Tony Davila #18h - Stories

Race Report July 25, 2009

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:33:38 +0700

Hi Everyone,

            This weekend was the hot shoe in Elkins West Virginia on Friday and National in Hagerstown Maryland Saturday. We left Iowa Thursday morning right after I finished my night shift at the grocery store I am working out. I slept most the day but woke up to relieved Dick from driving for a while. It was a very long day with bet on weather the whole way. We got to our motel late Thursday and got a lil rest before the next day of racing.

            The next morning we stopped and picked up some subway’s for later that day. We got to the track; escorted by a father-son duo on Harleys we met at the gas station. After sign ups, unloading and tech inspection. It started to rain. I was skeptical if we would ride but the AMA crew insured a race so we waited. Every time it would stop raining and the track would dry out it would start to rain some more. Soon enough the track dried and we got out for practiced it was on.

            For how much rain we got it was one of the best tracks we’ve raced yet this season. It was more like a large ¼ mile then a ½ and had a generous banking. With the moisture in the track you could ride any line and make it work.

Practice felt god and I felt faster every lap. When we got into scratch heats I found a great spot on the line and got one of the best starts I’ve had all season. I got 3rd and it wasn’t long before we were lined up for our qualifying heats. Top 4 qualified. I was second into the first corner and was passed coming out of turn 4. About two laps later I ran wide coming out of turn four and was passed two more times and put myself out of the main.

My night was over and we headed to back to the motel for the night. The next morning we packed up and headed off for the 5-hour trek through the mountains of West Virginia. Never in my life have I seen houses made of 4 mobile homes held together by duct tape and super glued before. It was quite an experience how some people live. And before we knew it we were in Maryland and in a big city. It kind of reminded me of home.

When we got to the track we were surprised to see sooo many people. It was sure to be a heck of a show. When I saw the track I was pretty excited. It was a very big red clay ½ mile. When the wheel packing trucks were about done the track looked amazing!

Just after I got through tech, it stated to rain…again. There was talk about rain-outs but again AMA pulled the riders together for a riders meeting ensuring a race.

It was about 4 more tries to dry the track out and start practice before we actually got rolling. The track would have been very cool but with all the moisture in the track the corners turned very rough and sticky. I couldn’t put my foot down because every time my foot would fling back and I really didn’t want to hurt my knee anymore then I had to.

The heat races were adjusted to suit our rushed agenda. There were 2 heats of 18 and 9 from each heat. I was on the third row oh my heat. I got an amazing start. I was at about 6h place by the second lap. Coming around at about half way a rider ran it up the inside of me and almost lost it into the pack ahead of me. Instead of getting on it and passing the pack I rolled off the throttle and was passed a few times. I ended up two out of transfer position.

The weekend wasn’t quite what I was looking for nor was it what I have been looking for but with the miles coming up I am very confident that good results and possibly a podium and soon to come.

Thank you so very much for helping me follow my dreams and your continued support in my program.

Tony

Race Report July 4th

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:40:31 +0700

Hey everyone!

This has been a long week of racing, which was like all racing adventures, like a roller coaster.

It all started in Lima Ohio. The track was a very wide very fast ½ mile. The straight-aways were hard packed with marble-like pebbles. Going into the corners was a downward slope into DEEEP limestone cushion. I really like to ride cushion ½ miles so I thought today would be a good day.

Practice started and we had almost no changes to make. Qualifying was the best it’s gone for me all year. I qualified 11th guaranteeing me a spot on the front row of the heat. (Again, another first)

The heat looked like it was going to be a sure thing but sure enough Murphy’s Law bit me in the butt. The straight-aways the bike felt like it was having ignition problems because the bike would just cut out and stop abruptly. I pulled in after getting passed by the whole field and we got to looking for the problem. We found that the back wheel was rubbing and somewhat wedged in the front of the swing arm.

I had last pick on the third row of the semi and only 4 transferred. I did all I could but could not advance far enough ending my night right there.

We drove all through the night to get to the Amateur Grand Nationals in Du Quoin Illinois. The mile was the first event and I felt strong. All went well through the practice. The heat was one of the most exciting I have ever had. I got a terrible start, but the Weirbach Racing 450 was powerful enough to bring me right back to the front pack. Toon, Chebultz, Springsteen, and I had a hard charging last few laps with a new leader every straight. We came out of turn 4, 3 wide. I was on the very outside and was being pushed closer and closer to the wall the closer we got to the start/finish. We came across the line after Chebultz, who was trailing out of 4 drafted for 1st. while I took 2nd just barley out horse powering the rest and getting a front row main starting spot.

By the mains holes that had been developing in turns 1 and 2 turned to huge dryslick holes. I had a great starting line pick but spun hard and was last off the line. On the mile a mistake like that is very hard to over come. I fell far enough behind the lead pack I could not draft back and ran the race by myself and finished 7th, 1 spot out of the money.

I took the next two races off, the TT and Short track. These two races were races that could put my weaker left knee in vulnerable positions. I raced again on Wednesday on the 1/2 mile.

All day I got faster and faster and taking third in my heat I got second row on the main but wasn’t sent to a semi. For the main we made a few changes that really paid off. I got a great start and by the first corner I was in the middle of the front row. I pretty much spent the whole race battling back and fourth with Jeffery Carver. With 5 laps left I made a pass that stuck and tried to run down 5th place but ran out of laps after just about closing in.

The next day was the super short “short track.” The pro singles class was ran the second half of the day after “group 2” 250’s and up, laid down a ton of rubber making for a very narrow very slippery short track. The event was ran in a matter of 2 ½ hours. I was in 6th place through the race until blowing turn 1-2 on the last lap and being passed twice. It was a bummer not making another money spot.

Were back in Iowa now and I will be training and working until Hagerstown MD on the 25.

Thanks for all your support. You truly make chasing my dreams possible. Happy 4th!!

Springfield Memorial Day Weekend

Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 +0700

Hey All,

For those of you who didn't know, this weekend was the world famous Springfield Mile weekend. Me and Pops left SFO Thursday at around noon. Just getting through security proved to be a challenge once again. My knee brace made the metal detector sound off. I was taken aside and check to make sure I was not a threat to national security. We had a very uneventful flight to St. Louis.

Once we landed and got checked in at Motel 6 (they left the light on for us...). Dad and I went to the local movie theatre and watched the new Terminator movie. It was opening night and I could count the spectators on one hand! The next morning we headed off to watch some great amateur TT racing. The next day I made a personal decision to ride practice but not push it to hard. I really wanted to race the mile the next day a do well. Timed practice didn't go that well for me and I ended up running near the slow end of the list and nor qualifying.
After practice we had open pits where we shook hands and signed autographs for fans and i tried to sell some of the KILLER Tony Davila racing shirts we had made a few days earlier. Besides watching two great main events, the most exciting part of my day was when the Kawasaki pit and tents went up in flames! Watching the races that day only made me more anxious to try to prove myself the next day on the mile.

Thanks To Dick Weirbach, the bikes were ready to roll out for practice on Sunday. Tech went smooth and without incident. The 1st practice that was un-timed I felt like I rode like a sissy. After making a few changes I went out for my timed practice. Forgetting the importance of drafting, I went out ahead of everyone and ran a time that put me in 24th. Knowing I had to hurry and correct my mistake I teamed up with the 3 fastest riders in my practice to draft with and qualified 14th.

My time put me on the second row of the heat and behind the 2 fastest riders in the race. I got a great start and by the 1st corner was in the thick of the front row pack. Swapping many positions throughout the race I finished in 6th place. I was in the pits sweating bullets worrying about running an LCQ when dad told me the top 7 transferred directly to the main event! (I made my 1st pro main!) Again I was on the second row for the main and again behind 2 fast riders!

Off the start I again found myself in the thick of the front row riders by the 1st corner and what a 1st corner it was! Who knew clipping bar ends and laying rubber on each others number plates would be so much fun going over 100-mph?! There were alot of close calls and the draft took a great toll taking me from 6th to as far as 3rd and as far back as 9th where I finished. A lap past the halfway mark Shayna Texter and Mike Toon got each others bars tangled in each others leathers as I was drafting them and almost hit the wall. I ducked out to the left hard and my foot came off the peg. I was more worried about getting past the incident and came into the corner with my foot waving in the wind. Luckily Shayna and Mike survived the corner but someone behind us didn't. There was a restart where I got another great start. In a few laps I managed to make it to third down the back straight and through turn 3-4 but was drafted down the straight to the line. I managed to settle in at 4th or 5th into the last corner but someone almost took out my front tire when he hit a bump and I went wide. I lost so much momentum that I was passed a bunch and was shuffled back to 9th for the checkers.

We had reserved our tickets for Tuesday just in case of a possible rain date. Luckily weather permitted the races to finish so the next morning my father and I met with Steve and Stevie Bonsey , Ray Abrams of A&A Racing and friend Gary Tonda to make our journey to St. Louis. We Checked into a Motel 6 (the light was still on...) and started brainstorming for something to do. There was some small excitment when the people down the hall were arrested out of there room for smoking CRACK!!! yeah it was WILD. Stevie and I found a local go-cart place that would let us run rain or shine. We had fun after we let Ray pass us, and teamed up stuffing him in to tires and and almost spinning out Stevie into the grass (he should stick to motorcycles!).

Overall it was a successful weekend and I was happy with my performance on the mile thanks to the fast Weirbach Racing Hondas....and like the Terminator say's "I'll be bach!"

A SUPER BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT MAKES CHASING THIS DREAM POSSIBLE!!

MOM&DAD, WierBach racing, A&A Racing, Motion Pro, Rod Lake Racing, Digger Helm 57, Slide ways Racing, Hlebo Bros. racing suspension, AGV helmets, Dainese, MDK Motorsports, Raceimage, JGPhotowerx, #12, D's Leathers, JD Cahill Electric, Calco Fence, Reinhard racing, Barnett clutches, General Engineering, Wiseco, K&N filters, Saddlemen, Spider grips, G2 ergonomics, Bob Berry Racing,Firecoat powder coating, Boyesen, Supertrapp, VP Midwest fuel, Rebel gear, Cycra racing, Foudree graphics, T n T Honda, Engine Ice, Regina chain, Pingel Products, Durelle Racing, Performance Machine, Cheney Engineering. SlicArt Custom Apparel , TOP1 oils.

Lodi Cycle Bowl

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0700

This weekend kicked off the Lodi Cycle Bowl season with a two day opener. Saturday was the TT race which ran late into the night with the last race ending at 1:30 AM. We are in still in the process of setting up our Rod Lake sponsored DTX 450 for TT's, so I rode my framer on Sunday. My racing experience started at 6:30AM Sunday morning when my father and I loaded the truck and headed off to the track. We arrived with just enough time to sign up, unload and get dressed before it was time for practice.

The track was very wet my first practice but all felt like it was going well. The second practice the track had come in quite a bit and I could tell the gear choice we made was going to be spot on. My first heat came and it was for the Lodi Money class. I got a great start and led half of the race. Patrick McNamara snuck up the inside me and I was unable to get by him the rest of the race. My second heat was for the Open A class. A less the perfect start got me off the line in 4th. I knew I had my work cut out for me since only the top 2 transfered to the main. I slowly and methodically worked past the three riders ahead of me for the win, putting me in the dash for cash. The dash was almost a picture perfect race I got the hole shot and led from there but for some reason the bike was cutting out. After an on track thank you to my sponsors I headed to the pits to see what was wrong. My father drained the float bowl and some crud was in the bottom. He cleaned the jets and I got ready for the mains.

Lined up for the lodi money race we were off I got the hole shot but was passed into the next corner by my A&A racing teammate Chad Cose. His pass was short lived because I managed to hold it on longer into the corner. The race had to be restarted on account of a 5 bike pile-up in turn 4. With two riders taken to the hospital the race was off again. This time luckily I was unchallenged and relaxed after the first lap adrenaline rush and stayed up for a win. This race the ignition or gas problem got worse every lap, but I had one more race.

As we lined up for the Open A main the national anthem was sung and the lights were off. I got off the line in second and was soon passed after a bobble coming out of turn 2 by Brad Baker I managed to get back by for another lap to be passed again. By now the strange problem I was having was really taking a toll on my riding. I was coming out of the corners pinned and the bike would hook up then die and almost spit me off. I knew I had had a successful day already and couldn't afford an injury so I pulled off the track and watched the rest off the main.

It was a good experience and I got to represent my sponsors well. Hopefully next time I'll have a little more luck!

THANKS AGAIN TO ALL MY SPONSORS: Weirbach Racing, A&A Racing, Digger Helm 57, Rod Lake Rebel gear, SlideWays Racing, Top One, Hlebo Bros, Supertrapp, Dainese, AGV Helmets, MDK Motorsports, TnT Honda, Raceimage, JGPhotowerx, #12, Calco Fence, JD Cahill Electric, Barnett clutches, General Engineering, Wiseco, K&N filters,Motion Pro, Spectro oil, Engine Ice, Saddlemen, Spider grips, G2 Ergonomics, Bob Berry Racing, Firecoat Powder Coating, Boyesen, VP Midwest fuel, Cycra racing, Foudree Graphics, Engine Ice, Regina chain, Pingel Products, Durelle Racing, Performance Machine, Cheney Engineering.

Daytona - The Whole Story

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0700

Hey Everyone! With Daytona behind us, the 2009 season has officially started and what an adventure it was. It all started at 0'dark hundred Wednesday Feb. 25th. I knew the trip was to be epic as soon as I walked through the metal detector at SFO and I set it off. I was escorted to the side of security, searched (no cavity search thank goodness), swiped for bomb making residue and sent on my way.

The terminal was lined with 50's era space toys, ray guns, and robots. Many of the toys brought back memories of my father's childhood. We boarded the plane and I slept all the way to our layover in Denver. All was well in Denver and we boarded another plane to St. Louis. We touched down safely in St. Louis where we were met by Dick Weirbach and Ron Bailey, (Thanks to Wierbach Racing!) after a real quick greeting we loaded into the Sprinter van and were off to Savannah Georgia. We checked into the motel and we were off to the track where we were met by my teammate James Rispolli and ran a practice night on Savannah's beautiful 1/2 mile track.

Unfortunately, the day of the National it rained for hours and the race was cancelled. I normally do well on long tracks and I was really disappointed to see both Barbersville and Savannah cancelled. Trying to find a race we headed to Daytona and raced the Pro race linked with the AMA Amateur South East Regional Nationals. The track was like nothing like I have ever ridden.

I eventually missed the main by one spot but it gave me the chance to watch the Pro and Expert mains with National #60 Sammy Sweet. The next few days were spent relaxing, seeing the sights and preparing bikes, mind, and body for the races. On one of my days off we walked around the pits of the Daytona 200 and also dipped my feet into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time!

The Nationals didn't go as well as I had hoped. I qualified and made the evening program on both days but came up short of making the main events. I learned a lot about riding dry-slick tracks, walking and sighting tracks and much more. One of the most important things I learned was how important it is to qualify well, especially on small tracks. Even though I didn't make the mains I have to give a HUUGE "thank you" to Dick WeirBach for his help and understanding these last two weeks.

I would like to congratulate my friend Brad Baker on his win in the First National and my teammate James Rispoli for his win on the second night. Both were well deserved!

One of the highlights of this trip was meeting some really great people. Ron Bailey is one great person, and fun to travel with. There was never a dull moment. Bob Berry was very helpful and very track savvy. Dick Introduced me to Babe DeMay of Memphis Shades we had a nice conversation. I also had the chance to spend some time and converse with some really great riders, including the "King of Cool" Kenny Coolbeth, The "Aussie" Luke Gough, Kevin "Cupcake" Atherton, Steve "Murmmy" Murray, and many other very fast and freindly people.

I am very excited about the rest of the season. Coming up is the Springfiled TT on May 23 and the renowned Springfield mile the following day, a track where I believe I will be very successful!

I hope to see you all out at the track supporting America's true past time! I am also looking forward to a successful 2009 AMA pro Flattrack season mounted on one of the extremely fast Weirbach Racing 450's!

Special Thanks to WierBach Racing, A&A Racing, Digger Helm 57, Rebel gear, Slideways Racing, Hlebo Bros., Supertrapp, Dainese, MDK Motorsports, T n T Honda, Raceimage, JGPhotowerx, #12, JD Cahill Electric, Calco Fence, Barnett clutches, General Engineering, Wiseco, K&N filters,Motion Pro, Rod Lake, Spectro oil, Engine Ice, Saddlemen, Spider grips, G2 ergonomics, Bob Berry Racing, Firecoat Powder Coating, Boyesen, AGV helmets, VP Midwest fuel, Cycra racing, Foudree graphics, Engine Ice, Regina chain, Pingel Products, Durelle Racing, Performance Machine, Cheney Engineering.

On The Way Home

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0700

Well, Tony’s Daytona trip didn’t turn out exactly as he would have planned. Thrusday saw him shut out of the main event again. But all the effort was not in vain. Tony learned quite a bit riding the short tracks in addition to the fact that he had a lot of fun. If we thought that the trip east was bad, we had another thing coming when Tony tried to come home.

On Sunday morning, he flew from St. Louis to Chicago and from there was supposed to fly back to San Francisco. It was not to be. His flight from St. Louis was 2 hours late causing them to miss their connecting flight home to San Francisco. From that point things only got worse. They were booked on the next available flight which also ended up being cancelled. They were booked on a later flight again which was cancelled as well. Finally they were booked on the third flight in their effort to get home from Chicago which alas was also cancelled. The first two cancellations were due to weather (an act of God as they called it). The final flight was cancelled because the pilots had logged too many hours for the day. So Tony & Gary had the big adventure of spending the night at O’Hare where Tony amused himself by learning to do wheelies in an unattended wheel chair. Finally, this morning the boy got a flight from Chicago to San Francisco.

Upon arriving home, Tony had just enough time to take a much needed shower before heading off to his afternoon classes. He’s now back at home resting. I think flying to and from the races took far more out of him than actually racing.

Tony’s Daytona experience has taught him a lot and left him more determined than ever to perform well at Sprigfield (and fly Southwest, he adds). He’ll spend the next few months training hard in preparation. He’s fortunate enough to have Johnny Murphree (Former National #20) in his corner and Johnny will be helping to train him for Springfeild.

As always, it is with the help of his sponsors that make living his dream possible: A & A Racing, Weirbach Racing, Motion Pro, Rod Lake Racing, Digger Helm, Top 1 Oil, Slideways Racing, Hlebo Bros. Racing Suspension, AGV Helmets, Dainese Leathers, MDK Motorsports, RaceImage, JG Photowerx, Eddie Mulder, D’s Leathers, JD Cahill Electric, Calco Fence & Reinhard Racing.

Rochelle's Update

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0700

03-05-2009 Well, Tony’s first National race didn’t go quite as he planned and he missed the main last night. He’s back at it today though. He improved his qualifying position from 27th to 24th, so we’re taking that as a sign that things are getting better. The track is faster today than yesterday and I think that will bode well for Tony. With Daytona being the crap shoot that it is, anything is possible. Heat races start in about 2 hours and I will keep you updated.

Savannah & Daytona Update

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0700

Saturday’s Hot Shoe National at Savannah, GA (what was to be the start of Tony’s Daytona racing experience) was cancelled. Tony planned on skipping the Pro-Am events as he’s trying to save his knee for the Nationals. But since Savannah was cancelled, he decided to head to Daytona for Sunday’s Pro-Am event and try to get a leg up on set-up for the two Grand National events on Wednesday & Thursday. The Daytona short track is very different from any of the track surfaces that Tony is accustomed to riding, so it was a learning experience. He started off a bit slow but made changes to the bike set-up and continued to make progress all day long. Unfortunately, he missed the main event by one spot.

Tony feels that this was a good learning experience and will make him feel more comfortable and at ease as he participates in his first ever Grand National race. For those of you who don’t know a lot about professional Dirt Track racing, there are basically two levels of professional racer (formerly three): Grand National Expert & Grand National Pro. Tony being a first year professional racer is considered a Grand National Pro. This year, they have changed the format of the Grand National racing program to allow Grand National Pros to participate at every Grand National event on single-cylinder equipment (on the bigger tracks, the Grand National Experts will be riding twin-cylinder equipment). Tony is a first year Grand National Pro and because of the change in the format, they have allowed quite a few riders to hang back a year. This means that Tony will be competing against a number of second year Grand National Pros. As for today, practice and qualifying is complete. Tony is currently waiting for qualifying results to be posted. They will take the top 38 qualifiers from his class into the evening program.

Season Kickoff

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0700

Tony’s big adventure started quite early yesterday morning. Upon going through security at San Francisco International Airport, his knee brace set off the metal detectors and that started a whole series of fun events for Tony; having the hand-held metal detector going over his body, going through the puffer machine & finally being swabbed for explosive residue and then he was on his way. Tony & Gary landed yesterday afternoon in St. Louis, MO home of the Gateway Arch and were met by his sponsor Dick Weirbach and his friend Ron. Since their arrival in St. Louis, they’ve been on the road. Next stop is Dublin, GA where they will rest & prepare for the first Hot Shoe National of the year at Savannah on Saturday. We’ll Keep you updated on Tony’s big adventure. And as always, it is only with the help of the sponsors that all of this is possible.

So Tony wishes to thank: A & A Racing, Weirbach Racing, Motion Pro, Rod Lake Racing, Digger Helm, Top 1 Oil, Slideways Racing, Hlebo Bros. Racing Suspension, AGV Helmets, Dainese Leathers, MDK Motorsports, RaceImage, JG Photowerx, Eddie Mulder, D’s Leathers, JD Cahill Electric, Calco Fence & Reinhard Racing.