After Anaheim I was looking for a little better finish. While Anaheim wasn't a disaster, my main event ended prematurely and I lost much needed points. I wanted to try to make the most of every opportunity this year and not waste any races. Now I need to catch up a little but there's a lot of racing left.

I felt really good right out of the gate at Phoenix . I was jumping all of the big rhythm sections and my bike was set up how I wanted. My times in the first session weren't the best but I improved in the 2nd outing. I knew I had the pace and would just need to nail my starts.

In my heat, I started mid-pack and really struggled. Dirt Wurx made some little changes when they worked on the track and it really played a role. David Vuillemin and Ryan Villopoto both crashed as a result, and I almost did a few times. Nevertheless, I didn't qualify as a result of my mistakes and was LCQ bound. Not good!

The LCQ was stacked, I mean really stacked! I tried to not even look at who else was in the race because it would just mess with my head. I knew I needed a start and 6 of the fastest laps I could muster.

I started 5th and knew it was do or die. Only taking two spots, I had work to do. I had a couple lines up my sleeve and made them work. I got into 2nd with a lap or two to go and made it into the main. What a relief! I don't know how many years LCQ races take off my life but it can't be good...

After 5 laps of the main, David Vuillemin crashed hard and scared everyone. They stopped the race to check him out and sent us back to the starting line. He turned out to thankfully be ok for the most part.

(Heal up DV). The restart didn't change much for me; I was still around 15th or 16th after a few chaotic laps. I tried and tried to pass Kyle Lewis but couldn't make anything stick. On lap 12 or so I finally got him. I took off after the pack in front of me with not much time to do anything. I got behind Jeff Gibson with 3 laps left and knew it was crunch time. I made a pass stick with a lap to go and almost got Jeff Dement the last lap. I ended up 14th, but I knew I could have been 12th with a few more laps. I really need better starts in those main events. All I can do is keep practicing.

Next week is back to Anaheim for the 2nd of 3 rounds. I hope I can have a little easier time qualifying and get the start I need in the main. I’ll be practicing and training all week with that goal in my head. Thanks and talk to you in a week!

--jason36