RASE athletes (left to right) Zaria Martens, Morgan Monroe, Hannah Lange and Jaycee Jones
Giving Tuesday 2023 !
November 28, 2023
Dear @followers,
Today is #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving - and together we can do even more to help our younger flat track athletes.
Today, our goal is 100 donors to contribute to the RASE Safety Assistance 2024 Safety Grant program.
The Safety Grant is designed to recognize the young athletes in the sport of flat track. It is designed to help these precious kids better understand safety, even in a dangerous sport, by helping them purchase the best safety equipment, helmets, neck restraints, inflation vests, boots, etc. Injuries minimized, and perhaps the lives saved, through the use of state of the art safety gear is why RASE Safety Assistance exists.
For those that may not what RASE S.A. is, it is my family’s effort joined by others in the flat track community to raise the level of safety and awareness in the sport of flat track.
RASE (Recreational Action Sports Entertainment LLC – pronounced like “race”) existed as a sideline business for me...because I love motorcycling and the sport of flat track. My primary business was Midland Claims Service, a multiple generation independent claims adjusting and administration company. RASE was a wonderful stress escape and fun as heck. We promoted motorcycle tourism to Montana. Billings is only a couple of hours from the fabled Yellowstone Park, Custer Battlefield, Pompey's Pillar and many other internationally recognized destinations.
We also promoted flat track races in Billings, Stugis and Gillette, including an AMA Grand National in Billings in 2008 and two Steve Nace All Star National Flat Track series events. How cool was it to see some of the greatest in the sport racing on our tracks here in Billings, Montana. In town for those races included many of my long time heroes, like Kenny Coolbeth, Brian Smith, Chris Carr, Jake Johnson, Joe Kopp, Hank Wiles, Jared Mees, Schnabel, King, Halbert, Texter, Lawrence, Wood and Varnes. Without creating the RASE entity, Montana would never have seen these superstars of our sport in person.
RASEers Hanna Lange and Charlotte Kainz
Parallel with the promotion side of the business, I also sponsored a few young athletes that I thought had potential in the sport AND were good human beings. These included a few local racers, and a list of racers that I am so proud of including:
- Alex Sandoval
- Amy McCoy
- Austin Luczak
- Ben Lowe
- Ben Ludlow
- Billy Ross
- Brandon J Olson
- Brandon Newman
- Braxton Ragan
- Bri Hazen
- Brian Lehfeldt
- Briar Bauman
- Cameron Smith
- Chad Cose
- Chad Kenyon
- Charlotte Kainz
- Chris Clutter
- Dan Ingram
- Daniel J. Bromley Racing, Inc.
- David Wiggin
- Devin Wenz
- Gage Smith
- Hannah Lange
- J.R. Addison
- Jake Mataya
- James Ott
- Jaycee Brooks
- Jaycee Jones
- Kyle VanConant
- Kyle Venable
- Logan McGrane
- Mark Tepper
- Mike Vital
- Miranda Soderstrom
- Morgan Monroe
- Morgan Nottingham
- Nick Mataya
- James Ott
- Parker Norris
- Shayna Texter
- Stevi Smith
- Tiffany Sloan
- Treygan Birdsong
- Tristan T. Avery
- Tyler Raggio
- Wyatt Anderson
- Wyatt Maguire
- Zach Bailey Racing
- Zaria Martens
I am so proud of these young people. Some have continued racing locally, others have moved to the national series and others have retired, married and had children. Without RASE and my interest in flat track, I'd never have met these fine young people from all across the United States.
From 2003 through last year, we personally funded over $100,000 in support for young athletes. As I was told by someone close to me, I could probably have built a house for how much time and money I’ve put towards the sport of flat track. With nothing expected in return. I don’t sell motorcycles or any products whatsoever. I’m a claims guy that is good at helping people get through the workers’ compensation system…that loves flat track.
So what changed?
In 2005, resulting from an on-track incident in Sturgis SD, I sustained a broken neck, back, all ribs and a serious brain bleed / TBI. I have no memory from June through September that year. I didn’t know it at the time, but the neck restraint that I was wearing saved my life. As far as safety equipment, I was irresponsible. Unfortunately, I didn’t recognize the differences in quality and, to save a couple hundred dollars, was wearing a helmet that failed upon impact.
Would a different helmet have reduced the level of injury? I’m not an engineer, so I really don’t know about the immediate injury (brain bleed, concussion). However, with the follow on internal skull damage that has since developed, a permanent, non-operable condition which led directly to my retirement from racing and riding, the physicians at Mayo Clinic where fairly confident that a lesser transfer of force from the ground to the internal skull / inner ear structure would likely have not resulted in the permanent condition that I have called Superior Semi-Circular Canal Dehiscence. In essence, the bone structure that separates the inner ear from the brain cavity is gone bilaterally. I need not go into the symptoms other than to say it is no fun. To this day I remain astounded that I did not have the very best available helmet on. Budget versus safety should never be in a flat track racer’s thinking.
Beyond my own personal experience, there were two incidents that very much shaped my focus upon the mission of making flat track safer for our young people.
We lost one of our favorite RASE sponsored riders Charlotte Kainz in an on-track incident in California. She had been to Billings with her father and Dominic Colindrez for our annual “on the way to Sturgis” races shortly before the race at Calistoga. We had a great event, I’ll never forget the breakfast we shared the next morning. Shortly after that memorable breakfast, Dom was paralyzed in an incident and CK was killed in a different incident. It touched all of us involved with RASE.
And then some time later, during a race in the Midwest, another RASE sponsored rider was severely injured in an on-track incident. Parker Norris, a rising star, was crushed when he was run over by another rider on the track. Through a miracle of physician skill, advanced technology and the thousands of prayers by the flat track community…the touch of God…Parker somehow survived.
Again, I’m not an engineer. However, I’ve seen tens of thousands of injuries in my professional work in the workers’ compensation claims area. When my experience views these two incidents, I have to conclude that, while perhaps not eliminating the injuries, air bag suits would have lessened the damage to their bodies. This left me with the nagging question that literally kept me up at night:
Why can’t we do better for the young people competing in the inherently dangerous sport of flat track?
We can. And that led to the creation of the IRS approved charity RASE Safety Assistance. RASE S.A. is about:
MISSION
Reduce injuries in motorsports with emphasis upon amateur and professional flat track motorcycle racing.
VISON
By providing funding for and access to the best safety equipment available, assist athletes to pursue their competition goals and dreams while minimizing the likelihood of injury in the event of an incident.
VALUES
- Transparent
- Integrity
- Supportive
Our mission is much larger than I or we can accomplish alone. We can't do this without you! Here's how you can help:
> Give. Go to https://www.rasesafetyassistance.org/donate and donate electronically. Or, if you are more comfortable ‘old school’, you can send us a check directly at the address at the bottom of this message.
Every dollar donated goes directly to our program/mission…directly to young flat track athletes. We keep nothing from donations, all administration costs of the charity are covered directly by me and my family. This is a mission that we were inspired to embark upon by surviving the 2005 incident through the touch of God’s hand directly. To spread the mission broadly we need YOUR HELP. Every young flat track athlete should have the best safety equipment possible. Help us achieve that vision.
> Spread the word. Encourage your friends and family to join you in creating a real impact on November 28 #GivingTuesday and in the month before Christmas by sharing what our mission means to you and why you support our organization.
Make sure to use #RASESafetyAssistance and #RASE on X, Instagram and Facebook, and tag us so we can reshare your excitement for the young people of our sport!
Thank you for being a part of the RASE Safety Assistance team. With a little help from each of you, we can make a world of motorcycle flat track more exciting AND safe for our beloved young athletes.
RASE Safety Assistance
Michael J. Marsh
PO Box 20151
Billings, MT 59104
(406) 860-8001