Flat Rock Race Report

The first stop of the 2010 NYSWA Season at Flat Rock outside Lowville, NY was this past weekend and Team Highside came home with much to be pleased about.  Going in, Semi-Pro #99 Matt Schebaum was looking to carry his luck from a few weeks earlier at Darien Lake and finish within the Top 5.  Meanwhile, Pro #14 Luke Janiszewski was hoping to once and for all shake the streak of bad luck and mechanical issues he has been battling since the end of 2009 and finally have a chance to get back towards the front.

The track at Flat Rock is unlike any other in the country.  While EWA courses are known to be shorter, "pin to pin" type racing; Flat Rock is much bigger with long straights and sweeping corners.  The team looked forward to Friday afternoon practice for many reasons...Luke needed to get a new ignition in and see if he could shake the ghost of an electrical problem that has kept him out and Matt needed to see how his sled setup performed on a longer course.

FRIDAY

Janiszewksi #14 never made it out for Fri. practice, unable to get spark from his ignition; and Schebaum #99 said he felt slow on the back straight from a combination (he thought) of short gearing and the back straightaway facing directly into a stiff wind...

There was still a schedule practice Saturday morning for another chance to dial things in, and it looked like Team Highside was going to need it.

The main focus Friday night, though, was on the #14 sled, continuing the effort to at least get it on the water the next morning.  By 11:00pm Fri. night, the team had their hands on yet another complete ignition and got to work under flashlights in the pits to try to get some spark.  Sometime around midnight they had it, and with the spark, a renewed spirit knowing they could at least put it to the test in the morning.



SATURDAY

Saturday morning, while Semi-Pro #99 Matt Schebaum was testing some clutching and gearing to find a little more on that back straight, Pro #14 Luke Janiszewksi was hoping the hard work by the team the night before would pay off and his machine would let him race.




Heading out that morning Luke said "I'm just going to ride it like there was never anything wrong with it.  That's all I can do, we've tried everything and at this point it's either going to be fixed and hold up or it's not, there's nothing more we can do right now.  I'm going to ride it as hard as I can for more than 6 laps and if it holds up I'll know I can go and race".


It held up and it appeared that Luke had finally shook it.  He could finally battle his competitors instead of his sled.



The #14 was back and he qualified for both the Pro 600 and Pro 700 Finals through the LCQ rounds by winning both of them.  A major accomplishment after struggling to even finish a race with constant sled trouble since late 2009.  While 4 sleds line up for a final, the 5th rider (who qualified via LCQ) starts on a delay.  Luke would go on to finish 2nd in the Pro 600 final and 4th in the Pro 700 final, from a delay both times.  Not only is the #14 back, he's clearly fast as well, able to reel in and make passes from the delay.

In Semi-Pro, Matt Schebaum #99 missed the Semi-Pro 600 final by one position, finishing 3rd in the semi-final round where only the Top 2 move on.  In the Semi-Pro 800 class, a somewhat scary crash kept him out of the finals as well when he hit the equalizer buoy on a very fast EQ lap, was thrown off his line, and hit shore.

"The wind was still blowing pretty hard into that corner and as I came around it blew me right into the buoy.  I was wide open when I hit the buoy and it pitched me towards shore.  I was still wide open and thought that even if I let off and tried to square up and make the corner I still would hit land and by then be sideways.  Instead of hitting shore sideways and probably going for more of a ride, I decided to just kind of ghost ride it straight at shore..."

"...Luckily I got tossed and my tether shut down the motor because it was headed right for some spectators and a few RVs and I just slid on the grass. I was ok... Today was Luke's day though, we're pumped that he's back.  I told him before his finals that the other #14 (Kevin Windham returned to Outdoor Motocross Saturday as well) got the holeshot and led Moto 1 at Millville, maybe that game him some inspiration haha"

SUNDAY

The fast and hard racing that is the norm at Flat Rock is always good for a few crashes.  Both riders of  Team Highside experienced that on Sunday.  In Janiszewski's Pro 600 heat, he took the holeshot from lane 1 (the outside) and attempted to take the inside line into the first turn.  Another rider (who started from the inside lane) blew the first turn and took out the back of Luke's sled, sending him for quite the ride.  He was scored in 2nd though, and moved on to the Semi-finals; not without a few sore ribs though, to take another 2nd and draw lane 4 (the inside) for the Pro 600 final.

Here's a video a spectator took with a cell  phone of Luke's turn 1 crash



And some photos...

In Semi-Pro, #99 Matt Schebaum raced into the Semi-Pro 800 Final with lane 2 while missing the Semi-Pro 600 final once again by one position.  In the Semi-Pro 800 Final, all 4 riders went into the first corner side by side and only 3 came out.  Matt was forced to evade the lane 3 sled that started pushing wide, over corrected, high-sided, and was tossed off; going down for a 4th place overall.

"I've always heard that a big difference between Semi-Pro and Pro is how close everyone takes and holds their lines in corners.  I had the outside and didn't want to let #911, who had the inside get to far away so I put a lot of trust in everyone inside me to hold their line because I went pretty tight.  Then I saw Brad (Crocker #127) start to drift towards me and had to pitch it right to evade him, and then square up again.  I got all squirrely, my track caught, and I flipped."
 
Time for the Pro 600 Final, and Luke had the inside lane; no LCQ, no delay.  The plan was to take the holeshot and gain as much of a lead as possible, saving the EQ lap for last, and hopefully his lead would be big enough by then to take a win.  The plan went almost exactly as planned....Luke got the holeshot, came out of turn 1 with the lead and raced the inside buoys for 5 straight laps, with control of the lead the entire time.  The 2nd and 3rd place riders were close the whole race, and while Luke was forced to go wide on Lap 6 for his Equalizer, the two riders behind him who had already taken their EQ passed him right before the finish line.  Luke took 3rd... but for him and the team it was almost as good as a win.

Luke Janiszewski #14 - 2nd, 3rd Pro 600 Oval; 4th Pro 700 Oval
Matt Schebaum #99 - 5th, 5th Semi-Pro 600 Oval; 4th Semi-Pro 800 Oval


Team Highside would like to thank all of our sponsors: Fly Racing, Amsoil, Team Industries, Scott Goggles, MotoOption Clothing, XWEO,  R.J. Millworkers, and Hometown Deli & Grocery in Oneonta, NY

The Eastern Watercross Tour resumes for Round 2 August 7-8 in Whitesville, NY and then we are back at Flat Rock the following weekend August 14-15.