Kinzer Naylor Racing/Speed Moto Company CMRA Debut @ MSR Houston
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, 02-19-2014 at 09:33 PM (33169 Views)
Houston happenings...
Although the results may not reflect it, the CMRA season opener, at Motorsports Ranch Houston in Angleton, Texas, was a solid and productive weekend for Kinzer Naylor Racing.
First order of business was the C Superbike 4-hour endurance race. Kinzer got an excellent start, on his Kawasaki ZX6R, from 19th on the grid, and made his way up to 9th within two corners. Kinzer continued to run inside the top-ten for the first hour of the race. At the end of the first hour, he came in for fuel and a rider change. After an efficient pit stop, Kinzer's team mate and father, Brian Naylor, headed back out for the second hour. Brian continued to run inside the top ten until about halfway through his stint, when 4th gear on their bike decided to take the rest of the day off. Instead of calling it a day, the team decided to take the 'frame-change' penalty and use the rest of the race to allow Kinzer to get their second bike dialed in for Sunday's sprint races. After a quick transponder swap and fueling, was back on track putting in race simulation runs at the same pace as the endurance race front-runners.
Sunday's 5-lap sprint races all had a very similar feel to them. In all four races, Kinzer started from the back row of the grid (lesson-learned, kids, get those pre-entries in ASAP!). First up was the Expert B-Superstock race. From 29th on the grid, Kinzer got a blazing start and outbroke a third of the field, heading into turn 1. As the race progressed, Kinzer made his way toward the front, but with the race being only 5 laps long, he ran out of time, and scored a 13th place finish.
Next up, in the Expert C-Superstock race, it was much of the same, as Kinzer got another great start, from 25th on the grid, made up ten places into the first turn, and brought home a hard-fought 14th place.
For the Expert C-Superbike, it was a 28th place grid spot, and once again, it was Kinzer that the bottom third of the field watched go past them, on the brakes, into turn 1. As in his previous races, Kinzer ran a pace very similar to the front-runners, but could only do so much in 5 laps, and finished in a decent 11th place.
For his final race, Expert B-Superbike, Kinzer continued his turn 1 braking antics, this time from 21st on the grid. The impromptu push-up sessions and ketchup-based diet seem to be paying off. This time, Kinzer had some clear track in front of him and was able to quickly reel in the top-ten group before finishing in a weekend-best 9th place.
With round 1 and some championship points in the bag, look for Kinzer much further up the points-based starting grid, for CMRA Round 2 at Texas World Speedway, in College Station, Texas.
Kinzer Naylor Racing would like to thank its sponsors; Speed Moto Company, Pit Pass Moto, Invinci Graphics, Spiegler, South Central Race Center, Graceland College, and Downhill District. Super high-five thanks to the CMRA staff for a very fun and well-organized weekend...see you at TWS!