Panicrev.org, Racing and Injury Update
By: Scott Cram

The week before St. Louis I really got my new Enzo suspension setup dialed in and I felt more comfortable then ever in supercross. I went for the triple on the second lap of the first practice, hitting it the same as I have hit them all year. As soon as I got in the air I saw the landing was about 5ft further then normal and I was going to come up really short. When I landed I cased the jump really hard and broke my arm at the end of the plate I had in there from a previous injury as well as dislocating my wrist. After the fact, I heard a lot of riders cased that triple the first time they hit it as well, which leads me to believe it was bigger than normal or the lip didn't shoot you as high as normal. I didn't make a mistake or anything, but I probably would have seen that guys were coming up short if I would have been able to watch some others practices, but that is how it goes since I am out there doing it on my own and have to stay with my bike in the tunnel.

I was taken to the hospital in St. Louis where they put my wrist and arm back in place as well as stitched up my chin that I split open on the cross bar pad. After they released me I took a taxi back to the stadium in time to watch the main events and collect the things I needed to take home with me. I had ended up having to have surgery to get the old plate taken out and replaced with a bigger plate with 9 screws instead of 6 screws by Dr. Murphy, who has worked on McGrath, Carmichael, and a few other top riders. When I first got out of surgery my fingers were really numb and my arm started hurting more and more on the drive back home from San Diego. I ended up going straight to the ER at mission hospital to get my arm re-wrapped to relieve the pressure. I talked to my Dr. this morning, Thursday, and he said the surgery went perfect and everything looks really good. There was a possibility of having to pin my wrist since it was dislocated, but thankfully it wasn't needed.

Since I got hurt my Supercross license carries over to next year, so I can race SX again if i decide to. I was unable to qualify for a night event before my injury which is required to qualify for the Supercross license again. After getting my bike really dialed in and finally figuring everything out I am thinking about going for it again next year. The injury might be another blessing in disguise since it gives me time to get into really good shape, race some local races to get my speed and confidence up before attempting SX again. I really lost my motivation, confidence, and determination after finding out my bike setup was really far off after A3, which was the main reason I rode so poorly at the West Coast rounds. The Enzo setup is the best I've ever had and now I understand how guys can ride and do the things I wasn't able to before in SX. I've definitely been at a big disadvantage the whole time I was out there with my other setup, first with asthma the last few years and then suspension this year. Everything seemed to be really rushed this year and I would often feel worn out by the time the weekends rolled around from running around putting everything together. In fact at St. Louis I didn't get done working on my bike a few minutes before track walk which I've realized takes a lot of focus away from racing. If I do decide to go after it again next year I am not going to do it on my own and I am going to find someone that knows what they are doing to mechanic for me, which I have already have a few people offer to do. I am also thinking about dropping down to the Lites class to just do the West Coast Series in SX, so hopefully I can get a 250f this summer and figure out if that is what I want to do.

I have to be honest and I do not really now what I am going to do just yet. I am also having thoughts of just hanging it up and moving back to Kansas where my family and high school friends are. I know there is a lot more to life then spending everyday by myself at a motocross track and putting up with the criticism from everybody: ranging from beginners to vet riders on how and what I need to do to “make it” in supercross. I've learned that criticism comes from people that are jealous of people that are doing great things for their lives and I've often proven my critics wrong anyway. Not to mention some of the people in the industry that do things to hold me back. Like the guy that did my suspension at the start of the year who won't send me back a brand new set of suspension that he was suppose to setup since I switched to Enzo. The funny thing is that he kept it for three weeks before I even told him about the switch. Things like that really hold me back and mess up the program I have setup for myself, not to mention costing me time, money, and energy. I am an intelligent guy and for the most part I know what I am doing and how to do it, but people don't understand how much work it is doing it completely on my own and what I already have put into it. It seems like individuals are waiting for me to make night events on my own before they step in to help me out financially, which is disappointing because all the work and support is needed to make the night event. After you starting making night events people start taking notice and the support usually starts rolling in. I can't tell you how many times I've had people tell me they will help me out if I make night events.

But I've put it in God's hands and I'll go through the doors He opens for me. I have some really good opportunities that may open doors up to allow me to put together the program I need to do well or it may allow me to just step away from racing all together and live a normal life, which would be a lot easier on my parents. The dream of doing well in Supercross is still in my heart, it just depends on if God opens the doors for me to get the help and support I need to do well at the top level of the sport. I know I can do well in SX as the Thursday before St. Louis I rode better then I ever have at a full blown, built to spec SX track at Competitive Edge. I know if I would have started the year out on the bike setup I have now things might have gone a lot different. I am not saying I would have for sure made night events because I have too much respect for the guys I race to say something like that, but I know I would have ridden a lot better at the races and I feel like I would have had lap times closer to where they needed to be to qualify--especially with the confidence and momentum I had at the start of the year.

For now I am just going to heal up, rest up, and see where God leads me. For the first time in my life I am really proud of myself for seeing my dream all the way through, not backing down, and giving it everything I have. I know I have a lot of potential and I am a really good rider, it just depends if anyone wants to step up and help me get there. The problem with all of it is that I don't have the results to attract a team ride and I can't seem to find the one on one support needed to get the results to attract a team ride. Either way I have accomplished what I set out to accomplish when I moved out to California at 19 yrs old, I am proud of myself, and although I am far from making it in supercross, I at least made it to Supercross to ride the toughest tracks in the world and rub elbows with some of the world's top athletes whom I consider some of which my friends. I would like to thank my current sponsors for playing a major role in making my dream a reality, especially Pro Circuit. I truly believe I have an "A List" of sponsors:

Performance Motorsports
Scott USA
Hinson Clutch Components
N-Style
Dunlop
Fly Racing
Maxima Oils
Renthal
Works Connection
PanicRev.Org
VP Fuels
Weapon MX
Enzo Suspension
Tallon Management

If this is the last year of racing supercross for me I am really happy that I made it to the top level of the sport and I got to live my dream. I am walking away with a smile on my face feeling victorious and accomplished as I've taken it as far as I can alone. I sure would like to have a legitimate shot at it. The only question I have left is "if i made it all this way on my own, I wonder how far I could take it with the right people helping me out?" But I am sure that is the question most racers, privateers, and people in general ask themselves everyday about their own dreams.

Scott Cram
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