6-19-2021

The weekend started off with Friday practice from 11:00-1:00. Then it was 

time to get my Honda Talon all cleaned up and fitted with some Fresh 

Maxxis SC-1 tires and Method Race Wheels. 

Saturday Morning starts off with a few laps of practice then straight into the 

drivers meeting. Tex with Octane Media does a great job with announcing 

all day long and making sure at the drivers meeting we alway sing the  

national anthem, State The Pledge The Legions and Thanks all who have 

served. Brian with Butter Supply Co. announced that he has purchased the 

series and he has big things planned. 

First race up for me was the 1000 STK 12+ class. I got a great jump and 

Jace made an awesome move up the inside of me and took the lead. I 

knew I had to make a quick pass and get into the lead. I made my move 

and focused on fast clean laps. It was so much fun. 

Harlen Foley ( Photo Credit )

My second race of the day was a new class that was just added this 

weekend. It is the 1000 Limited 12+ class. This class allows you to add HP

with exhaust, intakes, programming etc. Sway Bars are legal and some 

other stuff. I was just running my 1000 STk class Talon. 

I got a terrible start and was sitting in second to last going into the second 

corner. The dust was flying and I was focused on making passes. When 

we came around to start the second lap I had worked my was up into 3rd 

place. I continued to push and make clean fast passes. I got into the lead 

and just kept focused on clean fast laps. I was able to hold on to take the 

WIN. It was time to try and cool off from the 100 degree Texas heat. 

Harlen Foley ( Photo Credit )

After the break, it was time for moto 2 of the 1000 STK class. I did not get a 

very good start and was sitting in 3rd. I made up my mind I was going to be 

leading by the time we came around for the start of the second lap. I was 

able to make two quick passes and take the lead. After that I just focused 

on clean fast laps and was able to get the WIN for first overall with a 1-1.

There was only one race and we were right back on the line for moto 2 of 

the 1000 Limited Class. I don’t know what it was with my starts but I again 

found myself near the back. I got hit so hard in the first turn it knocked my 

steering loose. I hit my PCI radio push to talk button to let my dad know. He 

said to just push through it as long as it stays together. I put on a charge for 

the front. 

It was so much fun battling and making passes. I worked into the lead and 

started to put in laps. With one lap to go my dad radioed me and let me 

know TJ was making a charge and that I better run a fast lap. I wanted the 

win as TJ was second in the first race so a 2-1 would have gave him the 

overall. We both ran our fastest lap of the race on the last lap and I was 

able to maintain my lead over him for the win. TJ put up a great fight. I think 

he was even late to the start. So a great drive by him. 

Had so much fun at Round 5 of the Texplex Racing Series by Butter 

Supply. Can’t wait for round 6. None of this would be possible without these 

Great sponsors. GOD, Progressive Powersports, Jsportsxs, PPEI, FOX, 

Double E Racing, Maxxis Tires, Method Wheels, ​Bell Racing, Tagger 

Designs,  Axcel Sport, SSI Decals, HMF, PCI Radio’s, Sparco, ABF, 

Motive Engineering 

AT ROAD AMERICA POLE POSITION AND SOLO VICTORY FOR KALEB DE KEYREL,

NOW LEADER OF THE TWINS CUP CHAMPIONSHIP

The Aprilia RS 660 continues to win and amaze in the hard-fought Twins category of the US MotoAmerica championship:

already the protagonist at the beginning of May of a sensational debut in the inaugural race in Atlanta, with three Italian bikes

in the first three positions, this weekend the brand new mid-range sports bike from Noale scored another success on the demanding

Road America circuit at Elkhart Lake in Wisconsin.

A confirmation of the dynamic and engine qualities of the RS 660, homologated just before the start of the championship and now

already among the favorites for the final victory of the prestigious US series for twin-cylinder bikes.

Kaleb De Keyrel, riding his RS 660 prepared by the Robem Engineering team, was the author of a weekend of dominance,

he first obtained the pole position with a margin of over 8 tenths of a second place, then in the race he kept an unapproachable

pace for his opponents, crossing the finish line with almost 8″ of gap on Jackson Blackmon (Yamaha).

Thanks to this success, his second of the season, De Keyrel has also taken the lead in the overall standings with 76 points,

10 more than his closest rival, Chris Parrish (Suzuki).

“I felt comfortable right from the start with my Aprilia. It felt great being able to go out and put down quick laps right away, t

hat helped me feel comfortable to push the bike more at the start of Qualifying 2 on Saturday, and we were able to go quite

a bit faster than everyone else. Drafting is a huge factor here at Road America with its long straightaways. I knew I was going

to have to put my head down from the start and try to break the draft. I was able to do that pretty quickly and was able to focus

on just being smooth and smart with the lead I had. The Aprilia RS 660 handled like a dream: it was easily the most comfortable

I’ve felt on the bike.”

Aprilia RS 660, launched last October, is revolutionizing the concept of sportiness, it is so light and effective between the curves that,

although designed to be used daily on the road, it is capable of transforming itself with a few changes into an extremely fast and fun bike

between the curbs. The dynamic qualities, the rigour of the frame, the reduced weight and the exciting performance of the new

100 HP twin-cylinder engine enhance the driving pleasure of a motorcycle that, after being one of the most eagerly awaited novelties,

has proved to be fun and enjoyable, able to give emotions in every situation of use.

The weekend started off with Friday practice sessions running from 10-1pm

We were able to get 4 – 10 lap practices in. The goal for the day was to get 

up to speed quicky and then try to improve on it. We were able to 

accomplish this and got everything cleaned up for the races on Saturday 

morning. It was nice to get to the hotel early and be able to relax a little. 

( Photo Credit Harlen Foley )

Saturday started out with 1000cc practice from 7:30-8:00am. I went out and 

Ran 5 laps just to make sure I could push myself back up to pace quickly. I 

headed off to the 8:30 Drivers meeting and the crew started to get my 

Honda Talon 1000R washed and prepped for the race. 

(Photo Credit Harlen Foley)

Race 1: 

I was staged to the inside to try to get the hole shot. I moved up to the line 

with my class as we were the third wave to go. The starter had me inch up

closer to the line and we were ready to go. They through the flag and I 

dropped the paddle shifters and it hesitated to go. I rounded the first corner

in third place and knew I was going to need to make a quick pass. As we 

came up to Mount Midlothian I new I had to not check up and launch it to 

get by. I sayed in the gas and made the pass into second place. 

By this time Jaden had gapped me a little bit. I put on the charge to try to 

real him in. I could see I was catching him and made the pass on the third 

lap going into the first turn. After the pass I pushed as hard as I could to get 

away and focused forward on the class that had dropped in front of us. I 

worked on catching them and passing quickly to not lose time on the 

pass. 

After the race we talked about what was happening on the start and came 

up with a plan to see what was affecting the launch.

Race 2: 

I lined up to the inside again and was determined to get the hole shot. The 

Expert Women dropped first, Then Amatuer Women. It was our turn to 

move up to the line.  This time I made sure I was all the way up as to not 

have to inch up. I set my Launch control and the flag was thrown. I got an

awesome launch and pulled the hole shot. 

Photo Credit Harlen Foley 

I focused on running the smoothest, fastest laps I could. The track was 

getting rutted and rough. So smooth and consistent was going to be the 

key. I kept looking ahead to catch the next person in front of me on track. 

Then focused on a quick pass without changing my momentum. I really like 

how Texplex is dropping the other classes in front of us now. We always 

have someone around us to battle with. 

It was a super fun weekend. The track was awesome and really rutted up 

for race 2. The class is growing and so are the entries at Texplex with 200 

plus racers for the day. Happy to get the win and Thankful for everyone 

Who supports my efforts. Without you it would not be possible. Also 

Thankfull for the sponsors of Texplex. Making this possible for them to be 

able to keep having such fun events. If you are a sponsor for Texplex 

Thank You.

( Tex doing an Interview after with Levi Photo Credit Harlen Foley ) 

Thank You to all my sponsors for making this possible. GOD, Progressive 

Powersports, PPEI, Jsportsxs, FOX, Maxxis Tires, Method Wheels, ​

Bell Racing, Tagger Designs,  Axcel Sport, SSI Decals, HMF, PCI 

Radio’s, Sparco, ABF  

Mountains of MUD: Before we even get started….. Awesome Job by the 

Texplex Staff for even pulling this race off. It had poured for two days 

straight leading up to the race. The racers that were already there sunk in 

the mud and the ones that were not there yet. Could not even get into the 

parking area. The texplex crew bladed mud off, pulled people out for hours. 

This was all before anyone even hit the track. 

They had even put time into streamlining 

sign up. They had pre filled out forms ready to sign and keep the line 

moving quickly. So appreciated. 

The race definitely had a different feel to it as people were spread out all 

over. We had the unknown of how the track would be but the racing action

did not disappoint. 

(Photo Credit Harlen Foley )

Levi chose not to practice and get his Ride Progressive, Jsportsxs Honda 

Talon 1000R all weighed down with mud. So Moto1 was the first time he 

was seeing the track. He did not get the best of starts but pushed as hard 

as he could to make up ground. It was his first time racing on the Maxxis 

Ceros tires and as you can see the traction of these tires was AMAZING in 

the mud. 

( Photo Credit Harlen Foley)

He worked his way through not only his class but also some of the 

Amuatuer Girls competitors that dropped in front of them and ended up 

finishing second. 

Everything was cleaned prepped and ready for moto2. Levi made the 

decision to go back to the Maxxis SC-1 tire for this moto as the track was 

tacking up. 

Levi got a great jump and Jaden Lindamood just edge him out going into 

the first turn. Levi pushed hard to make the pass and move himself into 

First. 

The battle was on. Ryder Vanbeekum was able to work his way into first 

and left Levi and Jaden to battle it out for second. 

( Photo Credit Harlen Foley)

It was going to come down to the last lap. Levi was running in second and 

Jaden made an aggressive move to push Levi out of the way and into 

second. Levi was not done yet and was determined to get him back. They 

were door to door all the way through the last lap. Coming into the second 

to last corner. Levi had an amazing drive coming in. He was pushing so 

hard he was airborne mid straightway off a big bump. 

( Photo Credit Harlen Foley)

Levi stayed on the gas deep into the corner on the inside to take second 

place back with one corner to go. 

Congratulations to all the drivers. They did an awesome job. Texplex 

had Bootsy doing interviews with the drivers all day. So that was a nice 

touch for the weekend as well. Always good to give these young drivers 

experience at all aspects of the sport. Including interviews. 

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 

Can’t wait for round 4 of the Texplex Racing Series

The weekend started out on Friday Morning with the 3 hr drive to TexPlex.

It was kind of nice because we did not have to leave way early in the 

morning. My dad and I got on the road at 7:00am and arrived at the track 

about 10:00am. The office help at Texplex was organized and had 

everything ready for a quick sign in. We head over to the Progressive 

Powersports pit area and started to set up. ( It is great to have an area that 

is saved and they offer AMAZING hospitality on race weekends.  Bobby, 

David, Quinn and the rest of the guys go all out for the team. ) 

12:00 noon hit and it was time for practice. 

I was having a blast with the new track layout and was able to get some 

valuable laps in infront of, with and behind Eddie Ensign. Eddie is new to 

the sport in the amatuer class but really smooth and supper fast. It was 

great to try to learn a little from him while I was around him. I set my fastest 

lap of the weekend while running with Eddie. Practiced wrapped up for the 

day formy group and it was time to clean up and great ready for race day. 

Thanks to Mr. Ensign and George White of Double E Racing I had 

Jambalaya for the first time. It was really good. 

Sunday morning we were on track at 7:00am for practice. The Texplex crew

had both their water trucks break during the day. That did not stop them. 

They had two water trucks delivered and water all night. It was the best we 

have ever seen the track. ( Just started this year ) Tons of grip with 

moisture coming up out of the track. In practice the grip was awesome. 

The Texplex crew hit the track again with water after practice was 

complete and I was in the first race. While we were sitting on the line they 

were still watering out in the back section. So I knew that was still going to 

be slippery. 

The 12+ 1000cc STK class was set to be the third drop. The womens 

Experts were the first drop. Womens Amateurs second drop.  Then us. 

I had a terrible start as I thought I jumped so I let off and then went again to 

not get penalized. Everyone said I had nailed it if I would have just stayed 

in it but I didn’t. I was in second place and Jace was driving really good. I 

knew I needed to get around him fast as we would catch some of the class 

in front of us. I made the pass into first and just worked on consistent laps. 

Trying to look ahead and plan my passes before I got to the next driver. 

Jace and I both passed all the class that dropped in front of us but the 

leader. We did not catch her. She drove a great race. I was fun having 

them out in front of us. 

In the second race I am not sure what I did but it bogged right after the line. 

I went into the first turn in third. I knew I had my work cut out for me. I 

passed into second and was pushing really hard to get Jace. I was right on 

him and he braked earlier then I thought he was going to. I swarved to go 

around him and spun on the again freshly water track right before our race. 

I got back going and it took me almost the entire lap to work back into 

second place. Jace now had a good jump on me and was driving really 

good. We were working through the class in front of us and I was really 

working to close the gap. Just before the white flag I was able to make the 

pass for first. I wanted to run the fastest lap I could to try to get away. 

( Photo Credits to Harlen Foley )

Jace was able to stay right with me and we continued to pass through the 

class in front of us. I was able to hold on for the win but really had to work 

for it after that mistake on the first lap and the poor starts. Thankful for the

Win in this one. 

Time to get some practice in to be more prepared for round 3. 

Levi De Keyrel #53

2021 Honda Talon 1000R 

Age 11

Montgomery TX 

Instagram: LeviTripp53, De_Keyrel_Racing 

www.DeKeyrelRacing.com

Have an AMAZING day and GOD Bless

Thank You to all my sponsors: GOD, Progressive Powersports, PPEI, 

Jsportsxs, FOX Suspension, Maxxis Tires, Method Wheels, ​Kartek Off 

Road, Bell Racing, Axcel Sport, SSI Decals, HMF, PCI Radio’s, Sparco  

ABF Fabrication, Double E Racing

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 

www.DeKeyrelRacing.com

Have an AMAZING day and GOD Bless

TexPlex held the first race of the season on 1-9-2021. It was not part of the 

scheduled race series that will start on Feb 20th 2021. So they called it a 

warm up race. 

There were lots of competitors that did not compete in this event but we felt

It would be a great way to get the first race jitters out of the way and get 

some exposure for our 2021 sponsors. It was a cold day with low spectator 

turn out but we made the most of it. Levi pulled the hole shot in race one 

and just worked on consistent laps to take the win.

We were not 100% ready for this race as you can see. We did not have our 

SSI Wrap on yet or our ABF Fabrication cage. So exposure for our 

sponsors was lacking on our end and we apologies for that.

In race two Levi again pulled the holeshot and drove an uncontested race 

to the win.  Thankful for our Maxxis Tire and Method Wheel combo to get 

him hooked up. We are working hard to get Levi’s Honda Talon 1000R 

completely finished for the start of the series so we can represent our 

sponsors how we know they should be. Looking forward to a great season. 

Thank You for your support in 2021. 

Daytona started off great with a couple rounds of practice. We did most of the fine tuning with the suspension when I rode the bike last October so really practice was just getting used to the track again. I was on a brand new Yamaha R6 that was just built and had never been ridden so we just made sure everything was good to go. I loved the set up on the bike pretty much right off the bat so we made some small tweeks and got ready for the first qualifying round for the 200! I was absolutely pumped to be running this race with such a great team behind me!

Friday, We had 3 qualifying sessions for the 76th annual Daytona 200. I was feeling really good on the bike after the first qualifying session but we were just off the pace a little bit. I needed to find that .5 second that was so hard to find when you are pushing your all out hardest to go faster. After the first two rounds of Daytona 200 qualifying we had to go right into qualifying for the ASRA races. I went out and qualified 5th on my 600cc against the 1000cc machines. Next up was qualifying for the 600cc ASRA class. I knew I needed to just throw down one fast lap. So I calmed down and just focused on my marks before qualifying started. This qualifying session wasn’t as important as the next 200 qualifying would be but I knew this was a perfect opportunity to get a little more track time in before the next 200 session.

I had a couple spots where I knew I could make up a little more time in the back section of the circuit. Because I can tell when I’m gaining or losing time from my lap timer. Every lap I came around my lap times were dropping 53, 52, 51. I knew that was my new personal fastest lap and time was running out I was hoping that was enough. I qualified POLE for the ASRA 600 race and then turned around in the next session of the 200 qualifying matched that time again but I was searching for a little more. I qualified 10th with a 1:51.660 for the 200 but I wasn’t to worried about it I’m a racer and I always race better than I qualify. Also I know a lot can happen in 57 laps and we needed to be ready for anything!

Saturday, I got a great nights rest and was ready to attack the day I had been waiting a long time for! It was race day! I was pumped up and ready to get after my first 200 mile race at Daytona! Started off with a little warm up then an awesome fan walk with the fans. Got to sign a ton of posters and meet all sorts of people from different countries who were there to watch the race it was awesome! This got me even more excited to be a part of a race with such rich history. I put my leathers on super quick and started to get in my zone before the race. I like to listen to music and go through the track in my head. But before you know it, it’s go time! I’m on the grid nothing but you and bike vibrating below. The board flips 1 to 2 and BOOM! The flag drops and the race is on!

I got a pretty good start and was right up in the mix but we didn’t even make it a lap and the race was red flagged. This would happen 2 more times before we actually got racing. Unfortunately with all the restarting my clutch was starting to slip and it was continually getting worse. I had no Idea what I was going to do the clutch was slipping so bad that every time I shifted it would just rev all the way out. I was telling myself just try to stay out one more lap and as soon as I said that there was another red flag. I knew I had to get back to the pits as quickly as possible so my crew could get on it right away.

So I rushed back to the pits as fast as I could and told them we were going to have to put a new clutch in! They frantically started to take the bike apart and they did a great job getting it back together but we we’re just a tad bit late. At this point when the flag dropped and all the racers went flying by. My bike was still in pit lane getting the belly pan put back on and some other loose ends. I told myself well this what you’ve been training for man. You better go out there and make it happen. I just put my head down and pushed went as fast as I could go for the next 57 laps and ended up passing 52 people to take 6th in my first Daytona race! I was pumped there was so much adversity with the clutch issue and I had to come into the pits again and do a stop and go penalty for some violation in the pits in one of our pits stops. Overall I think we did a great job with everything that went on and I can’t thank my crew enough for getting back on track after that first red flag. If they wouldn’t have been able to get that clutch back together my race would have been over!

Sunday, Was my day to relax and have fun after all the stress of the 200 was over I just wanted to go out and have a ton of fun! I started out the day by winning the ASRA sportbike 10 lap race which was a ton of fun! After the first set of races in the morning there was a lunch break. Before the lunch break my buddy Raymond Rizzo put on a great church service!

After that is back to the action! I really wanted to get on the 660cc Superbike with 160 HP with 60 Ft Lbs. of Torque. John Anderson and KWS motorsports have spent so much time working on this project I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the beast and see what it could do around the high banks of Daytona! Once we got the suspension set up on the bike I absolutely loved it! It had so much power it was hard to keep the front end on the ground. I ended up winning all of the next 3 races on this amazing bike to finish out an awesome weekend at Daytona! Also did some testing with pirelli and found an awesome set up which lead to my fastest lap in the last race of the day putting me into the low 50’s. I have to give a huge thank you to John Anderson for an awesome weekend and I can’t wait to get back on track with the team soon!

Huge thanks to all of our sponsors:

WorldWide Machining & Welding, Yamaha USA, RJ Sport & Cycle, Pirelli, Cortech, KWS, CP Carrillo, SBS, TSE, Tagger Designs, Maxima Products, EZ Up, Moto Hose, Worldwide Bearings, Sharkskinz, Bell, Core Moto, US Chrome, Vortex, Milwaukee Tools, Fastenal, Graves Motorsports, Hair By Moira

 

The weekend started off pretty relaxed compared to normal. Usually, we would slam all of our stuff into the van, pile in and head to the race. But this weekend we got there a little more glamorous….

I took the short flight right to the Daytona International Airport with one of my mechanics Kody!  Saw some fellow racers that were also living the luxurious lifestyle as well!

We arrived at Daytona, got everything set up and our bikes all ready to role! Then, one of my fellow competitors needed a little help, so my Team Worldwide crew helped him out and brought his bike back to the hotel.  They did an awesome job getting it together that night, so it was ready for practice!

The Team Hammer track day went well. We played around with different set ups all day long, but I wasn’t really happy with anything we tried. I was a couple seconds off on lap times and the bike just wasn’t doing what I wanted it to do. We needed to figure out what the solution was to the get the bike and lap times to where they needed to be!

The first order of business on Saturday was qualifying for the ASRA on Sunday. As soon as my session was about to start, the rain started coming down and my crew worked hard to get the tires changed, but by the time they were finished there was 4 mins left in the session.  I was only able to get one lap in. I qualified on the 3rd row, but I wasn’t to worried. Most people didn’t even go out, because of the weather.

The main race on Saturday was yet to come. The 44 lap team challenge is the race that would give us the most data for the Daytona 200, which was one of our main goals for the weekend. I got a great jump and was running consistent laps. I came in for my pit stop, just before half way. My crew fueled the bike and changed the tire as fast as they could and BOOM, I was back in the race. As soon as I got back on the track, I could tell something wasn’t right. The bike felt different, but I kept pushing. It felt like the bike was getting slower and slower. Soon after that, I was shown the red and yellow striped flag and they were franticly pointing it at me. I had to pull off the track and withdraw from the race . The corner workers said the bike was smoking. As I was rolling back into the pits, the motor shut off and I knew that the motor was done.

Unfortunate end to the day, but we took the positives out of the day. Then got some dinner at Caribbean Jack’s right on the water! Got refreshed, refueled and ready for a beautiful sunny Sunday!

Sunday morning, we hit the set up right on the head.  I dropped another 2 seconds a lap just like that! After practice, I went straight to church service during lunch! Raymond Rizzo had a great message and I was now ready to attack my races!

First race of the day was one of the greatest battles I had in a awhile. Off the start, I jumped right up into third place and was hunting down Cody and Michael. Couple laps into the race, I saw that the leader meat balled, which means he had to pull in for a stop and go penalty.  I then found myself trailing Cody. I was not far behind and just kept pushing to reel him in. I finally caught him, with 2 laps to go. I stayed right behind him on the last lap, so I could hopefully draft him to the line. Halfway around, I noticed that he was starting to slow down. I didn’t think there was anyone behind us, so I just followed. He braked checked me super hard going into the final horseshoe. I almost ran right into the back of him, so I just passed him and started to sprint to the line. Little did I realize, all this monkeying around allowed the third place rider to draft passed both of us to the line! I learned a very valuable lesson in this race and now know what my plan of attack will be in this situation. I ended up 3rd in the ASRA race.

None of it really mattered though, because in all of the chaos of blowing the motor the day before. Having to switch everything over to the other bike. We forgot to put the SS air filter into the new bike. My crew worked very hard all weekend with all that had gone wrong and we now know what we have to correct in March for the 200.

The next three races went great to finish up the day with two 3rd’s and a 2nd. I had such an awesome weekend working with the new crew! We only have worked together for one weekend other than this. We will continue to grow together next season and the little mistakes on track and in the pits will start to minimize.

I can not thank my crew enough for how hard they worked to get me feeling comfortable and riding fast! After all the hard work was done, can you guess where we were heading?

The beach! We had a fabulous dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack on the Daytona Beach Pier to finish out the weekend! I enjoyed every minute of the weekend and had so much fun with all the crew guys! Kody, Japs, John and Johnny all made this weekend a weekend I will never forget!

Thank You to Team Worldwide and all my personal sponsors: GOD, Cortech, Mind-FX, Czaia Law, Evans Coolant, SportBike Track Time, Core Moto, Tucker Rocky, Southeast Sales, Tagger Designs, CA Gear, Elite Transporters

 

I got up friday morning with my usual routine a morning jog around the facility at Brainerd International Raceway, then got stretched out and ready for an awesome day of riding the new Worldwide R6! Friday we started with a base set up we thought would be good, then just did a little fine tuning. The bike was working awesome. I just struggle a little bit on entrance on some of the really fast corners at BIR turns 1 and 2. Turn 2 was the biggest issue and also one of the fastest corners on the race track. As most of you may know, you don’t make up time in the slow corners you make of most of your time in the fast ones. So Kody, my new suspension mechanic, immediately addressed this problem and lowered the front end on the yamaha R6 to put just a little bit more weight to help the bike steer in at 150mph! This change and a couple others got me feeling right at home on this New Yamaha R6! I was now anxious to start racing!!

Saturday at Brainerd International Raceway, it started off rainy and would remain that way till about noon. Luckily for me, I didn’t have any races until the afternoon and it dried out just in time! I went out for the first race on this new mean machine and didn’t really know what to expect or where I would stack, being that I hadn’t raced a road race bike in a long time. I ripped the holeshot and went into turn 3 a little cautious, not knowing if it was still wet or not. I immediately got passed by 8 guys and right after they all went flying into there, I thought to myself, huh, I probably should have went in there a little bit faster. I then just slowly started to pass them all back and pulled away with a win! I then went on to win all the 600cc and 750cc races. I was a little under power in both 1000cc races, but still was running up front battling and finished 3rd in both those. Overall, a really good start to the weekend and was a blast racing BIR again.  Saturday night,  John Anderson put on a great church service for our race family, which was very uplifting and one of my highlights of the weekend. The challenges of the 5 hour endurance race  are still t0 come….

Sunday,  Shane Keavney, Aaron Anderson and I would race 5 hours on the 3.1 mile course of BIR. This race is hard enough to complete when the weather is sunny and beautiful, but when we all woke up on sunday morning there was a gloomy, rainy haze in the air. I knew battling the elements was going to be the biggest challenge of this whole race. I started the race with the track temp being extremely low, which as us racers would say makes the track really greasy. Although there was a little water on the track, traction was still pretty good. I jumped out to an early lead and some little back and fourth stuff with a ZX10, but quickly pulled away and started to gap the field. I continued to put down solid laps until the yellow gas light came on, then came into the pits and handed the bike off to Shane. Kody, Japs, and John our pit crew did an excellent job filling the bike and changing the rear tire. From this point on, this was quickly becoming one of the hardest races I’d ever done being that the conditions changed from dry to wet so quickly, it’s extremely hard to judge traction. Shane and Aaron did exactly what they were supposed to do in there stints and we still were in contention for the win. I hopped on after Aaron’s session was red flagged, due to rain starting to come down and big pile up in turn 4, I believe. After the restart, I put in another hard stint and gapped us from the field as much as I could. From this point on it was a cat and mouse game just feeling out the track and finding out how hard you could push in the rain, but not go over the edge. My last stint I got on and the sun was starting to come and it was actually getting to be really nice. I set the fastest lap of race during this stint and I actually thought to myself dang I’m gonna have to hand this off to Aaron then the gas light comes on soon. Right when I thought that it started raining while there was still sun in the sky. I could not believe it! So I slipped and slided my way around until the gas light came on and quite happily handed the bike off to my buddy Aaron for the final stint to finish the race! Little did he know with about 20mins to go in this 5 hour race it just started to down pour. The wind was picking up and most competitors were out there on Dots or slick tires which are not meant of these type of rainy conditions. Aaron did an amazing job keeping the bike up right and bringing Team WorldWide home the win!

My teammates did a great job, but it’s not only the riders with the glory in the race. Our pit crew did an outstanding job every time we came into the pits they held their composure and did what needed to be done to get us back out into the race! Huge thank you to Kody, James, Japs, John and Billy for their hard work in the pits! This race could not have been won without a great pit crew!

I had an amazing time being back up with the CRA family and I have to give a huge thanks to John Anderson of WorldWide Machining and Welding for giving me this opportunity to be a part in such a great team!

 

Until next time…

Kaleb De Keyrel #51

Thank You to my sponsor who have stuck behind me: GOD, Cortech, Tagger Designs, Mind-FX, Evans Coolant, Czaia Law, Core Moto, Tucker Rocky, SportBike Track Time, Elite Transporters, Southeast Sales