Hagan Racing at The Redline Cup!

WOW!  I'm tired today and I wasn't even the one racing in the 90+ degree heat this weekend.  Perhaps that's why I'm the crew chief and not the racer, and the fact that I'd look a little silly out there with a bunch of 8 year olds racing.  They'd likely beat me too which would even be worse.

This weekend was Tyler's first really big BMX race and he did a great job!  He finished in 2nd place at the end of the day but he was a little frustrated because he didn't win, which turned into a great teaching opportunity to reinforce some of the "Rules of Racing" that we developed.  I could understand Tyler's slight frustration because earlier in the day he beat the boy, who ultimately took first place.  Tyler was upset with himself because that boy passed him in the final race of the day and Tyler had been leading the race up until the final part of the race.

It was a full team effort on the day with Wendy and Carissa there as well.  The grandparents even stopped by to watch the race on Sunday.  It was a HUGE race and there were kids in from Springfield and St. Louis and even racers in from out of State from what I understand.  Just to give you an idea of how large this race was we typically have about 9 or 10 different classes, which are called "Motos" in BMX.  Each of those "Motos" have roughly 4 to 8 racers.  So there are typically 40 to 80 racers during an average race.  At the "Redline Cup" there are 51 Motos!!!  Each moto averaged 6 riders.  306 Racers on Sunday!!!!

Tyler is at the Center in the Black & White Bike Stop uniform with the Red Helmet.

It was a HUGE event and our first really big race.  Tyler now has a great plaque to hang on his wall at home showing that he got 2nd place in a big race.  I was great experience to be part of such a big event and Tyler learned a lot in the process.  Later in the day, after the race was over, we had a chance to talk about the race itself and why he thought he lost the lead late in the race.  Wendy and I noticed during the race that he kept turning his head to see where the other racers were and he never use to do that.  Each time he turned his head he would lose a little speed and it allowed the other rider the chance to catch him and ultimately pass him.  It was hard to watch him give up the lead in a race that he really should have won but it was a great learning experience for him as well.  I don't think he'll be turning his head in any of the upcoming races in the near future...