2011 Sponsorship Opportunities/Ride Along with Ralph

With the move to Expert status, I want to be able to bring my "A" game to each race.

This will require a greater financial commitment and because if that I'm offering the

"Ride Along with Ralph" Sponsorship Opportunities.

Racing with Ralph / 2011 T-shirts

sizes - small - 3X , all shirts are ash gray, 50/50 blend with black graphics

$20.00 each

"Ride Along with Ralph" Tank Sponsor

This package includes one 2011 T-shirt and your name on the tank of the race bike!

Everyone who becomes a tank sponsor will have their name on the race bike all season and if I run out of room on the tank, I'll place your name in another high visibility area.

$50.00 each

"Ride Along with Ralph" Associate sponsor

This package includes multiple marketing opportunities for your company or organization

which can include company logos on the race bike, trailer and leathers. Your company name can be included on the CCS results sheet and press releases as a sponsor, race tickets for your staff, personal appearances and more!

Get your company noticed by a new and broad marketplace.

Contact me directly for more details at rlongus@mchsi.com

$100.00 & up

Expert status for 2011!!

I'm very excited that I earned enough points in the 2010 season to be bumped up to Expert status for the 2011 CCS race season.
I made the cut by two points and have the option to stay as an Amateur next year but after a lot of thought and with the encouragement of friends who are Experts, I've decided to take the plunge.
I know it's going to be a year of learning on a steep curve but I'm looking forward to the challenge and earning my white plate.

2011 CCS MidWest race schedule announced

Mid-West Roadracing Championship

Apr 22 - 24 Heartland Park - Twin Sprints
May 21-22 Blackhawk Farms
July 23-24 Blackhawk Farms - Twin Sprints
Aug 20-21 Blackhawk Farms
Sep 24 - 25 Blackhawk Farms - Twin Sprints
Oct 14-15-16 Daytona Intl - Race of Champions

2010 Season Results

It's been an interesting season racing in the MidWest and Great Plains regions this year.
After missing the first two rounds at Heartland Park, Topeka and Blackhawk Farms, I really didn't think I'd have a very good shot at getting into the top five in points in any class. But it was a tough year for many racers who would have normally raced every round, they like me had to miss a few races which really tightened up the points race for everyone.
The switch to single day racing at the last two rounds at Blackhawk Farms forced me to make a decission as to which of the three races I usually compete in would have to go. As it turned out I dropped out of Lightweight Formula 40 but I hope the schedule gets revised for next year so I can get back to racing three races per event.

CCS MidWest Region results
2nd - Thunderbike
5th - Lightweight SuperSport
7th - Lightweight Formula 40

CCS Great Plains Region results
2nd - Thunderbike
5th - Lightweight SuperSport
10th - Lightweight Formula 40

Blackhawk Farms Track Championship
2nd - Thunderbike
7th - Lightweight SuperSport
9th - Lightweight Formula 40

Thanks again to my sponsors...
AMSOIL - John Kahrs
Top to Bottom Home Inspection Services - Curt Balvanz
Lead Lap Foundation - Geoff Grubb
Michelin
Gron4 Photography
"Mr. X" for all his tuning help

Blackhawk Farms, September, last round

Janet and I headed to Blackhawk Farms for the last round of the year with sunny, clear skies but cool temperatures. I knew that my main goal would be to keep my head, stay calm and get some good laps in to finish up the season.

Going into this weekend I was solidly in 3rd place in Thunderbike in both MidWest and Great Plains regions but with this event set up as a dual region and double points event, everything was up for grabs. Due to my off the previous round in SuperSport, I was now in 5th going into this event and since Blackhawk had gone to a one day race format I had given up on Lightweight Formula 40 due to all my races being so close together.

There were several Lightweight racers up from the Great Plains region so I expected a real fight for all my positions. Practice went well so now it was time to get into race mode.

Thunderbike - 3rd
To my surprise there were only four amateurs on the Thunderbike grid! So my mind set was clear, keep it on the track, don't worry about lap times and FINISH!! It's not the most competitive mind set but I didn't want to throw away a chance on loosing my 3rd place finish in both regions.
I had an O.K. start and put myself into second with the amateurs. Going into lap two the rear tire lost some grip on the cold track in turn three which really caught my attention! That allowed the Ducati behind me to get around and I decided to go into full conservation mode. Actually that was the best thing I could have done, I started to relax and actually went faster! My lap times were a full second slower than last month but with the conditions, I was very happy about that plus I knew I wasn't pushing as hard so to be just a second off of last month's full tilt mode, I know there's even lower lap times on the horizon!
I finished 3rd and since the fellow who was in second in points didn't compete, if my math is correct I'm now in second place in both regions!!

Lightweight SuperSport - 9th
With nine guys on the grid I knew a good start would be important but unfortunately my start wasn't very good. Now I had to go to work!! With six of us nose to tail through the first lap I managed to get around one coming out of turn seven and started closing on two others on the front straight. I was feeling good and confident so I late braked into turn one, passing the two guys! With the bike in good position, I eased onto the throttle and all of a sudden I saw sky, ground, sky, ground, etc.
The rear had stepped out again but this time I went down, the bike spit me off, fortunately toward to run-off area and the bike slid to a stop just off the track.
After I got done tumbling , I popped up, went over to the bike with the corner worker to discover a broken front brake lever and bent clip-on so my race, day and season was done.

As it turned out the pipe was also crunched but other than that the bike is fine. I bruised two fingers on my right hand but I'm fine and actually my fingers felt much better in just a couple of days.
After some thought I figured out that I was running a pound too much air pressure in the rear Michelin for the conditions which affected it's grip. Lesson learned!
Fellow racer, Michael Herrenbruck had his video camera on and captured my crash at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKMVhHUoIxw

I'm sad that SuperSport just didn't work out but Thunderbike did so now I'll wait to see if my math was correct and find out how I end up, overall.

Radio interview on KCOB-FM

I had a great opportunity to be a part of KCOB's racing show, "The Lead Lap" on September 23rd. The program is commentated by friends and high school classmates, Mark Burnett and Geoff Grubb who also manages The Lead Lap Foundation. It was a lot of fun to be able to talk about my race program and CCS Racing in general. I waited to post this until it was available on their website, my interview atarts at 23:40 minutes into the program.

http://good.audiohauler.com/krti/LeadLap/093010.MP3 .

Heatland Park, Topeka round cancelled

Heartland Park Topeka track personnel have confirmed with CCS officials that their race event scheduled for Sept. 4-5, 2010, has been cancelled for economic reasons.

UPDATE (Aug 25)
CCS Announces Venue and Date Change
for Final Great Plains Event

Fort Worth, TX – The Championship Cup Series would like to announce the the final points race for the Great Plains Championship Series will be moved to the September 25-26 event at Blackhawk Farms Raceway as a result of the cancellation of the final round at Heartland Park-Topeka.

"We hope that by making the decision quickly and getting the announcement out there that it will enable all our racers in the Great Plains Championship to alter their plans accordingly." stated Kevin Elliott, Director of Operations for ASRA/CCS. "As soon as we got the word from Heartland Park management, we were in contact with the racers who had planned to be at that event to see what they wanted to do. The riders we contacted overwhelmingly requested the chance to have their final race of the season. even if it meant sharing the spotlight with the CCS Mid-West Championships at Blackhawk Farms Raceway."

Blackhawk 9/25-26 will be Double Points for both Great Plains and Mid West riders.

Blackhawk Farms, August round

Blackhawk Farms Race Report
Vol. 5, #4
Blackhawk Farms Raceway, South Beloit, IL. - August 22, 2010

As the August round approached CCS was going through some serious changes. This year has been marred with low bike turnout due to several factors and in an effort to combat dwindling resources CCS decided to switch the last two Blackhawk Farms rounds to one day race formats.
Having raced in the Great Plains region, I was used to this style format but due to the schedule with very little rest time in between races I made the decision to drop my Lightweight Formula 40 race. I hate to do this but right now I'm doing much better in points in Thunderbike and Lightweight SuperSport. I could pick up another race further down in the schedule to get more track time but I decided this late in the date to concentrate on just these two classes.

With Troy and Craig out with damaged bikes and Mike not quite ready with his, Janet and I took off for the races at 4:00am on Sunday. With heavy fog all the way from Waterloo to the track it was already a pretty intense start!
Tech and practice went well as I was armed with new tires and brake pads for this raceday. I'd had a real breakthrough in lower laptimes at the last round so I was very confident in what I could accomplish.

Right around lunchtime, Troy and Sheila, Jeff Elenz, Duane and Delores rode up on their bikes. I knew they were planning on coming but with the heavy fog earlier I was a little surprised to see them. Of course, it's always fun to have a cheering section!!

Thunderbike - 2nd!!
Thunderbike turned out to be a single wave start which really helped me as I got right in behind a couple of Experts right away and they towed me around for the first few laps. After lap three I actually tried to get around each of them. I never got that done but I was definitely clicking off some good laps and felt great running with them. On lap 7 I had a run on the guy just in front of me going into turn 7 and as I stuck my nose on the inside I ended up doing a pretty serious stoppie! I recovered alright but I DID find the limit of my late braking skills!!
I was very happy to take 2nd in this race and found out later that I'd improved on last month's best lap times in the process!!

Lightweight SuperSport
This race was one I was really looking forward to as my confidence level was up and I was currently in 2nd place in the region in this class.
I went out on the sighting lap getting settled in when one of the experts came by. I thought I would see where he tipped in on turn 4 so instead of watching my line, I watched him and you guessed it, I target fixated on him and the next thing I knew off the track I went!!! Now I know better than to do this but it caught me out and this time turn 4 bit me. Right into the Air Fence I went! Fortunately for me I was uninjured and so was the bike except for a bunch of grass jammed into it all over the left side and a broken oil cooler scoop so that race was over before it even started.

The weekend didn't end like I'd hoped but I had accomplished faster lap times and a 2nd place plaque and a hard lesson learned. Since Hearland Park's round has been cancelled that just leaves the September Blackhawk round before the season ends so I've got some time to get my head screwed on straight and finish the season strong!

Blackhawk Farms, July round

Blackhawk Farms Race Report
Vol. 5, #3
Blackhawk Farms Raceway, South Beloit, IL. - July 24-25, 2010

After the successes at Road America earlier in the month I was really looking forward to my first trip back to Blackhawk Farms this season. Teammate, Craig Davis and I headed east for the weekend of racing driving through rain and looking at a forecast that didn't look to good for racing.

Saturday morning brought showers and a very WET track! The weatherman said that it would clear up by noon but I really wanted to get out on the track since I hadn't been there since last year but when the first practice session was called, you could have heard a pin drop! No one else went out either, probably figuring like me that it wasn't worth wadding up the bike on a very wet track, especially since it was supposed to get nicer. By 11:00 the sun peeked through and the track immediately started drying out. I got a few practice laps in during the open practice and decided I was ready for action!

Lightweight Formula 40 - 4th
I came around after the warm-up lap to see the 3 board up which caused me to hurry to get situated on the line. When the green flag dropped was in neutral! I slammed the bike into gear and put my head down, it was GO time! I tried some different gear choices and lines that I'd watch on video of the fast guys over the winter and I was definitely on the march. As I came through for lap one I was already second but saw the meatball flag flying and as I was slowing into turn one to see if a corner worker was pointing at me I lost a position. I decided the heck with it I'm going!

Well it turned out the meatball flag was for me as I was moving on the line just before the start. Had I come into the hot pit for the stop and go penalty that would have been it but since I stayed out I was penalized a full lap. Fortunately for me I had lapped some of the slower guys so I ended up 4th. I did get a visit from the Race Marshall in my pit though! And as I told him, I hadn't seen a meatball flag since I went to licensing school and actually forgot what to do! Lesson learned!!

Thunderbike - 3rd
Finally, I got a really good start! I found myself right behind one of the really quick Amateurs and he towed me around for two laps. I got into turn 7 a little too hot and lost a position while I was getting back on the gas. I gave chase but he was a little too strong. I ended up 3rd but shattered my previous best lap time so now I knew I could go as fast as some of the front guys. The race was a great confidence booster!!

Lightweight SuperSport - 5th
This was a very strange race as there were no Experts signed up so four of us Amateurs got to line up on row 1. It was really fun to be on the front row! It's a lot different from starting on row 6 or 7 as turn one comes up a lot quicker!

I got a good start but going into turn one I was on the inside and all of a sudden I was 4th! So I put my head down and closed up the gap, out braking my buddy Mike Stone into turn 1. Now in 3rd with 2nd in sight I cooked into turn 4 too hot and off the track I went, just missing the tire barrier and air fence. O.K. now I'm in 7th as I got back on track. I put my head down and started clicking off some good laps from what I'd learned in my earlier racers, running my best lap time on lap #7 of the 8 lap race.

All in all I'm glad I didn't crash in turn 4 and I learned how much harder I could push.
Unfortunately Craig's weekend didn't end well as he lowsided into turn 4 and really tore up his bike. When it was all over he just walked away which was amazing! I'm very thankful he was uninjuried but his rookie race season may be over.

Road America Festival of Speed

Road America Race Report
Vol. 5, #2
Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI. - July 3-4, 2010

WOW! What a weekend of racing!
Troy Walbaum, Craig Davis and I made the trek to Elkhart Lake, WI. for the Festival of Speed at Road America which is the biggest event we participate in all year with riders for all over the country coming in to compete.
The Iowa Farm Mafia team had a great following too! With everyone in the pit, there were 14 people! Several friends made the drive up as well as spouses, and girlfriends. We really missed not having Mike Boomer racing with us this weekend but a very busy June kept him at home this weekend. Since I had to miss the first two races of the year, I know how hard it was for Mike to miss this one.
Erik Buell Racing was there with their 1190 Superbike ridden by Geoff May. To watch a REAL professional rider competing against the best club racers in the country what proof positive what a difference there is to jump to the Pro level in the U.S. Every race he ran, he crushed the competition. It was very impressive! I’m glad he didn’t compete in any of the races I was in!!

Saturday Races...
Lightweight Supersport - 4th.
Unfortunately Troy’s engine let go in turn 5 a few yards in front of me. He was very luck that he was going straight and didn’t crash but the fist sized hole in the front of the crankcase ended his weekend early. Within a few more corners, someone had had a nasty crash which brought out the red flag ending this race early.

Lightweight Formula 40 - 5th
I was having a great battle with several riders until I blew it in turn 5 and had to watch five guys fly by me while I regrouped. I put my head down and went in pursuit and got around two of them quickly and battled with the next guy and got around him in the last few corners but could quite get past the others, darn! This was a really fun race though!!

Thunderbike - 3rd
O.K., I have to come clean. There were only three amateurs in this race which really surprised me since there was a large Buell contingent here. The other guys were very fast so I concentrated on working on my lines and confidence. I was also happy to collect the third place plaque as well.


Sunday Races...
Lightweight Formula 40 - 6th
This was a great race for me as I had several opportunities to mix it up and also ran my best lap times ever at this track.

Lightweight Supersport - 4th
I had a great start and battled with several racers. Since I’d just run my best lap times the race before I wanted to at least match it which I did and ran slightly quicker!

Thunderbike - 4th
This race was a riot. Today I was able to run with the faster guys and actually gave them fits! My confidence was high and I made several passes and attempts into turn 5 and 7 and in the high speed carousel!
I also ended the weekend with my fastest lap times ever in this race!!

Finally got to race!!

Gateway Race Report
Vol. 5, #1
Gateway International Raceway, Madison, IL. - June 13, 2010

Even though this was the third round of the season it was my first race of the season!
Due to work obligations I had to miss the first two races which included our first attempt in the Michelin Team Challege at Blackhawk Farms.

But it was great to finally get on the track even though Gateway is probably the toughest track we race on all season.
The weather didn't look like it would cooperate as thunderstorms were forcast for the day but the weatherman missed it and we had full sun, humidity and 100 degree temperatures! Lots of bottled water and staying under the canopy between races was the schedule for the day!

Practice
At Gateway the amateurs only get one practice session in the morning so I spent it tip-toeing around trying to remember the track and it's unique turns. I hadn't raced here in two years but it all started coming back to me pretty quickly!

Race #1 - Lightweight Formula 40
I had a great start but just about ran over a guy in front of me who didn't have a very good start so I had to regroup and go to work. I was still a little sketchy getting through a few of the corners, trying to figure out the fastest line but I wasn't alone. I managed 4th place out of 7 so I was very pleased and knew I'd get faster as theday progressed.

Race #2 - Thunderbike
As it turned out there were on two amateurs in the whole field and I was pitted against one of the fastest amateurs in the region. I decided not to let it bother me, go out and continue working on my lines, body position and confidence level. It worked as I cut a full two seconds of my previous lap times but I did place second. That's O.K. as I scored 30 easy points that could make a big difference later in the season!

Race #3 - Lightweight SuperSport
This was the last race of the event and of course my last race so it was GO TIME!! I had a GREAT start!! So good that I was right in with the experts who start a few rows ahead of us! I took advantage of this by trying to hang with them as long as I could to see how they navigated this tricky track. By lap three or so they'd gotten away but my confidence level was way up and my lap times showed it by chopping another two seconds off. I finished 2nd out of 4 but really felt good and stayed safe even though I did a little agricultural riding on the last lap. Fortunately, my off track excurtion didn't cost me any track position!!

After everything was overand I had everything packed in the trailer, the sky opened up and it rained hard for over 30 minutes. I was so glad we were done racing when it decided to rain, it would have been a mess!

Overall I had a great day, it was nice to get back on the track, see old friends and take home two 2nd place plaques, too. next stop, Road America, Elkhart, WI over the 4th of July weekend.

Top to Bottom Home Inspection Services back for 2010

Good friend, Curt Balvanz has signed on as a sponsor on my race bike for the second year.
He's the guy to call in N.E. Iowa if you're selling or buying a home.
Thanks, Curt!!

IFM Racing joins Lead Lap Foundation

I am very pleased to announce that IFM Racing will carry Lead Lap Foundation decals on all our bikes this season in hopes to bring more awareness to what this great foundation is trying to do.
The Lead Lap Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) dedicated to paying medical bills for children with chronic medical conditions or serious and terminal illnesses.

It is the Lead lap Foundation’s mission to provide the funds needed to help families of sick children by paying their medical bills directly to the hospital, sending sick children to camp, and help families pay for travel and lodging while their sick child receives treatment.

Your donation, no matter how small, will help pay for a 24-hour nurse so that overwhelmed parents can rest and stay strong for their child...or help pay the hospital bill for a family whose insurance has run out, or been canceled because one of the parent’s has been laid off…. or send a sick child to camp for a week who otherwise could not afford to go.

IFM Racing acquires new bike for Michelin Team Challenge

This is BIG NEWS for IFM Racing!!

We just committed to purchase a fully race prepped Buell XB9 from AMA racer, Walt Sipp.
This bike comes with a very impressive pedigree with Walt as the rider and we are very
fortunate to now own a significant piece of Buell Racing history.

Our plan is to use this bike as our CCS Michelin Team Challenge machine at Blackhawk Farms and
Road America this season. All four of us will probably ride it in select CCS sprint races also
and now have a bike to evaluate modifications to our other race bikes with.

Are you on Facebook? Look me up!

Yep, I finally entered the 21st century and joined Facebook! Actually, it's been great reconnected with many friends, old and not so old.

Teammate, Craig Davis, also set up a Facebook page for IFM Racing which is where we will post all the team stats and info. So if you're not on Facebook yet, now you have a reason or just click on the link on the left under Web Links.

AMSOIL resigns as 2010 major sponsor!

For the third year in a row, local AMSOIL dealer, John Kahrs has signed on to continue our great working relationship with the best oil on the planet!

John has not only continued my sponsorship package but has included the rest of the members of I.F.M. Racing. With all of us using the same brand of oil, it will make it easier for all of us.

Check out john's website at: http://www.johnsoils.com/

Thank you John & Leah!!!

New name, new teammate, new race series!

Even though I'm three months away from my first race of the 2010 season, there's a lot going on right now to get ready for some high speed fun.
New name...
First of all the team name has changed along with the addition of a new teammate.
The team name is now, I.F.M. Racing, which stands for Iowa Farm Mafia. It's a tongue in cheek name that our street riding group had been called for almost ten years. We got it thanks to some friends as a tease but it stuck so we're going to race under that name from now on. Troy has already designed a pretty cool logo for us, so as soon as it's done I'll post it.
New teammate...
New teammate, Craig Davis, has been a good friend and fellow Buell rider for many years and after getting a great deal on a 2008 Buell 1125R he announced he wanted to go to race school to earn his license, then do a race or two. Within a few weeks the few races grew to all the Blackhawk Farms races and maybe more! Yep, once the bug bites you, you're in, hook line and sinker! He'll be racing the XB12R's big brother so we won't get to race with him except in the SuperTwins class so we'll be able to watch him race in the other classes and cheer him on.
Mike Boomer will get a chance to get back on the track this coming year, also. He was all set to compete at Blackhawk Farms early last season but an unfortunate street accident landed him with a broken collar bone and out for the summer. To say Mike is highly motivated to get his Buell XB12R on the track is an understatement!
Troy Walbaum returns, campaigning his Buell XB12R. He plans to race in CCS and is also moving up to the next level, the ASRA PRO Series, American Sportbike Racing Association. In ASRA PRO Series competition, Troy plans to race with the big boys in the Thunderbike class. This is a big jump in the level of competition but he's ready and really excited about the new challenge.
New race series...
During the July 2-4 Road America round, the I.F.M. Racing crew will enter the Michelin Team Challenge. The race is two hours or 200 kilometers in length with at least one mandatory pit stop. Our plan is to compete with all four guys initially with two or three pits tops. We'll need two fuel stops for sure but depending where we are in the race, we'll figure out who rides in which order and for how long.
This series travels all over the country but the only opportunity we will have to try it is at Road America this season. We've been actively recruiting pit crew members and planning for the additional needs to properly compete in an endurance racing series. It should be lots of fun, for sure!

Stay tuned!

New look for 2010

New leathers for the upcoming season!

My old Spyke leathers have served me well but were really never the right size for me, I got such a great deal on them initially I just learned to live with them. Although they had been altered over the years by companies who specialize in racing leathers, they were getting pretty tattered from the crashes I've had.

So here's the new look!! I just received my new Teknic Xcelerator one piece Race suit and so far not only am I really impressed with all the safety features but the fit is outstanding, also! I also purchased new black Alpinestars boots and I'll be sporting a new helmet this year also!

Can't wait to get back on the track!

Yep, I chickened out posting actual photos of myself in the new leathers. You'll just have to come to the races to see me in them!!

Erik Buell Racing is formed!

Erik Buell is back in the game!!

Recently he announced the formation of Erik Buell Racing which will build new 1125R race bikes, offer race preparation, engine prep, chassis prep, dyno services and design analysis to all racers running the brand.

The best news for me is that Erik Buell Racing will continue to support the 2003-2009 XB chassis racers with race only parts. This is great news as my bike is a 2004 model year XB12R and I use the Buell specific Nissin brake pads that I used to get directly from Buell Motor Company. Maybe someday I'll put my street 1125R on the track so it's good to know Erik's new company will be there for techincal assistance!