Kelly Skinner Finishes Race Strong after Starting Line Tumble

Tim W | 01 May 2016 | Racer Articles | |    

Round 2 brought challenges and tough racing for all, but for Kelly Skinner, the challenges started immediately.

Skinner was the first one off of the line on his YFZ 450 in the Open B 22+ Class and was very excited about potentially landing the Holeshot. That’s when things took a bit of a turn.

“I saw a guy come up beside me on my right side and the start was pretty tight, so I let off just enough to let him in and avoid crashing us both, Skinner explained.” When he did this, a rider behind him clipped his left back tire, sending Skinner and his quad tumbling.

“It happened very quickly! I missed the tree thankfully, but my quad did not. I landed on my shoulder and hip but was able to crawl away from the wreck and other riders to ensure I wasn’t injured. Once I realized I was OK, I asked Ryan Miller and Shawn Gray to pull my quad back out so I could get back out to the race.”

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Skinner knew that starting three rows back would put him at a severe disadvantage for the race, so he decided to ride for fun and to get his money’s worth. An overheated machine on Lap 3 ended his day, but he still came out with a 6th place finish out of 13 in the class.

“I survived the crash, but I was pretty sure my wife was going to kill me for still racing,” Skinner joked. “I am totally fine, just a little bruised up. Over all, I’m ready for Round 3. This crash was just a racing accident – stuff like this is going to happen, you just have to be as safe as you can and hope no one gets injured.”

Skinner would like to thank his wonderful wife, Theresa Skinner for making this all possible, even though after this crash he thought she was going to shut his racing down. He would also like to thank Darin’s All Terrain for his help, Ryan Miller for keeping him hydrated while out there and pushing him, Athens Sports Cycles and his Pit Crew and step-daughter, Jaden Jordan.

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