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Once again the rain has washed away this weekend's festivities.  We'll see how we fare weather-wise for Tuesday's day at the track for the sponsors...

The rain out last week did not allow us to try the rocker arm change that we made last week, so I was looking forward to see if it would make a difference.  I guess I would have to say they might have been a little bit better, but nothing dramatic.  It's apparent even in early warm-ups that the track is going to be pretty slick.  It's me and Artie picking up the rear in the first heat race.   Looks like I may have been a little too conservative the first couple of laps, the guys in front of me were just erratic enough that I didn't feel comfortable trying to pass them on the top.  And when I tried them on the bottom I kept having to check up when it looked like they were gonna spin.  I go from 10th to 6th by the finish.  Once again the fine folks at the 'Valley graced us with fast warm-ups, and I don't know about anyone else, but it's making a big difference in being comfortable with the changes that we are making for the feature.  Fortunately those changes definitely made the car better in the feature.  I was supposed to roll off 16th, but someone in the outside row didn't make the start so it was 14th.  There was a caution right off the bat, and I gained a couple of spots after a lengthy caution to realign the field.  The next few laps we got in some real hard racing moving towards the front.  On lap 8 someone lost it in turn 4 a few cars in front of me and I get collected when the guy behind me doesn't check up and turns me around.  Another lengthy caution to unhook me and the other guy, I get towed to the pits to change a flat tire.  3 laps after the restart there's a major dust cloud on the front stretch.  I get on the brakes a little too hard trying to avoid the mess and end up spinning to the inside.  Once again I restart from the rear and now have about 8 laps to make something out of this whole mess.   I finally get my rhythm going on the bottom a little bit and start making some progress towards the front.  I run out of time, ending up 10th, not a bad effort considering the challenges of the evening.  And on a much more positive note, Jack bagged the USNA race at Susquehanna Saturday night, dominating the last 3/4 of the race.   Hopefully they'll have the luck they need today to repeat the performance at Bridgeport!  :)

Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain,Rain.   Looks like I should have gone to Mercer.  :)  New pics on the pic page...

More changes this week in the motor program, still looking to make things better at the low end.  New headers and a serious carburetor tune up ended up improving things a little bit, but we still need to get better.  I start 8th in a tougher than usual heat race.  Track conditions made the competition pretty stiff.  I make enough progress to get up to 5th.  I start the feature in 11th, and before we get to the backstretch, turn 2 looks like a parking lot.  I thought for a second that I might miss it, I ended up plowing into someone.   Fortunately the rest of the field missed me and there was no apparent damage that affected the car.  :)  I restart at the rear of the field and start to get busy.   By lap 10 I'm in 9th, but it's getting tougher, all the fast guys have found their way to the front.  I grab 8th from Roy, but lose it on the next restart.  We spend the rest of the race virtually wheel to wheel until the last lap, when he gets a great run and actually gets to 6th, passing Sparky at the line.  I end up 8th, and pretty happy about it considering what could have happened. 

We started this week off with some changes to the valve train looking for some more bottom end.  We also try some different chassis stuff, looking to be better in the slick part at the middle part of the track.  I roll off 10th in the second heat, with the sun right in everyone's eyes down the backstretch.  The first few laps were pretty crazy, I end up trailing Artie up through the pack.  On the 2nd or 3rd lap there was a pretty big jingle in Turn 4 that I was able to mostly miss, just clipping someone with my back bumper.  I end up 2nd.   That puts me 13th in the feature.  I get a great run on the original start, but at the end of lap 1, going into the first turn, I try to hook the inside berm and have a great run going.  But George closed the door and I have to get out of the gas, causing me to push up the track, losing any of the spots I gained in the beginning.   A couple of laps later I get a good run going on George down the backstretch as he follows another car.  I just about get to his door when he turns hard left into me as he tried to get around the car he was following.  I end up going for a ride, spinning 2 or 3 times as I head towards the infield barriers.  Fortunately nearly everyone misses me, I get tagged a little bit as I come to rest at the inside of the track.   After a quick visit to the pits for a LR wheel, I rejoin on lap 5 at the end of the pack.  Next restart Artie gets turned around and now it's me and him heading for the front.  We have 15 laps to get it done, but the best we can do is 6th and 7th.

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