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Tristan Reeves

Crazy Dog Racing finishes 3rd in Modern Classic during the 8 Hours of Texas

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Following a 3rd place at MSR Houston in the first round of the 2013 CMRA Big Bike Endurance season, Crazy Dog Racing raced to another podium finish at Texas World Speedway on March 23rd, again taking 3rd place in class. The race weekend began on Friday with all five team members taking turns on the A and B bikes to get reacquainted with the track and to ensure both bike setups were suitable for all riders. Preemptive race strategy and planning, however, went out the window with a less-than-ideal weather forecast for Saturday morning leading to last-minute race-day planning for fuel stops and tire selection.

Lead rider and team owner Wes Eastveld took the lights for the start of the race, leading off a 5-rider rotation of 45-minute stints. The team immediately noticed the stiff competition this race had brought out as Eastveld settled into 6th position in class behind three Aprilia RSV1000’s, an SV650, and Team Bohica’s GSX-R750. On the CDR Honda CBR600 “A” bike, Eastveld would have to keep his head down to keep up with the faster bikes ahead. At the end of his 45 minute stint, Eastveld returned to the pits where pitcrew David Hillman and Roberto Falcone swiftly and efficiently handled refueling the bike. Thanks to the Hunsaker-supplied dump can and drybreak fuel filler, Hillman filled the tank in mere seconds while Robert Henriksen stood ready to jump on the bike for the next stint.

Quick work in the pits allowed Henriksen to reenter the race still in 6th position, maintaining that for the entirety of his stint. As a Provisional Novice racer, Henriksen, upon returning to the pits, commented on the experience he gained from racing a 45 minute stint on the bike. After another quick pit stop, team captain Mark Shim took to the track aboard the #32 Honda, once again in 6th position.


Mark Shim gearing up for his first stint.

Thirty minutes into his stint, however, Shim signaled he was returning to pit lane as he passed by on the front stretch. The team, unsure of the reason for his early return, readied for the worst as he circulated the track once more. Upon reentering the pit and placing the bike on the rear stand, Shim pointed to the shifter as all eyes noticed the dangling shift rod and pedal. During his stint, the shift rod had backed out between the quickshifter and pedal, stripping out the last few threads of the rod. This led to the shift rod subsequently freeing itself from the quickshifter body and rendering the shifter useless. With the “B” bike on-hand behind the wall, the necessary parts were quickly robbed from it to get the “A” bike functional again. While in the pits the rear tire was checked for wear out of concern that it may need changing, but the Pirelli Superbike Pro slick had plenty of life left in it.

After a 5 minute pit-stop that seemed like an eternity to all involved, rider-on-deck Yorke Oldfather took to the track, re-entering the race in 8th place. Maintaining a solid and consistent pace, the team’s other ProvNov racer returned to the pits after completing his full 45 minute stint. Another quick pit-stop later and the last rider in the rotation, Tristan Reeves, took to the track.

Once again the full stint was completed without a hitch, or so the team thought until Reeves returned to the pit. “It’s power-sliding all over the place” he yelled to Eastveld over the noise of bikes screaming down the front stretch. Nodding his head in acknowledgment, Eastveld left pit lane in a cloud of exhaust fumes while Reeves removed his gear. As the team’s heaviest rider, Reeves relayed how the rear tire was sliding on corner exit with the bike generally riding very soft in the rear. As this was going on, Eastveld reappeared in pit lane without completing a lap, bailing off the bike and grabbing tools to swap the rear tire. The team sprung to action to assist, completing a rear tire change as fast as possible without practice. Reeves, realizing now what happened, checked the pressure in the just-removed rear tire, noting to everyone’s amazement the 12 pounds of air remaining in it. “Well, that certainly makes more sense” he remarked in regards to the performance of the bike during his stint.


"Really? 12 pounds?"

As rider and team calmed down and got back into the rhythm of the race, the laps began clicking off as time grew short on the race clock. Slowly but surely CDR began climbing back up the ranks as other teams retired from the race completely or had extended pit stops for various mechanical failures. Where CDR previously sat in 8th place, the team now found itself comfortably in 3rd place in class, once again behind Team Bohica. The rotation continued as riders Henriksen, Shim, Yorke, and Reeves each completed their full-length stints. The only hiccup this time through the rotation was Shim getting pushed wide in T2. Quick thinking on his part allowed him to stand the bike up before running off, saving the bike and rider while taking the short-course bypass. A quick visit from race director Walter Walker a short time later revealed to the team the reason for Shim’s 50% longer lap.

With two complete rotations of the roster complete and one failure-shortened stint, it fell on Eastveld’s shoulders to finish the last 15 minutes of the race. As teams continued to retire from the event and the final minutes ticked off the clock, the entire Crazy Dog Racing team joined other teams on the pit wall to cheer on their riders during the final laps. At the end of the day, CDR crossed the line 3rd in class and 13th overall out of a field of 35 bikes, 11 of those entered in Modern Classic. The team saw personal bests set by four of five riders throughout the day and succeeded in completing a grueling eight hour race, a first for all members. Now 2nd in points in Modern Classic, CDR looks forward to the rest of the year and the challenge of maintaining a podium spot.


Eastveld with a celebratory smoke show.

Crazy Dog Racing would like to thank all of its sponsors that made this effort possible: K-Pop Restaurant, Crazy Dog Racing, Wilderness Kawasaki, Alkote Powder Coating, Trident Welding, Jardine exhaust, Elka suspension, Drift cameras, Scott’s steering dampers, P.S.R. levers, Renthal chains and sprockets, N.R.C. engine covers, EBC brakes, and Pirelli tires.


The entire Crazy Dog Racing team.

Additionally, the riders of CDR would like to thank the friends, family, and supporters that joined them at the track to cheer on their endurance effort. Without your support we wouldn’t be able to do this.

Look for Eastveld and Reeves to compete in the Team 60 race at Eagle’s Canyon in April. The entire team will be back for more endurance action at New Orleans Motorsports Park in June.
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Comments

  1. Frank Rodriguez III's Avatar
    Well done report. Congrats on the podium
  2. Paul Coste's Avatar
    Great report. Congrats on the finish!