First Lady of ICE

By Mandy Brodil Cervantes

Hey everyone! It’s Mandy Brodil, #62 of J&M Racing. Three knee surgeries (from an EDT National wreck) and the birth of my daughter slowed my racing career down a little bit in the past four years but I’m excited to say that I’m back at it!

Last year marked my initial comeback to the Ice Speedway Championship Series. After getting my feet wet and finishing a respectable 5th, I am fortunate enough to go back on tour in my attempt to regain the title as, World Champion while documenting it all on ATV Scene.

They deemed “WAR ON ICE” the slogan for the 2010-2011 World Cup ICE Championship Series. After competing at round one this past weekend I would say that’s probably the most fitting title for the championship chase ever.

On Friday, J&M Racing (my dad Jeff and I) arrived in gloomy Des Moines, IA. We met up with some old racing buddies who live in the area for some lunch then headed to the hotel for the evening. Saturday morning came up on us quickly and it was time to head down to the Wells Fargo Arena, set up our pit area and check out the track. After getting the quads ready and polished, it was time to sit around and wait for the rider’s meeting.

Up until this point I was feeling pretty good, I was looking sharp in my new Answer racing gear, hair done and lipstick on. When it was time to draw numbers, it was announced there were 25 racers and I was at the tail end of the line for gate selection. My luck, I chose a 3 and 4 position which are probably the two worst spots possible. My nerves set in and it was time to go race against the best field of competitors I have seen in all the years I’ve been involved with this sport.

 In my first heat I pulled the holeshot on my 1986 Curtis Sparks Racing Honda TRX250R. Going into the first turn I was met by a mammoth front tire. What I mean by this is the guy mounted a big rear tire to the front right of his quad. I suppose that was used in the name of “better traction” but I tend to think that big tire is meant to push other riders out of his way. After fighting back and forth through turns one and two, we headed down the back straight where that same lovely tire shoved me out of the way again in turn three. The hit was hard enough to knock my right hand off the handlebars. Before I knew it I was riding my nerf bar. Remarkably I was able to save myself and finish the race. In all of my frustration, I let the only other 250R on the track pass me for third in the last corner before the checkered flag. I guess I was more interested in the race being over instead of protecting my line.

My dad, Jeff Brodil #56, was the next heat out. He pulled the holeshot from pole position and it was smooth sailing for all four laps. Ryan Kaufman who has been dubbed “The Rebel” on the track received a sampling of his own aggressive riding style when Justin Ebbing passed him for the lead. Kaufman had no problem showing his displeasure when he pinned the gas and ran up on Ebbing after the checkered flag. Dan Jensen who is also a veteran on the ICE circuit went his entire heat race being banged by Rich Schoeberl who hasn’t competed since 2008.

 All that was going through my head was, “Oh goodness, this is only the first race of the season, people are going out there like it’s the make-it-or-break-it race for the championship”. I thought everyone needed to stay calm, there were plenty of races left. That was of course until I was unfortunate enough to start on the wall against the same sprint car styled quad that was in my first heat. I kept telling myself, “Holeshot Mandy so he can’t ram you out of the first corner”. Jensen was first into the corner and I was second. It stayed that way until turn one on the final lap when I went from being pitched sideways for the turn, to facing the wall courtesy of the same gentleman who I had contact with before. I looked down and saw that same front/rear tire growling up at me, only this time he rammed me hard enough for us to stay connected with no chance of salvaging a good position. As soon as I was hit I knew that took me out of the last chance qualifier (LCQ) and that my night was over. I immediately reacted, drove up to the #57 where I too showed my irritation and the whole crowd knew it. I guess I shouldn’t throw stones if I live in a glass house!

The rest of the heats were uneventful until the last one of the evening. After four restarts, the Harley Davidson powered ATV got a flat tire and Justin McGilton had to quickly hop on his teammate’s ATV because of all the contact. McGilton started from the penalty line and powered his way to the front. The top four from the LCQ transferred to the finale.

It was main event time and since I wasn’t a part of it it was my job to cheer on my teammate who started on the front row. The gate went up and it was a clean start through the dreaded first corner, my dad came out of it in third. This was short lived however, because soonafter he was slammed to the wall and lost three spots. Mayhem pursued between many racers behind the leaders. Steve Palmer of Des Moines, IA who won both of his heats lead the first few laps of the main with a nice cushion to second place until his chain broke sending him to the infield. Justin Ebbing inherited the lead where he stayed until the checkered flag was waived.

Although my night seemed like a failure, I reflected back during my flight home and realized that the second heat race sparked something that I haven’t felt in a long time. I now have an extra burst of determination and dedication to winning. Most importantly, being the aggressive, fearless racer that gave me my “Wild Child” nickname. I guess you can say that I’ve officially had the dust knocked off and that first race back is behind me. Now I’m ready to compete again
st the greatest racers on ICE all vying for the coveted 2011 World Championship!

Points after Round 1:
Justin Ebbing 62
Justin McGilton 51
Dan Jensen 47
EricVanderploeg 47
Jeff Brodil-J&M 36
Rich Schoeberl 31
Steve Palmer 25
Ryan Kaufman 18
Chuck Calvert 16
Ryan Jensen 16

Next Stop: November 20th Toledo, OH and November 27th Augusta, GA
Next Report: Coverage on Round 2 and hopefully a sneak peak on the latest project I was part of!

Mandy Brodil Facebook
www.icespeedway.com

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