VOL. 50 ISSUE 42 OCTOBER 22, 2013
P119
Not Good: Crashing at Peoria.
All Good: Winning at the
Stockton Half Mile.
out on top of a hard-fought battle with Brad Baker,
just 12 weeks after knee surgery, felt really good.
I wish I had more highlights to tell you about, but
Stockton was pretty much it - other than wins at a
few All-Star races, a series a notch below AMA Pro.
I've always struggled over the jump at the Peoria
TT, but my crash there this year really bummed me
out as 2006 was the last time I crashed there. I
took quite a bit of time off after Peoria, as my doctor wanted me to be 100 percent before getting
back on a bike. It was really hard watching from the
sidelines, but it was the right thing to do.
So instead of winning the championship, I ended up 13th in points - finishing only four of 12 races
in the series. I'm not superstitious, but 13th is not
where I want to be in any one race, let alone the
points race.
I'm a racer, so even though the AMA Pro Flat
Track season is over, there isn't really an off-season for me. By the time you read this, I'll have
raced in one of my favorite events - Eddie Mulder's
flat track at Willow Springs International Raceway
in Rosamond, California. It'll be a good chance for
me to prove I've still got it, as many top flat track
racers will be there, including
newly crowned champ Baker and
last year's AMA Grand National
Champion Jared Mees. It'll also
be nice to make some cash, as it
hasn't been the best year for me
financially.
After Willow, I'm gonna keep it
pretty much wide open, working
on my race program and racing
a bit. If it doesn't snow out, I'll be
racing a little short track in Salem,
Ohio, on November 2. The race
is not too far from where I've been
living this year in Cleveland. Then
I'll head south to race on the big
fast clay half-mile in Savannah,
Georgia. From there, I'll head to Florida to work
on my jumping skills and hopefully do a road-race
track day at the Jennings GP road course.
In January, I'm heading to Australia for the Troy
Bayliss Classic. It's such an honor to be one of the
riders invited to Troy's prestigious event, and I can't
wait to ride some Aussie-style dirt track. We'll be
spending two weeks down under, hanging with
friends, seeing the country, and chilling out, which
should be a blast. It'll be a great way to start off
2014.
Snakes totally sketch me out so in retrospect
it's not surprising that the Year of the Water Snake
bit me in the ass. According to Chinese astrology,
2014 is the Year of the Wood Horse. I'm cool with
horses, which hopefully means I'll be galloping…
err I mean running upfront all season long. Competition is stiff, but odds are good I'll be in the money,
in the thick of the points race, when the season
enters the homestretch. You can bet on it!
Follow Sammy's off-season adventures and
quest for the 2014 Grand National Championship
at facebook.com/sammyhalbert and @sammyhalbert on twitter.
CN
