Cory Texter- AFT Championship Rider and Host of Tank Slappin’ Podcast

This transcript is AI generated and may contain misspellings

[00:00:15.490] - Dave Sulecki

Welcome to Pit Pass Moto, the show that keeps you up to speed on the latest in motorcycling and brings the biggest names in motorcycle racing right to you. I'm Dave Sulecki.

[00:00:23.900] - Dale Spangler

I'm Dale Spangler. And this week's guest is Flat Track racer, race promoter and host of the Tank Slap and podcast, Cory Texter. Moto America is an official sponsor of Pit Pass Moto. Moto America, home of AMA Superbike in North America's premier motorcycle road racing series, features ten rounds and 20 races of the best motorcycle road racing on two wheels. That's seven classes of motorcycle road racing, including Superbike Super Sport Junior Cup, Stock 1000 Twins Cup, and the ever popular King of the Baggers, and Roland Sand Superhuman's. Don't miss a minute of the action with Moto America live, plus video, on demand streaming and get your tickets and a camping spot along with info and a complete schedule@motoamerica.com. Tickets follow Moto America on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for real time series updates and same day race coverage.

[00:01:20.270] - Dave Sulecki

This week's race recap is Moto America round four from Road America Raceway in Superbike Racing. We saw Matthew Sculpts in his first race of the year over a charging petrucci who kind of got bumped around in the class. I think it happened more than once because I think there's some bad blood brewing in this class, but we're going to be watching it until the end of the series. On day two, Cam Peterson takes the wins, so we've got a shake up in the points. Patricki still leads, but Sculps is closing the gap. He's only seven points back, followed by Ganya. He's 25 points back. The former champ is starting to really show his legs. We want to keep an eye also on these BMW riders, PJ. Jacobson and Hector Barbera. These guys are coming on strong, and I think before the season is over, we're going to see a win from one of the BMW guys in Super Sport action.

[00:02:07.200]

On Saturday, it was 16 year old Tyler Scott taking the win for his first Moto America SuperSport race win of his career with the draft pass on Josh Heron to win by point 39 seconds.

[00:02:19.910] - Dale Spangler

And then on Sunday, it was even.

[00:02:21.460]

A bigger surprise when his local racer, Jason Farrell, took a dominant win in wet conditions over upstart Australian Luke Power, while race one winner, Tyler Scott crashed out of the race. What a story for Farrell, though. 46 years of age gets his first Super Sport win. Pretty incredible story that developed on Sunday.

[00:02:42.610] - Dave Sulecki

In King of the Baggers action. All bets were on a Weiman winning the event, and Travis Weiman took the win over his brother, Kyle Wyman, the former champ. Early on in the race, I thought it was going to be Tyler O'Hara, but what a battle. These guys riding on rain tires because of the patchy conditions made for some really touch and go. Hats off to Travis Lyman for winning and Harley Davidson in the Royal Enfield.

[00:03:05.130]

Built train race class. It was Kayleigh Buck who took the pole by nearly 2 seconds and went on to take her second win of the season over Crystal Martinez. However, a crash at the end of the race led to a red flag.

[00:03:16.370] - Dale Spangler

And Bike and Martinez didn't see the.

[00:03:18.490] - Dale Spangler

Red flag, which resulted in both riders being docked their points for their finishes. However, they did still get to keep their wins their win first and second place, but no points. So now it's Jennifer Chancellor now leads the series with 36 points over Jessica.

[00:03:32.900] - Dale Spangler

Martin on 29 points, while Kayleigh Bike.

[00:03:35.710] - Dale Spangler

Drops to third with 25 from her win at VIR.

[00:03:51.690] - Dale Spangler

Our industry spotlight this week focuses on the announcement that the United States ISDE Trophy teams will hold its 8th Annual Golf Tournament Team Fundraiser at Snowshoe Mountain Resort in conjunction with the Snowshoe GNCC on Friday, June 24. This unique golf tournament will assist in the team's efforts to represent the United States at the 2022 running of the International six days enduro in France, August 29 to September 3. All proceeds from the event will go directly to the USA ISDE team to help fund the transportation of American athletes to the prestigious event. For those unable to attend but wishing to contribute to the USA Is de teams. Donations can be made by selecting the Donate option on the online registration form. For more information about how you can get involved, visit gnccraacing.com.

[00:05:02.590] - Dave Sulecki

We'd like to welcome to Pit Pass Moto today Cory Texter. He is number 65, the Fast Aft Racer and the GNG Mission Foods Yamaha and he is a two time Production Twins champion and also host of The Tank Slap and Podcast. And one last thing race promoter. That's a mouthful, Corey. Definitely. Welcome to the show, man.

[00:05:25.850] - Cory Texter

Yeah, thanks for having me. Actually, I'm borrowing number one this year, so anytime I can put a number one on my bike, I'm going to represent it. It feels good to be on. It's been a couple of years since I've been on the show and happy to be back on.

[00:05:40.130] - Dave Sulecki

Yeah, absolutely, man. And as far as your race season goes, I mean, sitting P two on the season, you had a win in Texas. How's it been going for you so far?

[00:05:48.740] - Cory Texter

Yeah, it's been an interesting season for me. We've had some up and downs, a lot of race tracks where we've had to deal with weather and technical track conditions. So it's been a grind for me. It hasn't been easy, but I think we're one point out of the lead right now. I don't really look into that stuff too early in the season. Take it race by race, but we got a win in Texas and then we've been on the podium. I think the last four out of five races we've been on the podium. So we're starting to gain momentum, starting to get comfortable, and it's a long season I've dealt with this before, so just kind of grind them out, give it our best shot and see where that puts us at the end of the year.

[00:06:29.860] - Dave Sulecki

Well, no Doubt with GNG, you've been with these guys for a few years and you guys have a strong program and a proven program, no doubt. And it's great to see the Omaha so competitive. You guys are fast as well. Talk about that relationship with those guys and kind of how that got started for you.

[00:06:44.750] - Cory Texter

Yeah, it's kind of funny. I've talked about it before, but before 2019 I never really had a great team to ride for. I always kind of did it as a private tier, so I never really got that opportunity. I always was like, hey, if I can get on a good bike and a good team, I know I can run with these guys consistently because I showed flashes of it throughout my career, but it wasn't on a weekly basis and a lot of that was just because of the grind of doing it on my own, out of my own van, my own motorcycles. It was challenging. So nobody wanted to ride their bikes prior to that year, so I think I probably wasn't their first pick, but they gave me the call and I definitely took the opportunity and a few months later we won our first championship and followed it up last year with a second title. So it's been a really good opportunity for me, it's just a father and a son. LJ and John, and they're based out of Southern California. They do everything on their own and we get some support from Yamaha, Mission, Foods, Parts Unlimited.

[00:07:46.550] - Cory Texter

So it's been cool. We've taken a really humble program and I've turned it into a championship contender year after year.

[00:07:53.070]

So Corey, it seems like you're one of those guys that just is busy doing stuff all the time. You have so much going on. Your professional racer, race promoter, podcast host and a dad. How do you find time for all this that you have going on in your life?

[00:08:07.170] - Cory Texter

Man, I don't find time. It's crazy. Yeah, there's a lot going on. I promote races like you said, and that's been really cool. That's actually a lot of work. I kind of didn't expect how much work it takes to be a race promoter, but if you're going to do it right, it's a full time job. And the podcast thing has been fun. We do that just for fun. I do it once a week or so. But right now my main priority is racing motorcycles and trying to win another championship. I announced prior to the season this would be my final year in American sidetrack series. So I have a little boy, Cruz, he's four years old and we're focusing on him and his racing. And for me it's just that I've been doing this for so long, I just need a reset right now. I do a lot of different things, but my main priority is just trying to get another championship for my team and for myself. But no, it's cool. I get to do other aspects of the sport and see that side of it. It kind of keeps me level headed and keeps me focused on other things sometimes where I'm not just totally burning myself out on the riding and the training that comes with being a racer.

[00:09:20.290]

Something else I've noticed, too, about you is you seem to have this marketing savvy. You're a racer who really embraces marketing, and it shows like, you have a very professional look, the way you kind of carry yourself, you're good on the microphone. Is marketing something that you just is that kind of like something that you're into, that you enjoy, but for the most part, you just seem like a real student of marketing?

[00:09:42.040] - Cory Texter

Yeah, I appreciate that. No, that was kind of like as I was coming up through the ranks. I have a sister, Shana, who races as well, and she was always the more talented racer, and I wasn't really I mean, I was a good rider, but I didn't really peak until I got older. So to get rides and get sponsors, I learned the marketing side of it so I could get those opportunities because I wasn't doing it based off results. So, yeah, I went to college and got a business degree in marketing and business and kind of just, like, been doing that side of the sport since I was 17. And I just know to make this sport a career or make racing a career in general, especially in this day and age, results don't cut it. Results are cool, and you can get paid contingency and purse money, but to make money, you got to give value to your sponsors. So I look at that, I study things, I listen to podcasts, read books, and I've kind of learned what it takes to kind of market yourself. But now we're at the point now where my results are there, and it's cool that I learned that side of the marketing growing up, but, yeah, equally as important for me right now is getting good results and using that as well to get partners and make money doing this.

[00:10:52.640] - Dave Sulecki

So kind of with that marketing approach in mind and just flat track as a form of racing as a whole, I guess. What do you think flat track racing has to do to kind of bring more of the younger group into the sport to kind of try to grow it? It seems to be on an uptick now, but what else can they do to kind of make the sport more appealing?

[00:11:14.860] - Cory Texter

Oh, man. You got a couple of hours? No, it's going well. They've really stepped up with the TV coverage, and some bigger companies are getting involved, like Mission Foods, and there's a lot of manufacturer support in the 450 singles class. You have KTM, Honda, you have Yamaha support. Same with the super Twins Indian motorcycle. And I know there's a lot of interest. A lot of supercross riders and motivate guys are using flat track as cross training. So, yeah, there's definitely an uptick. We don't have the rider entries that we used to have in the pro ranks. So that's one thing I think. I sort of doing the promotions for my amateur racers, trying to get the amateur involvement and channeling those kids all the way up through the ranks. We have a lot of good amateurs, but making that transition from amateur to pro is really tough and challenging. A lot of kids make that jump, but they only last a year or two, and then they're out of the sport because they're not making this a career. They're unsure of how to transition the hobby into a career. It's good. We were in the X Games a few years, so that gave a lot of exposure on it, and it's going well.

[00:12:28.590] - Cory Texter

Like, from where I started as a professional in 2007 to where we're at now, we're really able to make a lot more money than we were. There's a lot more opportunities in front of you, but at the end of the day, you have those tools in front of you. You got to do the work and use what we have, the TV, package everything else to your advantage and push yourself on social media and kind of help grow the sport. Don't wait for the sport to grow and then take advantage. Grow with the sport. I always think that's important.

[00:12:59.850] - Dave Sulecki

Yeah, that's a good take on things, but I think you hit the nail on the head when you mention the 450 class. All the factory names you mentioned. It seems to me that maybe even ten years ago, there weren't as many of the factory level teams in flat track that there are today. I mean, just mentioned KTM and Honda. They have full factory efforts in Yamaha, should say, as well as Indian and the others, Harley Davidson. But it just seems to be this growth in the sport that's centered around those factories participating.

[00:13:31.820] - Cory Texter

It gives the younger kids something to shoot for, and it's kind of crazy. Most of the factory supported teams are in the 450 class. So I help out a lot of younger kids as a rider coach, and I have an amateur team that I put together that I sponsor. And all these younger kids, I'm telling them, you guys got to work hard and put it together because when you turn 16, you could be a factory rider. And that's just really surreal for some of these kids to even think about. But the opportunity is there for them to make really good money when they turn 16. But the amount of riders that get selected for factory teams, it's very small percentage. So it takes a lot of work, and as a 1415 year old kid, you just want to play video games and sit on TikTok all day. It's hard to get these kids motivated to understand that. And when you have kids that do understand it, you have the Dallas Daniels and you have the Cody Cops, and there's kids that get it, and they're the ones that get rewarded with good rides and good opportunities in a little.

[00:14:35.420]

Bit of a different direction. Corey, I noticed you recently filled the role, quote, rider representative and race control at the Vir Moto America round. So how did that come about and what did that role entail? And is that something maybe you're considering down the road?

[00:14:51.390] - Cory Texter

Yeah, that was awesome. That was a really cool opportunity. Chuck Excellent and Wayne Rainey are friends of mine, and I'm a big follower of Moto America. And Chuck called me up and asked me if I would fill in as the rider rep for Vir. And I was like, Yeah, sure, sounds awesome. And I had no idea what went into being the rider up and race control. I mean, essentially, you're one third of making all the decisions based on the weekend as far as what goes on on the track, all the penalties. I watched the jumpstarts, I was inspecting the track. Anytime a rider or team had any issues, I was their first line of communication. There was a lot to it. I was running around quite a bit. It was a very busy four days meetings and, yeah, it was crazy. The opportunity was amazing. I've learned so much in the past, just being there for that one weekend and down the road. Yeah, I want to stay involved in motorcycle racing and whatever opportunities there, whether it's Flattrack or Moto America or Supercross or anything. Man, I'm a big fan of racing in general, and I've been doing this since I was a baby.

[00:16:05.720] - Cory Texter

My dad was a pro rider, and I was traveling the country with him, just chasing the dream. So definitely want to stay involved. And I really enjoyed my time filling in for Moto America. And what they're doing over there, chuck and Richard and Wayne and, man, they're crushing it. So if there's an opportunity to be involved and help that sport grow and be a part of it, definitely would be something I would consider.

[00:16:28.980]

Well, it seems like it would be a great fit for you. Definitely something to where, who knows, down the road, you could be the right person for the job because all the comments I saw was just nothing but positive saying, you did a great job, and so congrats on that. So looking a little further down the road, though, coming up in the fall, I think you have this event coming up called the Escape the Burg Flat track Race, october 21 22nd. Tell us a little bit more about that. What's your involvement with that event? And how's that race going to take place? What's the cool things happening?

[00:17:01.410] - Cory Texter

Thanks for the opportunity to talk about it, but yeah, as I've mentioned, I promote races now. And basically we were only doing one event a year, the Winter Throw Down, which takes place at Callahan Speedway and Callahan, Florida, every January. And my buddy Andrew Butler, he's actually Cody Cops mechanic on the Factory KTM team. He actually preps the races at Lawrenceburg Speedway, which is a really historic race track just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. Like Nikki Hayden and a bunch of guys kind of cut their teeth there growing up racing there over the years in the amateur ranks. So I talk to Andrew and he's like, hey, man, let's do another event. I was like, well, I guess it's like a week after our season finale, but I don't like to have to ask anything. Whatever I do, I like to put in a full effort. We're going to go to Lawrenceburg Speedway, put on a Corey text and promotions event. Our events are a little bit differently than normal flat track amateur events. We put a lot of work in the kind of given these kids exposure. We do a bunch of live videos throughout the weekend, really Cool Wars sponsors just trying to make it a professionally run event.

[00:18:13.290] - Cory Texter

I saw all these big events in Motocross like Loretta and Freestone and Mini OS, and I'm like, man, we don't have anything like that in flat track. No offense, but the amateur nationals in flat track really were kind of just there wasn't anything special to those events. So trying to give teams and parents and riders something exciting to look forward to at these events and give them some exposure to get them in front of some viewership. And, yeah, it's going to be fun. A lot of really good pro riders are expected to show up and the best amateurs in the world, so it'll be exciting.

[00:18:53.320] - Dave Sulecki

I think it's an awesome concept. And really, that the Winter Throwdown. You're just giving the racers and participants a ton of value, which is really what most race tracks are trying to do, and it's definitely paying off for you. It's cool to see one of the guys in your program as a riding coach is Chris Carr. Obviously, goes without saying, his capabilities and history in the sport just took one of the top tier guys ever. How did that work out for you as far as helping you with your program? Do you see that continuing?

[00:19:22.950] - Cory Texter

I kind of grew up with Chris, actually. My dad was a pro racer. He had a national number for 16 years in flat track. And when Chris was kind of finishing up his career, my dad's dealership, we had a Harley Davidson dealership. We actually sponsored Chris Carr, and he's always been kind of like Uncle Chris to me. We've always grown up together and spent a lot of time with him and toward the end of 2019, I was contending for my first championship, and I was sort of struggling with the mental aspects of being in that position. I was never in a title chase my whole career, and I brought him on as a writer coach, and we had a lot of fun with it. It was cool to have him there with me every weekend and we keep in touch still. I was at his house a few days ago actually hanging out and going through some old photos, and I talked to him usually once a week I'll call him and get some insight on the races. He doesn't really leave his house too much anymore. He sort of enjoys his time with his family, but he watches everything.

[00:20:25.240] - Cory Texter

He's the most analytical guy I've ever met. He's so underrated intelligent. So anytime I need some sort of advice, he's the guy I call. And, yeah, it would be cool to have him back in the sport doing something. There's so much knowledge there that I feel is being kind of under utilized. Just him sitting at home right now, but I bought him pretty often and get some insight. He's a good guy, and in my opinion, he's probably the best to ever do it as far as the most diverse rider, can ride anything. Road racer, flattrack I have a lot of respect for Chris, and we have a really good relationship.

[00:21:01.870] - Dave Sulecki

Corey, we want to take these last few moments, if you don't mind. If there's anybody in your program you want to give a shout out to and where we can find you on social media and such.

[00:21:10.740] - Cory Texter

Yeah, thanks for the opportunity. Yeah, pretty much social media. Pretty easy to find. Cory Texture for most of the channels. Just at Cory texter Cory Texture Racing on Facebook, and you give a shout out to my team, LJ and John at GND Racing and Mission Foods. It's really cool having Mission Foods involved in man, you see Mission Foods in so many parts of the industry right now. Flattrack and Moto America and Drag Race. Mission Foods came on board with me and Stoked to have their support parts, unlimited macro packaging, bell Helmets, Alpine Stars, motor oils, kicker, audio, motion Pro clockworks, just my family and my friends and all the fans who kind of support me year after year. Definitely enjoying the process. And once again, thanks to you guys for the opportunity. It's really cool and honored to be on the show. I've been on a few times, but it's been a couple of years, so it's always good to chat and appreciate the call. Thank you.

[00:22:12.120] - Dave Sulecki

Absolutely. Corey, thanks for coming on. We appreciate your time.

[00:22:14.630] - Cory Texter

Man all right, guys. Cheers. Thank you.

[00:22:30.470] - Dave Sulecki

Thanks again to our guests for being with us today, and thank you for tuning in. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to follow us on your favorite podcast app so you never miss an episode if you have a moment, please rate and review us. We really appreciate it. Make sure you're also following us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and visit fitpassmoto.com, where you can check out our blog and our brand new store where you can get your fifth pass swag.

[00:22:54.960] - Dale Spangler

This has been a production of Evergreen podcasts. A special thank you to Tommy Boy Halverson, producer Leah Longbrake, and audio engineer Eric Koltnow. I'm Dale Spangler.

[00:23:06.450] - Dave Sulecki

And I'm Dave Sulecki. See you next week on Pit pass moto.