I went this weekend to see my brother TJS race at the WERA Cycle Jam at Virginia International Raceway. He was the national champion last year in WERA's Class A Superbike Novice division, and was moved into Expert division this year.

Well, I watched the first race, and TJS didn't fare so well, thanks to insufficient spacing between his new steering damper and the weather seal on his steering column. He had installed it that morning, and had neglected to give it enough clearance to keep from rubbing against the weather seal. Thus, the steering damper was really putting a damper on his ability to steer. He was having to force the steering the whole race, and ending up placing poorly. Let's just say that little issue left a black cloud hanging over little brother's mood for the rest of the day. After his first race, we headed down to the barn/pavilion/cantina for lunch. We ate barbecue sandwiches and kicked back to watch what is apparently both popular and famous for being the dumbest race of the day: the Class C Superstock Novice division. This is the race that most of the newbies start in, and so not only is it the most crowded (four full waves of riders), it's crowded with some of the most dangerous riders out there. And all of them are on 600cc machines.

There were guys sitting in the pavilion who were taking bets on how many laps this race would last before a red flag. *** Racing Note! a "red flag" is thrown when someone wrecks such that the race officials cannot clear the debris off of the track in time for the next lap. The race is restarted when this happens, no matter how many laps have been raced. *** The guys who bet on Lap 1 collected the money; on the third turn, 5 guys went down. Take 2: 6 riders down in the first turn! Take 3: a guy stalled at the start, but failed to follow the protocol--which was repeatedly stressed during the riders' meeting that morning--and tried to get it going again rather than throwing up his arms to alert the riders behind him. So, as expected, he got plowed into. As you might imagine, folks were bored and annoyed at this point. See, if a race is restarted, that delays the schedule for the rest of the day as well. When the racers crashed again on the second restart, the officials gave up and moved the raced to the next day.

Later, we sat around in the heat, watched rednecks ride by with blurry blue tattoos and sunburned pot bellies, and TJS was pretty quiet for a couple of hours. I think it really bothered him that he had had trouble in the morning race thanks to a simple oversight; and given that WERA charges like $75 per race, I can at least partially understand.

But he got his game back on for his second race, in a big way. He started on the first row, and got the "hole-shot" (he was the first guy to get to the initial turn). In this four-lap race, TJS led the pack for the entire first lap! He lost the lead going into the first turn of the second lap, but looked strong throughout the race. He finished fourth! I gotta say, seeing my bro out there screaming down a straight at 170 mph, and then cornering like a champ was about the coolest thing I've seen recently. Yes, cooler than Kill Bill. I watched a lot of riders that day, and by the end of the day was able to pick out some basic things as I watched: engine rpms, shifting, ability to take the apex of the turn, and how late into the turn they were breaking. Also, I was observing from the same spot for the majority of the day, so I had a decent perspective on the good, the bad, and the ugly. In that respect, despite the annoyance of the heat and the relentless sun, I'm thankful that TJS's second race was so late in the day; by the time he got out there I was used to watching, and I was able to see--even if only with the eyes of the uninitiated--what a talented rider he is. Kudos to you, brother. I was proud, standing there watching.