Devin Wenz from Howard, SD started the 2009 season with a practice night in Savannah, Georgia. It was the first time on the new 2009 Kawasaki, and after a few rounds of practice, Devin got the suspension where it needed to be and he making the lap times that allowed him to feel comfortable going into the first event. Unfortunately, the Hot Shoe Nationals in Savannah were cancelled due to rain. Previously, the plan was to head up to Neeses, SC for another test session, but after finding out that the Pro classes could now run the Daytona ST on Sunday, Devin and the team packed up from Georgia and headed to the Sunshine State. The track started out a little rough for the veteran racer sitting on the pole position, but throughout the laps, Devin made some passes and finished second. In order to qualify a victory in this particular race was needed, so the SEMI was next on the line for the South Dakota native. “I had 2nd from the bottom starting spot and I knew that I had to sit even further back on the seat and maybe feather the clutch a little bit,” explains the veteran racer. “This time, I was 2nd to the corner, and I ran second the whole race until on the last lap, I bobbled going into the corner and Sammy (Sweet) got under me. He went high, and when I went to pass him back, Burton (Matt Burton) came in and stole the spot from both of us. I had to finish in the top 2 to get in the main and unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it. I had lots of fun, sad that I didn’t get in the main, but still very excited for the upcoming nationals.”
On Wednesday of the Nationals in Daytona, Devin found out that there was a problem with his exhaust on the ’09 Kawasaki, and had to spend some time looking for a different pipe. Being one of the few competitors with an ’09 Kawasaki, nobody had an extra. Devin rode practice with the pipe he had, but unfortunately did not make it into the precious top 48. Later that evening, Lee from Bankstons Kawasaki/KTM in Daytona brought over a pipe off a 2006 250F. Knowing that this would be a disadvantage, Devin installed the pipe and went out for practice the following night, not making the top 48. Devin unfortunately became a spectator at this point and put forth the rest of his efforts into helping his brother the remainder of the evening. “All in all it was a good trip,” explains Devin, “at least I did get some seat time on the new bike.”
Next up on the schedule is Springfield, Illinois on the 23rd of May so stay tuned with Devin through his new website, www.wenzracing.com for all the latest results and news updates. Special thanks to Dale Lineaweaver, Interlakes Sport Center, Driver Websites, Black Diamond MX, KSR Wheels, Wakula Racing and Lightshoe Racing.
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