I am sorry that I haven't written a race story yet, it has been a rough Spring so far. First the "Announcer Dog", Shorty died. I am really going to miss him in the announcer's tower, he was a great Color Commentator and my best buddy. He always took time out of his busy day between naps and eating snacks to comment on the race and his favorite riders like Andrew Arnold or Dustin Lamp. Next, our track Photographer (and my Wife), Jeanne's Mom died last week right after the race. That was another emotional blow to the family and we are still trying to recover. But, it didn't get any better, we got more bad news last night. Dan Heiney, our Great Friend and the BEST "Start Line Man" in the business died yesterday. He was on vacation with his family, they were camping and fishing in West Virginia. He died doing what he always enjoyed, spending time with his family! I am not sure how we will recover from all of these losses, but hopefully things will get better with time.

 

To add to all of the other problems, the rain this Spring has been horrendous and relentless. We have been flooded at the track now for at least the last four weeks. We have had to cancel/reschedule two out the first three races. Now I just got word that the first OVMX Race at Reno will be rescheduled to next Saturday, April 30. The road to the track is flooded and the is a lot more rain on its way tomorrow (Friday).

 

It started out to be a really good out-look for this season, unemployment seems to be getting better in the country, we had a GREAT turnout at our first race, and if you haven't seen it yet, we have a new Announcer's Tower under construction at the track. I was hoping everyone could come and see it at the last race, but it was flooded and if you didn't have a boat or waterproof boots to your knees, you weren't going to be able to get to it. I am happy to say, Dan made it up to the tower and spent some time with me at our first race. He really liked the new tower. Unfortunately, Dan won't be visiting the tower anymore, but I'll bet he will watching all of our races! So far, I am a little bummed-out this year!

 

As I said earlier, our first race was fantastic, we had a really big turnout and were treated to some amazing battles! Everybody really seemed excited for the race to get underway. There were new bikes, rebuilt bikes, new riding gear, new sponsors and lots of new riders at the track, plus many of our returning regulars! I hope everyone had a good time and you will consider racing the entire "Roostin' on the River" and the "OVMX" Series with us this year. We promise, the rain will eventually let up and things will get back to normal.