7-26-08

In a nutshell! Qualified 8th won our heat of 4 yippee! on lap 6 of the main we were trying to pass for the lead. Went into 3 to hard and spun. So, from the rear moved up 2 spots in a lap and a half. Went into 3 and hit Troy's oil slick and into the wall. Went off for a water leak and came back on the track to finish 5th. Fell to 3rd in points 6 points out of second.

One long day!

7-19-08

There is nothing like having your hands full in a race car. We were so loose I was surprised that we made it through the night with out incident.

During hot laps the car was all over the place. So we paid a visit to the 33 and 46 teams to get some spacers and a spring rubber. This helped some but not very much. We also had a new tire on the right rear with only 1 heat cycle on it so, it wasn't up to size either. We made the adjustments and then sat and waited for qualifying.

In qualifying I held on to it for the first lap for a 15.1 and then the second it broke loose and it was a 15.6. This put us 8th in time and second row inside of the 2nd heat. In the heat we sat in second and I should have just stayed there. But, I can't, I am the type of person who doesn't bag. If I can pass the car in front of me I will. So, I just jump to the outside and I couldn't get it to stick at all to save my life. So, we drop back down to third and sit. I tried several times to get under the cars in front of me but, the 24 was hugging the bottom really good and really never gave me an opportunity.

In the main we started outside 3rd row. we managed to get down to the bottom rather quickly and then I went back outside to get by the 29 to try and take 2nd place. After a couple laps I really wasn't making any progress and I couldn't drop back down because the 8 moved in and filled the hole I left. What really surprised me was going into one and 2 the 8 just started driving into me to get me out of the 2nd groove. If he would have been patient I was slowly going backwards anyways. So, of course I get passed by 2 or 3 cars before I could get back down. We sat ther for awhile until we caught back up to the 8 and the 29. The 8 went outside to pass the 29 and I slide right up under him and made the pass for 6th. In was last attempt to pass the 29 I went outside. I had my hands full for what seemed like an eternity but I managed to pass him and finished the race in 5th.

We moved up to 2nd in the points but lost some ground to the 39.

Is it just me or has everybody noticed how bad the officiating has been lately? Any more I just sit and scratch my head. There is no consistency at all. At times I wonder if someone isn't trying to get fired. I better stop there before I get fined.......


See ya Saturday!

My Space

I now have a Myspace page thanks to my Rosie and Kelly. The link is on the right hand side.

Big THANKS

I want to shout out a big thanks to Gary Cortese for helping us with parts so we can stay in contention.

7-5-08

I really don't know where to start. I guess the good news first.

We qualified 6th and won the Dash from the pole giving us 2 dash wins so far this season.

Now the fun stuff.

We start the main inside 6th row behind the 33 (Moo man). We take the green and go through 1 and 2 with no problems. As we go in to 3 the 8 (Mills) comes down and hits the right front tire crushes in the fender and rips the nose free. To show my displeasure I thought I would give him a little shot out of 4. Nothing new everyone has done this at some point. Except we end up locking bumpers. So, we head down the front stretch and I let up a little and I feel the pull on my car telling me we are hooked. I then decided I would drop into 1 early to try and free the car. One problem, Mills turned before I did. So, the obvious happens and he spins. I go to take my place at the back and to my to amazement there was the black flag. To say I was upset was an understatement. I didn't know that hooking bumpers was considered rough driving.

In the pits I am approached by Mr. Sparks and after being very good at listening to me and letting me blow off some steam, I explain to him what happened. Later on he came back to me and said that Mills' story was pretty close to what I had said. What really added to my disgusted over the officiating is I had a 10 year old kid come up and he asks "Why did you get black flagged for hooking bumpers?" I am sorry but something is seriously wrong with the officiating when a 10 yr old kid can make the right call and a group of adults with far more racing experience can't. Even the car behind us said we got screwed. He knew we were hooked and he backed up some because of it.

I had fans coming up afterwards asking the same question. It is sad to just think of a fan knowing what they are seeing and the guys getting paid for that same purpose don't. Then, one of my crew members comes over and says one of the late models "intentionally" took out another car and was sent to the rear.

When I left the track I saw Robert and in civil manor and a calm voice I asked if he had time to talk. In a very defensive and rude voice i get "Sure, what do we have to talk about." I told him we hooked bumpers and so on. The reply was just amazing. He told me he saw it then didn't see it and he saw it. Needless to say I just walked off. There was even other people standing there and I am sure they were amazed at your rambling.

The body posturing and the tone of voice combined with the fact you wouldn't look me in the eye tells me that you knew you blew that call. The funny part is that all you had to say was that you missed that call or something along those lines and that would have been the end of it.

Update

Ok, I forgot that they screwed up the points earlier in the season. So, we are in 2nd 1 point out of first.