12/06/2002: Finally, the season I thought would never end has ended! Jeff and I slogged it out in a cold, steady rain at the GNF while Scott was off in Anaheim wining and dining Michael Eisner under the guise of "work". I think too much time in the desert has made him fearful of the water that falls right out of the sky. Fabulous Brian J Nelson pictures of this phenomenon here. We finished 2nd in class, 10th overall and for the first time all year, the A bike motor did not blow up during a race. But it's a case of too little, too late, I say. Anybody wanna buy a Suzuki? Road Atlanta results. And here are the complete class championship points and overall championship points for 2002.

Now, looking ahead, the tentative 2003 schedule is out and it looks like fun. Could there be hope for the future? Stay tuned as NOTB riders Melissa Berkoff and Scott Fisher (a.k.a. the Usual Suspects) team up with 2002 WERA National Challenge triple-champion and new expert Jeff Walker (you asked for it Jeff, now you're one of us, it's official!) and Brand Y middleweight contender for the 2003 WERA National Endurance series.

9/30/2002: Wow, I suck at keeping this updated. After back-to-back weekends where we experienced the lows (mechanical failure) and highs (winning!) of racing, we had our first interminably long break of the season. An eternity passed between Talladega and Summit, which gave us a nice long time to slowly descend from the post-win exhilaration back into what we know best in this season: mechanical failure. At the Summit Point 6-hour our cam position sensor and cam chain tensioner broke during practice, and a suspicious crash for Scott in the race led me to wonder if the bike hadn't just thrown him off due to an electrical glitch. I just don't know what to think. Summit results.

After another insufferably long interruption we arrived at Texas World Speedway for another 6-hour. I was thrilled to emerge from the van after our 28-hour drive at one of my least favorite tracks. Texas World is one of those NASCAR oval-type tracks with a contrived infield section designed to accomodate the more exciting aspects of racing, i.e. braking, turning, and passing, and it is my personal belief that motorcycles have no business racing at tracks like that. Of course, the poor safety aspect of a big oval surrounded by concrete walls goes without saying. Anyway, we were doing great until about 7 laps into the race when one of our exhaust valve seats fell out of its port. The extent of the resulting destruction was quite impressive - 3 valves broke (I found the head of one in two pieces in the exhaust) and punched a nice big hole in the piston. See photos. We restarted on the B bike and managed to finish 4th in class, 6 laps out of first place. Texas results.

7/10/2002: We're still here, grinding away at the 2002 season despite numerous mechanical setbacks. A quick glance over our results since my last long-ago update shows us 2nd in class and 8th overall at Putnam (results); 10th in class and 36th overall at the VIR Cycle Jam after we break a valve (results); 6th in class and 23rd overall at Roebling after our shift drum bolt falls out and we restart on the backup bike (results); and, finally, WE WON AT TALLADEGA! First in class, 7th overall, after running as high as 3rd overall (results)! See a rare photo of jubilant NOTB riders.

In addition, we've been joined by rookie endurance racer Jeff Walker, A.K.A Walker, Georgia Racer. Jeff met our two main criteria: he's fast, and his wardrobe is made up entirely of black clothes. We accept you, one of us!

4/20/2002: Oh the humanity! Bizarre top-end failure after 3 hours and 20 minutes of the 6-hour at North Florida leaves us crying in the pits. At least now our A bike motor has a proper name: "Bitch". Stay tuned for photos of the holocaust in the head. results.

4/6/2002: The 2002 inaugural race at No Problem Raceway is abbreviated by a red flag, leaving us fourth in class. Results here.

3/22/2002: Neighbor of the Beast tests with Army of Darkness at Talladega - we drove down to Alabama with the new bikes to dust the cobwebs off the riders and shake down the machinery. Read the press release on Roadracingworld.com here. View the exciting action shots from Talladega here.

1/29/2002: Two new bikes for 2002, and two new teammates. Neighbor of the Beast welcomes 'N Sync lead singer Ty-Stranger Thorsen back for special appearances at Roebling Road and Summit Point, and "retired" Army of Darkness legend John Donnelly for special appearances at North Florida and Texas World this year, as we prepare our onslaught on the 2002 WERA National Endurance Series Middleweight Superstock crown. Read the press release on RoadracingWorld.com here.

News from the 2001 endurance season is now here.

Neighbor of the Beast in Roadracing World Magazine

Letters from the Belly of the Beast columns:

October 2002
May 2002
December 2001
April 2001
December 2000
November 2000
September 2000
August 2000

Riding three AMA Supersport bikes at the Dunlop D208 Press Intro: These Guys Are Nuts (Sep 2002)

Melissa covers the Suzuki Formula Hayabusa Racecar Intro (June 2002)

Neighbor of the Beast teams up once again with Army of Darkness for the 2002 Open Class Racetrack Shootout

Curing Shiftless GSX-R Racebikes (April 2002)

Melissa tests the 2001 Ducati 996R at Valencia, Spain for Roadracing World

Ducati's Automatic Shift System (May 2001)

Neighbor of the Beast teams up with Army of Darkness at the 2001 Daytona 600