|
07-20-08 |
|
BUCKET LIST?! |
|
The "bucket list"
was the list of things a guy wanted to do before "kicking the bucket."
It certainly got me to thinking of what I'd like to put on my "bucket list."
I certainly want to see Niagara Falls and Mount Rushmore; take in a CUP race
at Bristol or Richmond (at night), attend the US Nationals NHRA drag race,
watch a TRUCK/NATIONWIDE race at Indianapolis Raceway Park; go to the
great roller coaster park Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio; race at the
Marshalltown Speedway, the Park Jefferson Speedway, and race the Dakota
Classic Modified Tour in the US and Canada. What about you?
What's on your "bucket list?"
dfr87n@yahoo.com . |
|
|
|
SEVEN WONDERS? |
|
Speaking of the
bucket list, I thought I'd see what the 7 wonders of the US were. I
found a link with the 7 wonders of the US, and the 7 wonders of each state.
I have taken in the 7 wonders of my state, WOO HOO! Do you know
what the wonders of your state are?
http://7wonders.usa.googlepages.com/ |
|
|
|
T-SHIRTS?! |
|
For some reason
requests for t-shirts has gone through the roof these last couple of weeks.
The sad news is I am sold out of 2007 shirts, and I have no plans for 2008
shirts. T-shirts normally run close to $2000 when it is all said
and done and while I do try and sell them to recoup the damages, I simply am
not in a position right now to put out that kind of money. I
know many of you are grossly disappointed and upset that I have no shirts,
but there's not much I can do! Sorry! :(
|
|
|
|
LEARN A NEW
LANGUAGE! |
|
 |
Ever thought of
learning a new language?
It's never too late. Click the image at the left and learn
some basic Chinese expressions to help you get through your day!
Enjoy......and remember to practice! |
|
|
|
|
GOT CLEARANCE? |
|
Not a great way of
starting your 4th of July camping trip! OUCH!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=gbJE42VaoO8 |
|
|
|
NEED RACE
RESULTS?! |
|
Some tracks are
going to a new computer software that enables them to upload results to the
net instantly. The site is Speednet Direct.
You can view results from MANY tracks and SEVERAL different touring series
by visiting
http://www.speednetdirect.com . Check it out, it's
pretty cool! |
|
|
|
FAN ENTRY
DRAWING! |
Congrats to Walter
Greener for winning the most recent Dan Fan Entry drawing!
Walter wins a free NASCAR shirt of his choice. Walt
had 8 entries in the drawing while 6 other players had 10 entries in the
drawing. Way to go Walt! Want in on the next drawing?
Earn some entries here! Earn ENTRIES!
FREE ENTRY HERE! |
|
|
|
THE ROAD IS
ROUGH |
|
Being on the road
is tough. Not only do you have to stay in unfamiliar places, you
do not get much rest, and you do not have good access to a decent meal.
Fast food, snacks from the convenience stores, track food.
It all takes its toll on the body. By Saturday evening I was
starting to feel it. I had a terrible head ache just after the
heat race and just couldn't shake it. By feature time I was
walked wounded trying to use cold rags to chill my head and ease the pain.
I made it through the feature and by the time I reached the hotel I had to
"pray to the porcelain gods" for a while before heading off to bed.
By 1/2 way home on Sunday I was feeling better. |
|
|
|
WHO? WHO? |
|
Following the races
in Battle Mountain I swung by the park to let the dogs run for a while.
As we exited the truck we heard a large bird screeching. After
looking around we realized there was a very large owl checking out the
little dog Dorey from high atop the light pole. She's only 13
pounds and could easily be scooped up by the owl. So we scooped
her up and got out of there. But I did take a few minutes to
check out the owl as I have never seen one in person. Kind of
cool and I didn't know we had them in Nevada. |
|
|
|
07-14-08 |
|
DAN FANS UNITE,
DAN FOR PRES! |
|
Little did I know
about the dedication of those "Dan Fans" out there. Seems
a grassroots effort is underway to elect me to the big office!
Yep, Dan Fitzgerald for President is in full force! Check out
the following news clip regarding the Dan Fitzgerald phenomenon.
http://www.news3online.com/ What do you think?
|
|
|
|
JUST FOLLOWING
DIRECTIONS! |
|
While out and about
this last week I had an opportunity to follow the rules and someone caught
me in the act! Whoops! Check it out!
FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS |
|
|
|
WALKER LAKE! |
 |
 |
It has been a
while since I raced in Fallon, but I traveled home from Lovelock through
Fallon. Along the way you pass by Walker Lake.
We stopped for photos and got creeped out as well!
|
 |
 |
Good thing no one
suffers from Arachnophobia as not only was the sign covered in them, the
guard rail on the roadside housed at least 20 spiders every 3 or 4 feet.
Creepy! |
|
|
|
|
07-06-08 |
|
IT'S NICE TO BE
APPRECIATED!! |
 |
 |
It's so nice to be
appreciated! One of the box racers, Donald, greeted me at
the fence on Saturday with the nicest note. He's a man of
few words, but he spoke volumes in his letter to me. It was
so great to read and know that he had taken the time to write it!
Thanks Donald! |
|
|
|
|
06-26-08 |
|
COOL YOUNG FAN! |
 |
I've been
fortunate enough to win more than my fair share of races. So
unless it's a special event, I try to give the trophy to someone at the
fence. The last time I won at Mohave Valley Raceway I handed
the trophy to a young man at the fence. In the pits this
last race at MVR I was handed this cool note thanking me for the trophy!
Very cool. Check it out! |
|
|
|
|
WORKIN' AT THE
CAR WASH....YEAH! |
|
Check out the
PHOTO OF THE WEEK! |
|
|
|
FAN
POINTS/ENTRIES..... |
|
I admit it, I
dropped the ball. The fan points, which turned into fan entries
for the drawing, haven't been taken care of consistently at all.
My apologies to all the fans out there who enjoyed answering the questions.
Well I have kept the entries earned for May and will add them to those
earned in late June and all of July for the next drawing!
Good luck! FAN ENTRY QUESTIONS
Get a free entry! FREE |
|
|
|
RELIEF! |
|
Death Valley
Raceway has decided to give racers and fans some relief from the blistering
summer temperatures by taking the months of July and August off.
Temperatures in the one-teens are just too warm to expect everyone to deal
with. So the race on Saturday will be the last race there
until September when they start back up with milder temperatures expected.
Mohave Valley Raceway is still racing in July and August. I'm not sure
how I will fill those open dates but do appreciate DVR taking the hot months
off. |
|
|
|
LATE SEASON
RACES |
|
I've began
searching out some late season races as those have always been favorites of
mine. One that I really wanted to attend is on the same weekend
as the NHRA drag races here in town. My family and friends have
always enjoyed those, so I cannot attend that event. However I
do have a couple of events penciled in. The first weekend in
October I plan on attending the two day show in Fallon, NV.
In mid-November I will be attending, of course, the Duel in the Desert at
LVMS. Thanksgiving weekend I will be attending the Turkey
Classic in Victorville, CA. I will most likely schedule in
one more show for late in the year but have not decided which one to attend.
I have the option of racing a two-day show in Bakersfield in early October
or a two-day show in Arizona the weekend after the Duel in the Desert.
I look forward to it! |
|
|
|
DO YOU KNOW JACK
SCHMIDT? |
|
This Tuesday and
Wednesday I climbed back in the Richard Petty Driving Experience cars and,
as always, had a great time. The people are always excited to be
out there and really help give me perspective on things in my own life and
racing. Helps clear the mind. It's also fun to help
make people's dreams come true. This lady was in tears to be
riding in the "Tony Stewart" car with me. While working
there is some on-track instruction that goes on. During one of
my "van rides" I came across a guest named "Jack Schmidt." So
while people can accuse me of not knowing Jack Schmidt, I actually do know
Jack Schmidt! |
|
|
|
REST IN PEACE
SCOTT KALITTA! |
|
|
I've been a drag
racing fan for most of my life. I even spent most of my teen years
drag racing our family dragster.
This last Saturday, Scott Kalitta was killed when his Funny Car exploded
into flames and ran off the end of the track. Ironically he
was killed at the track where he ran his very first race.
When I was about 8 years old Scott's father Connie (right) took me into
his pit and took a photo with me holding a tube in which they calculated
the % of nitro methane in the car. I was also a huge fan of
Dick LaHaie (left) when he himself raced. When LaHaie
retired he became the crew chief for Scott Kalitta. I then
became a Scott fan. Rest in peace Scott! |
|
|
|
|
06-22-08 |
|
LOSE SOMETHING?! |
|
Check out this
week's PHOTO OF THE WEEK! |
|
|
|
NORMAL SUNDAY! |
|
This was a pretty
normal weekend actually. I got home from the races at 2:00am and
just couldn't wind down. So after trying to lay down I was back
up and unloading the car and taking the trailer back. By 4:00am
I was in bed for the "night." Back up at 6:30am and watched a
little tv and caught up with some race results online. By 7:30 I
was outside washing the car. By 9:00 I was done washing and
inside. Worked on the MVR website publishing results and
calculating the points for the site. By 10:00 I received the
photos and updated those. Went to the store for some household
items and met up with mom for "brunch." Caught a little of the
CUP race on tv before heading out to a birthday party. Got home
around 6:00 and worked on my site some. It's finally 11:00pm and
I'm ready to drop! Just a few more items and I'll be ready for
bed. Busy days! |
|
|
|
COOL GRAPHICS! |
 |
 |
While surfing the
net the other night I came across these cool photos. They
actually took a couple of glances before I realized what it was.
The graphics on the car make it look like the side was tore off.
But it isn't tore up at all! VERY COOL! Thumbs
up! Click for a larger view. |
|
|
Photos by
raceimages.net & photofinishphotos.com |
|
IT FINALLY
HAPPENED! |
 |
Since starting the
box races I have often worried about something "bad" happening in the
heat and what I would do if the car needed repair during "intermission."
It happened on Saturday. But the crew shooed me away and off
I went to do the box races. (They like it better when I'm
not around! haha) Sure enough, there was a great group of
youngsters excited to race! Thanks to my team for filling in
while I ran the box races. Aren't they cool??
|
|
|
Photo courtesy J
& E Photography,
http://www.jephotos.photoreflect.com |
|
ROUGH COUPLE OF
WEEKS! |
|
It has been a rough
couple of weeks, mentally. With Father's Day last weekend I
struggled some and this week would have been my dad's 58th birthday.
I miss my dad and realize every day how much he taught me and how much I
relied on him for advice. That's gone and it's all on my
shoulders now. It isn't easy and there have been times where I
wanted to just give in, throw in the towel. Life's not
fair, life is too short, and I need to learn to enjoy things more and to
take less for granted. We all should. |
|
|
|
KICKING
MYSELF.... |
|
I'm really kicking
myself for not going to Harvick Night in Bakersfield, CA on Thursday night.
Kevin was racing a modified against the locals. I actually
watched Harvick race when he was just 16 years old, before he was "Kevin
Harvick." It was neat to see someone who raced at my local
tracks (pavement) make it to the big leagues. Since moving up I
followed Harvick and am a fan. (No I don't need to hear if you
aren't or don't agree). Ummm, I am also a fan club member!
(haha, don't tell anyone). I was getting texts from
a friend who was there and every time I got one I thought, "Damn, I should
be there." |
|
|
|
IT WASN'T JUST
ME! |
|
I'm sure some will
think I'm just "whining" about getting dumped on Saturday. So be
it. But the odd thing is I wasn't the only one dumped. As
I watched the Super Stock heat in front of me and the Super Stock feature I
actually thought I relived the same moment. I saw two cars get
into it with one spinning in the heat and then I saw the same two cars get
into it with the same car spinning in the feature. Both times
they were going for the checkered. No penalty was handed down to
either car.
Interesting. Guess if it is going for the checkered it is every
man / woman for themselves.
Mental note!
|
|
|
|
NOT FAIR TO
THEM! |
|
Why do other teams
think it is necessary to approach my team / family / friends and discuss
things that happen on the track. They don't control the car, I do.
So if you have something to discuss, don't rake them over the coals, talk to
me. Contrary to the NASCAR commercials, they do not have a
remote making me do anything on the track. (Might be nice if they did)
When there is a problem on the track isn't it pretty obvious that each team
will defend their own driver and see it their own way? So why
even bother discussing something that is destined to end in an argument?
DUH! Sheesh! Let it go or talk to me. |
|
|
|
06-15-08 |
|
PHOTO OF THE
WEEK! |
|
Check out the
latest PHOTO OF THE WEEK!
What do you think?
dfr87n@yahoo.com |
|
|
|
HOW MANY??! |
|
|
This weekend David
Murray of Oberlin, Kansas and a fellow BMS modified driver won his
400th, yes 400th IMCA sanctioned feature win. Holy cow!
However having watched David race at many different tracks, he is always
up front no matter who he is competing against or where he is running.
Amazing and congrats!
It looks like I have 269 more sanctioned wins to go! Give me
time.....a LOT of time.....a LOT of time. haha |
|
|
|
|
LAZY DAY? |
|
|
It was already
100° when I pushed the car out of the trailer and took the trailer back
to my parent's house. As I work on things here in the computer
room the dogs are reminding me that a day off is sometimes good!
Might just take the day off and wash the car tomorrow.
I know what they plan on doing today! haha.
PS Yes that is a set of headers in my computer room. What can I
say? |
|
|
|
|
CROSSROADS! |
|
|
The racing
situation has weighed on me for a while. I'm sort of at a
crossroads as I am tired of doing the weekly, local stuff, but I cannot
afford to do what I want to do. I would like to be racing
the big shows that everyone else is, it's just too tight with money.
So it's either stop racing or do the local stuff for now.
Part of me is thinking I need to just bite the bullet and hit the road a
little bit. If I think about the $$$ I'm always going to
talk myself out of it. So maybe I should just go.
Don't get me wrong, I love the local fans and enjoy the tracks, the
competitors, etc. There's just something about 50 car fields
and $1000 to win that gets the competitive juices flowing.
I know, quit whining and just race! |
|
|
|
|
LUCKY OR GOOD?
LUCKY FOR SURE! |
|
The more I look
into the race last weekend at Mohave Valley Raceway, the more I realize that
we were INCREDIBLY lucky to finish, let alone win. We first had
the issue of water filling up the rear two cylinders and locking up the
motor before line up. Then at home I realize that the left rear
top link on the 4-bar had backed off and was just hanging, not connected to
the birdcage. (I
know some of you have no idea what that means).
So the car was a 4-bar if you count that the brake floater and bottom link
were still connected. It does make sense though as I thought the
car went away a little at the end. But sometimes it's hard to
"complain" to the crew when you bring the trophy back to the pit right?
|
|
|
|
CLAIM TO FAME!
LOL |
|
While perusing the
web the other night I hopped onto the Wild West Modified Tour website.
It always has a ton of neat info on it and it seems that webmater, Chase
Hansen, is just as into stats as I am. Since the tour is in
northern Nevada this weekend he has some Nevada stats. Since
I've only run one full season at each of the tracks up there I was
pleasantly surprised to find that I am the all-time modified feature win
leader at 2 of the 3 tracks. I am 2nd in all-time feature wins
at Winnemucca and first at Summit Raceway & Battle Mountain.
I trail Robert Miller of Gardnerville, NV by 1 feature win at the Winnmeucca
track 9-8. I thought it was cool. |
|
|
|
06-11-08 |
|
ENJOYING THE
VIEW! |
|
|
Following the race
at Mohave Valley Raceway on Saturday I packed up and headed out on a
mini-vacation with friends. Headed to San Diego to take in
the Zoo, the Wild Animal Park, Sea World, and the beach.
Enjoyed the cool weather by roaming the parks, trolling the boardwalk
midway, riding a beachfront roller coaster, and taking in a beachfront
restaurant for breakfast. The view from the table was
very cool!
Photos from the trip! SD TRIP
PHOTOS |
|
|
|
|
SITE STAYS! |
|
It's obvious, the
site is bigger than just me! haha. Fans, friends,
sponsors, and competitors alike let me knwo that the site needed to stay.
I admit it was a one-sided decision to shut it down. Since I'm
the one who gets all the emails, good AND bad, it gets tough.
I'm sure Kyle Busch doesn't filter through his own hate-mail, and even if he
does, he's got millions of dollars to fall back on to forget it all.
I have....well.....myself! So it does get hard continuing to
keep going even when people can be so hateful and rude. But,
again, I do realize it is important for sponsors, friends, fans, and family
to keep up to date when so far away. So the site will remain
with the results, photos, games, etc. Enjoy! |
|
|
|
THICKER SKIN
NEEDED! |
|
It's been obvious
for some time that I simply need thicker skin. The hate-mails,
the comments of other racers, etc have, at times, gotten to me a bit.
When my dad passed away a few predicted my own demise as a racer.
They doubted my ability to run the car on my own and said it was a matter of
time before I fell by the wayside as an "also-ran." Several
people who used to talk to me have since stopped talking to me altogether.
While it hasn't been easy to do, the team has done very well at giving more
than their best effort every weekend. That's all I can ask for.
Whether I do turn into an "also-ran" or not, remains to be seen.
However, at least I have many accomplishments to look back on and say,
"remember when." :) I really do need to
just focus on the positive and keep on, but I am human and at times it's
hard not to have things hit you hard. |
|
|
|
ALL-STAR VOTING! |
|
While it is very
cool to be on the ballot and I am honored to have so many dedicated fans who
go all out to get me voted in every year, I have to ask that you spare your
vote for me this season. I simply cannot make it to the
Supernationals in September. It's a toss-up between "impossible"
and "just not gonna happen." I heard from IMCA that my fans were
already out in full force so I thought it necessary to put this out there.
Please use your vote for another deserving driver. A vote FOR
someone is all I ask. 'Tis better to root for someone than
against, so use your vote for some other great driver. The list is
full of them! Have fun! |
|
|
|
SEND IT HERE!
|
|
Friends in Iowa and
the surrounding areas are bracing for even more flooding as rains pound the
area again today. They have had their fill of rain that's for
sure. Homes are being washed away, basements filled with water,
sewers backing up. Incredible. But they are all
hanging in there. Staying strong! We are all hoping
for the best. They do have my permission to send some of that
rain out this way! I have forgotten what it is like to see rain.
In honor of those suffering, I posted my own flood experience pic as the
Photo of the Week! Click here! |
|
|
|
CAN MODIFIEDS
FLOAT? |
Here are a couple
of photos of a track under water in Iowa! No racing cars
here.....boats, maybe!
 |
|
|
|
MOD MUTTS? |
|
|
My dogs were
nominated for and were chosen as the "Mod Mutts" for the July issue of
Dirt Modified magazine! Dusty, Daisy, and Dorey have
been to more race tracks than most people and are always on the road.
Dusty is normally shot-gun, Daisy is in her "house" (the sleeper on the
truck), and Dorey is back and forth trying to be in everyone's business.
I also have some quotes in the June 2008 issue of Speedway Illustrated.
The quotes were taken at the IMCA Supernationals a couple of years ago,
but they just made it into the magazine.
I'm sure you can't wait to see what exciting knowledge I had to share
right?! haha
|
|
|
|
|
06-01-08 |
|
GOOD LIFE SPAN! |
|
Thanks to Jim
O'Hanley and O'Hanley's 9-inch rear ends, we have a fresh set of gears in
the car and made it through another night. Jim was able to get
us the gears we needed for both cars and the replacement gear for the orange
car came in on Friday. The gears that came out (broken) were not
a set belonging to Jim. In fact, the gears that came out were
assembled by my father in June of 2002. It's obvious we got our
money's worth out of those gears as they saw many laps at many different
tracks. |
|
|
|
COUNT GOT YA
DOWN?! |
|
At first the lack
of cars at the track was getting me down. I love to compete and
when I do I want it to be against large fields of talented drivers.
That's what competition is all about. I knew this year I wanted
to race closer to home but with everything that has happened this year,
coupled with the cost of travel, I have been relegated to home tracks.
But after finding this quote,
"Do what you can with
what you've got wherever you are." ~ Theodore Roosevelt ~
I quickly
changed my tune. I'm doing all I can and the rest isn't up to me.
I am just going to have fun and enjoy the moment. Even if the
cars aren't there, the fans are, and they came to see some action.
|
|
|
|
CUP 'O
EXPERIENCE ANYONE? |
|
NASCAR driver Kevin
Harvick is going to be onhand at Bakersfield Speedway in California on
Thursday June 19 competing in an IMCA modified race paying $1500 to win.
Many people have emailed and spoke to me in person about going.
It is a once in a lifetime experience that's for sure. I'm just
not sure what to do. I originally thought I would be attending some of
the Wild West Tour races in Northern Nevada, but a CA trip sounds fun too.
I do have a lone feature win at Bakersfield Speedway from back in the day.
We'll see. |
|
|
|
NEW VS. OLD? |
|
I've actually had a
few people ask me if I still had two cars. The answer is yes.
I have the "old" car chassis #431 and the new chassis #530. They
both have the same graphic scheme but one has red with yellow on top, and
the other has red with orange on top. There are other
differences, but from a glance, that's how you tell. |
|
|
|
MEET AND GREET |
|
Since I was
awaiting delivery of the new gears this week, I decided to take the old car
to the meet and greet in Pahrump. It is finally running again
after some mechanical issues and parts failures so it was easier to load it
up and go. I flew solo up there as everyone was working and it
was too hot to take the dogs Blake did drive up later to help me load
up afterwards. I drove like an old man up there and back and
saved a ton of gas. Used up only 1/4 of a tank! Got
to meet up with some fans that I have only chatted with via email as well as
some long lost friends from the Pahrump track as well as those from the sand
drags. All in all it was an amazing event. Thanks
for inviting me! |
|
|
|
VINYL GALLERY /
PRICING ADDED! |
|
"Gas money
graphics" is ready for your orders! LOL. I have
added a gallery and some pricing for the vinyl offerings I have.
Check it out and let me know if you need anything!
VINYL OFFERINGS |
|
|
|
05-30-08 |
|
NOW AND
THEN......SCARY! |
|
Check out the
latest Photo(s) of the week!
PHOTO OF THE
WEEK! |
|
|
|
NOT TOO MUCH
LONGER! |
|
School is almost
out for the summer! YIPPEE! Just one more full day
and three half-days of Final Exams to go. It's always sad to see
the kids go and move on, but it's also nice to call it a year and regroup
for another group of students next school year. |
|
|
|
IN CAR CAMERA? |
|
The last couple of
races we have tried out an in-car camera. I checked with the
IMCA brass and they said "above the deck and facing forward." So it
is. The race at Death Valley last time came out pretty good, but
I took the lead on the opening lap and there wasn't much to watch aside from
the track going by over and over. We again put it in for the
feature at MVR which would have been a great video had I erased the previous
video from the memory card. So since I didn't, I got to see two
minutes of me waiting in staging to go out. Whoops!
|
|
|
|
MORE IN CAR
CAMERA |
|
Fellow racer
Rick Durica has his in-car video program going strong and I make a guest
appearance on his 5-10-08 MVR heat race video. Check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ziEA12LoNY |
|
|
|
I'D TAKE SOME OF
THAT! |
|
I was reading about
gas prices the other day, checking out where it is the cheapest, and I came
across an article that said Exxon was making about $1,146 per second last
year. Holy cow, I'd like to make $1 per second and I'd be happy!
Even at $1 per second I would be making $31,536,000 a year. At a
dollar per minute I would be making a cool $525,600 per year.
I'd take that, no complaints. |
|
|
|
IS IT TIME? |
|
I don't know if I
am bored or if I am just getting boring. Racing locally
alternating tracks every weekend is fun, but I almost feel like I have
already done that sort of thing. We are doing well and having
fun, but it just isn't me. I think almost everyone is getting
sort of bored with me and with the racing. Site stats are down
and things are sort of ho-hum these days. That coupled with the
fact that I am now maintaining 6 sites full-time are leading me to the tough
decision of stopping the site and going a little more low-key.
It's fun to maintain, but if I am not doing anything exciting, is it really
worth keeping up? Just seems like it's boring. Who
knows, we'll see. |
|
|
|
05-26-08 |
|
LUCKY "BREAK" |
|
|
We were LUCKY on
Saturday!
I noticed a vibration and a loss of power over the last few laps of the
race. The oil pressure and water temperature were fine and
the motor sounded fine as well.
As I stopped at the flagstand there was a noise and I was pretty sure it
was drivetrain. We've been fighting issues with the driveline
rubbing on the top link mount so I thought it was that.
Turns out the pinion gear came apart. The pieces were everywhere.
We were LUCKY! |
|
|
|
|
05-25-08 |
|
BUSY WEEK! |
|
This week really
took it out of me. I had a meeting after school, clear across
town, on Wednesday night. It was about the administering of the
district wide final exams. Then on Thursday I came home from
school and loaded up to display the car for our annual Award's Night.
I was asked to wear my firesuit and shoes and give a speech to the students
and parents comparing a race season with that of a school year.
It wasn't as difficult as I thought. The feedback was very
positive. On Friday I dropped like dead weight and was asleep by
7:00pm. I needed the rest. |
|
|
|
BLOCKED IN-N-OUT |
 |
As I came home
with the trailer on Thursday I found the entrance to my neighborhood
blocked by cones. All except this 5 foot wide strip at a 90°
angle to the main street. Like I was going to turn a 40 foot
trailer in at that angle. So needless to say I mowed down
more than one of the cones. (Don't tell anyone!)
Then, of course, I had to return the favor to get out of the
neighborhood. All in all I think I mowed down a total of 7
cones. Not too bad. I've been in come compromising
positions with the trailer over the years, but none that tight.
Only one neighbor witnessed my "mowing." hehe |
|
|
|
|
AUTOGRAPH CARDS,
MEET & GREET! |
|
|
In preparation for
the upcoming "meet & greet" in Pahrump for Death Valley Raceway, I had
J & E Photography
come up with some signature cards for the kids and fans.
They turned out great and I am excited to hand them out this coming
Friday at the Pahrump Nugget in Pahrump, NV.
The event is from 6:00-10:00pm in the parking lot. Should be
a great time. See you there! |
|
|
|
|
MATH PROBLEM! |
|
At the Award's
Night for school, a student and her family came up to say hello and chat for
a moment. They handed me a card with a math problem on the front
of it. It says, "If a train leaves New York at 7:00pm for Las
Vegas traveling at 300 mph, what time will it arrive in Las Vegas."
On the back is the answer.....click here to see the answer!
ANSWER |
|
|
|
05-19-08 |
|
MEET AND GREET! |
|
Death Valley
Raceway is holding a meet and greet for drivers and fans next Friday, May 30
in the Nugget parking lot from 6:00pm to 10:00pm. Come on out
and see the cars, visit with fans and drivers, and enjoy some great
entertainment. We hope to see you all there!
|
|
|
|
IT'S BEEN A
WHILE! |
|
There is a chance I
will be expanding my schedule to include some out of town events soon.
The first stop just might end up being a little track that I haven't visited
for a few years. It recently underwent a little face lift and I
have yet to experience the "newness" of the track. Only time
will tell. Stay tuned. |
|
|
|
THAT'S HOT! |
|
It's here!
The "excessive heat" warnings were scrolling along the bottom of the tv
screens here yesterday as temperatures swelled to 106 degrees outside.
It was difficult to keep the car wet while washing it and I have a little
bit of pink on my shoulders as well. My green monster that I
drive to work has NO AIR so I was sweating like crazy coming home in my
school clothes. But just another 11 days of work, so that's a
good thing. Tomorrow is supposed to be another record setting
day for May, 107 degrees. WARM! |
|
|
|
SMILE! |
|
This weekend we
experimented with a video camera in the car. I first emailed the
powers that be at IMCA to make sure it was ok. As long as it was
above the deck and facing forward I was given the ok. I've had
the camera for a couple of months, just hadn't put it in. Well
this weekend we did. The video is great, even has sound.
The bad news is that we had it running for a long time and I don't have the
software needed to edit it. I also took the lead coming off turn
2 on the opening lap, so there is a lot of open race track to view.
Yawn! Maybe someday I'll be able to put some footage on
the site for you to see. |
|
|
|
IF IT ISN'T
BROKE? |
|
It was actually
pretty funny when Jerry Jr and Blake found the bad spark plug on Saturday
night. Jerry noticed the plugs were pretty bad and asked when I
had last changed them. I hadn't changed them since 2006 when I
put the motor in the car. It ran last season and this season
with the same plugs in it. Needless to say he suggested we
replace the whole lot of them since we had new ones in our plug box.
The car ran very well in the feature, even if I was a little embarrassed
that the plugs were so old. But hey, I got my money's worth.
|
|
|
|
TRACK PACKER? |
|
I'll admit that the
thought of having to race at Aztec Speedway in New Mexico really had an
impact on my not following the Wild West Modified Tour this season.
When I was there in August we packed the track for a miserable 75 minutes
and worked tirelessly to try and remove the sloppy mess from the car |
