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2001-08-21
1st year Formula USA Pro Sportbike Team Freedom Motorsports Group Inc. based out of Los Angeles CA have been the epitome of a “do what ever it takes – make it go right racing team”. That attitude has seen the team rise from an unknown bottom of the roster organization to being currently 4th in the championship point’s standings.
“This season has been a tumultuous one,” says Team Owner Kent Gray. “This team was just an idea last October and to have done this well right from the start is a testament to the do what ever it takes-make it go right attitude. We believe that we have proven ourselves to be a rock solid competitive team that contains all of the ingredients to realistically contest the championship next year.” We are really looking forward to taking this team to the next level and developing a long-term relationship with a title sponsor who wants to go all the way with us.
This whole season has been a real adventure full of ups that has seen us come together as a group like never before & downs that have left us all skeptical of whether we will be able to continue. Both riders Stoney Landers & Jason Paden have done a superb job with what they have to work with.
Literally if a movie were written about this team and the obstacles and problems that turned up no one would believe it and even think no way that wouldn’t happen, yet rest assured they did, but fortunately in every case there was a happy ending. This last event at Pocono was no different and the hardest of them all. We were 8th in the points going into this round with high hopes, but no way to get there financially and nothing to get there in since our race transporter blew out the transmission on the last cross country trip to Virginia. As we sat around the kitchen table brainstorming how we were going to pull this one off we realized we had already used all of our resources and the whole coffer of favors from everyone we knew. Accept one. My next-door neighbor who had just purchased a big 1-ton Chevy pick-up and a 35-foot Weekender travel trailer. It was perfect. The only problem is how do I approach him and would he let me take his brand new truck with only 20,000 miles & trailer across the country for a 10 day trip covering over 5,500 miles with people he has never met. The prospect was slim at best. Even worse we only had 2 days before we were suppose to leave if we had any chance of making the first practice Thursday morning.
I reluctantly approached him about our dilemma and asked if there was anything we could work out on the use of his equipment. To my surprise he didn’t even hesitate and was very willing to help. Wow! Now the kicker…”we need to get it this afternoon out of storage so we can pack & leave in 2 days”. “Oh,” he says with a sigh. Well…I guess that shouldn’t be a problem. We were in business except for the money. This came in the way of an empty credit card my better half had been hiding from me. She had been watching from afar and seen how much we were working on trying to make this go right that she reluctantly gave in and said here there should be enough room on this to get you there and back. Needless to say money is tight around our house and has been the topic of serious discussion on many occasions.
Well we were under way. We arrived and the stars and planets aligned in our favor & even though we were low on horsepower & couldn’t keep up on the straights against the better funded teams Stoney managed to make up time in the corner sections and finished in a respectable 7th place which moved us into 4th in the points. Incredible. Although Stoney was hopping mad after the race because of the lack of horsepower and knowingness that he could beat these guys if the bike was more competitive we still had a great event.
What do we credit all this good fortune too. The use of techniques described in the book Dianetics The Modern Science of Mental Health by International best selling author L. Ron Hubbard. Everyone on our team uses this book on a consistent basis to keep on top of our game. Not only is Dianetics our title Sponsor this year, but it is also a product we all use and highly recommend.
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