Matt Weidman #20

I know that George Mack loves this track and so do I. Chad Cose stayed at my house and we went and practiced Motocross a few days and to Geneva short track to practice as well as ride on my track at the house. I also drove with Chad straight from Hagerstown all night to race the Medina TT on Sunday and drove back out there the following Sunday after going to Unadilla Motocross to watch the pros on Saturday.

So I felt like I was well prepared for Peoria and was pumped to do well for the Mack Daddy Racing Team. I felt so fast the first round when the track was tacky and my mom had thrown the stop watch on me and got some good times. The transponders weren’t working and DMG had to dig up the line and fix the system. Our first qualifying round I was 10^th and they sent us right back out for another 4 laps because they didn’t get everyone’s lap times and the system was still not working properly. The track was a narrow, slippery, dry groove and I ended up 17^th. I felt like the bike had a problem and thought maybe the clutch was slipping. George quickly looked things over and I headed back out for round two and did drop some time, which put me in 15^th. I was 19^th overall and had a second row start for the heat. Peoria MC Club did an awesome job of prepping the track for the rest of the day, making sure it was watered and dug up for each race. I got a decent start and worked my way into 5^th, with about two to go. My lap times were really good the last two laps as I had clear track ahead and was trying to run down King. On the last lap I knew I was semi -bound and just got a good start and finished 2^nd in the semi, behind Matt Burton. Third row start again, and I was thinking I have to do better in my heats! The bike seemed to have something going on but intermittently. It was fine in the semi for 8 laps, but starting breaking up and back firing half way through the main. With five to go, I really thought I wasn’t going to finish, but was still riding my butt off to try and pass Smith back. I finished in 12^th and had to be content with that. I know George was disappointed and I felt bad for him with all his efforts. I want to thank George, we always have so much fun with him and it’s always good to see Rob, Shawn and George Senior. George Sr. who use to race bikes, cars, etc. told me I looked good all day over the jump and I felt especially confident here this year. I am already looking forward to next year at Peoria.

Thanks again to all my great sponsors: Mack Daddy Racing, White’s HD, SNIP, Silkolene, Shoei, Tsubaki, K&N, Moose Racing, EBC, Motion Pro, Tuff Plates, Weiss Racing, Boughner Suspension, R&D Spring, Webcam, Millenium Technologies, Mikuni, Saddlemen, CP Pistons, Works Connection, Cometic, Chicken Hawk Racing, Vortex, Mr Sign and SuperTrapp, Hot shoes by George, and Larry Wormuth

I was looking forward to this race all year as I had gotten a fourth place here in 2009. I raced Hagerstown three years in a row and every year it poured and we had a tacky, gnarly, track to ride and I loved it! I qualified 8^th and knew with no rain clouds and the track getting drier, I was in trouble. Dry slick is still my worst track and sure enough I ended up in a semi. My semi was crazy as four of us were very close every turn, swapping positions, and I crossed the line in second. Third row start again and I went into turn one in last place. We had an immediate restart and I was last again. I worked my way passed a couple riders and finished 14^th. I have to say this was my most depressing race in a long time, I felt like my bike was really slow and I just couldn‘t make any ground. I was happy that some of my family drove down to watch, but felt like I let them down. My dad is getting discouraged with our results and the inability to find horsepower. We are not looking forward to the mile tracks and have four left on the schedule. I know for this year I just need to keep plugging along and get the best results I can with the equipment I have, but with all the money and effort put in week to week, it is getting tough to keep positive.

I thought I wouldn’t be able to afford to attend this one if I had to drive there and back by myself, so I was happy that I found a way out for me and my bikes with Dave Waters Team/Truck. I want to thank Dave and Rhonda and the drivers who took us all on this 40+ hour trip. We left on a Tuesday and me and dad stayed with Chad Cose and his family for two nights while in California. We got home the following Tuesday after the long haul home. We had a quick couple days to get bike maintenance done and back on the road to Hagerstown on Friday. When I got to the track I was excited and thought I might have a cushion to ride on. We ended up with a groove and after finishing 5^th in the heat, I was semi-bound. I got a decent start in the semi and took a few laps to pass Cose, and then on the final lap I got passed by Kopp. I felt like I was running a good line, but just didn’t feel “fast”? I took almost the whole main to get by Kirkness and found myself stuck in 11^th place with the rest of the pack too far ahead. I was frustrated not to have had better results after traveling so far, but didn’t really come away feeling like there was something specific I did wrong. A big thanks also to Norman and Pam Cose for their hospitality, we had a lot of fun and I took Chad’s kart championship away for the week!

We were feeling pretty good after the podium at Lima, and I was really excited to head out to I-96 in Michigan. I qualified very poorly, which was unusual, and I had to start on the back row for my heat race. I got a pretty good start, and worked my way up to fourth to make it directly to the main. I was pretty bummed that I missed the dash and the front row, but had a really good starting spot when we all lined up for the main event. I got off the line around 4^th, and was running 5^th right behind Sammy Halbert when I broke a camshaft and started fading back as I got passed by 5 or 6 riders. We had a red flag and sat for a long time while the officials cleaned up the oil spilled on the very narrow groove. I had almost looped the bike around coming off of turn two just before they threw the red flag! My mechanic dad said the bike didn’t sound too good, but it was my call to keep running it or not. With about half the race left, I decided to go for it. I got a decent start and was running 9^th behind Wiles and Lewis. We were pretty jammed up for almost ten laps and Henry tried passing John every turn, but just couldn’t get him. On the white flag lap, I came off four with a head of steam and beat Wiles to turn one- I had only one turn left to try and get by Lewis, but had to settle for 8^th place. I was happy just to finish with a broken bike. My dad said I got really lucky as nothing broke off in the motor and we got the bike fixed the following week. I was really pleased that my new sponsor, Julian, came to have dinner with us the night before and helped in our pits all day. He was pleased with my results and I was happy he could come with his busy schedule.

The last weekend in June meant back to one of my favorite tracks on the schedule! After just missing the podium here last year I felt pretty good that I could do it this year. I qualified 6th, 8th, and 9th in the three sessions, and then my good cushion Harley blew up on the last lap of qualifying. It wasn’t good at all, but managed to be a blessing in disguise. I was in the last heat race, and it was a tough one! I got off the line horrible, and was about 7th or 8th on the first lap. I worked my way up through, and got by Carr and Pearson with about two to go. I was pretty excited because this put me second in the heat and in another Dash! However, I managed to finish in my usual spot in the dash, a lonely 6th place. I was excited for the 25 lap main where I would have enough time to actually get up front. I got off the line horribly, and was around 9th to 10th on lap one. I worked my way all the way up through, and managed to get into third. I was excited the last few laps, and soon enough I was on my way to my first GNC podium! After celebrating with my family and girlfriend, we were all pretty tired and excited. It was great to see all the people who were excited for us, and it was definitely a very memorable experience!

Thanks again to all my great sponsors: Mack Daddy Racing, White’s HD, SNIP, Silkolene, Shoei, Tsubaki, K&N, Moose Racing, EBC, Motion Pro, Tuff Plates, Weiss Racing, Boughner Suspension, R&D Spring, Webcam, Millenium Technologies, Saddlemen,Mikuni, CP Pistons, Works Connection, Cometic, Chicken Hawk Racing, Vortex, Mr Sign and SuperTrapp.

After a little practice race with Sammy and Jethro at Lawrenceburg on Friday night, I felt pretty good to meet up with George and get on my 2009 Honda. I decided to tune on my suspension before the free practice and ended up 29th. The second round I hit the setup, and qualified second just a tic behind Wiles. In the third round I qualified somewhere around 7th, but this put me third overall. I had a pretty decent start in the heat race, and was running second behind Jared. Coming for two to go I passed him around the outside, and manage to win my first ever singles heat race!

I was really excited for the dash and main event. In the dash, I had my usual bad start, and finished 6th. It seems like this is just the usual with the dash, I guess 4 laps is just not enough for me. In the final, I decided to revert back to the low line, and tried a pretty worn out tire. However, neither worked after the restart on lap 9, and I slowly worked my way back from 5th to 12th. A pretty frustrating finish for the crew after starting the day out so great. We learned a bunch, and I decided to spend a lot more time now the next few weeks learning more on what to do to make the cd8 tires hookup better. I jumped in the car and drove straight through all night heading for NY. My Uncle Steve was promoting his first race at Electric City, where I grew up racing and he had raised a $1000. purse for the Open Pro class. I got to the track 10am, in time for practice. I rode 450Pro and Open Pro on the short track and a TT class for fun. There was a good turnout, 15 riders in the Open class, and I won all three main events. I finally made a decent paycheck and the whole family went out to dinner to celebrate Father’s day. My girlfriend; Diandra, my sister; Lindsey, and my mom all raced at EC too, we all had a good day. 28 hours of driving and three days of racing- all within three days and I got home at 9:00 Sunday night and crashed into bed!

My dad and I planned on staying out in Illinois/Indiana to hit three weekends worth of racing, so we loaded up the big truck with 6 bikes and were ready to go. Even though I am young, I’m still old school and really enjoy riding a framer, so I was the most excited to pull my C&J framed 450 out of retirement for the Dayton Old Time Newsies Race!

I got a phone call from Babe earlier in the week looking for a replacement rider for JR Schnabel as he was having knee surgery this week. I had never ridden the Yamahas and thought it would be a fun opportunity to ride one and also his XRs, so I said why not? The TT track in qualifying was very tough this year, as I was in the first group with all the top riders and never really got a good track. It flipped around all the riders, pushing many of the top guys down in qualifying, putting us on the second and third rows for our heats! Even though I was liking the Yamahas, I was struggling to get used to them and really didn’t seem to click until the last half of the semi. Of course this was a little too late and I passed several riders to finish 5^th and missed it by two. I felt bad for Clayton, Babe and the team, but they were gracious from the start and said I should just have fun for the day. Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t have fun losing, but I did enjoy working with both of them and felt I had to get past it and move on to the next day-the famous Mile.

Last year, I qualified top ten and finished 8^th and 12^th at the mile and felt like I had learned enough the past couple years to help me get a decent finish for the day- I was excited.

First qualifying I noticed right away the bike handled very well, but the bike was breaking up and we had to immediately switch to the back up bike. Babe and Clayton worked with me to try gearing and other changes, but I just didn’t seem to have any power off the turns. I was riding into the turns wide open, never lifted, tried high, low, on the groove, off the groove, but just couldn’t seem to make my laps fast enough. Many of my fellow Harley riders who typically “race “ with me on the mile seemed to be having the same trouble. I missed the main by one spot and decided earlier that I would use my provisional. The year has not been going quite as planned and I am already down in points, so I decided to salvage what points I could and try one of my own bikes for the feature. I basically tried all the same things again with my own XR 750, but had the same results; I literally never lifted through the whole turn, but the bike would fall on it’s face as I hit the groove on the entrance to the straights. It was very discouraging and I can honestly say for the first time ever, I didn’t enjoy the race.

I am thankful to Babe and Clayton for all their hard work this weekend and I had a good time working with them. Dad and I are staying up to George Mack’s all week and I will get some riding time in with Ion, Mikey and Brock before the Dairyland Classic and Gas City next weekend. We will hit the ½ mile at Decatur & Dayton and then onto Peoria TT.

After viewing the schedule earlier this year, I knew it was going to be a really tough time being able to afford to hit these west coast races. However, a huge thanks to Ron Wood, as he let me come out and ride his beautiful BMW. My dad and I flew out Friday night, and drove up from Phoenix to Prescott. After hanging out and getting some rest, I headed off to the track ready to ride. Since it was a new track and all, the AMA let us have an extra free practice session. I went out for the first time on the bike and felt awesome! I finished the first round in 5^th. It was a great start to the day, and we all were pretty excited.

The second session I was around 5^th again, and we then decided to try a gear change for the next one. However, it didn’t really work and we were 12^th that round. We changed it back for the last round to get a good time, but we broke a coolant line, and didn’t get to finish the practice. Ron got the bike back going again for the heat race, and we were confident that we could do well. I had a stacked heat, but found the right lines to work my way up to the lead for a little, but I ended up blowing the groove and heading all the way back to 5^th before I worked my way up to 3^rd. A video that shows me moving through the pack pretty good can be found here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ7YRHaaGNQ .

We missed the dash and the front row which was a really big bummer, but I felt really fast and comfortable for the main. We had everything ready to go and got an awesome start of the first main, right around 4^th or 5^th, when a red flag came out because we couldn’t see. It was pretty scary going into the turn completely blind, and we were all very lucky they stopped it. They went back out and put a little more water on it, and we were ready to go.

I took off the line, and right away broke a master link, and that meant the end of my day. It was a major bummer for me, Ron, and the whole team. We had a very capable bike, and I felt very good on it. We definitely had the ability to pull off a top 5, or even better. Just one of those things that happen in racing though, and you just have to move on to the next week. I want to thank Ron for the opportunity, I had an awesome time and would love to ride it again sometime!

We were now off to stop at Neeses on the way home for the Matt Smoak Memorial race. It is always a good time and a lot of competition, and it is a good way to make a few bucks on the way home. Paul and Garth worked the track in to make it great as always for the main events. In my heat race in the first class I got third behind Chris and Rob, which meant a back row start in that main. In the big money class, I won my heat and felt great for that main event. In the first main event I had an alright start, and worked my way up through to finish 6^th. In the 20 lap memorial race, I got off the line around 5^th. I slowly worked my way up, and caught up to Luke from about a straight away back. With around 5 to go I knew I was going to be able to make a move somewhere as we were in very heavy lap traffic. However I didn’t have to, as Luke got tangled up with a lapper and laid it down coming off turn four. So I took the lead and didn’t look back, and won! I was very excited to finally get a win, and to make some extra money that I lost at the stadium.

The next day the track was basically just an ice skating rink all day. In qualifying I felt alright and qualified 7^th overall. In my heat race, I had a bad restart and ended up finishing 7^th. I had an alright semi, and knew I could make it to the main. In the semi I finished third which was just what I needed for the transfer spot. In the main event it was so slippery we could barely ride around the track. I start making the track like a diamond, heading out wide down the straight and tight in the apex. However, I guess the officials did not like this, as when I came in I found out I was disqualified for going too wide down the straight. There were a lot of people doing it before me, so I was really frustrated with the ruling. However, I did finish 12^th. It’s a shame because I wouldn’t have ran this line if they had told us we weren’t aloud to. Apparently Steve Morehead told every other rider that they weren’t aloud to ride this line, however he forgot to tell me. Another thing that was a joke was the fact that they put orange markers on the inside of the track only before the main event on the second day. We had not seen them all week and then they were magically out there. Not to mention there were many riders going below them and to the inside of the track, and they were not even yelled at for cutting the track to the inside, however I was for going to the outside line. We were frustrated for sure, however the Mack Daddy team had a good week and I had a fun time with George and crew as usual!

For the first day the track was really bad but I loved it. There were huge rocks and holes scattered everywhere! It was basically like dodging the boulders in the track. I felt really good though, and qualified the first round by a bunch. The second round I just rode around figuring my time would hold up, but it didn’t and I ended up third overall. In my heat race I got off second behind Sammy Halbert and just stayed right on his back wheel the whole race. I finished second which meant the dash and a front row start for the main. In the dash I had a really bad start, and just finished 6^th which was a bummer. In the main event I elected to start on the back row inside, after the bad start in the dash. In the main I got off decent and worked my way up riding the top, then faded back and finally dropped to the bottom.  I worked my way back up through and finished 8^th. I felt really good at the end, and think I should have definitely got a top 5.

We were off to the new stadium for a practice day, and hopefully to figure out the new track and the setup. When we got there it had been raining and the track was extremely slippery. We rode for several hours and figured a lot out at the end, but the track was just in horrible shape. The Mack Daddy team all felt really comfortable though, and we were ready for the races.

We were at Volusia again the next day, and the track was good but not to my style at all. It was slippery and a little dry, but they did a good job on prepping it. In my 450 heat I had a good start and finished third. In the harley heat I started off good but just was spinning so bad I went all the way back to last. This meant I was semi bound for the first time all week. I easily won the semi and figured out a bunch of stuff for the main event. In the 450 main event I had a horrible start, and came up the pack but still finished 7^th. On the harley I was starting on the back row, and it meant I had a long race ahead of me. I had a lot of stuff figured out, and worked my way all the way through the pack up to third. I finished right on the back wheel of Kenny, and I felt really good. It was good to finish off with a podium and I was ready for the stadium.

We moved on to Volusia, and I was very ready to get onto a different track. In the first practice the track was rough and wet, and  I thought to myself that it was going to be a great day. However the track was fairly unsafe, so Steve Nace and his crew recognized this and went out and fixed it. It was very smooth and great for the rest of the day! In my 450 heat race I had a great start, and won my heat. On the harley, I had a stacked heat race, but finished third behind Jared and Sammy. The 450 final I had a good start and was  running third, Rob Pearson snuck by me with a few to go, and I finished 4^th. On the harley I had a good start and was running third, and felt pretty good. All of the sudden my tire started going away, and we believe it had a slow leak. Then Jared passed me and it got even worse. Right as Rob Pearson pulled next to me it finally spun the tube, and I got a flat and had to pull off. It was definitely a bummer as I felt really good, and knew I could have stayed in the top 5 or even better.

This was the night of the first All Star Series race. We were excited to get to race with Steve and his crew, as it is always a good time. After feeling decent in practice, I had a  good race in both my heat races. The first one was the 450, and I had a great start and just let Jared slip by me. I followed close behind him the whole race; I just couldn’t sneak by him. So I finished a very close second in the heat race, which meant a back row start for the main. On the harley I had a great race with Sammy Halbert. We battled back and forward, and he tried to make a last lap pass, but I held him off for the win. In the 450 main, I basically got off the line around 8^th, and ended up finishing in 9^th.  I struggled, couldn’t find the line, and just felt all around uncomfortable. I wasn’t alone in this struggle though, as Jared, Sammy, and Jethro all were struggling with me. On the harley I had a decent start and was around 3^rd. I backed up very hard very quick and at one point found myself running around 10^th. I fell in line behind Kenny, and followed him up till

we finished 7^th and 8^th.  We were moving up at the end, but just not quick enough.

So I was picked up by Roger Durkee, an old friend of mine. We left the shop on Tuesday, and made it down to Neeses for a practice day on Wednesday. I got to ride my 05 practice bike all day with Chris Carr, Brad Baker, and several others. We were having a pretty fun time and all, and even got to do a little bike swapping. I had fun on both Brad’s and Chris’ 09s, and was looking forward to the stadium and getting on George’s 09.

That night we headed down to Savannah with the Baker group. We ended up getting a hotel room and going bowling and just having an all around fun night. The next day we all decided we weren’t going to ride the practice day, so we just stayed out of the cold and watched.

My parents arrived late Thursday night and we were ready to do the the AHRMA race. It was a fun deal, and the track was prepped great all night long. I finished second in the heat race on the 450, after breaking a shock right towards the beginning. The same thing happened last year as well, and it was a little frustrating. In the main I had a horrible start, but worked my way up to finish 5^th. A little disappointing, but it was alright. On the harley I won my heat, and also set pole for the main over Chris. In the main I holeshotted him, but he snuck by me on lap 5. After that he pulled a little, and then I closed a little at the end. Second to Chris was good for the night, so I was pretty happy with that.

Neeses, SC

Traveled with Derek Hersch from Pa and Kenny Lamberti from Va to Neeses on Friday. Got the first practice in and had some bike troubles. Garth Brow came to the rescue and let me ride his framer, which was awesome. It started raining after practice and we were done for Saturday. Garth helped me with my bike on Sunday and I was back in action. I won both my features, but the old fast guy kept me honest and passed me at one point! I owe a big thanks to Garth for the help all weekend. Good to see Paul again too. My gram and sister drove over from North Carolina (where my sister now lives) on Sunday to spend the day with me and we had fun. Derek had a get off in the first main and wacked his head pretty good, so we headed home that night. I think I will be heading out again in a couple days to Chicago to George's house for some ice racing on Sunday. Getting used to driving alot of hours by myself and living in my van! L.T.D.- my sister said she's jealous and I better enjoy it now.
"Livin The Dream", Matt

This winter has been a bit crazy so far. I stayed in Pennsylvania for most of November and went to Neeses to race one weekend with Kenny and some other fast guys. I also went to Timonium indoor for the first time and had some concrete fun with Jake Johnson and the Pennsylvania crowd. I met Tyler in Kentucky to transport my motor to Kenny and a bike to George Mack. I have been playing on the ice, both at my grandpas pond and this past weekend drove myself back out to Chicago to George Macks, where I got to play on the ice all day with Brock, Ion, Jesse and George. I am planning to head to Neeses again this weekend and back out to Chicago next weekend to race on the ice. I didn't want my fans to think I have been sitting around all winter. Still working at the Gym one day per week and training. I would like to get back over to Mototown in Connecticut, they reopened with a new motocross track just a couple weeks ago. Still trying to meet with some sponsors and get some financial help for my twins program. I may have to skip the west coast races this year and just do the ones that my budget allows. I will update again later, am looking forward to Daytona.  44 days to Savannah!