It has been a long season, and we want to take the time to thank some people that made 2013 a great success and very rewarding. It is arguably our longest year as Danny and the team raced 12 weekends this season, saw the newest member added to the team when Madison Rose Kelsey was born in June, and had some tough competition this year on top of everything else.
First off thanks to Danny Kelsey – Danny gives 100% every time he is on the track. At the end of the season when “everything looked wrapped up”, we did talk about “making mistakes” and wasting all the hard work our sponsors put into this season. Although there were a couple of races where common sense took over, he didn’t want to get any awards unless he was giving it 100%. Everyone that has ever worked with Danny really respects him and how hard he rides. This is my 8th year now of working with him and I still am motivated to stay up late working for him because of the effort he puts in.
Thank you Pirelli/SCRC/John Hutchinson – We were really worried about moving to Pirelli this year. You “never really know how a tire works” until you race it. The amount of information available on the tire through SCRC and Pirelli helped us to get up to speed really quick and the tire is amazing.
Moto Liberty/RS Taichi/Shoei – We feel really fortunate that Danny got to wear the RS Taichi suits. Danny had 3 get offs this year. The suits protected him well and held up nicely. Danny could not have been in better protection. We ended up having to replace two helmets this year, but the fact that Danny suffered no concussions are a great testament to the Shoei product. Danny was quick all season, because the Taichi suits fit amazingly well, ventilate well, and are cut the way a suit needs to be. Lastly, being involved with Audrey and Moto Liberty is just good mojo. When you buy at a shop with World and National Champion memorabilia that they sold/delivered…good karma is the result!
KMC Controls – Most of you see the stickers, but don’t realize that KMC Controls is an out of industry sponsor that has chosen to support Danny Kelsey in CMRA racing. KMC Controls manufactures building control systems that are 100% made in America. They are focused on lowering the cost of building operations and if you need to get your HVAC control systems updated, contact Danny…he sells their systems!
JRi Shocks and GP Suspension – Barry Wressell (GP Suspension) and Tm Godshall (JRi Shocks) were a big part of our season. They make an incredible product and really want to support the CMRA as best as possible. Suspension is the most important part of going fast, and we are fortunate to be working with these folks.
Lone Star Track Days – Thanks to LSTD for putting on some great events for us to get ready for the races. We did not have the budget this year to actually do a “test and tune” after the start of the season. We really needed to get quality track time on Fridays and Steve and the team did a great job putting together great events while making constant adjustments when incidents caused a red flag. I know that the last event did not meet some folks expectations, but we feel that LSTD has done a consistently outstanding job this season and over the years.
Thanks to Jimmy Cambora and Steve Upchurch – I spend as much time working on press releases, contracts, and other items for our race team as anything else. I leaned on Jimmy to help us around mid-season after Danny set some track records for direct help and advice. It really helped us to have a VERY qualified opinion on our team. Same thing with Steve. Both Jimmy and Steve helped get our 1000 motor to work a bit better through the cam timing and dyno work they did. WE TRUST THEM IMMENSELY on input and work.
Dynojet/M4 Exhausts/DP Brakes/Silkolene – We need to be sure the bikes were going to run fast and reliably all season. Our Dynojet boxes are 2 years old and don’t miss a beat. M4 Exhausts are built reliably and put out a ton of power. We never have to work about the M4 exhausts not “holding up” from use or crashes. Again the HP numbers from them are impressive. Lastly, we got really lucky with the Silkolene product as they chose to work with us. We had almost no “clutch drama” this year as the oil has really extended our clutch life. Through all the various hard wear and tear on the bikes, every time we looked inside the motor…it always looked perfect. The Silkolene Pro4 was a big part of that.
Walter/Ryan/CMRA staff – Really want to thank Walter and the CMRA staff for the great job they did this year. It was definitely extra work putting the F1 races and ceremonies together, but it definitely added a lot to the club. It was nice at the AMA races seeing Walter and Ryan, it made the events a lot easier for us seeing familiar faces.
Vortex/Hotbodies/K’s Motorsports – Vortex has saved our butts numerous times as their inexpensive and durable controls absolutely are a racer’s friend. Vortex offers any licensed racer a support opportunity. Hotbodies has helped us stay in budget and keep our bikes looking good with their quality bodywork and low costs. Thank you to K’s Motorsports for their support with parts and products this seasons.
Lastly, thank you to Motopia, Richard Shiller, Paul Coste, Leonard Gremillion, Will Shupak, and Cory Armstrong for their implicit help and support this year. These folks were key to making this season happen. We couldn’t have done it without you all.
Thank you again to everyone involved with the CMRA and AMA that made our season a great one!
