These last five weeks have been action-packed, but we have a bit of a breather now as the NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock Motorcycle Series steps aside for Bristol and Topeka. The bikes will be back at full throttle, June 4-7 at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago and I can’t wait.

The highlight of April came for us at Atlanta both on and off the track.

On the track, the GEICO Powersports team ran great in Atlanta with a first place qualifying run on Friday, followed by two more solid qualifying sessions on Saturday. On race day, we won an extremely close race in the opening round over Angie McBride, but then were eliminated in round two by Doug Horne. Despite the quarterfinals exit, we came away from Atlanta in very high spirits and a very optimistic feeling for the rest of this season due to the high performance that the GEICO Powersports Suzuki.

Off the track, we stayed very busy in Atlanta with some very rewarding activities. First up was the Atlanta Braves–Florida Marlins baseball game on Thursday before the race weekend. You may be asking why a baseball game is relevant to NHRA drag racing. Well, to help grow our fan base and create publicity for our sport and GEICO Powersports, I was invited to throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the ballgame.

Heading into this opportunity, I received a ton of advice on how best to approach the first pitch. I was hoping to practice back home in Nevada before departing for Atlanta, but wind gusts up to 50 mph made that impossible.

I did play softball and volleyball growing up, so I had some confidence heading into the first pitch, but did not know really what to expect. Once I was brought out to the mound, my first reaction was that the plate was not nearly as far away from the mound as I had anticipated. I threw the pitch a little softer than I meant to trying to make sure I didn’t throw the ball wide. I threw a strike, but “short hopped” it off the dirt and into the catcher’s mitt.

Throwing the first pitch was a very cool, unforgettable experience that was the talk of the GEICO Powersports pits for the rest of the weekend. Even cooler were the amount of NHRA fans who we came across at the Braves games. A lot of the baseball fans mentioned that they would be at the Atlanta Dragway later that weekend which was gratifying to hear. Hopefully, our appearance got some new fans to check out our sport as well. Special thanks to the Atlanta Braves for making us feel so at home at Turner Field.

Once we got to the track, I was happy to help host a special guest – Nick Manning and his family. We had met Nick last fall at the Bikes for Tikes event in Virginia. For the last three years, Nick has been recovering from a severe brain injury that he suffered in a motocross accident. Upon meeting we immediately connected with Nick and his family who were big NHRA fans.

GEICO arranged for an all-access trip to the track for Nick and his family. My GEICO Powersports teammate Morgan Lucas and I spent quality time with Nick and his family including tours of the GEICO Powersports Suzuki and Morgan’s top fuel dragster. The rest of our GEICO Powersports team entertained Nick and his family throughout the race weekend.

Nick, who just recently got his driver’s license and is recovering very well, could not stop smiling. His gratitude was very rewarding for both me and the team.

Last but not least, Atlanta was a weekend of birthday celebrations. Our team owner Debbie Johnson, her close friend Lillie Corbitt and I were all celebrating birthdays in the weeks surrounding the Atlanta race. We decided to celebrate all three birthdays together and had one birthday cake for the three of us. The birthday celebration was perfect way to cap off an awesome race weekend.

St. Louis was a challenging race weekend for us with rain hampering the qualifying on Friday. We made some good passes on Saturday, but were eliminated in round one on race day due to me fouling on the start line. We were able to get some amazing results in testing on Monday though which further assured me that we have a bike very capable of getting us into victory lane soon.

I do want to give a shout out to all the fans in St. Louis who stuck through the weather conditions with us. Even after the rain, the stands were still packed, a tribute to the loyalty of our fans. I was able to meet more fans than usual thanks to a driver autograph session put on by Gateway International Raceway. I look forward to meeting even more of you throughout this season. Without you all, none of what we do in the NHRA Full Throttle Series would be possible.

Thanks for all the support and see you in Chicago.