Well thank the Lord, I finally got a Wally, and it’s for real this time. No giving it back! This one is mine. It’s been a long time coming and a lot of hard work, but it finally happened. I can’t say enough about my team and my sponsor, Evan Knoll, George Bryce, George Smith, Rick, Chip, Ken, and Randall. They have worked their butts off for this and I am glad to be able to bring one home.

They say you will never forget your first win, and trust me I never will. Not after what I have been through it the last few years. From racing in Englishtown in 2003 and slamming into the wall, which pushed the foot peg on my bike all the way through my foot to winning Indy then losing Indy all in a 24-hour period to a few weeks ago when I thought I won second round then two weeks later finding out that I didn’t. There are so many things that I could go on about. But racing is just like life, it is a rollercoaster. You have your ups and you have your downs. I am just glad I finally stayed up for at least one weekend.

We went into Sunday morning knowing we had the two fastest Buells on the property, and that’s how we wanted to keep it. I was all psyched up for first round because I knew Michael Phillips is always good on the tree. I went up there and just tried to stay focused. We had a bit of a staging battle and then Michael went red. I was .042 on the Tree and ran a 7.091; needless to say the bike and I were finally on the same page. Second round I had Antron Brown. He had the second quickest Suzuki first round, so I knew I had to be ready. I went up there with the same mentality I had the first round and it worked again. Antron went red and I was .044 on the Tree and ran 7.176. Even though the bike slowed a little I was still ready and I knew the guys could fix the bike. I had to face Tom Bradford in the semi’s. He had the quickest bike of the entire second round so I knew me and the bike had our work cut out for us. I tried staying focused just as I had the previous two rounds. I did everything the same as I had done before, and it worked out in my favor again. I was .043 on the Tree and ran 7.120 to Bradford’s 7.141 to get the win.

Then it was down to two. I had been in three previous final rounds and had lost them all. I wanted this one real bad, but I knew Karen Stoffer did as well. I tried staying relaxed as much as possible but it seemed like an eternity before we ran the finals. I told myself this is just like any other round, just go up there and do your thing. I had been incredibly consistent on the tree all day, so I knew I was ready. I did my burn out, rolled up to the beams and staged. I hit every shift point on time and just prayed I would cross the finish line first. I knew I was a little late, because I wanted to make sure I did not red-light. When it came down to the finish line I could hear her bike beside me, but I never once looked over. So when the win light lit up on my side I went crazy inside that helmet. I knew this one was legit. I even asked at the top end just to make sure and they showed me the replay.

It was definitely one of the best things that has ever happened to me in my life. I am so glad my dad and my son were there to see it happen. My dad was actually the first person to me at the top end of the race track, and I don’t think he could have gotten a better Father’s Day present than if he would have won himself. He helped me get where I am today so I am glad to give him something back in return.

We race in St. Louis this week, so check back in and maybe we can do it again!