SUMMIT RACEWAY, April 29, 2006 (Day 2)
Finally got to bed around 1am on Friday night (20 hour day) and woke up early to get the dogs out and walked.  By 8am we were at Skip's Radiator shop to get the car washed as we had a 10:00 photo shoot at new sponsor Oak Tree Inn.   Wrapped up the spit shining and high tailed it back to the hotel.   Had a great time meeting the staff and having our photos taken in front of the car, trailer, and hotel.   Even better we were able to give them Friday's trophy for show in the front lobby!   Good timing for the win.     Following the shoot headed over to Matties Bar & Grill to meet up with them.   Mom, Dad, Larry, and Skip ate lunch there as after that it was time for a 1:00 pizza party celebrating Ryan Greenwood's 4th birthday.   Ryan is Blake's nephew.   The kid made out with some serious monster truck, motorcycle, race car stuff.     At 3:00 we headed to the track to get the car prepped for the Saturday portion of the race.   Checked it over for loose/broken suspension components, greased it, went over the motor, etc.   

The track was still rutted but a little bit of dragging that was done on the very soft surface did quite a bit of good.   It was dry for hot laps but they watered heavily before the heats.   I was at the rear of the 1st heat this time and found the track fast in spots and a little greasy in others.   At the green I jumped high and got by a few cars and into the 3rd spot.   Had a run on the top 2 just as the leader pushed and came back down the track exiting turn 2.   The two leaders banged and I jumped to the outside.   2nd place came to a stop in the infield and the yellow waved.   At the green I tried high only to lose ground.   A few laps later I had recovered and made the pass for the lead.    2nd began to pressure back on the inside but I was able to hold on for the win.   They held a $20 buy-in 'Dash for Cash' but I chickened out.   :)    The point average invert found me inside row 5 for the feature race.   With the track looking very fast for the Pro-Stocks in front of us, I was concerned that passing might be tough to do.   On a fast track, everyone is fast.   Since I was starting on the bottom the plan was to work the bottom until I wasn't moving up any longer.    Used the bottom to move up to 7th and then fell back a spot so I quickly jumped up a groove.   Was up to 6th when the first yellow fell a few laps in.   At the green I jumped high again and moved by a car or two.    By the next yellow I surprised myself by already being into the 3rd spot.    Had to work an outside in move on the restart to take over the 2nd spot and settled in to find a way into the lead.   The leader was working a good line and actually got a few car lengths away from me for a few laps before I found the groove my car wanted to run in.   A few restarts later I was able to duck inside the leader coming off turn 2 and into the lead just about the time the crossed flags were displayed to the field.   Heavy traffic soon came into play and I was having a tough time finding the quick way by some.   2nd place was able to stick his nose inside a few times so I knew he was there.   As the race wore on, the track began to black over in places and I had to adjust my line lower and lower until I was riding the low ring for the last 5 or 10 laps.   Just like Friday, a couple of late race yellows made things exciting as it bunched us up but I was able to keep it straight and going forward long enough to win the feature.   WOO HOO!

Thanks again to Mom, Dad, Blake, Skip, Larry, & Tracy for their help and support and to Andy Greenwood for all his work getting our two new sponsors on board, Oak Tree Inn and Matties Bar & Grill!  

 
SUMMIT RACEWAY, April 28, 2006
A full day of work, rush out of the classroom and heading up north to Summit Raceway for their season opener.  My mom and dad took the car up early Friday morning to have it there and ready for my late arrival.  It's a 6 hour trip and it took all of those 6 hours to get there.   Arrived just as the heats were starting.   It was opening night so there was a draw, but I had them request a rear start so I tagged heat 3.    The track was pretty rough but they have had a lot of rain and rain always wreaks havoc with racing surfaces.   I struggled early and then came on strong at the end to finish a close 3rd.   The top 3 of us were right together.   The opening night, draw, redraw had the top 12 finishers from the heats redraw.   I drew 47 and glanced at the other numbers drawn and saw it was the 2nd worst.  OUCH!!   However.......they invert the draw!!  WOO HOO!   Outside row 1.   Made a few changes to the car and lined up for the 25 lap main.   At the green I jumped out to the lead only to have a car spin coming off 4 on lap 1.   Restart.   On the first attempt of a restart I was called for jumping the start.   Warning.   2nd start I had to "behave" and lost the jump to settle into 2nd.   A couple of laps in however I was able to duck under the leader as he pushed coming off turn 2.   Into the lead I went and bouncing through the ruts I went.   Tried and tried to find the best way through the ruts but wasn't having much luck.   By 1/2 way I was getting pressure from behind and on the inside and my left forearm was starting to cramp from holding on to the wheel so hard.   Tried working the cramp out under yellow but it wasn't working too well.   During this time we had a long green flag stretch and began working lapped traffic.   Inside, outside, inside, FUN!   It was then that I was able to gain some breathing room between myself and 2nd place.   A few restarts with a couple of laps remaining kept things tight but I was able to hold off all challengers for the feature win!   Awesome.  

Thanks Mom, Dad, Blake, Skip, Larry and Tracy for their help and support!!   Couldn't have made it up there without the total team effort.  

 
BATTLE MOUNTAIN RACEWAY, April 22, 2006
Once awake at the hotel on Saturday, we headed over to the local park to unload the car and prepare it for the Battle Mountain Raceway opener.   We had some racing damage to do to the right rear quarter panel, then it was on to normal, routine maintenance of the suspension, motor, and trailer.   A couple hours later the car was clean, fueled, greased and ready for action.   Blake, Brandy, and Robert joined us about 30 minutes later and we sat around reliving the action from Friday night.    Another batch of storms rolled in to disrupt the beautiful weather that had stuck around most of the day.   The temperatures dropped quickly and the rain came down in spurts.   Headed to the track and met up with Skip and Larry.    Chose not to hot lap and headed out to for my heat.   Opening night is done on a draw and I drew lucky number 13!   OH FUN!   However the draw earned me the outside pole for the heat.   After a few failed starts, they moved another car to the inside pole.........my old car!!  Talk about strange, racing AGAINST something that I was successful in.   But, get over it right?   The car pushed going for the green as the rains had the Battle Mountain track "bitey-er" (racer-ese for tacky) that I had ever seen it.   Settled into 2nd and wasn't really doing much.   Decided to try a different entry to the turns and it seemed to work as I gained ground on the leader.   A slip high in turn 2 gave me an opening to take the lead.   From there I survived a couple of lapped cars and won the 10 lap heat.   The main event was scheduled for 40.....yes 40, 2 times 20, 4 times 10, 40 laps.   I have NEVER been in a 40 lapper in a dirt car before, so COOL!   I love racing up north as their events are always more laps than what we get down south.    I drew 8 on the redraw which lined me up in the 7th position for the feature.   Top half of the field, but still behind some good cars.   At the green I stuck to the bottom and moved right up to 4th coming off turn 2.   YELLOW.  Darn it!   Back to 7th and again tried to move up using the bottom.   Managed to get into 5th, then 4th and was not going much further once getting there.   Then a few laps in, SURPRISE.   Someone had hit the standing water inside turn 3 and boy did that make for a quick push to the fence.   I know I was puckered as the car flew towards the wall.    Adjusted my line for the next time and the yellow waved.   On the restart I drove around the slick spot and dove low as the 3rd place car slid up to move into 3rd place.   From there it was a pretty even match between the top 3 of us as we stayed about the same distance apart for a while.   As I followed the 2nd place car out of turn 4 I could see we would be encountering a lapped car into 1.   He chose low so I went in high on the lapped car and scared the living heck out of myself in the process.   I did a quick prayer that the car would stick as I hadn't run the outside all night.   WHEW it stuck and I had used the 'pick' to take over the 2nd position.    Some great racing then began for the top spot.   I was crossing over low-high and the leader was going high-low.   It was really fun inside the car and quite a challenge.   Managed to stick my nose under the leader a couple of times but never enough to get the spot.   I finally saw that the low line in turn 3 had dried out enough to race down there without getting the quick push to the fence.   Tried that low line and got a great shot off 4.   About 2 feet short of being side by side we went into turn 1 and ran out of room.    Fell back to 2nd.   Back to the drawing board.    A yellow waved and I was able to try the outside going into turn 1.   It wasn't fast enough so I went back to trying the high low.   Finally a slip high and a good run off 2 for me had us completely side by side into turn 3.    I was in the lead off turn 4.    Had another scary outside move to make on a lapped car and then the yellows waved every 3 or 4 laps for a while.   With every restart I was getting heavy pressure from behind and I knew I was probably in the way of someone.   Decided to hold my line, keep it smooth and let it play out.   Finally the white waved.   Going into turn 1 I felt a slight nudge from behind.   UH OH, he's on my tail!!   Went into turn 3 holding my breath, kept it low, got it turned and jumped off turn 4 for our 2nd win in as many days.   AWESOME!!!    Thank you Dad, Blake, Skip, Larry, Brandy and Robert for their help and support.    That makes 2 wins for mom on her birthday weekend.   Happy Birthday again mom!!   
 
WINNEMUCCA REGIONAL RACEWAY, April 21, 2006
Our 2nd straight Friday night trip to Winnemucca Regional Raceway was being done on my mom's birthday.  Wouldn't you know it, she wasn't able to get off work to go.  :(  BUMMER!   The trip was again made with the threat of rain in the forecast.   Bright, sunny skies when we arrived became cloudy and threatening as race time arrived.   By the time they called to pack the track, the rain was coming down pretty steadily.   For the first time I saw them packing the track while it was raining.   Interesting.   I chose not to pack as I didn't think it was great to have an aircleaner sticking through the hood while the rain was coming down.   After the rain stopped I did head out to do my part packing the track.   Lined up 5th for the heat race but was moved up to 4th when one car failed to make the call.   At the start I jumped into 3rd and made an inside move on the 2nd lap to take the 2nd spot coming out of turn 4.   The leader had already built up a healthy lead and my car was a little tight which wasn't helping matters much.   I wound up running a lower yet sweeping line to free up the car.   As we hit 2 to go the leader approached a lapped car which slowed him down.    His hesitation was enough to allow me to set up the pass on the low side coming out of turn 2.    From there I led the last lap for the heat win.   With the rain sometimes comes unpredictable track conditions and this time was no exception.   The track began breaking apart in places with some very dry dirt underneath.   They watered to help with the dry holes and the other classes had some good track conditions before us.   I lined up 10th for the feature and knew it was going to be a tough 30 lapper.   At the green I managed to dip low and move past a few cars.   By the time the first yellow waved I had used the outside to dip into the 5th position.   From there it was a lot of touch and go racing as yellows interrupted any rhythm I was trying to establish.    A great lap in which I was able to pass 2 cars to move into 3rd was negated by another yellow.   Finally up to third I was able to sneak by and into 2nd coming off turn 2 as my car was hugging the bottom very well.   Looked inside the leader down the front stretch a few times but was never close enough to keep my nose in there.    Finally got the opening I needed out of two and drove it into turn 3 and into the lead.   A yellow came out what seemed like over a lap later, however they said that I was back to 2nd on the restart.   I got a good run off turn 4 going for the green, drove inside the leader and was out in front.   Once in front I had a nice surprise as I rounded turn 2 as a tire was knocked out onto the track from the infield.   Whack I hit it as I had nowhere to go seeing it last second.   Not used to looking down, more used to looking ahead on the track.   The next lap I was looking for it and found it about 4 feet in the racing surface.   I went around it high and as I hit turn 3 the yellow waved.   Managed to survive the remaining laps and won the shortened (25 lap) race.   Happy Birthday MOM!!   Trophy for you!!  WHEW!!   The race took over an hour and I used over 20 gallons of fuel to complete it.   Almost a gallon a lap.   Yikes!    Thanks to Dad, Skip, Larry and Wade for their help and for surviving the incredibly cold temperatures and rain.  
 
PAHRUMP VALLEY SPEEDWAY, April 15, 2006
Hit the road around 8:30am on the way to Pahrump Valley Speedway.   A nice, safe trip found us there about 2:30 and we unloaded the car to perform the normal maintenance.   Upon greasing the LR birdcage on the housing, Blake noticed that the frame had broken due to the pressures of racing in the ruts in Winnemucca.  A few phone calls later and we were headed with fellow racer Ronnie Williams over to fellow racer Leland Hibdon's shop for repairs.   Leland and Ronnie fixed up the car nicely and we headed back to the track to get ready for the evening's action.   Thanks Leland and Ronnie for your help!   We found that we used up about 26 gallons of fuel in the 30 lap race on Friday.   WOAH!   Anyway, the track surface has changed greatly at Pahrump Valley Speedway since my most recent events there in 2005.   Lined up 7th for the heat but started 5th for some reason.   Fell back early just having no idea what I was going out there.   Felt like a huge rookie out there.   The leader spun and there was a scramble to avoid it.   I wound up tagging the tangle at the end and damaged the RR corner of the car.    Managed to get my act together slightly and ran up to 2nd place.   Putting heavy pressure on I took the white flag right up on the leader.   Went low into turn 1 and got a little too excited as I did a 1/2 spin killing the engine.   Darn it!    Restarted at the rear and ran the final lap to finish.    Some quick repairs to the crash damage in the pits and I was ready for the main.   I was actually hoping the track would slow down some for this old man and lucky for me it did.   WHEW!   Lined up 11th in the 21 car field and looked to finish and hold my own.   At the green I just didn't really move up that much.   In fact I was still 11th a couple of yellows in.   I then decided to get a move on.   The car was working great on the bottom as other cars ran several other grooves.   I was up to about 8th place when trying a pass for 7th some contact gave me a flat RF.   The yellow came out right then and I exited the track for repairs.   Mom, Dad, and Blake changed the tire and I was back at the tail of the 20 car line.   YUCK!   In fact the leader was 1/2 way down the back stretch when I got the 1 to go signal from the flagstand.   With a furious charge in and out of traffic I found myself all the way up to the top 10 by the next yellow.    A few yellows later and I was all the way up to 5th place.   After following the cars in front of me for a few laps I decided to dart high when they began getting a little more intense racing one another.   The moved paid off as I got into 4th and slipped by 3rd when he got loose coming off turn 4.   Into third and the caution waves.   Under this caution the 2nd place car and myself could see fuel pouring out of the broken fuel cell of the leader.   Tried to get the attention of officials and they didn't see us.   The lights flashed and we were going green.   Knowing the lead car would run out of fuel soon, it was a chess match to determine where to go while awaiting the leader to slow.   Coming off turn 2 the 2nd place car swerved high and I went low.   As I went low the slowing car tried to get off the track and whacked right into the right side of me putting me into the infield.   I slipped back onto the track in turn 3 but had already lost 2nd place again.   At the next yellow I was in 3rd and made a quick move on the bottom of turn 2 to retake the runner up spot.   Was gaining on the lead car but the white flag waved and I wasn't able to mount a good enough charge on the final lap to win it.   But a win and a runner up on the weekend is GREAT for this team.   Especially after all the drama and aggravation from last weekend.     A great charge from the rear of the field in a limited number of laps.  

Thanks Mom, Dad, Blake, and Kim for their help and support on Saturday!  

 
WINNEMUCCA REGIONAL RACEWAY, April 14, 2006
Hit the road to Winnemucca, NV on Friday morning for the season opener at Winnemucca Regional Raceway.   Old blue took the trip this time as the great white is awaiting an engine.   Threatening skies and cool temperatures met us in the pits as well as 15 other modified teams.   Went out for hot laps and the track was dry but the car was hooked up.   A little too well actually as it began to hike up the LF.  Not quite to great white status but at least 1 foot off the ground quite a ways around the track.   Before the heat the rains came.   It rained for about 25 minutes off and on making for a nicely watered track.    By the time my heat hit the surface the track was in great shape.   Lined up outside pole for the heat race and raced into the lead at the green, never looking back and rarely touching the LF to the ground.   The LF was a sticker tire to begin the evening and you could still see the sticker on the tire after the heat race.   The feature line up placed me 3rd on the grid for the 30-lapper.   Two double file starts yielded false starts before they decided to send us out single file.   With the outside pole sitter causing one of the restarts, I lined up 2nd for the single file start.   Tried using the high side in turn 1 as it was rutted up quite a bit.    Followed the leader for a few laps before finding the opening on a restart.   At the green I jumped lower than the leader and drove by on the front stretch.   Once in the lead there were numerous yellows.   Too many in fact.   It made me a little nervous as I knew the guys behind me were getting multiple chances to try grooves and work on a way around me.   During the middle stages of the race we had a long green flag run where we began lapping cars and I was able to stretch out a decent lead only to have it negated by some more yellows at the end.    About 90 minutes later the race was over and we had our fourth win of the 2006 campaign.  

Racing was finished at 11:30 and we hit the road for an hour drive to the hotel.   About 15 minutes out of town, BOOM a tire popped on the trailer forcing us to pit.   Following a bite to eat at the truck stop we hit the sheets around 2:20am awaiting our 7:30am wake up call to head back for the race at Pahrump Valley Speedway!

Thanks Dad, Blake, Kim, Skip, Larry, Wade, Tracy, and Andy for their help and support in Winnemucca!  

 
MOHAVE VALLEY RACEWAY, April 8, 2006
Following our weekend off as the truck was in the shop being fixed we worked on the set up on the white car to ready for the event at Mohave Valley Raceway.   Not feeling 100%, I contemplated not even making the long haul and actually didn't hook up to the trailer until 30 minutes before our scheduled departure time.   Got to the track a little early and found a nice field of about 18 cars in attendance.  Took the car out for hot laps to see if the dreaded LF would still hike up 3 feet in the air.   To my udder shock, the car didn't lift at all.  An inch maybe at the most.   It drove really smooth and was actually pretty boring to drive.  haha.  But I was pleased, although I was sure I had tamed it a little too much.   Lined up outside row 2 for the heat race and battled to 2nd using the top side and had a great battle with the 18 car until finally finding an opening and going on to my first heat win in the new ride.   Decided to make some changes for the feature to get the car to bite a little harder as it was really soft in the heat race.   Lined up outside row 5 for the feature and battled up to around 6th early.   The bottom was the place to be but everyone was there.   So I moved up to the slicker top side and began fighting hard for spots.   Several times I passed more than one car only to have the yellow negate the pass.   But to my surprise, when it went back green, I was the only one in the top 6 that was trying the top side.   Finally got by the 3 in front of me to move into the 3rd spot.   It was then that I began to think about all the talk and rumors that were flying around the pits.   "Someone's going to claim tonight"....etc, etc.  I contemplated pulling off, falling back, but that's really not my style.   Had a good battle for second that lasted a couple of laps and had one pass negated by another yellow.   Finally got into 2nd and got the yellow I needed to close the gap.   But it just wasn't meant to be on this night as my car wasn't quite good enough to make a run at the leader.    As the cars stopped in the claim area, there was that dreaded extra car and wouldn't you know the 2nd place finisher was the one nabbed.   But then I've been the only one nabbed at Mohave Valley the last few years.   So it was no surprise to me.   However this time I was able to say, "I Pull, YOU Pull" and make them remove the hot motor from their car.   By about 12:30am we were next to last to leave the track and were on the road.   It was then that the long day finally caught up with me.   I hadn't eaten all day and it all caught up to me.   Massive migrane headache that rendered me useless on the way home.   Tried to eat and get some sleep and it didn't work.   Within 20 miles of eating we were pulling over as my body was rejecting the food.   About every 30 miles from there on out we were stopping more for my body to reject just about everything it could.   At times I thought it was beginning to reject organs.   Arrived home at about 3:15am and headed to bed setting the alarm for 6:30am.   At 6:30 I awoke still with a slight headache and no sleep to speak of and headed off for a day of work at Petty.   10 hours of work later, I was back at home and it's now time to get to washing the car.  It will be a little easier to wash with the engine out......OUCH!   :)  

This just in, some fun!   Multiple choice.   Which engine is the one I received in exchange for mine on Saturday night at Mohave Valley Raceway.   Think carefully!   ENGINE A   OR ENGINE B ?
 
MOHAVE VALLEY RACEWAY, March 25, 2006
The blue car was loaded and ready to go on Thursday night and I had to work at Petty from 4:00 to 11:00pm on Friday night, so we seemed pretty much set for Saturday.    After breakfast on Saturday though I got to work on the little things that needed to be done on the white car, rescaled it and decided to do a last minute car swap. The last minute things were changes to the suspension which were meant to calm it down from the tire carrying episode at Pahrump's test-n-tune.   A solid 26 car field greeted us in the pits and as I went out to pack the track / hot lap I must say I was quite nervous.   Tried to get myself alone out there with some room in front and behind as I wasn't sure what the car would do or where it would go.   The answer, straight up!   First time down the front straight the left front was about 3 feet off the ground and holy cow was it hard to see.   Rode it out during hot laps and came in to make changes for the heat.   Seeing that the track had slicked over I felt that coupled with the changes would calm it down.   WRONG!   Managed to hold on to a 3rd place finish, but who knows if the other racers were just afraid to get near me all hiked up.   Not my usual style.   CHANGES AGAIN and out for a 2 lap test after intermission.   (Thanks to the staff for the couple of laps).   Still no better.   By now I'm sick to my stomach and wondering if I should even go out for the feature.   I felt like a rookie again.   Lined up 9th for the feature and they watered the track before the race.   After packing for a while we got the green.   The car wasn't lifting, but I was caught in the greasy lower groove.   When I finally moved up.......up came the left front.   I was out in left field as I worried about not being able to control the car and I definitely didn't want to run over anyone.   At one time I had managed to work my way from 12th up to about 7th and slipped the right rear off the back stretch.   The earlier watering made it like ice and I flew off the track in turn 3 and plowed into the ditch.   Restarted in 20th and was up to about 9 before fading back again at the end to 11th.   Holy cow am I lost.   I know that I'm too old to drive a car like that.   Need 4 on the floor for me to do it.  

Tested the car again today (Sunday).   Changed nothing before going out and it never once lifted the left front.   Not even an inch.   Granted it was at a different track and it was dry, but come on.   Mohave was dry as well.   I am contemplating a week off as this racing stuff has me stumped.   We'll see how the week goes.

Thanks Mom, Blake, Skip, and Kelly for their help and support this weekend.  

 
MOHAVE VALLEY RACEWAY, March 18, 2006
Yet another weekend of avoiding the impending weather to get another race in.   Drove through a little rain and rain was all around while we finished up the evening's events.   16 cars in the pits this weekend as Pahrump was back to racing.    Lined up 5th in the heat race and jumped to 4th on the first lap.   On the 2nd lap I was able to jump to the outside to take third and took 2nd a lap later with a low move in turn 3.   From there I could only chase the leader as he was about 1/2 a straight ahead the rest of the way.    The invert found me 11th for the feature event.    At the green I was content waiting out "the big one" but it never really materialized.   Began picking off cars and was very pleased with how the car was going.   Moving forward and going where ever I would put it.   Picked off a few cars high, one or two low and was heading to the front.   During a long green flag run I had lost track of where I was but was following a mere inches off the car in front of me.   The car in front of me slipped inside another car.  The car on the outside wiggled and then went to dive in behind the passing car.   Just as he did, he lost it.   Instead of driving into the 1/2 spun car, I decided to try avoiding the contact.   BIG MISTAKE.   I wound up spinning myself and sat driver's side first in the line of traffic.   WHAM, WHAM!   Major, major hit in the driver's side.   Hardest hit I have ever taken by far.   Full speed hit in the door.   Completely wasted the LF suspension, even collapsed the spring pocket as well as ripping the upper control arm mounts from the frame.   OUCH!   Needless to say I was done for the night.   The bad news.....the car I was right behind, was the leader.   Darn it!!    But I do take some good away from the night as for the first time in a long time I was one of the faster cars on the track.   The car was running great and handling well.   It's great to start feeling competitive again.    Just need to make better decisions as sometimes it's just best to drive through a wreck instead of becoming it.   Even if you have to push your way through.   Lesson learned!  The expensive way.    Hopefully the frame isn't bent, hard to tell when it's dark and your judgment is a little clouded.  

Thanks Mom, Blake, Dad, and Skip for their help and support on Saturday.  

 
MOHAVE VALLEY RACEWAY, March 11, 2006
With a forecast predicting 70% chance of snow, hail, and thunderstorms with the possibility of 1/4 an inch of rain, it seemed silly to get in the truck and head to Mohave Valley.   However, my mom, Blake, and myself all loaded up and headed off at 1:00pm.   About 45 miles outside of town we encountered the first rain.  As we climbed in elevation, it turned to flurries, then hail, back to snow.    Outside of Searchlight, NV (about 1/2 way) we hit another batch of rain.    Got the track under threatening skies and a huge storm off to the north.   A large field of modifieds (23) came in search of the checkered flag this weekend.   Pahrump Valley Speedway was off this weekend so their regular contingent of drivers made the trek down.   Lined up 5th of 7 for my heat race and raced too cautiously to move up any.   Went absolutely nowhere and by the time I made a move I was far too back to do any damage.   Missed the inversion (needed to run 4th) so that put me back in 14th for the feature.   The cooler temperatures had the track in very nice shape for the feature and although turns 3 and 4 were coming up a little, the racing would be fast.   At the green it was obvious that no one was waiting to "settle in" and I found myself under siege early.   Three and four wide racing made for some hair raising moments.  I saw that most cars were fighting for the top so I dropped to the bottom and began making some passes on the low side.   It was a quick and furious 5-7 laps of wide open racing.   Used the outside going into turn 1 to make a pass only to have two lapped cars push up into my groove.   I was barely able to double back and squeeze between the car I had just passed and the two cars sliding up the track.    When the caution waved for the first time somewhere around lap 5,6 or 7 I had no idea where I was.   However when I caught on to who the leader was I realized I was in 3rd.   Talk about surprised.    At the restart I played it safe and started to look for an opening.   Another yellow.    At this green I found the opening I needed down low and raced side by side for a lap before taking over the 2nd spot.   Another yellow.   Finally back to racing I was again feeling out a spot to squeeze by.   Was finally able to time a good inside run off turn 4 to take over the top spot.   As the race went on, the car began to get incredibly loose coming off the turns.   I was hoping it would go green for the rest of the event as I was having to slow drastically entering turn 3.    Had built up a couple of decent leads when coming to take the white, yellow.   Oh shoot!   I knew I was a sitting duck as the car just wasn't reacting the way it had in the first 12 laps or so.   Knowing the crowd was behind I was readying for a fight.   A fight it was.   As heavy heavy pressure from behind and beside ensued and taking the white I could hear the cars as if they were INSIDE my car.    Out of two I could feel the nudge from the inside as someone was there and coming hard.   Not giving an inch we touched ever so slightly and headed off into turn 3.   Coming off turn 4 the car again was loose and the sound of the other cars was close as ever.   Those final 30 feet were far too long but we managed to hold on to our 3rd win of the 2006 race season!   WHEW!!   Another 5 laps and I might have been lucky to finish in the top 3.  

Thanks mom, Blake, Kelly, Jerry, and Skip & Tracey for their help and support this weekend!!   I appreciate it.  

 
MOHAVE VALLEY RACEWAY, March 4, 2006
Excellent weather and a group of Vintage Sprint cars greeted us at Mohave Valley Raceway this weekend.   The vintage cars are so neat to see and really put on a fun show.   A couple of the drivers in that class are over 80 years old!!   Holy cow, that means I might have another 48 years left in me.   NOT!   Anyway......about 16 cars were in the pits this weekend, down from 25 the previous week.    Lined up outside row 3 for the heat race and raced into 3rd fairly quickly.   Grabbed the lead on lap #3 and never looked back in the caution free race.   The track was in great shape for the heat race and was quite fast.    Lined up inside row #4 for the main event and missed the giant hole early and failed to move up.   In fact at the 2nd or 3rd yellow I was clear back to 8th spot and stinking up the place.   At the next green I was able to slip into 4th and began setting my sites on the lead trio.   Their side by side close racing allowed me to close in on them, however we were all evenly matched and there was little or no movement within the top 4.   The racing was so fast that I found myself trying to drive the style of the others in front of me.   A few flashes of my life before my eyes made me remember that I can't drive like that and I needed to get back to doing things my way.    Settled myself down on the next yellow and simply felt that if I couldn't get to the front driving in better control, then I would just settle for 4th.   At the green I finally was able to get my car to turn well enough (brake bias) in the middle of the turns and was able to get a great drive off the bottom of 2 to take the third spot.   From there I ran in 3rd until 2nd place did a half spin into the infield of turn 4 and I managed to get by without getting caught up.    Caution.   I was able to go into the turns much harder than the leader but was checking up to avoid bumping going into the turn.   I would go in about 1/2 a car higher and get the car turned to drive under him.   Was almost by once heading into turn 3 but the door closed up, and the next shot I had was negated by a yellow flag.   At the next green I was surprised when the door was left open heading into turn 3.   I filled the hole and we were wheel to wheel exiting the turn.   At the flagstand there was wheel to wheel contact.   A door slap and a tug of the wheel later I was in turn 3 and into the lead.   Yellow.   2nd place had spun in turn 1.   The pass was ruled clean on my part and 2nd was sent to the rear.   From there I was able to lead the next 3 laps to take the win!   Our 2nd at Mohave Valley in 2006.  

Thanks to Mom, Dad, Blake, Rod & Ginger for their help and support this week.   I appreciate it!