FD RACING!!
1st Place Utility
24th Overall!!!
We rode a Prairie with a Fundy Motorsports 736 kit. Some call it a utility, I prefer festively plump sport quad.
Where to start? First off, I am thankful there was no snow. It was a little cool, but that is better on the machines anyway.
The next thing I would like to say is thank GOD for such a tremendous team. We have to be one of the luckiest teams around. C&D Racing did a phenomenol job prepping our Prairie for the race. I have rode the quad all summer in harescrambles and thought it was fast. (Thanks to Jarrod Sheets for putting it together after we tore it apart and sent it to Fundy in Canada. If it were left for me to put together, it would still be in a box in my shop marked MISTAKE! Jarrod, I hope riding it to victory is a little bit like repayment for putting it together. You were underpaid on that deal!) It was indeed fast, but after Colby fixed some slight jetting issues, it came back from Omaha a whole new animal . This is my fourth 12 hours of atv America race and we have not ridden a bike like this before. We (Jarrod Sheets, Kevin Wehde and I) got on it and each rode an hour to start the race. After we each had a turn we agreed that it was the best Prairie we had ridden. The power delivery from the Fundy powersports motor was smooth from the bottom. It hit hard, but not too hard that it was out of control. With the help of our other sponsors the quad ran smooth, VERY SMOOTH! From there on up it pulled as hard as any sport quad that you can find. There are no flat spots from 0 to 69 mph.
To finish my original thought, MEGA THANK YOUS to Colby and Dusty for the race prep and tapping power that I didn't know was possible. I am not aware of another team that rode the whole 12 hours without a mechanical failure. There had to be another one besides us, but we saw most teams battling issue after issue. We had one flat tire because I was pushing for a sub 14 minute lap. I contribute this tremendous accomplishment a direct result of the hours of race prep that went into this quad. Thanks to C&D Racing for the prep and my teammates for their tremendous riding. Thank you Jarrod and Kevin on behalf of myself and my bike. It isn't easy man-handling a tank through the woods, but they did it with great care and kept my quad in one piece despite never riding it prior to the gunshot. Some said we were riding her too hard, but I just told them that she likes it that way!
The story is, we led all but the first two laps. Our competition were all gentlemen and we enjoyed conversing with them about next year's event. Leaving this year's race we know that we are marked for next year's event. We hope our luck continues! Thanks to all who were rooting for us from Iowa and the surrounding states. We appreciate the practice you guys provided all year long.
In addition, there are several people who made this the most fun 12 hours of ATV America thus far. Pat Kirkland, FD Racing teammate (who ran a sportsman in the Iowa Series) deserves a special thank you for his diligent lap timing and updates on the competition, as well as his lighting specialities. Mike Flohr, also another Iowa Harescramble rider who went along to help where needed as well as comic relief, Colby and Dusty for their help in the pits as well as the prep (Colby is rapid fire with a quick fill can), Kevin and Jarrod for running a very smart race, and Kevin's parents Brad and Val for their tremendous support the entire weekend.
Finally, my lovely wife Angela for putting up with me for the weeks leading up to the main event. She has been very supportive! We should also mention that thanks to Dusty and Angela we all ate better the four days we were gone than we do a lot of time at home. (that is a compliment in case you were wondering)
All I can do now is dream about next year. Unless it is in Alaska or Hawaii I plan to be in attendance.
Wishing you all a happy winter season,
Jason Mickelson
FD Racing Team, Prairie 7??, Hornung Cycle, Karl Chevrolet, Fundy Powersports, Maxxis, Spider Grips, Powermadd Handgaurds, HMF, DYNA, Diamond G Racing, Dalton Professional clutchs, Chase Graphics and Elka.