The Rookie
Privateers come in all shapes and sizes. Some are Vet riders some are young kids, some are looking for a new future and some are holding on to the past. This is a story of a Privateer that is giving it his all in hopes of making it to the big time. This is the story of Carl Schlacht.
Carl Schlacht is young at the tender age of twenty one, but don’t let that fool you. Carl has spent plenty of time on a motocross track. His dad started him out riding at the age of three on a 50cc quad. He then moved up to a Yamaha PW50 that he rode around in his yard and as he progressed started racing. Racing locally he was doing well and started his bid for a Loretta Lynn’s Championship in 1993. He has been a Loretta Lynn’s National Contender eleven times and now runs his own motocross school. Hailing from Strongsville, Ohio Carl has access to a plethora of premier motocross tracks. Schlacht is competing in the 2005 Eastern Supercross Series in the 125 class riding his number 384 Honda and the 250 class in the AMA National Series. Let us follow Carl on his journey.
Preparation
Training for the 2005 Supercross series was slated to start in early January at the Millsaps Training Facility (MTF) in Cairo, Georgia. Unfortunately tragedy struck the Schlachts on the day after Christmas as a ravaging fire destroyed their home and along with it Carl’s freshly prepared CRF250. To make matters worse Carl’s younger sister Lauren was burned in the fire. The Schlachts picked up the pieces and started rebuilding their lives, after a three week delay Carl made it down south to MTF.
The red Georgia clay welcomed Carl as he arrived at MTF. This would be his first taste of what was to come in Supercross. Triples, tricky rhythm sections and monster whoops awaited our rookie. Valuable experience is what the Schlachts were looking for and that is what they got, Carl started feeling at home jumping the triples and getting through the rhythm sections. Next were the whoops, MTF is known for their oversized, long whoop section, after a number of good passes through Carl got bit and went down. He shook it off and waited for the next day, unfortunately rain came overnight making the track a little slick. Still a little sore Carl decided to skip the whoops and work on everything else. A tricky step up jump kept getting harder to get over as mud built up on the bike and eventually caused Carl to crash hard. With a fractured humerus, Carl headed back to Ohio to rest up for his big debut at Indy.
Indianapolis
The RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana marked the beginning of Carl’s Pro Supercross career. Carl and his dad made the drive from Strongsville to Indianapolis. They got set up in the pit area and got ready for the Friday practice sessions. The training at MTF paid off as Carl got the triples and rhythm sections down in short order but Carl needed some more work in the whoops.
Carl was scheduled to run the first day qualifier race and got a good start but ended up finishing outside the top six. The Last Chance Qualifier awaited Carl and he was ready. He got the Holeshot and led for a couple laps until Nathan Skaggs got by in the whoops. Now in second place, good enough to get in the night show, all Carl had to do was hang on. With less than a half of a lap remaining, another rider behind Carl tripled into a turn and landed on him taking them both out. Close but no cigar, time to pack up and head for Atlanta, the next East Coast Round.
Atlanta
In anticipation of Atlanta, Carl was able to get some training in at a local indoor motocross facility called RamJam. Most of the time was spent practicing the whoops, so far the one thing that was holding him back. The practice was worth it as Carl got the Atlanta track dialed in quickly during morning practice.
Day Qualifiers awaited Carl Saturday. A little more bad luck got to him in his heat race as he tangled with some other riders and was stuck in the back of the pack. At the starting line for the LCQ while trying to set his Holeshot device he noticed it was broken. None the less, Carl still managed a decent start but finished just outside a qualifying position.
St. Louis
The Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis was the next stop on the tour. Carl got in town early in the morning and got settled in. Friday practice went well and was able to do a little sight seeing at the famous St. Louis Arch. After a good nights rest Carl and his crew made their way to the Dome for Saturday’s event. First practice went well for the rookie as he was able to figure out some fast lines through the rhythm section. Feeling confident, he went out for the second practice but crashed when his bike clipped the top of a jump. Onlookers described it like Bubba Stewart’s Phoenix crash where he broke his wrist.
After taking inventory, they decided that was best to sit out his qualifying race and try to rest his aching ribs. Carl lined up for the LCQ and once again got the Holeshot, he held on as long as he could, but the pain became too much and he had to pull off.
Daytona
Still in considerable pain from the crash at St. Louis, Carl had decided to sit the Daytona Supercross out.
Orlando
With a week of rest under his belt and the nagging rib injury getting better, Carl made a stop at MTF for a little practice on his way to Orlando. Several other Privateers had the same idea as he was joined by the likes of Jacob Saylor, Ron Boyas, and Keith and Kevin Johnson. Stopping at MTF was a good idea as rain swept through Orlando causing officials to cancel practice on Friday. Sneaking a peek through the fence, Carl was able to get a look at the track. With the combination of loose sand mixed in with the dirt and muddy conditions, this track looked tough.
With Friday’s activities cancelled, Carl was able to meet up with the crew from Wonder Warthog Racing, the Privateer’s best friend. After a chat with the leader, Scott Kandell, Carl was able to pick up some useful information about the program.
Saturday came and time for practice, the track was tough with ruts changing on every lap. A stacked qualifier awaited the young rookie, with names like Sellards, Schnell, Buckelew and Carsten, Carl new that he had his work cut out for him. Schlacht once again got a good start right behind Buckelew and Schnell going into the rhythm section but on the next lap a slight bobble let enough riders go by to keep him from qualifying. On to the LCQ, a good jump out of the gate was for not as Carl went into the first turn a little hot. A bump from behind caused his front wheel to wash out and his night was over.
Dallas
With the long distance from Ohio to Dallas, Texas it almost looked like the Schlachts were going to have to skip this round until they hooked up with fellow Ohioan, Nathan Skaggs and got his bike on Nathan’s rig for the long journey to the Lone Star State. Carl and his Dad were able to get a flight to Dallas and stay with his Aunt who lives near Cowboy’s Stadium. Friday practice went off without a hitch and the crew went out for dinner and got ready for Saturday.
The track got a little tougher on Saturday as the whoops were bigger and sand section in front of the triple was beefed up. Carl was pitted with the Spine Chillers crew that brought his bike down for him. Heat one was up and he faced the likes of Brock Sellards and Tommy Hoffmaster. Schlacht got caught up in a big pile up and was never a factor in the race. With Skaggs’ race up next Carl hung around to see his buddy have his turn at qualifying. Skaggs was running fourth when a crash in the rhythm section ended Nathan’s night with a broken wrist. After helping Skaggs’ crew get his bike off the track Carl nearly missed the LCQ. Getting the last gate pick had no ill effect on Carl as he grabbed the Holeshot and led the first lap until Tommy Hoffmaster passed him in the whoops. A mistake the next lap moved Schlacht back into third. On the next lap, after hitting the triple a rider tried to make an aggressive pass on the inside of Carl going into the next turn which ended up with both of them on the ground. That ended the night.
Pontiac
The last round of the East Coast Supercross Series was held on April 9th in Pontiac Michigan at the Silverdome. Pontiac was one of the few rounds that had Friday practice. I first met up with Carl there. He was just lining up for his turn at the Dirtwurx built track when I arrived armed with my camera. Carl had the track down in short order and was fine tuning a few sections. He told me that he liked the track and felt good going into Saturday’s race.
The sun rose up Saturday morning and greeted the teams as they were preparing their bikes for the day’s event. With temperatures forecasted in the upper sixties, many fans and racers were dressed for a hot summer National rather than a mid April Michigan Supercross race. The morning and mid afternoon practice sessions went off without a hitch and Carl got ready for his Day qualifier Race.
Carl was scheduled to compete in Race Number One. The gate dropped and he came away with the Holeshot, by the time the pack got around turn two and got into the tricky rhythm section a few guys were able to get around Schlacht. Carl held on for the four lap race and didn’t make any mistakes. When the checkered flag dropped he was in eighth place. He made his first night show! Finally his hard work paid off, he could relax until his 125 Heat Race started later that night.
Carl and his Dad made their way down the famous Pontiac tunnel that would lead them to the starting gate. He was in Heat Race Number Two. One can only imagine the feeling going through the young competitor’s head as he lined up on the gate. With some of the smoke left over from the pre-race fireworks show and 50,000 plus fans screaming the 30 second board went sideways. The thunder coming from the twenty four stroke bikes anticipating the gate drop was deafening. Off they went into the first corner. Carl got a good start but got pushed outside with Kelly Smith getting the Holeshot. A few bobbles cost him some positions as the six lap race wore on. A sixteenth place finish was what Carl was awarded for his effort.
Last Chance Qualifier time, Carl lined up with twenty one other hopefuls vying for the last four spots in the Main Event. The gate dropped and they were off for the first turn. Schlacht was mid pack coming into the rhythm section and fought hard but a few mistakes in the whoops cost him his chance at the Main. Carl ended up twentieth in the LCQ.
The Outdoors
Carl also set out to try his luck at some of the AMA Nationals on the east coast in the 250 Class. He had his share of bad qualifying early on, but finally made the forty-man field at Budds Creek, Maryland. Schlacht finished thirty fifth in the first moto on his Honda CRF450 and thirtieth in the second for thirty fourth overall. Things never quite panned out after that for our young rookie, but he gave it his all and gained plenty of valuable experience.
Now What?
Carl has a lot to be proud of in his first try at racing Supercross. After six attempts he made it to the night show and he made it into his first outdoor National Race. Keep your eyes open for number 384 in the future and good luck Carl! Carl wanted to be sure to thank all of the people that have made this season possible; Thiel Racing, Fox Riders Company, Gary Bailey, Platinum One Designs, Wonder Warthog Racing, Active 8, Cabinet Restylers, RAMJAM Sports Complex, Spy, Progressive Cycle Safety, Yoshimura, No-Toil, Pitracer.com, Tom Morgan Racing, Sagsetter, BWR Suspension, Smith Road Raceway, DMG Tek, Vivid Diamonds and Designs, Tutima and Jesus Christ.
Big congratulations to Carl on his LCQ win in Toronto!
