6/25/05
It was back to the hot weather again this week. We showed up to the track and picked up where we left off. The car was good in warm-ups and we only made slight changes for the heat race. I started last in the heat on the outside row. Fortunately that row took off and I was 3rd coming off of turn 2. A few more laps into it I was able to get to the point. The only changes we made for the feature were new tires and a spring change on the right front. I started 11th and the car felt pretty good. Everyone was fast, but I kept picking the wrong lane. Around lap 5 Artie slipped in front of me coming off of 2, then ducked below the 09 going down the backstretch. I moved low to follow him past the 09, but once Artie cleared him, he turned left across my front end. This happened at the end of the backstretch at full speed and caused me to spin up into the 3rd turn and into the wall hard. We busted up the car pretty good and I managed to bang myself up as well. It was poor judgment on my part to put myself in that position in the first place. So it looks like another long week ahead of us.
6/18/05
Well the weather finally broke this week. Although it threatened to rain most of the day, everything was good to go at the Valley. Warm-ups went well, the car was pretty fast. I started last in the heat and was 4th coming off turn 2 and 2nd coming off of turn 4. I ran the 11m down and managed to pick off the win. We made a few small adjustments for the feature and sat back while the carnage in the other classed took place. Then it was the Sportsman class's turn. I started 15th and on the original start the inside line just wasn't going. I followed the 14 down the front stretch and towards the end I was on the brakes pretty hard. The 14 ducked down low and there was a car spun out right in front of me. I was going slow enough that I didn't get into him too bad, but the next 2 or 3 cars behind me just clobbered me. Once the wreckers peeled all the cars off of me, I was able to drive away. The boys pulled some of the tin back and I went back on the track. Unfortunately I felt something wrong in the rear so I pulled behind the wall to let the boys take a look. They got busy changing the rear panhard bar that had broken and just missed getting me back on the track before the green flew. I hung around the back of the pack once I got back out and managed to pick up a few more positions to finish 17th. Unfortunately the car needs a complete body and there was plenty of damage underneath.
6/11/05
It was another blistering hot weekend, temps in the high 80's and 90's and wicked humid. Plus the track had 358's this week. Right from the start it seemed like everything was going in slow motion. Lots of cautions and wrecks. We changed our base setup again and the car felt pretty good in warm-ups. I started last in the heat and got to follow the 2 guys in front of me racing side by side for about 4 laps. Finally a hole opened up and I was able to get past those 2 plus another to get myself in a handicapped position. We made a few small adjustments for the feature and we were all set. I started 15th in the feature and managed to miss the jingle that brought out the first caution. I did manage to pass two of the cars that were caught in the wreck. We went racing again for a few more laps and I made it up to 9th by the next caution. The car was awesome on the bottom, not so much on the top. The green flew and we passed 3 more before the yellow came out again. I was 6th with a double file restart and almost came out of turn 2 in 3rd, but the car shoved up and Lorne got back by me. I was able to sneak under him the next couple of laps and went after the 95. It took a few more laps but I was able to get by Carmine with 15 down. I set off after the 18 who had check out, but there wasn't enough time left. We got ourselves a nice 2nd place finish for our efforts.
6/4/2005
Soooo....A week ago we managed to get the heats in which got us qualified for this weeks rained out feature. Actually the rain was a good thing for us, we had broken a rocker arm on the first lap of the heat and I was fortunate enough to not cause any major damage in the remaining 6 laps. It was pretty stupid of me to not pull in when I felt it. Anyway, this Saturday was the official beginning of Summer it would seem, with temps in the 80's. The track was wicked slick, so Jimmy and I made some major adjustments, including some stuff that we've never even run before. I started 9th in the first feature and of course got bottled up again. After about 5 laps or so I was able to get free and start passing some cars. It was slow going but I was able to make some decent progress, it was just hard to be patient. The feature ran green till about lap 19. On the restart I was 5th. We took the green and I slipped past the 250 going into 1. Just ahead I could see the 68 and the 117 get together. The 117 got pushed up the track and I ended up 3rd behind the 68 and the J-5. I ran it deep into 3 and was going to cut down under the J-5 but he was taking a run at Artie and got a little loose. I stayed high and got a run on him down to the checkers and we crossed the line in just about a dead heat. After I went over the scales I was notified by the track to go up to the
front stretch. Turns out I had finished 2nd by about an inch and the track had disqualified the 68 for taking out the leader. Unbelievable.
Round 2 had the top 15 in points handicapped for the feature, there were no heat races. We backed out some of the changes we had made earlier and the car seemed pretty good in hot laps. I started the feature 14th and right off the bat the car was too tight off the throttle. Plus there was so much calcium in the track that my shield was getting blacked out about every 5 seconds. So while I was figuring out how I was going to get the car working, I got my butt handed to me by about 3 or 4 cars. After a few laps of backing up I got going, but the track had some pretty good bite and everyone was fast and driving hard. I got up near the top 10 by about halfway and another car made contact with my right rear and gave me a flat. And somehow I ended up getting a left front flat as well. I limped around the track and the guys got my tires changed without me going down a lap. We restarted last with 9 laps to go and I managed to make it back up to 10th before it was all over.