Storm Lake Honda’s National Arenacross team recently completed a tour of the southeast in preparation for the season opener in Grand Rapids, Michigan Jan. 8-10.

The travel actually started in Brookings, South Dakota at the Midwest Supercross over Thanksgiving weekend. The team, led by reigning Arenacross Lites Central Champion Kurt McCabe, departed the great white north immediately following the Saturday night races for the greener, warmer pastures of central Florida. McCabe’s teammate Ricky Draper made his return to racing in South Dakota after a long lay off due to shoulder surgery and happily joined the trip, along with team technician Jason Vaith (www.vaithcycle.com). Minnesota’s Nick Jackson hopped on board as well, stepping in for our injured friend and teammate Brian Foster.

McCabe’s hopes of a smooth trip were jolted almost immediately when a run-in with Team Faith’s Kevin Johnson put him on the ground and in some pain. McCabe tried to ride with an injured hand and arm but crashed himself out of competition (he was running 4th) during one of the main events. Draper raced his way into both mains and had a great start in the 250 final, getting out in 4th place. He soldiered on to a 10th place finish despite tiring a little in only his second race in over 6 months. “Just making the mains against these guys…I mean…wow, I’ll take 10th all day,” exclaimed Draper, who acknowledged he has some endurance to catch up on. “Obviously, the speed is there, just need to get some wind back!”

The team left Florida for GPF (Georgia Practice Facility) for some training on the pro-only set up. After riding for a few days there, they left for Morristown, Tennessee for round two of the FMF Indoor Winter Series. McCabe merely spectated, still nursing a sore ankle, but his tutelage with the young Draper may have sparked a turning point. In a nasty crash during a heat race it was initially thought Ricky had broken his jaw. The EMTs insisted on a trip to the hospital, but a stubborn Draper refused. After consulting with his veteran teammate, Ricky popped a few advil and took his badly swollen chin and tongue to the victory in his 450 LCQ. His third place finish was good enough to get him into the 250 main as well.

During night two, Draper scored a second place finish in his 250 heat and 5th on the 450, so no LCQs! After a poor start (14th) in the 250 main, Draper was pushing through the pack, but while attempting a pass for 7th place he lost the front tire and slid out of contention. “Ricky was on it tonight,” said Vaith. “It’s one of those things where the results don’t show it, but he is getting really close to being able to run that pace for 20 laps. He’ll be ready for Grand Rapids.” Jackson also made both mains, while Draper maintained his “streak” of making all of his mains since returning from injury.

The squad is currently entertaining options of some practice at Minnesota’s SandBox or a SX facility in Oklahoma as a final tune up for the Michigan opener.