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lAbove) Tight Squeeze II won its second endurance event of the season, in the Lightweight Superbike class in Lebanon, Tennessee. pitted for fuel right after the end of the first hour, Army of Darkness, with their larger gas tank, moved into second place. Ruben Frankenfield kept the Team Velocity Racing Suzuki ahead of 4&6 Racing's Larry Denning on the Taylor Knap/Ray C's Racing Yamaha to retain second in Middleweight Superstock and fifth overall. Team Xtreme II moved to the lead of the Heavyweight Superstock class, with Jeff Wyler/Blue Moto in second. Team Xtreme I ran fourth overall and one lap down on race leader Vesrah Suzuki. During the second hour, the epic battle for second in the Middleweight Superstock class heated up as Fritz Kling moved the Knap/Ray C's Yamaha past both Team Velocity Racing and Team Xtreme I. "It's not really dangerous," Fritz stated, "but this is not a track for big bikes; it's okay with a 600." Team Velocity followed suit and also moved by Team Xtreme I. On their 81 st lap, Jeff Wyler/Blue Moto crashed and retired. Team Working Endurance moved up to challenge Team Xtreme II for the lead in the Heavyweight Superstock class. This Tennessee-based team was riding the wheels off their GSX-R 1000. Team Tachyon Racing ran third in this class. In the Lightweight Superbike class, Tight Squeeze II held a two-lap advantage over their teammates Tight Squeeze I and SVPerformance.net. John Jacobi maintained the lead on the Vesrah Suzuki with a two-lap advantage over Army of Darkness and Team Info Tech/Valter Moto. "This track has great pits," said Sam Fleming, owner of and rider for Army of Darkness. "This is a great facility, but I would not rate it as one of the top 10 classic road-race courses in the nation." James Kerker was on fire as he took the Team HMR Honda 954 to second in class as he passed Team Tachyon Racing and Team Working Endurance. Team Xtreme I moved by (Above) Bradley Champion (31), on the Team Info TechNalter Moto R6, leads Team Xtreme (3) and Army of Darkness (99). (Left) Ruben Frankenfield charges on the Team Velocity Racing GSX-R600. the battling Middleweight Superstock bikes to regain fourth overall. Taylor Knapp/Ray C's continued to lead Team Velocity Racing. These three bikes were on the same lap. Team Xtreme II turned it on cruise control as they led their class with a five-lap advantage over Team HMR. Five bikes in the top 10 were Middleweight Superstock bikes, with Team Info Tech/Valter Moto leading. Tight Squeeze II led the Lightweight Superbike class and ran 11 th overall. Two hours and 45 minutes into this third round of the WERA National Series, disaster struck. Going into the ultrafast first corner, Neighbor of the Beast's Roman Kilgore moved to the outside to pass John Gerl on the Xl Racing's GSX-R750. At this critical point, Gerl backed off and went wide. The two bikes hit and ran straight toward the outside concrete banking Team Info TechNalter Moto (left), Vesrah Suzuki (center), and Army of Darimess (right) celebrate in Victory Circle. of turn one. As both bikes tumbled across the grass median, both riders ended up on the ground in turn one. This brought out the red flag and brought a halt to the racing. Kilgore suffered back trauma, while Gerl had landed on his head and incurred more serious injuries. By the time both riders had been airlifted to the nearby medical center, less that 30 minutes remained on the clock, and the race was officially called. This now marks two times that the all-military team, XZ Racing, has suffered during a National Endurance event. Sergeant Benn Trescott said he still has the support of his compa- ny commander, but at this point he doesn't know if his team will make the next event, at VIR. The R6 Yamaha of Team Info Tech/Valter Moto ran a solid race, and only the extra-early pit stops caused by using the required stock gas tank caused them to run only third. "I loved the track," said jubilant youngster Nicky Wimbauer. "It reminded me of my home tracks in Colorado. I'm excited being with a great team." "The bike ran perfectly," said Ruben Frankenfield after finishing third in Middleweight Superstock. "We finished on the same lap as Ray C's. The track is not that bad, but I like wide-open tracks better." "Personally, I didn't like the track," said Rob Palmieri after winning the Heavyweight Superstock class, "but fortunately my teammate George Gentle was flying; he's young, and he doesn't know any better. He raced the motorcycle; I rode the motorcycle; I'm happy we won." Finishing second in that class was Team HMR Racing. One of the Honda boys, Mark Kittel, said: "The 954 is a great machine; we just need a little more setup time to get this bike up there." eN Nashville Superspeedway Lebanon, Tennessee Results: May 9, 2003 [Round 31 O/A: 1. Vesrah Suzuki (Suz); 2. Army of Darkness (Suz); 3. Tei!lm Info Tech/Veller Moto (Yam); 4. Team Xtreme (Suz); 5. Taylor Knapp/Ray C's Racing (Yam); 6. Team Velocity Rlicing (Suz); 7. Team Xtreme II (Suz); 8. Velocity Crew Racing (Suz); 9. Bf,S Endurance (Suz); 10. JLR Racing (Hon). H/W S/BK: I. Vesrah Suzuki: 2. Team Xtreme; 3. Northern Getaway. H/W S/STK; 1. Team Xtreme II: 2. Team HMR: 3. Team Tachyon Racing. M/W S/BK: 1. Army of Darkness; 2. Velocity Crew; 3. XT Racing. M/W S/STK: 1. Team Info Tech: 2. Taylor Knapp/Ray C's: 3. Team Velocity Racing. l/W S/BK: 1. Tight Squeeze II; 2. SVPerformance.net; 3. Tight Squeeze I. WERA NATIONAL ENDURANCE SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (Arter 3 rounds): 1. Vesrah Suzuki (323); 2. Army of Darkness (290): 3. Team Xtreme (254); 4. Velocity Crew Racing (233); 5. Team Velocity Racing (230); 6. (TIE) Team Info Tech/VaJter Moto (226){Taylor Knapp/Ray C's Racing (226); 8. Team Xtreme II (199); 9. Neighbor althe Beast (195); 10. JLR Racing (179).