BLAIS RACING SERVICES / FASST CO RACE REPORT!
AMA National Hare & Hound (NNHA), Round 8
Panaca, NV
8/23/14
By: Patty Blais, ATV A
Chris and I headed out to Panaca, NV early Friday morning for NHHA Round 8. We had some work to do with our team once we got there – jetting and bike testing. We also like to check in with the host club to see if they are set and if they need any help from us.
This would be my first National race in over three years and for some reason, I wasn’t nervous at all – not too normal for me as my friends would know. Usually before any race, I’m pretty nervous. I had been riding a lot lately prior to this race so I was ready and so excited to get going!
Patty Blais on her Blais Racing TRX450R! Photos by Grumpy
The host club, Silver State Trailblazers, always do an excellent job with their events, providing dinner for all the racers and an autograph signing of the top riders so that the young kids have a chance to meet their heroes! We had a team meeting Friday night with all of our riders, topped it off with some root beer floats, and off to bed we all went.
We woke up early for the mini race at 7am Saturday morning. We watched our rider, Cole Timboe, do some shredding through the desert and clinch an awesome finish at 2nd Place Overall!
I mostly hung around the trailer all morning, trying not to get too nervous before the 11am start. I got halfway dressed in my gear before the 10am rider’s meeting and also helped our riders get ready with whatever they needed for their race – food, drinks, hugs, a pep talk, etc.
We paraded to the start through the Panaca neighborhoods and I watched the first three rows take off into the desert! Our row was next and boy, that bomb run did a number on my wrists… OUCH! It wasn’t smooth at all, but at the end was an nice, fast sand wash that we could rail through.
The first half of the race was through twisty trees, sand washes, and super fun trails! I loved the course so much. I’m not used to turning that much though and wished I had turned down my stabilizer a little bit. The trees were hanging so low, even I had to duck.
I was running 5th Overall for the first half of the race and ended up letting two faster quads get by me as they were right up on my butt. Our row started not too far behind the Novices and we had to work our way through the slower bike riders. It was a little tougher at this race as some of the trails were tighter with overgrown big bushes on either side. I am used to just plowing my way around people in the weeds but you really couldn’t do that here – the weeds were 6 feet tall! Lol.
A couple of quads and myself (all on Hondas) went back and fourth throughout the race a few times, switching positions and boy, it was so much fun! It really keeps me on my toes when someone is right in front of me and right behind me. No time to rest or get lazy! I don’t know some of the newer riders just yet but everyone seemed very respectful of each other – no dirty playing but still aggressive and fun.
Just before the finish, there were two places with deep mud. After the first mud bog, my quad stalled for a few seconds, ugh! The next mud tunnel would claim my quad and I’d be stuck there with spinning rear tires which seemed like forever but I’m sure was only about a minute. Double ughh! I was so frustrated but laughing at the same time as I was just saturated in mud. At the finish line everyone was laughing at how muddy I was. I was muddier than everyone else! I finished in 7th Place which I was really happy with. I was shooting for a top 5 and got really close to that goal!
A few deep mud holes near the end of the race!
I want to say thank you to the SSTB, the NHHA, all the friends and volunteers and everyone who made this race possible! Putting on these events takes months and months. If you’ve never worked a race, you should.
I also want to congratulate my Blais Racing Team for always making me so proud and so happy to have them as part of our off-road racing family! Our rider, Skyler Howes, finished 2nd Place Overall (his best finish to date), and our rider, Brendan “Brendini” Crow, who wrapped up the 200A Championship! So proud of you guys – Congrats!!
I want to thank my husband Chris who, as much as he hates working on my quad, keeps the motor so fresh and my quad running 100%! I love my quad – it makes me smile so much. I’ve had many different sponsors and friends over the years who’ve helped me out and I want to thank: Fasst Co, Teixeira Tech, Baja Designs, FAH-Q MC, Fastway/Pro Moto Billet, IMS/Roll, Scott Goggles, Mark Kariya, Grumpy, Stacy Doerksen, Gilbert Davila, and Tampax.
See you at Round 9 in September!
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