Joey Thomas- Mid Atlantic championship comes down to .61pt, I feel for ya man

[MELK-MAN]

Looks like Mid Atlantic regional overall #1 came down to 1047.16 adjusted points by Santiago Villa, and 1046.55 by Joey Thomas. Less than ONE point, and if both were rounded it would be a TIE. I don't think i ever met you Joey, but i feel your pain to some degree buddy. I haven't lost a championship by .61 of a point (lost one by 7, another by 25..) but I will be sporting the #2 for the 4th year in a row Congrats on your class championships though.. ! You had a stellar performance index of 902.2 and I'm sure having a 200+ gap over 2nd place just before VIR I'm sure you  thought you had a lock on the #1 plate for mid Atlantic. I feel for ya dude.

     If it makes you feel any better Joey, here is what i will say about Santiago if you do not know him..  He is a fast dude and has a "Never Say Die" attitude to go with it. He came to VIR last minute, borrowed a light wt bike and with only that and a 600, entered 14 races to clinch the SE title (i had a 200+ pt lead having done 6 races at all the SE events on my 600). I shouldn't be light about "entered"  14 races.. he RACED 14 races, as in raced to win every race and almost did win all of them even though he could have givin some positions away here and there and likely still have won the championship. Even winning most of the races, he just managed to snatch the Mid Atlantic, and he has the FL region #1 wrapped already with a round to go in December. You have to hand it to him for tenacity.. drive.. etc. and from what I hear clinching 3 regional CCS #1 plates has never been done. Keep in mind he missed a couple rounds of CCS racing that conflicted with his AMA schedule (wish he had gone to Barber ).
      I have know Santiago since he showed up on the FL series scene a few years back and recognized right away there is no quit in this guy. He LIVES and Breathes motorcycle racing. Congrats go out to him on an incredible achievement of three #1 regional plates in one season.

[roadracer162]

Thanks for the pos-up Greg, and congrats on your "Big #2" again.

[eh427]

Joey Thomas is a great guy and an awesome competitor. He had an incredible season and was really deserving of that number one plate. I felt really bad for him when I saw he lost out on it by slim of a margin.

[SVbadguy]

If there was anyway I could've known it was going to be that close I would've done everything I could to help him out.  I would've given up the win to block Mavros in the LWSS so Joey would've had just a few more points. 

Joey and I had some great battles this year.

[MELK-MAN]

Like i mentioned, i highly doubt even Joey even thought it would be that close. I myself have lost a FL #1 plate, and more than one  #1 plate in SE when a competitor rode 14 races at the final double point race. , it will continue to happen.

Looking back i wish there was a cap or max number of races that can count toward the overall at the final double point round..or even a cap on the number of classes that can count to the overall. THAT however would be an entirely new thread.. Sorry to derail my own thread.

[MELK-MAN]

Thanks for the pos-up Greg, and congrats on your "Big #2" again.

.. and thanks Mark. Chin up bum down! or is it bum up head down.. damn, getting forgetful at 42 going on 43.

[apriliaman]

Joey deserved it as he rode AMAZING all year!!! We all feel sad for him.

[Rick Johnson 29]

That does suck losing the overall like that. I feel for you man. I missed Unlimited Superbike SE by just 4 points and that hurt a little. It would have been great to win a Championship my first yr. expert. I'm still happy with how I finished this yr. See some of you in Homestead.

[HG281]

Hey Everyone,

Thanks for the nice comments. It does suck loosing by such a small margin and I may have been able to do something different but who could have predicted it would be that close. I have to give props to Santiago, he ran and was competitive in every race, not an easy task.

I had a great year and can not really complain. I enjoyed battling with each of you guys and hope to do it again next year.

Good luck to everyone going to Homestead!

Joe Thomas
HG Racing #281

[VILLA 132]

Hi Joey, I had the chance for the first time to race in the Lightweight Clases , and we had some great battles, I enjoy every race that I did with you and Greg have lots of respect for both, and Belive me it was really dificulto to win 8 races out of 12 I did, but I was pushing very hard to win this three Championships, hope next time we race we can have the same fun we had at VIR.I can only say this guys.
" TO BE THE BEST ..YOU HAVE TO BEAT THE BEST " I just race against the best riders of the South East and Mid atlantic, you two really make me work for it all my respect for you two.

Hope to race again soon

Santiago Villa # 32

[VILLA 132]

Hi Joey, I had the chance for the first time to race in the Lightweight Clases , and we had some great battles, I enjoy every race that I did with you and Greg have lots of respect for both, and Belive me it was really dificulto to win 8 races out of 12 I did, but I was pushing very hard to win this three Championships, hope next time we race we can have the same fun we had at VIR.I can only say this guys.
" TO BE THE BEST ..YOU HAVE TO BEAT THE BEST " I just race against the best riders of the South East and Mid atlantic, you two really make me work for it all my respect for you two.

Hope to race again soon

Santiago Villa # 32

[ahastings]

Glad I decide do switch to the Atlantic region this year .couldn't afford all the travel in the midatlantic