TexPlex Round 1: 3-6-2021
The hype was built. The weather was perfect and the time was finally here
for Texplex Round 1 of the 2021 season.
We try to be prepared as best as we can be for race day, so there is very
little to do on race day. With all the time we had you would think we could
be ready, but that was not the case. We had been waiting on our time slot
for the race cage to get built since the first week of December and our slot
was the week of Feb 22. My dad dropped my Honda Talon off Monday
morning when ABF Fabrication opened to give them the most time. The
Cage was one of the things we really felt we needed completed. My dad
spec’ed the cage to be built to the new 2021 GAS racing series rules as
they are using the Lucas Oil Rules and they were the most stringent out
of all the series.
Friday Morning, we left the house at 4:00am. So thankful I got to sleep in
the backseat of the truck while my dad drove. We were headed to pick the
Talon up and then head to Texplex to get some testing in. We got to ABF
to pick the car up when they opened. The cage looks great and they got it
about 90% complete. They were going to have to get us the rock guard at
a later date. My dad installed the numbers on the roof and the sick new
number plates that ABF made for us. We went to load the car and notice
the steering had jumped and was way off. My dad called Quinn at
Progressive Powersports and he said he would bring a computer to the
track and everything needed to fix it. The Progressive Guys are
AWESOME! While my dad was pulling the suspension to get it to George at
Double E Racing to re-spring, Quinn was reprogramming the steering rack
on my Talon and found a connection that was not plugged back in after
welding on the cage. Everything was back together and it was time to hit
the track.
I got two good sessions in and was going to go back out and test one more
thing. I was on the last lap and they had started to put water down with the
water truck. I came into a corner they had just watered. I turned the wheel
and just continued to go straight. I got stopped and back up to get back on
the track. I hit something and it popped my left rear tire, so I limped it back
to the pit area. My dad prepped the car and started installing the New
Maxxis tires for race day and he noticed I had bent the upper rear arm. We
had the parts, but they were at home, a 3-½ hour drive each way. My mom
threw the parts in her car and started driving to meet us. We packed up and
headed to check Jeff into our hotel room as he had over jumped Mt.
Midlothian and hurt his back. We met my mom and got the parts. So
thankful for her meeting us and saving us some driving. We started
driving again back to the track. We got to the track and my dad started to
fix it and I again was sleeping in the backseat of the truck. My dad got it all
back together and we headed to the hotel to check on Jeff and get some
sleep.
Its Race Day:
The event was huge with 205 entries from all over the USA and
thousands of spectators/ fans. They had a huge vender row and pro
parking area leading into the main pits. It was a pretty cool setup.
I went out and did about 4 laps just to check the car out and make sure it
was right. It felt great and we were ready.
My first Moto was race 5 of the day for the 12+ 1000 NA STK class. I had
first gate pick and picked about 4 gates over from the inside. No one lined
up inside of me and I pulled the holeshot. From there I just put down
consistent laps and tried to push to improve my lap times. I was blessed
with the win in the first race and all the hard work was paying off.
Moto 2 I again lined up first and pulled into the same spot. This time I had a
competitor to the inside of me. I got a great jump, but was not far enough
ahead to cut over. I had two options chop the throttle and try to cut up
under him or take the long way around. The next corner was a left hander
so the long way around would put me to the inside. I kept into the gas and
we both charged into the second turn side by side and drag raced to the
next jump. I got caught outside again in the corner after the jump and filed
in behind him to watch his lines. I knew they had shortened the race by a
lap, so I needed to pass quick to get into the lead. He was doing a great job
of protecting the inside line, so in a fast left hand sweeper I made the pass
on the outside taking the long way around and just did not let up.
After getting by, I put my head down and ran my fastest lap of the weekend.
I had so much fun and going 1-1 for the day was just a huge bonus. I even
got interviewed by Courtney Prost.
Can’t wait for round 2 of the TexPlex race series coming up this weekend.
Thank You to all my sponsors for making this possible. You guys are
awesome for getting behind a kid who has never raced a SXS before.
GOD, Progressive Powersports, PPEI, Jsportsxs, FOX Suspension,
Maxxis Tires, Method Wheels, Kartek Off Road, Bell Racing,
Tagger Designs, Axcel Sport, SSI Decals, HMF, PCI Radio’s, Sparco
ABF
Photo Credits to Halen Foley
Levi De Keyrel #53
2021 Honda Talon 1000R
Age 11
Montgomery TX
Instagram: LeviTripp53, De_Keyrel_Racing
Have an AMAZING day and GOD Bless