Race #8 at New Smyrna Speedway
11-25-06

I'm just lost! The season is over and I have to wait until February to race again! This is just wrong!

Man I was just getting the hang of this car and my crew was really starting to find the set up that I liked. It's clear that my motor is getting a little tired and needs some attention so I guess if I'm ever going to run up front I'll have to sit out a few weeks so we can get the car up to where it needs to be but I already feel like it been years since I last got to race... (more)

We didn't touch the car except to clean it after the last race 2 weeks ago. We really didn't expect a lot of cars to show up since it was the last race of the season and it wasn't a points race. Turned out we had 8 cars in our class so it wasn't a bad turn out at all.

A friend I meet at the track and I got to talking a few week ago about vegetarians. I said I thought there should be a special name for those of us that like to eat meat too. She brought me a neat sticker for my car that says "PETA" which stands for People Eating Tasty Animals. I thought it was really cool so I put it on the back of my race car.

We had to wait about an hour for the trucks to finish their practice and then I went out for the first practice of the Late Models. I think a lot of the trucks put prep in their tires because the track was slick from all the goo they were laying down. Still, the car felt pretty good although it was kind off loose off the corners but everybody else seemed to be having the same problem too.

When I came back in we put a few more pounds of air in the left rear tire and when I went back out for the second practice the car was even better. I figured that the track would come in a little bit after the other races so we would be good for the feature if we left the car just as it was.

When I went to check the line up it turned out that they didn't have me on the list. I went in and asked what was going on and it turned out that they forgot another driver too. After they set the line up they had me in 6th on the outside. I looked at the cars and decided that I would be better off dropping to the rear so that I could get to the inside quickly and maybe follow a few of the faster cars to the front. Once we got lined up the car that was supposed to start in 3rd decided that he wanted to drop to the rear so I moved up and wound up starting the race in 5th.

On the start I did my best to stay with the car in front of me but he was faster and got away from me going into turn one. He then slide up the track in between turn one and 2 and almost took out the car that was on his outside. That scattered everybody so I got hard in the gas so I could fill the open spot ahead of me and make up the distance that I had lost on the start. I fell in at 4th while the leaders pulled away pretty quickly but then after just one lap the yellow came out for a car in the back that spun in turn three.

On the re-start a really fast car jumped the start and passed the car behind me in turn 4 and then got around me on the outside going under the flag stand putting me back to 5th. About 2 laps later the 3rd place car hit the wall coming off of turn 2 and then pulled to the inside and left the track so that moved me up to 4th.

For the next 15 laps the 5th place car was all over my bumper doing everything he could to get under me and around me but he didn't have a fast enough car to make the pass. I guess it looked like I was blocking but I was driving the line that was comfortable for me. I was really good in the corners and was coming off a little bit low so he wasn't able to get under me anywhere on the track. I was fast enough that he couldn't get around me on the outside either. It was a really fun 15 laps for me but I was waiting for my dad to come over the radio and tell me to let the guy go because it wouldn't be unusual for a driver to get frustrated and eventually wreck me while trying to get by.

I didn't know it at the time but my head set had come unplugged so I wouldn't have heard him if he had told me to move over but he said that he wanted to but decided to just let me drive. When it came down to the last 3 laps I was ready for him to make a move but I guess he decided that it wasn't worth it so we finished just as we had been racing and I got my best finish of the year. A 4th place.

Once I got back to the trailer I got out and looked and my new PETA sticker and it was all tore up! Oh well. When my dad and my crew chief got back to the trailer they told me that I needed to go and find the driver of that car behind me and thank him for not wrecking me. So, I went looking for him but I didn't know where he was parked. Just as I found him he was pulling out of the track so I never got to tell him thanks.

Well, by the time you read this my motor will be out of the car and on it's way to the motor builder. Over the winter I will be looking for sponsors and going through the car to do some maintenance on the brakes and the drive train. In December we have tickets to go to the PRI Show so I can see what the latest racing stuff is and maybe meet some racing people who would be willing to help me out a little bit. We have enough money now to run the regular racing season at New Smyrna Speedway next year but, if I can get a sponsor or 2, I can run some of the big races like the World Series of Asphalt in February and the Goodyear Challenge Series later in the year. Keep your fingers crossed for me and we'll see you next year!