Georgetown, Texas rider Danny S. Kelsey continued to win during the 6th round of the CMRA Sprint Championship Series hosted at MotorSport Ranch (MSR) in Cresson, Texas. Kelsey entered the event ready to test and verify new chassis and engine configurations. Heavy competition was expected with fans the big winners after Sunday’s great racing on the 11 turn 1.7 mile road course.

The team worked to fine tune some of the new chassis build on Friday as they shook down the Pirelli shod GSXR-750 and GSXR-1000. Kelsey seemed pleased with initial performance, but also worked with crew chief Marcus McBain to sort out the chassis to overcome chatter issues that plagued most competitors from the aging MSR asphalt. Running a 1:15.8 on Friday, the team entered the weekend confident they were moving in the right direction.

Kelsey took the opportunity to test changes made Friday night on the GP Suspension cartridges and JRi shock during the Solo 30 race held Saturday afternoon. As the starting lights sent the field into Turn 1 for 22 laps of racing, the Dynojet equipped GSXR-1000 quickly powered into the lead. Kelsey wasted no time pushing the setup and posted a 1:14.8 on lap 2 and as the checkered flag fell Danny had lapped all but one rider. The team was pleased as they were now only 0.3 seconds off the track record and the team felt that it may be possible to set a CMRA record for the third consecutive race.

More changes were made Saturday evening. As final practice was underway Sunday morning, Kelsey quickly entered the pits with a suspected failing motor on his GSXR-1000. The team had to respond quickly as the final event of Sunday Morning was the Breast Cancer Research Awareness Formula One Qualifying which would also set the grid for this CMRA feature event. Danny jumped on his GSXR-750 to participate in the qualifying session and continued to impress by qualifying 2nd with DOT tires while posting a 1:15.7.

The team quickly realized the engine was fine and the real issue was an out of balance rear wheel due to wheel weights falling off. This was a great relief to the team. Kelsey quickly focused on getting back to racing as the field left the paddock for 750 Superstock against some very hungry competition. Running a 1:15.9 on lap 2, Danny put the race away early and won by 6.910 seconds.  Just a few races later, Kelsey lead the Open Superstock field into turn one and posted a 1:14.8 on laps 2 and 3. As the race wound down the team felt all was in order, but disaster nearly struck as Kelsey worked past lapped riders and was quickly on the ground. A rider crashed 10 feet in front of him with no time or place for the Texas rider to go.

Kelsey quickly got up and re-fired the big Suzuki, but red flags stopped the race as safety presided over the event when the downed rider was unable to move off the track. Scoring reverted back to the previous lap and Danny was awarded the win. The team scrambled to try and repair the Suzuki with only 15 minutes until the day’s premier event. Although repairs were completed and Kelsey was able to take to the starting grid on his GSXR-1000, the team was unable to fit new tires on the machine during the small timeframe to get the Suzuki on the grid.

Despite the drama and adversity, Kelsey was undeterred and quickly took the lead in the Formula One race. He posted the fastest lap of the race on the final lap and won by 4.011 seconds. As the day completed, Kelsey posted two more wins and barely missed the track record while completing the fastest lap of the weekend with a 1:14.725 in Open Superbike. The team and Kelsey were very pleased with the weekend as they overcame some tough challenges. Danny Kelsey closed out the weekend with this thought, “I was really happy with the weekend. I would have liked to have gotten the track record, but 6 wins this weekend is really good and I am pleased with that.”

The team thanks their sponsors and supporters as they would not be able to compete at this level without the special efforts of KMC Controls, RS Taichi, Dynojet, Vortex, Motoliberty, South Central Race Center, Motopia, M4 Exhausts, DP Brakes, K’s Motorsports, GP Suspension, JRi Shocks, Lone Star Track Days, Shoei Helmets, Hotbodies Racing, Silkolene, WRW Racing, Barnett, Chicken Hawk Racing, Raceworx, and Racing Engine Services. Kelsey is scheduled to compete in the AMA Pro National Guard Superbike event at Mid-Ohio in this weekend.