Let’s talk about the opener a bit. At Hangtown you were right there in the mix for a top ten. Were you pleased with your performance?
It was okay. The first one you just always have to get through it. You don’t know where you are going to be exactly, and you just have to do your best and just improve on it. So, yeah, thirteenth is where I ended up and I went 11-13. I’m not that pumped on it. You know, I want to be in the top ten. I honestly didn’t ride that great. I struggled with my suspension setup, which is why I’ve been working on it this week and trying to make it better. I tied for eleventh and was only 1 point from tenth. If I had passed one more guy in each of the motos, I would have been tenth overall. It was a thirteenth, but in my eyes it was almost a tie for tenth. There were like four of us tied or within a point of one another. My starts weren’t that great. I’m getting some help from Kawasaki, so my motors are a bit better for outdoors. Not only are they helping me out, but also I’ve got a few companies helping me out with that. I’ve got more power now, so I pulled a wheelie on both of my starts. I’ve got to get that down a little better. If I can start in the 5–10 range, it will be a little easier to run that pace. That’s the plan, and we are going to try again this weekend.

You’re not far from where you want to be. It’s been that way all season for you. What were you testing today that you felt needed to be better at Hangtown?
Pretty much. I really want to be, and I know I can be, fifth through tenth every weekend. I really want to win obviously, but realistically 5-10—I feel like I can be there. The only problem with that is that there are about fifteen guys that can be in there. You know what I mean? I think just better starts, getting more comfortable on the bike, and messing with my setup a little more will be the key. There’s no practice like the race, and it’s hard to duplicate that during the week. For me, not being on the same bike in previous years and on different suspension companies, we were kind of guessing going into the race. Then you get there, get through it, and you see what you need to work on. Then it’s even more guessing through the week because you can’t replicate the tracks during practice. I just go off of that feeling that I was looking for during the weekend. It’s never going to be perfect especially from one race to the next. You have all of the factors and variables every weekend. I just look for a setup that is going to be consistent and that works the best overall. You’re always going to fine-tune it, setting clickers and sag. If you can get an overall comfortable feeling, that you’re confident in, you can always adjust it. If you know a bump is going to kick you a certain way you’re ready for it. When you aren’t quite sure with it and you are uncomfortable, that’s when it’s unpredictable. I’m trying to look for that good, comfortable feeling that works everywhere for me. That’s what everyone is trying to do for the most part. We will try again this weekend. The race is the best test for it, and we’ll see how it goes.

You said that Kawasaki has stepped up and helped you with your motors. A couple weeks ago you didn’t even know if you were even going to be able to do the entire outdoor series.
Yeah, I didn’t know for sure. I wanted to, but I didn’t know if the funding was going to be there for it to make sense. I’m spending a lot of my own money doing it this year, which is stressful. However, it’s going pretty well. I didn’t want to spend the summer at home on the couch. I always do everything I can to make sure I can stay out here racing. To anyone that is reading this, I’m always open and looking for a big sponsor or supporter to step up and help my program. You know, anyone inside or outside of the industry who wants to help me out—I’m definitely looking for that. I want to do this again next year if I can. I’m always looking for a good sponsor to come on board to help funding. I feel like I have a solid foundation as far as bike sponsors and people that I’m working with. I think I have a very good package; it’s just you always need that funding to do things the way I want to do them. Yeah, like you said though, I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be able to do the outdoors. I made it happen and I’m doing my best. That’s all I can really do right now. I don’t want to be at home. I know I can do better, so I’ll just continue working and get up to where I want to be. 

You have built your own team from scratch and have gotten a lot of support. How big of an accomplishment is it to get Team Chiz inside of the top ten?
It’s been awesome, and it makes it a little bit more rewarding doing it on my own. It’s a lot more work, which makes it more stressful on me at the track. Opposed to being on a factory or factory supported team and having everything taken care of. Obviously I would completely be open to that. I would love being on a team again, but my next-best option is doing this on my own with good support and people behind me. I’m thankful for Kawasaki. They are in an odd situation with how their year has gone, with injuries and other stuff with their riders. They obviously want more bikes out there. I was the second-best finishing Kawasaki rider at Hangtown behind another privateer. Metty [Brett Metcalfe] is doing his own thing for the first couple of races. I think Kawasaki saw that out of me every weekend in supercross. My worst finish since Daytona in supercross was a twelfth. We were right there around the top ten. I’m really thankful with them stepping up. They’ve helped me out so much by giving me another bike, some spare engines, and some parts. I was definitely lacking in that department all during supercross.