Cycle News

Rapp made the most of his sec- ond chance at a restart, taking the lead this time around with Eslick and Wyman in tow. Eslick tried to respond on the second lap, but Rapp was sticking to his plan and was executing it properly. But as a wise man Robert Burns once said, plans can go to hell in a hand basket. Okay the 18 th cen- tury Scottish poet said it more elo- quently, but however you say it, it's the best way to summarize the jumped start penalty that spoiled Rapp's domination over the rest of the field – a gap that amounted to almost four seconds over Eslick at the end. His gap on the field was enough to secure him second, but not good enough for the win when the 10-second penalty was factored in. "It's got to be frustrating for him," Eslick said about Rapp. "It's not the way I wanted to do it because he was still getting away… Not the way I wanted to win it, by a penalty, but a W is a W and we needed the points. And we'll definitely take the money and move on to Mid-Ohio." "It kind of went as I planned," Rapp said. "I just wanted to get a good start, try to build up a lead if I could. It looked like I was. But then I didn't actually know that the pit board was for me, I just saw a 10. I didn't see the one. I wasn't really aware of what was going on. I was just riding as if there was nothing going on." While Rapp wasn't really sure, Eslick was aware of the penalty - even before the board went out. "I saw him kind of roll a little bit… it seemed like it to me just out of the corner of my eye," Es- lick said. "It's tough to say what you catch out of the corner of your eye, in the light and every- thing with all that's going on." But Rapp was pretty confident that he did not jump the start and after the race he wanted to see it. "It didn't feel like I moved," Rapp said. "I mean I've been rac- ing long enough to know when I jumped the start. I definitely didn't feel anything. Or even when I saw the board I didn't think it was me because I didn't even think it was close. I don't know. I'm going to talk to Dave [McGrath] and if they have a video it'd be cool to see and just go from there." "Definitely disappointed," Rapp added. "I had no idea. I still kind of… I'd like to see it. Be- cause if you see it you go, 'okay you did,' but if you don't it's kind of weird." Unfortunately for Rapp (at the time of this writing) the video was no longer around and there is no youtube, GoPro, or TV footage for Rapp and armchair racers to ex- amine and use to make a decision. Completing the podium was racer/team owner Wyman, who was racing just four days after having surgery on his knee for a Meniscus tear and cleanup. "Was able to start off with these guys and make that gap to fourth," Wyman said. "And then about lap four these guys dropped the hammer and I wasn't able to match the pace. So I just settled into a rhythm and slowed down a little bit in the mid part of the race and tried to really put my head down and keep that gap." Behind Wyman, the battle for fourth was fought between Ty- ler O'Hara, Ben Carlson, Gage McAllister, and Ryan Kerr. Com- ing out on top was the former se- ries-points leader O'Hara on the Josh Chisum Racing Harley. Behind O'Hara was Rapp's teammate Carlson, Thunder Roads Magazine's Ryan Kerr, and and Folsom H-D's Gage McAllister. Chili Pepper Racing's Hayden Schultz was in that mix as well, but lost some ground on that pack on the last lap and had to settle for eighth. Trev Deeley Motorcycle's Dar- ren James finished ninth, with Chisum rounding out the top 10. CN HARLEY-DAVIDSON FINAL 1. Danny Eslick 2. Steve Rapp 3. Kyle Wyman 4. Tyler O'Hara 5. Benny Carlson 6. Ryan Kerr 7. Gage McAllister 8. Hayden Schultz 9. Darren James 10. Josh Chisum VOL. 51 ISSUE 28 JULY 15, 2014 P101 Danny Eslick (69) leads Steve Rapp (1) in the Vance & Hines Harley Davidson final at Laguna Seca. Rapp won on track but was penalized 10 seconds for a jump-start violation that gave the win to Eslick. Kyle Wyman (11) finished third.

• Cover