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Wednesday, March 28  Technical change pays dividends By Jeremy McGrath Special to ESPN.com Houston was another tough one as I finished second to Ricky Carmichael. I fell behind a bit at the start of the race, which hurt me. I was in third for a while until I passed Kevin Windham on the whoops on lap 11, but by that time I was a ways behind RC. I just waited to long to make my move. It was a good track with good obstacles, which makes it fun. The bright side is that I have raced a lot better the past two weeks due to a change we made on the bike. When the 2001 suspension came out earlier this year, we changed the valving, but two weeks ago we went back to the old setting with the 2000 version and the difference has been huge. I am feeling a lot more comfortable, especially on the whoop. It was another great move by Skip Norfolk (Team Mazda Yamaha Mechanic). Right now we are concentrating on St. Louis. That track is unpredictable because a lot of the time the dirt is similar to Atlanta's, a sticky wet dirt, other times it is dried out. It just depends on how they store it. Either way, I am hoping to end RC's winning streak. I am still confident I can win some races this season, and I have not thrown in the towel. My fourth and sixth place finishes really hurt me in the points, but my goal is to finish the season on a strong note. A main goal right now is to win the Vans Triple Crown (second Anaheim, Dallas, and Vegas). That is a $500,000 purse, and it would be a nice positive to the year, not to mention a great wave of momentum to ride into the 2002 season. Despite being in second, it hasn't been a bad year. My sponsors (Mazda and Yamaha) and team, especially Larry Brooks (Team Mazda Yamaha Manager), have been nothing short of awesome. They have continued to be supportive and positive. Not only that, I have raced well; RC has just been incredible. He is on a great run, and my job from here on out is to end it. Seven-time Supercross champion Jeremy McGrath provides a weekly diary for ESPN.com.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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