Spring 2000 5/2000 6/2000 7/2000 8/2000 9/2000 10/2000 Current News
5/28/00 I swear my car must be magnetic. I was running 4th in the heat, making a run around the 3rd place guy in turn 3 when he moves up a lane. Once again I hop his right rear and head for the wall. I was able to keep it going and made it back up to 6th by the finish. When we checked the front end out after, there was a bent shock tower and two pinched brake lines, which we replaced. While running the pace laps for the feature I was trying to warm up my brakes and the pedal went to the floor. I dropped to the pits as they threw the green and the field took off without me. As the cars came through 3 and 4, Hawley Smith rolled his car over. This gave the crew enough time to give me some brake fluid and try and bleed the brakes. Turns out the brake line on the side that I replaces was loose, allowing all the fluid to leak out. I get maybe half a pedal before they go to green again. I drop in at the rear of the field and start to try to figure out how to drive the car with about half a brake pedal and the floor pan and pedal covered with brake fluid, making things very slippery. After about 4 laps I start to find a little rhythm and move up through the field. All I need is a caution, but we end up going straight through to the checkered flag. I finish 12th.5/18/00
Well I guess there's not too much I can say about Saturday. Pretty much had my head up my butt. Instead of practicing what I preach, I got all racey and have a pretty poor result to show for it. Because of all the rain, the track was pretty slippery. The good news was that my car was very good, while most others were sliding around pretty bad. I started the first feature in 15th and by the time I got to the 2nd turn it was all over. It looked like one of the guys on the front row lost it going into one. I dove down low to try and miss it all, and thought I did, when at the last minute a couple of cars dropped down in front of me. Ended up taking out the front axle and all the radius rods. There were no heat races this week, the top 15 were getting handicapped by points so we had a little extra time to get the car back together. Started the 2nd feature in 20th! For some reason Howie decided to throw the top 3 in each consi into the handicap. At the drop of the green I start to make some progress, trying to be a little more patient this time. I'm following Sparky Lowe up through and it looks like I'm making decent progress. I head into 3 trying to get under the 77s but he moves down and takes my lane away. I move up a lane to take a run at him on the outside and apparently don't leave enough room. He moves up just a bit and I end up hopping his wheel and going for a little ride. Fortunately I end up keeping it off the wall. Unfortunately when the car lands it shoves the fan through the radiator ending our night. So we have a little more work to do this week.
5/11/00 I could get used to this just maintenance stuff during the week. :) Spent a good portion of the week doing trailer maintenance. Saturday was an iffy lookin' deal with lots of heavy clouds. I'm beginning to get pretty comfortable in the car, and it show in the heat race. I start last, get a couple of breaks in traffic and end up coming across the line 1st. Unfortunately the sky opens up before we can get the feature in so there'll be double features next week. Sunday found us towing to Utica-Rome for the 100 lap DIRT 358 race. They put us out on the track for warm-ups about 30 cars at a time. It was pretty much a joke as far as trying to get a feel for the track. I pull 7th out of the can for the 2nd heat. I try a hero move on the inside on the start, but can't pull it off coming out of 2 and fall in around 7th. The car isn't working at all, way too loose. We end up 9th or so, putting me 12th in the consi. We throw everything but the kitchen sink at the car to tighten it up. Right from the green I start to make a little headway. The car is much better. I head into turn 1 on lap 3, trying to put a move under the guy in front of me, when the car in front of both of us starts to spin. I head low to miss him but he must have rolled down the track from where I first saw him and I end up hitting him a ton. I end up crushing the right side of the car, nearly breaking the rearend in half and possibly bending the rear clip.. So unfortunately what could have been a very easy week, has turned into a major work load leaving us to wonder if we'll be able to get the car as good as it was for the 'Valley this weekend.5/6/00
Saturday arrived as probably the nicest day of the year so far. Family obligations had me running around like crazy for most of the day, but we managed to make it to the track on time. Once again the car is decent in warm-ups, but we're not any faster than anyone else. I start 8th in the heat and make it up to 5th by the checkers. You could have covered the top 5 with a blanket, it was that tight. I spend the time between the heat and the feature thinking about how to make the car a little bit better. Fortunately Bryan had his eye on me during the heat and was able to give me some insight as to where I might be lacking. A couple of last minute adjustments just before the feature left me wondering if the car would be better or worse. Things get a little busy for the first couple of laps, we end up getting a few cautions helping me move up from my 13th starting spot. It isn't long before I'm able to tell that the changes we made were the right ones. I catch a few breaks, missing a few jingles and move into the top 5. For the first time in 3 weeks the car is good on the bottom and the top. A few laps later I'm dicing it out with Stan Jablonka for the lead and from that point on we were in good shape. I cross the finish line a good half a straight ahead of Sparky Lowe who was running in 2nd.