This last weekend in Tulsa was the 2011 ABA Grand Nationals, the final stop of the 2011 ABA National Series. Our young lady, Brooke Crain, was up for the National #1 Women Pro title while our guys Khalen and Nic were hoping to finish inside the top 5 in Elite Men. This was my [DB44] second long haul across the country this year, and thankfully Nic was cool to roll with so I didn't have to run it solo mission. We left San Diego around 11am last Monday and 18.5 hours later we were in a Waffle House food coma, roadside in the middle of Texas. After a couple hours of truckstop beauty sleep, we woke up to the sun blazing through the windows and hopped back on Interstate 40 to finish out the remaining 4 hours of the drive. We arrived in Tulsa around 4pm on Tuesday afternoon and with eyes red as tomatoes due to sleep deprivation, dropped the trailer at Expo Square and were off to the hotel to hibernate. Long drives aren't my thing, I decided.
Wednesday was setup day and it was fairly painless, especially compared to a 23 hour drive across the country. Afterwards, we treated ourselves to a nice dinner at a sushi restaurant downtown. Sushi in Tulsa? Yeah, that's what I was thinking too but since the franchise had a nice ultra-lounge feel, we thought the food could be alright. Wrong. We washed down our rubber with some Japanese beer and went on our way.
Thursday was nothing but practice all day. Pro practice ran for an hour around noon so I had a fairly short day at the track that day. I wasn't surprised to see Brooke, Nic and Khalen all looking really fast in practice, but I was however, surprised that I was still alive from last nights sushi.
Friday was the Race of Champions. This race was 450+ motos and it took all day long to run. Brooke finished 2nd in all of her qualifying rounds while Nic and Khalen were in the same qualifiers together throughout the day running 1st and 2nd together through the motos and quarter final rounds. In the semi, the boys were running 3rd and 4th when Khalen got passed in the last corner, ending his day early while Nic transferred to the main event. In the Elite Women main, Brooke was off to a good start sitting in 2nd down the first and second straightaways. In the second turn, she set up a high-low block and took over the lead, holding on to the finish taking her first big win since turning Elite.
In Elite Men, Nic lined up in the gate wearing his new hipsack that he bought from a truck stop in Texas. Who wears a hipsack these days? That was the question around the pits until Nic finished on the podium in 3rd place behind title contender Marc Willers and Chula Vista World Cup winner, Connor Fields. The magic is in the fanny pack.
Saturday was the big show, the 2011 Grand National. This was the biggest Grands in history with over 600 motos! The pro classes started at noon and ran their 3 motos and 1/4 finals during the day. Nic and Khalen cruised through motos, both winning a couple motos each. Brooke went 1,1,2 in her qualifiers. Unfortunately for Nic, he didn't have the start he was looking for in the quarter final and crashed in the last corner making his way through traffic, ending his weekend. Although unfortunate, with his 3rd place the night before, he ends his season in 3rd place overall which is amazing. Khalen transferred on to the semi final, and while sitting in qualifying position into the second turn, couldn't seal the deal and was done for the weekend as well. I think Khalen finished up 7th on the season. Finishing inside the ABA top 10 is awesome so congrats to those guys.
In Elite Women, the overall title was either going to be won by Brooke, or Dominique Daniels. It came down to the main event and whoever finished ahead would win the title, whether it was 1st and 2nd or 7th and 8th. The first two [of 3] main events were won by Dominique, who out weighs Brooke by an easy 50 pounds. This track wasn't very well suited for Brooke as she excels on World Cup style tracks, and this track was the same track raced on by 5 year old kids. With one main event left, Brooke needed to go for Broke and that's what she did. The gate dropped on the final main and Dom powered her way to the front of the pack with Brooke in tow. In and out of the second turn, Brooke went for the same pass that worked just a day earlier but this time, the two riders came together, neither backed down and both crashed. Had Brooke got up first and finished 6th and Dominique finished 8th, Brooke would have won the overall. When Brooke got up and ran to her bike, it was clear that they were the only two that crashed and would finish 7th and 8th in the final main which meant she ended up #2 for the year. She was the crowd favorite, they gave her a standing ovation for her efforts, and despite Dominique showing poor sportsmanship by not showing up to Podium when Brooke beat her the night before, Brooke congratulated Dominique like a champ.
It's been a long, action packed season, and I am glad it's finally over!!! December is going to be used for some much needed relaxation and we're back at it in Reno in January to kick off the 2012 National Season. I'd like to thank all of our sponsors this year: Rockstar Energy Drink, Kenda Tires, Troy Lee Designs, CLiQ components, Profile Racing, and Hott Shoppe Designs for the new jerseys we debuted in Tulsa.
Happy Holidays to all, and we'll see you in Reno!
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