King of packers
2024 NJMP Finals – Race One
After experiencing only wet running during practice and qualifying, the King of the Baggers lined up on a completely dry grid for the opening competition of a two-race weekend that will decided the championship at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
Troy Herfoss trailed Harley-Davidson Factory Racing duo James Rispoli and Kyle Wyman by more than a second in a wet qualifying session, but the Australian had never been past the NJMP circuit before race one. The money race was the three-lap Challenge Race, where Hayden Gillim edged Herfoss to victory, held on a dry track but conditions were much better as they lined up for race one.
When the lights went out for the first nine-lap points race of the weekend, it was a 1-2-3 Harley led by Rocco Landers, Kyle Wyman second and James Rispoli third.
Hayden Gillim got off to a bad start and had to sit at the back of the field.
Herfoss passed Rispoli early for third place on lap two and quickly followed the two Harleys as the race began to take shape. Wyman challenged Landers for the lead on lap two but the youngster closed the door and prevented Wyman from taking the lead.
Landers left the back of his Harley exposed in a stunning display of aggressive riding on the 280kg behemoth.
Troy Herfoss took second place from Wyman with five laps to run and immediately began to pull away from the championship leader.
Herfoss then reeled off Landers and was clearly faster than the Revzilla Harley rider in some sections, but Landers had his measure in other sections. That pair have pulled away from the rest of the field and it will be a battle for victory between the two.
Kyle Wyman was now more than two seconds back and was caught by Tyler O’Hara, James Rispoli, Bobby Fong and Jake Lewis.
Landers led Herfoss on the final lap but the Australian took the lead into turn one only for Landers to regain the lead shortly after changing direction. With the championship in hand, Herfoss couldn’t risk a DNF. Herfoss came close to Landers again after a few turns but the American had his way and held on for victory. Second Herfoss.
“My team leader worked really hard and we got such a good base that we really didn’t need to modify the car much“, Landers said. “So when I walked out, I felt like the track was definitely a little green. I will say that. I felt worse than yesterday in qualifying, even though it was half wet, half dry. I don’t think I actually ran much faster in that race. But a lot of people would say that I tend to over-speed the bike and slide maybe a little too much, and normally I disagree but that race was sketchy. I was slipping everywhere. I feel like I’m on the brink. So we might need to make some small adjustments to make things a little better and give us confidence going into the corners. Like I said, I’ve said it a million times, these guys are an honor to race against each other. It was an honor at the beginning of the year. They gave me a lot of advice. They helped me a lot and helped me develop as a rider. Being able to fight them is tiring for me. I really like it. It’s like a dream.”
1. Rocco Landers – HD
2. Troy Herfoss – Indian +0.182 seconds
3. Kyle Wyman – HD +2,997s
Kyle Wyman managed to hold off O’Hara for third and limit the advantage Herfoss will have over Sunday’s championship decider, Herfoss leading by two points.
KOTB Race One results
- Rocco Landers – HD
- Troy Herfoss – Indian +0.182 seconds
- Kyle Wyman – HD +2,997s
- Tyler O’Hara – Indian +3.057 seconds
- James Rispoli – HD +4,331s
- Bobby Fong – Indian +4,394s
- Jake Lewis – HD +15,786s
- Kyle Ohnsorg – Indians +23,811s
- Cory West – HD +25,829s
- Travis Wyman – HD +26.230s
KOTB Championship Standings
- Troy Herfoss 333
- Kyle Wyman 331
- Hayden Gillim 213
- Tyler O’Hara 211
- Rocco Landers 204
