Thank you JR!!!


Daytona 2010 Unfamiliar Territory - New track, new bikes, my results, Daytona temperature, everything about Daytona 2010 was out of the ordinary.

The Memphis Shades Team rolled into the new Daytona Short Track with the new 2010 YZF 450. When all was said and done we left Daytona in unfamiliar territory, outside the top ten, eleventh in points.

Daytona is one of my favorite events of the year. Getting out of the state of Wisconsin after a long winter and heading to Florida for a week of racing is hard to beat. The past few years I've grown to like the Daytona Short Track as I had several tricks I learned that always seemed to get me to the front. I won a race here in 2004 and finished on the podium 4 times from 2005 – 2009. For 2010 none of that mattered. The old Daytona Short Track was gone and a new track was built outside of turn 1 at the famed Daytona International Speedway. The same dirt was used but the size and shape of the track was changed.

Night One:

The first national of the season started rough as I qualified 21st and would have to start on the second row for my heat race. I got a good start in the heat and was up to 5th on the first lap. The top 4 qualify from the heats so I had some work to do. I tried a few lines and found a spot entering high and squaring up the corner that was giving me a great drive down the straights. On lap 4 I used this line to move up to 4th. A lap later I used the same line and made a pass for 3rd. I was able to maintain 3rd and get a direct transfer to the main.

The 3rd in the heat put me on the second row for the main. I knew that a start was going to be critical as the track was very slick and making up time was difficult. I got a good jump and completed the first lap in 9th. I ran 9th for about two laps until I started to get impatient. Not a good thing on a slick short track. I went into aggressive mode and within 4 laps worked myself back to 14th place. These slick tracks really eat me up. I was able to make one pass in the 25 lap main and finished 13th.

Night Two:

The good thing about the double header at Daytona is you only have to wait about 14 hours to get back out there and do it again. The team sat down and we came up with a game plan for the day. We changed the shock spring, three teeth on the gearing – yes three, and lowered the front of the bike. All the changes felt better and I was able to qualify 9th. That put me on the front row of a very tough heat race. I had 4 guys in my heat that finished in the top 10 in the main the night before. I was third off the line and into a battle. The battle went into war mode as five riders fought over four transfer spots. I went from 3rd to 5th to 3rd. On the last lap Coolbeth went high and I went low under Halbert. Halbert spun up a little and I pulled up along side of him, however Coolbeth’s move around the outside allowed him to pull even with Halbert and I ended up 5th. Semi bound.

Now I was pissed. I raced the entire 2009 season and never had to go to a semi. I was really proud of that accomplishment and wanted to carry that through the 2010 season. Not to be. I was able win the semi and learn more about the track for the main.

The semi win should have put me on the third row for the main event but someone on the second row elected to start on the inside of the third row vs the outside of the second. So I moved up to the outside of the second row. Same drill as last night. The start was going to be critical as the track was very slick and making up time was difficult. The only difference was I was not even going to think about getting aggressive. I got off the line 9th and bounce around 8th – 10th before settling in and ending up 9th.

Wow. That was not what I was hoping for, a 13th and a 9th at Daytona for 11th in the points. The bikes were good, I was ready, and the track was the same for everyone. So why the poor results. It comes down to me, I just need to work on these slick, smooth throttle control type races/tracks. Come April a new short track will be added to the Schnabel practice compound.

Thank you for the continued support,

JR Schnabel #33