Critical Mass Racing

We're moving

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:55:00 +0000

I will no longer be posting on this blog. My driver blog can be seen at www.Myspace.com/Drjacksonfeelgood and all team info can be seen at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Critical-Mass-Racing/60898651311?ref=nf

Update

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:50:00 +0000

We have the new car. There is still some debate over which car to run. I think the old one is shot and should be crushed. Bill wants to use it and save the new car for next season. I will post a few pics when I can.

New season approaches

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:09:00 +0000

I would like to welcome back Strickland Flooring for the 09 season. This will be Stricklands 4th year sponsoring the team. This coming season we will be bringing out a new car. The old car was to damaged to the point it was going to cost the same either way. The team will also have two Hornets joining us. Carl Martin (20) and David Vandresser (88). Should make for an exciting season.

In other team news, we have begun the start up of the 100 mph Heroes Foundation. The goal of the foundation is to assist families and individuals with medical needs with transportation assistance. As with all charities, we rely on donations to fund the program. I will announce more on this when we have a plan to set in motion.

That's all for now. See at the swap meet.

What! It better be made of gold!

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:47:00 +0000

Well, I was in the market for a new car to run the 09 season. But, evidently there has been a lot crack smoking going on in the class. I just find it hard to buy a rolling chassis less engine for $3500- $4000 grand. Especially ones that are unproven. I guess maybe I should sell mine with engine for $8000? I mean really, it's a proven winner unlike some. Hell, I think it would be a sweet deal. Then I can build a new car and stick the other $4000 in my pocket.

Lets get real

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:35:00 +0000

Why are we trying to wussify racing?

I mean really, you are going to have fans and crews who are going to cheer for you and those that are going to jump up and down when you wreck or break. It's just part of the sport. I can give you an example. I was watching one of the DVD's and I had won the dash and in the back ground someone yells that I suck. I actually found it rather funny. See the thing is is that I understand how it works. I was raised knowing that nothing is fair. Not everyone is going to like you or cheer for you. You are going to lose and you are going to win. If that dose of reality is what bothers you then I suggest you find something else to do.

It just floors me when I read how this person was cheering when such and such wrecked or what ever. I don't care which angle you approach it. This is a competitive sport and a very passionate one. So, please don't ruin it because Billybob might get a complex.

Yeah! last night

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:18:00 +0000

Congrats to Kyle on your championship and Troy for ROTY.

For the night we timed in at 14.900 and started 2nd in the dash finishing 3rd. For the main we started 11th and DNF'd somewhere. I really didn't bother to look. For the season we finished 7th in points with 2 Dash wins, 3 heat wins and 1 Main win.

The season as a whole was a mixed bag. The disappointing part was leading in 2 Mains and snapping an axle in one and blowing a tire in the other. Finishing those 2 would have shot us right into the middle of the points race. I guess you can sit here and if and but it to death and it really wont change anything.

I can say that I have never seen such bad driving and officiating then I did on Saturday. The driving part I can understand with the points being as close as they were. The officiating to me was just pathetic. For example, I come out of 4 on the start and have the bottom groove and all the sudden the 8 is coming down. My front tire is outside his door and I have position but nope like he always does he keeps coming and spins. So, what happens? I get sent to the rear. How about the 30 and 20 Hornet? The 20 has position going into 1 and backs out as the 30 chops him. Then the same thing going into 3 and this time the 20 doesn't back out. The 30 spins and the 20 goes from passing for 2nd to the rear. I could keep going but I wont.

For the 09 season we will be back in the Streets. I had hoped to move up but I am not going to gamble on the money being there to do so. Our sponsorship with Wish Upon A Hero will continue and we will be starting the 100 mph Foundation to help people pay for automotive repair costs. I will give out more info as this develops.

In closing I would just like to say good luck to those running in Wyoming on the 11th and to those going Sandia and Las Vegas later this month.

Here we go again.

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:20:00 +0000

Man! Someone just shot me and get it over with! LOL

We timed in 10th and won our heat by a country mile. Then fate smiled on us again and put us on the pole for the 50 lap feature.

In the main we stretch out about a straight away lead and slowly the handling starts to go to the loose side. After awhile, the 11 (Dewberry) caught up and I battled him as long as I could until he was outside and I let him go to keep from wrecking both of us. I then followed him since we were still pulling away from everyone. Then on lap 30 something we blew out a tire coming out of two. I tried to move the car to head to the pits for a quick change but, the car wouldn't move leaving me waiting for a tow and the guaranteed damage to my car.

Once in the pits we were done. The tire had wrapped itself around the diff and wasn't coming off with out a fight. We ended up 15th after leading a little over half the race.

Not much else to talk about so, see ya the 27th.

What can you do?

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:48:00 +0000

Man! I really don't know what to say. All I really can do is shake my head and just laugh. Saturday night really just summed up our season. If it wasn't for bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all.

When you sit back and look at the night as a whole, all one can really do is laugh. The car timed in ok at a 15.03 which like usual put us a in the back of a heat race. Then the heat itself took what 4 or 5 restarts just to get the race going? Then, the trip over Gary's front tire. Once things got going we ended up third.

Then the main line ups. I am not even going to comment on that. We go from starting inside 7th row to the pole. I don't even want to figure that one out.

In the main we take off and everything is fine. I think we had about a straight away lead when we came through 3 and found the 93 starting to come out of the infield right in front of us. I snapped the car low to the infield but instead of continuing he stopped and hit him. The car was ok just had some bumper damage. On the restart we started to build our lead back up when the 24 and the 39 tangled and brought out the second caution of the night. During the caution we some how lost our over flow can. I assume it came loose on the hit with the 93. Anyways, we go back to green and again start to build our lead back up. I remember coming out of 4 and checked my mirror and saw we had around a half a straight lead when coming out of 2 the rear lifted and I thought someone hit me. I looked in time to see my right rear tire go bouncing behind me. From there on it was a lot of squealing and the all to familiar sound of hard hits. I guess the one thing that went our way was that no one hit us. We pretty much had that one won. But, I guess it was to good to be true.

We will have the car back out next weekend. Just need to replace the axle and the brake hardware we lost. See ya Saturday.

8-9-08

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:34:00 +0000

Our team would like to send a huge thank you to the 88 team of Kyle Shanahan for the assistance in pulling the frame back out and the parts to put the car back together to run the main.

As of right now I still don't really know what to say. I am still torqued, the damage to the car is extensive and I am not sure if we will be back. All I do know is I lost a lot of respect for a couple drivers and trust me they will never gain it back. I am sure you know who you are and don't bother to contact me as to why. If you are that blind and arrogant to not see then man save some people and find a different hobby.

Due to the tracks lack of time management we were placed by point average. This put us 6th and on the pole for the dash. The car was really loose on exit. I managed to hold on to it for a couple of laps and then on lap 3 I tucked low on the back straight so to give room on the outside and to my amazement people were still trying to get under. So, I decided I would get through 4 pull to the outside and let the field by. I exit four and the car kicks out and just as I start to have it under control I get slammed in the left rear and it sends the car back out and I spin right in front of the field collecting the 11 who had nowhere else to go. This sent the left front frame rail far enough to the right that the steering box jammed the power steering pump, bent the upper control arm, outer tie rod end, brake rotor, and a spindle.

With the help of the 88 team and tweak, we were able to get the car back together in time to make the main. Due to the damage to the car I made my first mistake of asking to start in the rear. I didn't want to have a reply of the dash and knock someone out. In hind sight I should of stayed in my starting position.

We made our way up to 10th and found our selves in 9th when the 6 car (Smith) was sent to the rear. I let him back by on the next lap since I was still playing it semi safe. What amazed me was the battle in front of me between the 6 and the 29. If you wanted to see aggressive driving this was it. To watch a driver with about 3 times the experience as the rest of the field has trying to basically wreck a car just made me sick, and then when confronted in the pits state that you ran clean. Unreal! you better buy a DVD and watch it.

Anyways, eventually we catch up to a pack cars and the 6 moves to the outside behind the 57 and 39. From there I am not sure what happened. I just see the 57 bobble a bit and the 29 checks up and in the process I end up going under the rear of the 29. I have my suspicions as to what happened but now it really doesn't matter.

We will be down on Saturday to spectate, to race?

Just Unloading

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:41:00 +0000

Troy sorry you lost your motor but, welcome to racing.

The "money men" that the track highly covet are the ones cheating.

Flag guy in turn 2. Sorry man I don't know your name but it is obvious that you are out of place. I loved the baulk on the yellow last Saturday during a Hornet race. Your lucky you got it back before you caused a problem.

Thanks to whoever shortened our main by 5 laps. That cost me 1 possibly 2 spot. I am in a points race ya know. Some say it is already decided who the track wants to win. I used to say bullshit to that idea but............. It's not my fault that you want to go home as quick as possible.

It's amazing how a driver can get spun usually once or twice in a main and the yellow comes out. But, some else has the same issue and it doesn't. Then you have a guy who beats the shit out of you to get by and nothing is ever said. Then a guy goes in a little hard bumps somebody and gets warned........

Let me quote the King of milk "We put professional money and effort into these cars to get an amature result." So true!

No matter what name you put on it, clean it, paint it, or change it's clothes. It is still going to be Beacon Hill until the right parts are changed.

7-26-08

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:36:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:41:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:09:00 +0000

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

Big THANKS

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:42:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:27:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:35:00 +0000

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

6-28-07

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:29:00 +0000

Nice hot muggy day. I timed in at 14.998 or in that area. Several people heard 14.849 but, when the times were posted I was 8th at the 14.99. That put us inside 2nd row in the 2nd heat.

In the heat we made 2 attempts to start the race when the 93 jumped the green early. Other then taking us to the green a little on the fast side, I felt he jumped about the same place as everyone else does. I guess the track thought other wise. After the second time Troy was sent to the rear and the 39 dropped into the pole position. We finally got the green and the inside row shot out and we basically ran the race with about 3 car lengths between each car. We finished 2nd.

When you looked at the line up for the main, you could see what was looking like one heck of a race. You had the top 3 in points in the first 3 positions and the the top 10 in time all up front. Unfortunately it really didn't turn out that way. When we took the green everybody lined out. The 39 had the lead followed by the 29, us, 11, 14. This was pretty much it until some where between lap 15 to lap 20 when the 39 cut a tire and the 11 took advantage and jumped outside and started to move forward. I quickly followed suit along with the 14. I managed to hold on to the car for the few remaining laps and finished 2nd.

As of right now the points haven't been posted but, I believe we are in a tie for the lead.

See ya on the 5th!

6-21-08

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:03:00 +0000

We timed in 8th at a 15.15 and started our heat outside second row. During the heat I tried to push the 29 car to help him get by the 21. After a few laps with little movement I fell back into 4th behind the 28. A few laps later I had a good run out of 4 and moved along the inside of the 28 heading into 1. After some contact and the proceeding caution I was sent to the rear. Now I felt that I had position. I had always been told that if I had the door I had position. But, of course this is I25 and hell who knows what they are thinking. I was told the explanation over the PA was that I didn't have a preferred line to make the pass.... Preferred line? What the &^$^ is that. I believe as long as you stayed above the yellow, you can make whatever line you wanted. Anyways, there are no hard feelings towards the 28. It was just racing. We managed to make it back to finish 4th.

In the main we started 13th and slowly worked our way up a few spots when I drove into 3 way to hot and spun the 29. So from the rear with 10 laps left I went on a mission. I drove the living s&#t out of the car and made it back up to 6th and was trying to get by the 33 on the outside on the final lap but ran out of time.

So, this week I will put the bumper back together and piece the nose back on and see you on the 28th.

6-7-08

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:17:00 +0000

The 7th wasn't a super exciting night. We timed in 5th at 15.08 and start the dash on the front row outside.

During the dash we tucked in behind the 24 and just played follow the leader. About three laps in the car became evil and I managed to hold on to it and finished 2nd. In the pits we found a broken sway bar link and that was the source of the handling issues.

For the main we started 4th row outside and Bruce decided to make a few changes and see what happens. He hit on something because that was the best that car has handled so far this season. In the main we managed to run the outside with Mills (8) for a few laps and the car was sticking pretty good. Though we weren't getting any where, we were holding our own. Other then a couple cautions for spins there really wasn't much to the race. We finished 6th and were the lucky recipients of the mystery guest for tech. No biggie there either.

As of right now the points haven't been updated but I believe we went from 5th to 3rd. See ya!

HUH? Say what?

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:39:00 +0000

The last few weekends have had a few DQ's that were questionable to some. So, I posted a few rules that might clear up a few issues or bring some up.

I25 Speedway General Rules:

1T: All racing Vehicles at I25 Speedway are subject to inspection at any time and to any extent or degree, as determined by officials in their sole discretion. The decision regarding a specific race car to be inspected, as well as the timing, scope and extent of any inspection is final and is binding and can not be appealed.

3T: Any vehicle or equipment are subject to the approval of I25 Speedway track officials.

4T: Any vehicle or equipment which does not conform to the specifications and tolerances of these rules and regulations during the season will not be eligible for approval.

5T: Violations not observed during inspection by the track official will not be considered as having been approved.

8T: In the event that tech officials disqualify a car, that driver will not receive points or money for that date.

Really Good Night!

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Tue, 27 May 2008 17:18:00 +0000

Were to start.....

During hot laps we were super loose all around. The first mistake was trying to fix the problem myself..... Yeah that worked wonders! LOL

Bruce had to work late and didn't make it to the track until after we timed in at a 15.2 which was good for 9th. Once he did show up and was told what the car was doing and what I had tried to do to fix it he said "You did what?!?"(Clean version) and just shuck his head and went to start fixing the car.

In the heat we started out in the lead right off the bat and as we went the car slowly loosened back up but, we managed to win the race.

The lighter side of the night was seeing the line up for the main. When you took into account everyone that scratched their time, Rookies, and broke out that left 3 cars from both heat races to put on the front row. It was really funny to watch people trying to make sense of it. When all of the dust settled we were on the outside front row.

In the main we took the lead going into 1 on the first lap and other then some bumper banging and a "Racing incident" that almost put us into the wall and still has people asking "what?" we lead from flag to flag.

Points wise we moved from 7th to 5th.

Good Night

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:50:00 +0000

We got out for hot laps and made it down the front stretch to the exit. When I stepped on the gas the front of the car started shaking. We found a bent brake rotor that we missed when fixing last weeks damage. Thankfully Kyle had a spare rotor and we were able to continue.

In the heat we started inside 2nd row and once the green dropped we started making a run on the outside for the win. I had a good run going down the back stretch and went into 3 and as I turned I lost my power steering. Not a good thing. The return hose had a hole in it and we lost the fluid out of the system. We had enough though to finish 2nd.

In the main we started outside 2nd row. But, as usual in this class I was stuck behind a slower car and was freight trained back to about 10th before I could get down. Through attrition and passing we made up to the top 5 when we were able to get under the 11 and raced him for a few laps when the brake just got hot and I decided to let him by. Then the 33 made his way from the back and I let him slip on by so I didn't cause a wreck.

On the last lap we passed Gary (33) trying to modify his car using the back stretch wall. That moved us back into 6th with one to go and finished in the same spot. We moved to 5th when the 57 failed tech and was DQ'ed.

We moved from 9th in points to 7th.

Nothin a little Bondo wont fix

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:26:00 +0000

The damage is minor. We escaped without bending the frame or any control arms. It is safe to say we will be back out for the 17th.

I would like to thank Gary and Kyle for the body parts. I am still looking for a right front fender but other then that we are in good shape.

Opening night

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Sun, 04 May 2008 21:23:00 +0000

Damn it was cold!

We started off the night in great shape. We qualified 6th and ended up on the pole for the Dash. We won it but were challenged every lap by Bud. If you didn't see it I am sorry because you missed one entertaining race. Again I have to say thanks to Bud for a good clean race.

As for the main. Well, that didn't turn out to well. I was having a good side by side battle with Tim Alma (28) when in turn 2 I spun out and ended up facing the wrong direction. What all happened after that I couldn't tell you. I saw the hit coming and closed my eyes.LOL I thought that I had drove in to hard but was later told that a GAM had lost a motor earlier and ran thru the general area. Once I had time to think about it I think I hit some oil. The car snapped really fast I didn't have anytime to try and catch it which in most cases I do. Either way I hope everyone is ok and can get back out for the next race. I hope we will be.

I will post up dates as we get things figured out.

Waste of fuel

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Jackson Feel Good) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 21:49:00 +0000

Due to the wind and the cold we really didn't accomplish anything on Saturday. The track was cold enough that you couldn't get any heat built up in the tires to make them stick to the track. We ran in the low 15's and should be in the 14's when the weather conditions are better.

No damage or issues to report. So, see ya Saturday!