ROUND 3 - MARCH 13-15, 2009

Due to Whiplash races conflicting with our primary quad and buggy schedules, round 3 was the first one we made it out to, but what a fun and exciting weekend it was. I chose to race at round 3 due to the fact that it was going to be a grand prix race and not a typical full blown desert race. I don't have the stamina to race for a few hours, and my husband and daughter want to be able to watch me race, not just see me go by once every hour. So, I was really looking forward to this race and our first time on the new Firebird MX track.

We arrived at Firebird Motocross track, in Chandler, AZ on Friday afternoon. Jeff and Noelani did a great job getting my quad unloaded and gear all set for me to take to tech. I saw a lot of familiar faces, and it was really sweet of Shannon Hernandez in the registration booth to remember our daughter, who she hasn't seen since last fall. Shannon even gave me a special wristband to take back to Noelani and boy was she stoked!

Saturday morning was soon upon us and we enjoyed our traditional race breakfast consisting of oatmeal, a donut, and some hot chocolate. After that, I got ready and headed to the staging area. Jeff and NoMo soon headed out to find some good places around the track to take pictures. There were about 9 or 10 of us in the Novice/Amateur Unclassified race and another 9 or 10 in the Expert/Pro race (that had transponders and were scored). We started on a standard mx gate and once it dropped, we were off. I got my typical slow start, but was soon working on my first pass. The 30 minute race was a lot of fun and the track was tailored perfect for my preference, a lot of motocross and just a little desert. The desert section was probably just as long as the mx section, but the desert was also the best layout and terrain that I have ever raced on. The mx portion consisted of single jumps, doubles, step-ups, tables, and whoops. The track was laid out extremely well and it flowed great... even the doubles I was to chicken to attempt.

About lap 6 or so, I was starting to feel a tired and wouldn't have been disappointed to see the white flag come out. I had a good look at the track, was having fun, and felt ready for Sunday's main. Hoping I would have the stamina for a 50 minute race. A lap later I came around to get the white flag, whew. I was ready. I had no idea where I was at, position wise, in the race, but it sure was a lot of fun... especially the mx portion. What a great workout!

Later, after the Pro's and Experts ran, my crew (hubby & daughter) and I headed down to check out the results. We were met by 40+ Expert racer, Marlin Kurtz and he asked if I had seen my lap times. He went on to tell me that I had the fastest overall time on the day. I couldn't believe it. I usually finish mid pack in the races and the podium is pretty unfamiliar turf, except when I see it on tv. Now I just wanted to make sure that I kept my focus for Sunday's race. The one that actually counted.

Sunday morning came and we broke tradition and had pancakes instead of oatmeal. I don't like to race on a full stomach, but still ate enough to fill me up. Noelani, however, doesn't like to watch and cheer on an empty stomach and she ate more than I did. Little did we know, she was going to need that cheering energy. After breakfast, I got my bundle of nerves crammed into my gear and headed down to staging. It turned out to be a pretty big class, 12-15 on my gate, and 41 overall (Novice and Amateurs). The 1st group off were the class 2's. Thirty seconds after them the class 3's took off. Next were the class 4's (30+ Novice... my class). We had a 1 minute gate instead of a 30 second gate so the first 2 groups were well out in front before we even started. We were all ready and the gate dropped. Surprisingly I got a better start than normal, 3rd to last instead of dead last. I came into turn one and patiently waited to make my first pass. I was about 11th or 12th coming out of turn 2 and setting up to make another pass, just as we're hitting the 1st of the 3 doubles (or 6 singles as it turned out the first time thru with everyone). I was able to make a few passes each lap and found my groove and was just having fun..

I recall some specific passes, one in particular was when I was behind a couple of Kawasaki's on the mx section. There's a nice double that I liked hitting, just after the huge step-up (that I couldn't clear), but as we were approaching the double, one of the kawi riders moved over a little and it wouldn't have been safe for me to hit the double. I singled thru with them and set myself up to take the right-hander at the bottom nice and tight. Coming out of the corner and up the hill, I was now in front of both of them. It was really cool J. This was one of my favorite passing areas throughout the day. It's also were I passed Marsha Garcia, ^#412, on lap 2 or 3, who had an amazing race herself.

The first corner after we just got back on the track from the desert section was my other favorite passing spot. This particular corner was after a long table, but the corner went pretty deep. Instead of hitting the jump hard, I would throttle back a little, down-shift as I was going down the table and slide thru the left-hander nice and tight. I was able to take advantage of shortening the track a bit and it gave me an edge throughout the day.

After about 35 minutes into it, I was feeling fatigue and thirst. Motivation was soon back upon me when I could see Jeff and Noelani cheering me on every time I came by them. A few laps later, I was starting to 'will' the white flag to come out. I could feel a blister developing on my left hand and the dry taste of dust in my mouth guard wasn't really working for me anymore. As I popped back up onto the track, I kept looking across for the white flag to finally come out. And eventually, it did. With just one lap left, I was determined not to mess anything up. I had no idea what position I was in, and I was just hoping that I didn't have anybody coming up behind me.

The best part of the entire race was going by Noelani and seeing her jumping up and down, cheering on mom, and dad doing the same! Eight corners later I got the checkers and pulled off behind the others in my class. I shut off my TRX450R and listened to the PA announcer. I caught the part that was "Missy Barrett on the 419 taking 5th." I was stoked and waved over to Jeff and Noelani, who by the way did an awesome job running my pit and cheer section. I was excited and cruised up to meet them. I got up to them and they congratulated me and told me that I got 5th overall, and 1st in my class! I couldn't believe it. I have never won a race and didn't think that at the age of 40 I would get one. Actually, I just assumed I would never get one and it was no big deal. But this called for celebrating! We checked out our results after the race and in the 30+ Novice class 2 gals took first and second place. I completed 12 laps in 50 minutes for 1st place and Marsha Garcia completed 11 laps for 2nd place, and 8th overall. I'm not sure if there was another gal in our class or not, but how cool would that have been if it would have been all 3 women on the podium? J

Race photo's and videos below.

The Whiplash race schedule is posted below. If you have a quad, dirt bike, or UTV and would like to learn more about Whiplash, visit their web site.

stay young, have fun, PLAY!