Texas

From a press release issued by MSS Discovery Kawasaki Team:

British Supersport/National Superstock Championships
Round two
Brands Hatch
April 12, 2004

CHAMPIONSHIP CHASE MOVES TO BRANDS HATCH FOR MSS DISCOVERY SQUAD

British Championship action resumes for the MSS Discovery Kawasaki team on Monday with round two of the Supersport and Superstock encounters at Brands Hatch, Kent.

Fourth place for Pere Riba in the opening Supersport round at Silverstone two weeks ago has left the Spaniard and his ZX-6RR team in buoyant mood.

“With the first race out of the way and some points scored I’m so pleased to be able to say I’m really happy with the team and the new machine,” reports Riba.

The former World Championship race winner adds: “This will be my first time on the short circuit at Brands Hatch which will be fun and we’re heading there with an improved chassis setting and improved tyres.”

Riba’s fellow ZX-6RR rider in the MSS Discovery team, Rob Frost, will be looking to secure championship points as he bids to make amends for a first round crash.

“The Silverstone round was far from perfect for me,” recalls Frost. “I never really felt like we had a good machine setting all weekend so it’s time to put that right at Brands Hatch.

“I know from Pere’s performance at Silverstone and from my experience now with the machine what kind of result is expected of me and I’ll definitely be looking for a top three finish on Monday.”

MSS Discovery’s Superstock ace Steve Allan is looking to improve on his third place in the championship after an opening round podium finish, preceded by pole position on the all-new ZX-10R Kawasaki.

Allan reckons: “The Brands Hatch Indy circuit is good for me, I qualified in third place there last year. We know the ZX-10R is very good and since Silverstone we’ve improved the suspension ­ we were running too soft in the first round.

“We’ve also got the full race specification exhaust system so there should be a little more power too. Silverstone was a dream start and I’d like to improve on that with a first win for the ZX-10R at Brands Hatch.”

Team owners Stuart Simmonds and Nick Morgan are confident their Kawasaki stars can compete for victories in Monday’s races.

Morgan comments: “We came away from Silverstone quite happy really. We had a mad rush to get ready for the first round but to grab the results we did has provided a solid starting point in both the Supersport and Superstock championships.”


British Supersport Championship points after one of 13 rounds: 1 Karl Harris, Honda 25, 2 Craig Jones, Triumph 20, 3 Michael Laverty, Ducati 16, 4 Pere Riba, Kawasaki 13, 5 Leon Camier, Honda 11, 6 Kieran Murphy, Honda 10, 7 Cal Crutchlow, Honda 9, 8 Jay Vincent, Honda 8, 9 Adrian Coates, Suzuki 7, 10 Tom Sykes, Suzuki 6.

National Superstock Championship points after one of 13 rounds: 1 Ben Wilson, Suzuki 25, 2 Andy Tinsley, Suzuki 20, 3 Steve Allan, Kawasaki 16, 4 Tristan Palmer, Suzuki 13, 5 Les Shand, Yamaha 11, 6 Jamie Morley, Suzuki 10, 7 Danny Beaumont, Yamaha 9, 8 Craig Fitzpatrick, Suzuki 8, 9 Kevin Reilly, Ducati 7, 10 Mark Heckles, Yamaha 6.

2004 British Supersport/National Superstock championship calendars
March 28 Silverstone, Northants.
April 12 Brands Hatch, Kent
April 25 Snetterton, Norfolk
May 3 Oulton Park, Cheshire
May 23 Mondello Park, Ireland*
June 6 Thruxton, Hants.
June 20 Brands Hatch, Kent
July 4 Knockhill, Fife
July 18 Mallory Park, Leics**
August 15 Croft, North Yorks
August 30 Cadwell Park, Lincs.
September 12 Oulton Park, Cheshire
September 19 Donington Park, Derbys.
*No Superstock round
** Two Superstock races

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Jason Pridmore crashed and was injured during practice at a CCS Regional event on the Streets of Willow course at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, California early Saturday afternoon.

Pridmore suffered a Grade 3+ AC joint separation of his right shoulder as well as a suspected broken foot.

Pridmore highsided his GSX-R1000 in what is known as the bowl turn, a banked 180-degree right-hander taken in third gear.

After being attended to by paramedics, Pridmore was loaded into a car and driven by a friend to well-known orthopedic surgeon Art Ting’s Fremont, California clinic, about 300 miles from Willow Springs.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Bruce Wilkins

Alton, VA — Nicky Cummings, the 17-year-old who won the now-discountinued, combined dirt-track/road-race F-USA Championship in 2003, won two races and finished a close second in a third race Saturday at VIRginia International Raceway. The sprints were part of the CCS Southeast/Mid-Atlantic regional event held on VIR’s North Course.

In two of the races, Cummings and his Honda 2003 CBR600RR had race-long, seesaw battles with Trey Younce and his YZF-R6 Yamaha. Cummings took the Expert GTO win from Yonce, while Younce won a close victory over Cummings in the Acropovic GTU race. The Expert GTO race ended under a red flag with a couple of laps remaining, with Cummings in front when the red flag officially fell.

Cummings then ended his day with an ultra-smooth, eight-second win in the Expert Middleweight Grand Prix event over Randy Rega, who was piloting a Yamaha. Jesse Janisch finished third on a Yamaha.

“Racing with Trey today is definitely one of the most fun things I’ve ever done on a road race bike,” commented Cummings. “To be able to go back and forth and not worry about what the other guy is going to do…that’s awesome. Trey’s definitely a smooth rider and I give him props on how he rides and I think we both had a really good time out there.”

With a racing number of 619, Cummings is more than just a young racer who looks up to MotoGP star Nicky Hayden. In fact, Cummings communicates with Hayden on a regular basis, with the former AMA Superbike Champion offering tips and refinement skills to bolster the young gun’s emerging career.

Cummings’ father, former dirt tracker Tom Cummings, and Earl Hayden are friends. In fact, Nicky Hayden’s first AMA Grand National dirt track win occurred on a bike owned by the elder Cummings and fielded by his TCR team. Both generations of the Haydens and the Cummings are friends and young Nicky Cummings used to spend time on the Hayden farm, riding with Nicky, Tommy, and Roger Lee when he was younger.

“Nicky has taught me a lot, but I think what has been the most important and what has really changed things for me on asphalt is to let the bike flow underneath me,” Cummings said. “Talking with Nicky a lot over the winter, this lesson has been drilled in. I know I still have a whole lot to learn, but this was very, very important.”

The connection to the Haydens can even be seen on the back of Cummings’ leathers. Sewn in bright letters is “Earl’s Racing Team.”

In other CCS races, Dan Burnette won the Amateur GTO event; Joe Ribeiro won the Expert Formula 40 race; and Jeff Flatt won the Amateur Formula 40 event. Joey Thomas won the Expert Lightweight F40 race; Darren Danilowicz won in the Expert Middleweight class; and William Baragona won the Amateur GT Lights race.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Tony Bell, who owned Spectrum Motorsports with millionaire partner Jamie Mazzotta, is no longer involved with the Irvine, California dealership.

When Bell and Mazzotta bought Honda Kawasaki Sports Center in 2000, the shop was ranked in the bottom 50 of about 1700 Honda dealers in the U.S., in terms of sales.

Bell was Managing Director and ran the business, which he renamed, relocated and converted into a Honda-only dealership.

The shop added Aprilia in 2001 and Ducati in 2002. In terms of sales, Spectrum recently ranked in the top 100 U.S. Honda dealers, in the top three Ducati dealers and in the top 25 Aprilia dealers.

Mazzotta owned KMS Hair Care when he and Bell became partners. Mazzotta has since sold KMS and has divorced from his wife of 23 years, Cheryl, a familiar paddock visitor and dinner party host during events held at Laguna Seca, near her home. The couple have two sons, former motorcycle racer Hawk and former car racer Zack.

Since Bell’s departure, General Manager David Pyles has been running Spectrum Motorsports.

Bell is the husband of former road racer Vicky Jackson-Bell, and used to tune her racebikes.

Reached by Roadracingworld.com, Bell declined to comment on the split but said that he is attempting to buy a Ducati dealership in Southern California.

At post time, Roadracingworld.com was unable to reach Jamie Mazzotta at Spectrum Motorsports, but left him a phone message asking him to return the call.

Ducati North America spokesman Vince Chiaro told Roadracingworld.com “We were all sad to hear that Tony and his partner had parted ways; hopefully, he will still have a relationship with Ducati. Spectrum’s been great for us, so we’d love to see Tony still involved with Ducati in some capacity. I know he and Brad Hagi, our area sales manager for the west coast, were talking about possible opportunities.”

Aprilia USA spokesman Robert Pandya told Roadracingworld.com that the company is having an open house at Spectrum Motorsports on Saturday, April 10 but did not have any official comment regarding Bell’s departure from the dealership.

American Honda is closed today.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Two recent e-mails from a soldier we know, who is deployed in Baghdad and who will remain anonymous:

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

April 7, 2004

Well, I’m sure you have been seeing the news over the last few days so you know it is a mess over here. Baghdad has been fairly calm over the last day but it was nuts a couple of days ago. Our area wasn’t as bad as the section where 7 soldiers were killed but we have still lost 3 soldiers over the last 3 days.

I am scheduled to leave for the airport this afternoon. Right now there is a lot of speculation that our BDE may get extended by several weeks in light of what is going on over here. It is all rumour at the moment–they have not put in a request for us to stay–but of course it is an option and if they feel it is necessary, they can always do it. If Baghdad stays calm, then they probably won’t really consider it. Our replacement unit is already about half here. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean anything since the unit we replaced got stuck here for an extra 3 months. However, our situation is also different because this unit has been here for almost a year–the unit we replaced had been here for only about 5 months.

So a lot of it depends what happens over the next week or so. I am just praying that everything works out as planned. I won’t believe I’m home until I step off the plane in Germany. And even then–until (name of significant other deleted) gets back it won’t really be over. Anyway, I will let everyone know once I am home. I’ll be off e-mail for a few days during the transition.

Keep your fingers crossed for us!!

Love…



April 8, 2004

Well, it is official–we are extended–for up to 120 days. So as you can imagine, no one is very happy. I’m pretty much going to have to start my job hunt all over again as now I’m stuck in the Army probably until October since we won’t even be getting back until August. Not to mention the fact that everything (name of significant other deleted) and I had planned for this summer is out the window. We’ll still get our leave when we finally get back, but by the time we actually get to take it it will be October, not the best time to travel in Europe.

Anyway, I’m pretty pissed right now so I’m going to close. But I just wanted to let everyone know. Also, I’m not sure where we are going but we aren’t staying in Baghdad so I don’t know what kind of access to e-mail/etc. I’ll have. We should be here for at least another week. I’ll let you know as I get more details that I can share.

Love to all…



More, from a soldier we know in Afghanistan:

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

It has been too long since I have written anyone and I apologize. Things are extremely busy around here and we are severely undermanned. Many things have happened since my last message. Most significant was an explosive accident involving two of my soldiers.

Somehow, with angels watching over them, they both walked away from a significant explosion. They both have some hearing damage, but for the most part are otherwise okay. Unfortunately several others were not so lucky. Four Afghan soldiers were killed by large metal fragments from 107mm rocket motors that exploded. An Air Force Master Sergeant had both of his legs broken by flying metal and an Army Major had his ear drums ruptured from the blast. It looks like the Air Force guy will keep both of his legs thanks to two field expedient tourniquets applied by one of my soldiers. There was no helping the Afghani soldiers.

I conducted the post-blast investigation and I determined that the most probable cause was an Army-specific lithium battery exploded (they put over 450 batteries on top of the shot to dispose of them) causing about a half dozen rocket motors to explode. There were over 150 rockets on the pile with a whole bunch of other ordnance. In total, the net explosive weight was over 2,000 lbs. I figure about 50 lbs went. If it all went, there would be no one alive. That is about it for that situation.

In other news, we held an EOD conference with a seven nation army called ISAF that work out of Kabul. There were Canucks mostly from Quebec, Italians, French, Germans, Estonians, Polish, and a Brit. We demonstrated some of our tools, let them play with our robots and gear, and then had a cookout. I was able to score some t-bone steaks and rock lobster from a source at the chow hall. The control team commander could only get frozen fatty burgers and dogs with sliced wheat bread for buns. Anyhow, I mixed up what I could for a marinade (garlic salt, onion flakes, worstershire sauce, spicy mustard, and Dr. Pepper) and a dry rub (coarsely ground coffee, black pepper, garlic salt, and Cajun seasoning) to give the steaks a little bam!

The coffee is actually really good with the steak. It has a nice mellow flavor after you cook it. Try it some time with some New York strips. Grind 1 tbsp. good coffee beans with 1 tbsp. whole peppercorns and then thoroughly coat each side of a room-temp steak. Grill to your liking.

The Italians brought us a case of wine which was nice since we are not allowed any alcohol. We made somewhat of a Sangria which went well with the steak. The only thing I didn’t have besides side dishes was butter for the lobster. All in all, I think we put on a good showing for the foreigners.

I’ve started a cigar club in the company. Five of us have pooled our cash and ordered a variety of cigars off of the internet. We generally find time in the afternoons to kick back for a half-hour and enjoy a smoke. I’ve also laid my hands on a box of Cuban cigars which I am almost through with.

I’m going to have to start cutting back because I don’t think (name withheld) will be too happy with me having cigar breath all the time. The liquor filled chocolates that (name withheld) sent go mighty nice with the cigars.

I’ve been on a couple of missions in the past few months. I got to spend about a week at the firebase after I did the accident investigation. Things were pretty relaxed out there. I mostly wore cargo pants and a t-shirt with my Montecristo hat. Most of the Special Forces wear modified uniforms or civilian clothes. We generally slept in and did disposal shots (getting rid of ordnance by explosion) in the afternoon because de-miners in the area did not want detonations before noon. We would do one or two shots and then come back for dinner. The food was much better out there because the cook is only making food for maybe 50 people, instead of 10,000 at Bagram. We also had Afghani food a couple times a week. Kabobs, jasmine rice with raisins, nuts, and orange peel, meatballs, fries, and flat bread. We usually had a camp fire at night and one of the interps would make runs to Kabul for booze weekly so I had a bit of Johnnie Walker Red to go with my cigars. As you can well imagine, I wasn’t too excited about coming back to the Wally World of Bagram.

I also got to run a couple missions in the mountains near Bagram. The villages aren’t that far away as the crow flies, but when driving these goat trail roads it takes 3-4 hours to go 30-40 kilometers. On one mission we towed a 6×6 Polaris ATV in our trailer because the village was not accessible by Humvee. We had to ride about a kilometer and a half to get to the village. In the village was a cache of ordnance that was hidden in an underground room that they dug into the side of a hill. They had to dig down 4 feet to get to the doors. I went inside while they were removing the ordnance. The Hajis do not respect the ordnance and often mishandle/abuse it. I tried showing them how to be gentle with the stuff, but they laughed and started throwing the stuff to each other and on the ground. I immediately climbed out of the cave and told the other US forces to move back 200 meters behind some building until Haji moved everything out. Haji can die for his country, I don’t need to. Anyhow, we then had to move all of the stuff (about 600 pieces) two kilometers away to blow it up. We got about 1/3 of it moved with ATVs until the Marines were finally able to get a Humvee up the snowy trail (they got stuck numerous times) and we loaded the rest. The Humvee got stuck going out, too. The ground was just soup. We finally got back and blew the stuff a couple of days later.

Another mountain mission was even crazier. Our vehicle had bad fuel and some problems with the torque converter. We just didn’t have any power. Climbing through the mountains was too much for her and she broke down. We were almost 3/4 of the way to the village. We took our essential gear and hopped into the Toyota Land Cruisers that the guys we were with were driving. Side note: Toyota is the way to go…they need to come out here and do their commercials. These things go everywhere and don’t break down. You see Toyota trucks and even vans and Corollas going places where Humvees can’t. Anyhow, we got near the village but had to hike up to it from a riverbed. The village had several locations with ordnance that is pretty significant such as rockets that can be fired at our bases with a motorcycle battery. The village was a former Taliban stronghold so we were pretty cautious going in. It turned out that they were willing to turn stuff over (cause if they do so willingly, they get paid) and started bringing stuff out from everywhere. I had to go down into two caves/hiding spots to retrieve stuff. The kicker was that we couldn’t transport the stuff out of there. We needed to get rid of the stuff nearby. I found a natural cave/fissure down the riverbed from the village in a sort of canyon. I didn’t want to damage the mud huts in the village, cause then the civil affairs guys end up paying for them. The Hajis helped us hand-carry all of the stuff (about 750 lbs of explosives, but more like 2000-3000 lbs of actual weight) to the cave. We set up the shot and went down the canyon about 300 meters (really close for the size shot, but we were around the corner of the canyon and protected from flying frag) and I set my camera on a tripod and started video.

The video rocks but my brand new camera almost bit the dust. I cannot believe it still was standing after the shockwave. Flaming balls of burning propellant were landing within 10 feet of my camera. Luckily my camera was OK. I wish I could send it to everyone but the file is too big. Maybe I can put it on a website. I will check it out. I will also send some pictures in another email.

Well, that’s about it for now, about 2 more months for us. Time has gone quickly but I am ready to get home and be with my babe. Hope everyone is doing well and has a good Easter.

Take care…

From a press release issued by Clear Channel Entertainment — Motor Sports:

Formula USA won’t gamble with NASCAR in Las Vegas

Formula USA Schedule Update

Due to a shift in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule, Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s NCTS race is now on September 24-25-26. The facility has asked Formula USA to move the combined Formula USA/CCS three-daye event originally scheduled for September 24-25-26 to the previous weekend of September 17-18-19, to limit logistical issues.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway has stated that Formula USA could stay on the same weekend, however the new date works well with the Pacific and Southwest regional CCS schedules, and the old date would prove difficult with the shortage of hotel rooms and traffic problems which would likely negatively impact the event. Formula USA/CCS Competition Director Kevin Elliott commented stating, “I feel the best course of action would be to move the date, which will provide a better weekend of racing and less logistical hassle for our racers.”

The weekend will still host the full compliment of racing with all CCS series classes and a full Formula USA class schedule including Sportbike, Superbike, Thunderbike, the newly added Formula Sportbike, and the 200 Mile Team Challenge series events.

Formula USA Championship Series
Feb 26-29 Daytona Intl Speedway
April 23-25 Road America
May 29-31 Summit Point
June 18-20 New Hampshire Intl
June 25-27 Virginia Intl Raceway
August 13-15 Barber Motorsports
September 17-19 Las Vegas Classic Course
October 22-24 Homestead-Miami Speedway

Formula USA
National Team Challenge Events
Feb 26 Daytona Intl Speedway
April 23 Road America
May 29 Summit Point
June 18 New Hampshire Intl
June 25 Virginia Intl Raceway
August 13 Barber Motorsports
September 17 Las Vegas Classic Course
October 22 Daytona Intl Speedway

Pacific Roadracing Championship
February 22 Firebird East
April 11 Streets of Willow
Apr 30-May 1 Las Vegas Classic Course
May 2 Las Vegas Classic Course
June 5 Streets of Willow
July 11 Buttonwillow
September 17-19 Las Vegas Classic Course
November 7 Buttonwillow
Dec 12 Streets of Willow

Southwest Roadracing Championship
February 22 Firebird East
April 11 Streets of Willow
Apr 30-May 1 Las Vegas Classic Course
May 2 Las Vegas Classic Course
May 30 Firebird East
July 11 Buttonwillow
September 17-19 Las Vegas Classic Course
October 10 Firebird Intl
November 14 Firebird East
Dec 12 Streets of Willow

For the complete Formula USA and Championship Cup Series schedule visit www.FormulaUSA.com or www.CCSracing.com