Honda of Houston Amateur Report
Man this is the time of year where living in what I call the arm pit is pure hell!
I call Houston the arm pit because it is usually REALLY hot and REALLY humid.
This year going into Ponca City, we were more than ready for some heat. The only thing is, the weather was actually nice. I don’t think the temperature got over 85 the whole week. But, as they say,” The racing on the track was HOT”!
You know the weirdest thing happen at these National races!
Brad Frace has been on fire this year! Nobody really expected him to do as well as he has. I knew that he would be near the front, but I thought it would be next year that he would be fighting for championships. Brad has really been putting in the work, and it shows on the track! He won the overall at Ponca in the 250 B Mod class over some really fast kids, including Eli Tomac!
Tanner Krahenbuhl has always been fast, but this year he has shown that he is a front runner. He has been spending a bunch of time with Ryan Hughes, and it shows. Motocross is such an emotional roller coaster, and the weirdest things happen. He has a reed break on his 250 two stroke when he was a mile ahead. Then while he was trying to limp it home, a lapper crossed lines and Tanner went down. I know that spending time with Ryno makes you a fighter, so I expect Tanner to swing even harder in the races coming up.
Lance Vincent has such raw speed that it is almost non human. He hurt his foot at Mammoth, he sat out Ponca. He has the great skill of being able to find a hole at the start, no matter how he gets out of the gate. The race with Michael Leib was one of the best of the week. Unfortunately they got together in the Ten Commandments, and Lance went down. He went into the last moto with a slight chance at the overall, but all that mattered to Lance was winning the moto and getting up on the podium. Now that is desire!
Brady Kiesel has been really turning in some results this year. At Ponca, he got great starts and was top ten in all five of his classes. He had some bad luck at Loretta’s, but it is just one race, and he will turn it around.
Michael Leib was so fast. He is another kid that just has raw speed. The 250 B stock race was the craziest thing I have seen at the ranch since Travis Pastrana cleaned out Billy Payne. (Long story, but I can tell you if you ask). He went into the last moto only having to get an 11th to win the championship. After crashing in the first turn, hurting his shoulder and breaking his clutch lever. He was a soldier and did everything he could. After all was said and done, he finished in 14th, but the way everybody finished, that made him a national champion.
Vann Martin has really improved this year. He has been top ten at every amateur national this year. He also has been working really hard and it shows. His goal was top ten at Loretta Lynn’s and fell one point short in 11th. That was his last race on the 150, now let see how it goes on the big bikes.
All in all in was a great couple weeks. One of the brightest moments was having HHR bikes on all three steps of the podium in the 250cc B Stock class. I mean this really is an up and down sport, but look at how much time we get to spend with the ones we care about the most. I am extremely proud of all our riders. And I would like to send out a huge thanks to our crew. Mark, Allen, Aaron, Jeremy, our truck driver Dave, and the best motor guy that I know Naveen. Thanks for all the hole shots.
Honda of Houston would also like to thank its sponsors….
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