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August 3rd:
July has come and gone with very little racing at all. We are gearing up to try and put a couple of wins in the books as the season winds down to the Peterbilt 250. The season has been full of ups and downs but we will try to salvage as much as we can out of it. See you at the track
July 5th:
With racecars, particularly Pro Stocks, tires play a very important part in the total equipment package. At the start of this year, as in every year, each driver is allowed to purchase eight tires and then allowed to purchase one tire per week after that.
Two of the original eight tires were inferior, by the luck of the draw, which has been causing tremendous handling problems. Without becoming too technical, the normal reaction for a tire is to grow in size during a race due to heat expanding the air pressure inside the tire. In our case, the right side actually shrinks, this past week by over a half inch, making the car tight and extremely difficult to handle. These tires can no longer be used, causing an extreme shortage in our tire inventory, a problem that only can be eliminated over a number of weeks.
With the seemingly unlikelihood of a solution happening, and the points race rapidly slipping away, a certain amount of frustration and disappointment is slowly creeping into the picture. The car is fast, real fast, but without tires, it becomes a futile effort. Tires, like anything made by human hands, are not always perfect, and occasionally, as in my case, two of them are downright unusable.
Decisions will have to be made over the next couple of days on how to deal with this unfortunate situation but my promise to you, my fans and supporters, will be to strive for the best possible performance each and every time on track and I thank you for your support in this effort.
June 27th
After some very successful test sessions on Friday, we were hoping for a great performance on Saturday at Fanfest. The car was fast, wicked fast, and we were quickly heading to the front when one of those racing gremblins jumped up and bit us. We had overlooked a simple thing, to adjust the transmission linkage now that it was broken in, and as a result, the car kept jumping out of gear. Talk about the shock when it first happened !!! It cost us this time but next week, look out!!! We will be back and ready to do battle with the elite field of Pro Stocks at Speedway 660. All in all, our 5th place finish was pretty good, all things considered. That’s racing !!!
June 20th
Between the rains and my business trip to upper Canada, racing has been a bit slow lately, but anyone who was in the stands last Saturday evening knows that business is just heating up. The competition is fast and furious, but the #18 Prostock is up for the challenge. The damage from Saturday night’s altercation is minimal, all things considered, and we will return without skipping a beat, and hope to be standing in the WINNERS’ Circle this coming weekend. I just want to add a big “Thank You” to the men and women of our Armed Forces for all they do to preserve our way of life and freedoms.
May 30th:
Race one is now done. Things were a bit of a struggle yesterday at the track as tire sizes were not performing quite the way they should causing a tight handling race car by times. The last part of the feature we seemed to be going a bit better though and hopefully, we have solved that problem. The first race is always a struggle as we work out the kinks but things should be much better next Saturday. Congrats to Shawn Tucker on an awesome performance on Saturday.
May 6th:
Between work travel and meetings and working on the car, I have had little time to spare lately. The car is looking good now and can’t wait to put her on the track.
April 15th:
Oh my word ....... how time does fly!!! It’s been a while since I gave you guys a “heads up” on what’s happening. The car is really taking shape now. The basic paint colours are on and the car will be going out to “Wilkins Signs” so that Jack can weave his magic with the graphics.
Mechanically, things are pretty much in place except for shocks and weight. Hopefully, this weekend the rest of that can be finished.
If you haven’t already noticed, we are having a little bit of fun revealing the new paint and graphics scheme a little bit each day. It should take five or six days to reveal it all but, I promise you, it will be worth it ...lol.
Once this car is done, work will commence on the second car and before you know it, we’ll be shaking ‘er down on the oval at Speedway 660. That’s when the real fun will begin.
By the way, I have a small business started, called “RACERS’ PIECES”. We have parts and pieces for race cars (what else), and would love to hear from you. Send us an e-mail or give us a call!! You’ll be glad you did !!!
Jan. 31st:
Well ....... last night the Awards Banquet was held in Fredericton. My whole crew was there, and we had a blast. Congratulations to all the winners last night, you guys deserved them.
Now, it’s time to put our noses to the grindstone and get the car ready for 2010 !!!
Jan. 24th:
Hmmm.... my first blog. Where do I start? Well, the car is coming along great!!! Hopefully, the extra preparation will help me in my quest for the title in 2010.
I am looking forward to the banquet the end of this month, picking up some hardware, and seeing all the other guys again and talking shop (racing) that is. James "Cooter" Smith has joined the team, and has been a big help, with a lot of the car preparation.
Eric, continues to take small steps. He will continue to mentour the team in 2010.
Anyway, the race season is getting closer every day so I will BLOG again as things start coming closer together.
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