Well, I left you in suspense from last week and hoped that this week I would be pumped to explain the situation. Instead, I am here to tell you what happened last week and why Joe didn’t ride his heat or LCQ in Daytona.
Joe came home from St. Louis frustrated again. He said that he couldn’t beat himself up anymore and that he needed to make a change. He called the guys from KTM to get their opinions on his thoughts. After much deliberation, it was decided that Joe would move on and proceed onto something else.
I then called one of Joe’s biggest supporters – Vito from Victorville Motorcycle Center here in town and explained the situation to him. I told him that Joe wanted to switch from KTM to Kawasaki – the bikes that he rode in Canada he felt suited him better.
Vito was more than happy to be there for the support Joe needed. Literally, Joe got off the plane in Ontario on Sunday and went straight to Vito’s to pick up his new green machine. He got it out of the crate that night and spent all on Monday down in Corona.
The guys at Pro Circuit have always been a huge supporter of Joe’s. Even though he hasn’t ridden for Mitch in a while, he still is glad to see that Joe just keeps trucking along. Joe took the Kawi down to Pro Circuit and got the motor and suspension work dialed in with Bones. He came home late on Monday with a renewed attitude…thank goodness for my sanity!
Joe was able to ride this week thanks to some friends locally that let him borrow their bikes to practice on. With Daytona racing on Friday night and tech inspection happening all day Thursday…the boys had to leave for Florida on Wednesday. Testing was cut short, but Joe was ready for the change.
They got to Bike Week and headed to the Speedway for the day. They got to watch some of the road racing from the back section of the track where they were waiting to enter the track after the road racing guys left. The semis for SX actually park on the speedway, not in the pits. It is a unique look, something you should experience at least once in your life.
Joe felt comfortable on the Kawasaki during practice and was ready to get things going in the right direction. With the loaner bike from Isaiah Johnson, Joe was able to make the switch to green this weekend.
Gerald pulled Joe’s bike up to the line for the first heat and noticed some oil leaking out of the transmission cover. He got back to the truck, missing the start of the heat race, and filled it up with oil again. He pushed the bike back to the line for the LCQ and same thing happened. They got it back to the pits only to find that there were some parts in the side case that shouldn’t have been there.
So, needless to say, Joe’s transition didn’t go as smoothly as planned. He didn’t get a chance to ride in the races, only practice. I was able to schedule a shipment of his Kawasaki into Orlando thanks to the help of the Butler Brothers Racing Team. Like I mentioned before, it’s cool that everyone in this sport is there to help each other.
I leave you with the notion that next week; Joe will be in Orlando showing everyone that he still has it. Keep your eyes out for #115 on green this week – in practice and the night show!
