Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s Woz Up!  In case you haven’t noticed on Twitter (@MXPTV), I have been hopping around the Carolinas this week in my trusty Ranger filming and meeting with people.  It’s been a fun trip so far.

Time to hit the road!

But I want to first off by saying a huge get well wish for Trey Canard, Ryan Morais, and Jake Beaudoin.  Just been a crazy couple of weeks with nasty injuries.  Hopefully they heal up well and shred some dirt soon.  Hate to see such a great group of racers suffer such horrible injuries.  Road 2 Recovery has a fundraiser going for Ryan Morais.  CLICK HERE to check out more information I posted yesterday.

Down the hallway at UNC-Chapel Hill hospital.

I got a phone call from Only One Inspiration’s Harold Glissen late last week about coming down to visit him at the University of North Carolina Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill, NC after he suffered severe injuries in a racing incident at Hog Heaven MX the week prior.  After thinking about it and realizing that I need to make the trip, I did so and also planned to visit nearby practice tracks that I haven’t been to in almost a year.  So, I packed up the Ranger with clothes and camera gear on Monday and drove through the night to get to UNC to meet up with Harold.  We met and talked for a few hours before it got late.

Over 400 get well cards Harold got from a local elementary school.

On Tuesday, I drove back to UNC to set up an interview with Harold in his hospital bed.  It was an emotional interview which I’ll have online soon as long as I get a reliable hotel connection here!  (Vijdeo will be posted next week.)  So after I spent the first half of the day at UNC with Mr. Glissen, I went to Charlotte to meet up with David Evans, the PR guy for the Joe Gibbs Racing/Toyota/Yamaha team.  We bench raced and talked it up for about an hour and it was great to meet up with him to talk about the 2012 season.

Filming away at Club MX.

After leaving Charlotte, I drove to Chesterfield, South Carolina, home of the Club MX training facility, to go and shoot photos and videos of their practice day on Wednesday.  I got there in the morning to check out some fun team racing action with Club MX’s riders as an open practice session followed at noon with any riders that came to ride their tough tracks for the day.  New Yorker Phil Nicoletti, Maryland’s Eric McKay, and Connecticut’s AJ Catanzaro were out there throwing down laps on the supercross track.  Nicoletti and Catanzaro were on KTM 250f machines.  AJ is on the newly revamped Ohlins/KTM team and will be contesting in all the east coast Lites rounds.  However, for Phil, he’s in a different situation and without a ride.  After traveling issues with his Australian run for Kawasaki that happened a few months ago, he’s left without a ride for 2012 so far and he’s eagerly looking.  So, if you are a race team and are looking for a determined, strong, fast rider, Phil is your guy!

AJ Catanzaro goes to ecliipse mode at Club MX.

I was able to shoot photos and video from the day at Club MX and I had posted the photos online yesterday.  CLICK HERE to check them out.

The JWTF Turn Track. So rough!

Thursday was onward to the eastern side of North Carolina to the Jimmy Weinert Training Facility in Maysville, North Carolina.  The facility reminded me about my local track, Snake Creek MX, on just how laid back everyone was there.  I met up with the Jammer to talk about the new setup he has at the former Crystal Coast track.  Constant work is being done to the facility and it’s coming along well.  Also, just seeing a Marine at the facility in a hoody and sweatpants shows that this place isn’t your normal motocross training facility.  Strict guidelines on training are set for the riders who sign up for the training classes.  I even heard riders were running with their helmets on at one point!  So, it’s a much different training setup but the facility is also available for open practice 7 days a week for any age or skill level.

JWTF's monsterous 94 foot double jump. BRAP!

Pennsylvania natives Richard White, Billy Gallagher, Anthony Laird, and Chris Makuta were throwing down the laps while I was there along with Alex Burch throwing the best whips of the day off some insane 94′ double jump.  The facility has a few tracks done up with the main track, a very rough turn track, a quad track, and a small mini track for the future stars of the sport.  Supercross/Arenacross tracks are planned to be built as the Jammer is always sculpting new obstacles on a daily basis.

Nate Card getting serious height on JWTF's huge double jump.

I posted my favorite photos from JWTF last night.  CLICK HERE to check them out.  I did video as well so check for that next week!

Figure 8 drill anyone at JWTF?

I’m off to the the UNC- Chapel Hill hospital one more time to see Harold and get some more interviews done up for him.  He has been moved to a new rehab suite where the conditions are better but he’s told me this comeback will not be easy.  I haven’t been able to get an address to send cards and all that just yet.  So, I’ll work on that today.

Don’t forget to enter your podium picks for tomorrow’s Guess The Podium contest for the Oakland round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series.  Also, check for Links And Times to see how to follow the action in Oakland tomorrow!

Thanks for reading along!

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