WEEKEND REFLECTIONS: RACING

Saturday marked the 7th race of the season for us at Evergreen Speedway. It was a rain filled June-uary day as we loaded the trailer. Arriving at the track we spent some time playing Rock Band and laughing it up.

Practice.
The 1st practice was the driest of the 2 by far. The track had pretty good grip except in turn 1 where the water seeping through the track made the car push up about a 1/2 groove on entry. We were loose in, but the car was pretty decent on last weeks race tires. We changed a spring and went out for practice 2 which was nearly wet, but I was able to get the feel of the car through turn one and two. We were a lot better after the spring change and I felt it would be good.

Qualifying.
We qualified on stickers and went a 17.7 for 3rd quick.

Heat Race.
Started outside row one and raced Naima on the outside for 1-2 laps then I slid up pretty bad in the water in turn one. I ended up third.

Race.
Started outside row 1. Early on the car was pretty decent, but it developed a loose in, tight through the center and loose off handle. It was pretty tough to hold off the 00 and the 51 and I quickly fell to 4th. Then going through 3 one time it was really tight, and I dropped to fifth. A few laps latter the 2 car spun himself out through 3 and 4 and I was back to 4th where I would stay for the night. I had a few battles, one, with Fred Hall; one, with the 06; and one, with Mugge for 3rd. Had we not had a caution on the final green, white checkered restart I may have finished 3rd as I got a super start and had a nose on the outside coming through 3 and 4. There was a caution and we had to re-line up for another start. JZ was in front of me and didn't get a good start, so I was relegated to fighting for my 4th place spot as Ptacek (o6) was coming fast. We had a drag race to the checkers and I beat him by a 1/3 of a car length. I was 4th.

Reflection of race 7.

• There is a lot of beating and banging going on at Evergreen the last two weeks. Again there were a few cars torn up pretty decent and some hot tempers. Overall, it seems like a lot of the guys are super serious right now, which is fine, but for me, I've got to keep it fun.
• I AM HAVING A BLAST AND COMPLETING MY GOALS. My goals for racing this year included competing in the top 5 each week. So far that has been the case as my crew has given me the car every week to be top five or better.
  
• Nevertheless, having some success this year has caused me to want more! I want to win and I believe I can. We are just a small tick away from getting our first W.
• Keeping things in perspective is important while racing and here is my persepctive: This is my 2nd year. For me to even have a shot at running with the likes of JZ and Naima who have been racing for years is a great opportunity for me. Running 3rd at the tour was a big deal for me. I expect to win, and then I will win a lot after that. BUT winning RIGHT NOW is not most important, what is most important is 1) consistency, 2) avoiding wrecks and keeping the car clean (can't make the car better if it has to be fixed every week), 3) team chemistry and making good decisions about the chassis, 4) HAVING FUN!
• I am looking forward to a week off from racing. We are bringing the hauler and car to the Father's Day car show so it will need a good cleaning, but this is the first week off from racing for me in quite a while.