10/27/2026
Never ride emotional....
In the Turn 3 Racing pit, that usually means it's time to poo, but this time is was the real deal. THANKFULLY everyone is ok and walked away from this lapse in judgement. Unfortunate incident that could have been avoided if I remembered my grid spot and that middleweight starts in front of the open class this race. After my friend and teammate Christian Cepeda was taken out in turn 8 and life flighted to Enloe the race before, my mind was with him and I was worried it was another incident like 2018 when I was out there turn working and Jason Blancas was unfortunately taken from us in a very similar situation. I never want to be the guy that takes someone out, as I have been taken out myself before, or be known as that guy everyone is scared to race around. After I pulled back into the pit and took my helmet and gloves off, I completely lost it. I went into my trailer and cried for a solid hour on the floor before I could get up. If you know me, I never do this.... I was a wreck until I went to the hospital later that night and sat with Christian in the ER for a good couple hours and calmed my nerves that he was going to be ok. Thankfully my teammate and wife were by my side the whole time to help get through this. I once again want to apologize to the fellow riders that got caught up in this mess I made and thank them for allowing me to do so. It sucks too cause I ride with these guys a lot at FTD...
2026 was full of its ups and downs, and we will move forward to '27 stronger than before.
Thank you to everyone that came over and gave me words of encouragement afterwards to help me get through the weekend. You know who you are 🫶