WEEKEND REFLECTIONS: RACING

When asked about this weekend the answer has been, "All you can do is put yourself in position to finish well. Sometimes what happens is not up to you..." My night came to an end 1 lap short of the checkered flag.

This is a statistical fact, I have been turned by someone else in 3 of the last 4 races at Evergreen Speedway. In the last month we've replaced 3 fenders, a nose and a half, bumpers, mounts and a bunch of other stuff. The list this week is long again. Need sponsors!

Practice.
I was loose in practice. We've been fighting this loose condition where the car wants to spin out entering the turn. We made some changes right away that were helpful.

Qualify.
We tightened the car up pretty good. I qualified a 17.7 which was good enough for 6th, but not as fast as I think I could have gone, I left some on the table.

Heat Race.
I started 2nd row inside. Going into turn 3 I slid the nose--too much front brake--and slid up. I had to settle for 4th, but all was not lost. We discovered the car stayed under me the whole heat race. We'd made the right changes to the chassis, and I was looking forward to the race.

Race.
The invert was 8, so I started 2nd row outside. The car was good right away. I knew we would have a good night if I stayed clean, and didn't get caught up in someone else's mayhem. We moved to 2nd. The car started to get loose in, which then makes it tight in the middle. Nevertheless, the thing was awesome off the corner. JZ started to run me down on turn entry, but I'd pull him coming off. Problem was, my car was going away more and more as the laps went on. I slid the nose in turn 3 and John got a nose under off of 4. I had a good drive in the outside groove, and I was ready to race him into turn one on the outside, but got stuck behind a slower car and had to surrender 2nd.

A bit later while running 3rd Steve (my spotter) told me that Kelly Mann (9) was gaining, and he was rolling in and through the center good, but I was pulling him coming off the corner. Steve was telling me car lengths each lap as I exited turn 2 and turn 4, so I would get up on the wheel and drive strong. Steve's encouraged me over the radio, "5 laps to go, stay strong, don't give up the bottom, Kelly will race you clean." With about 3 laps to go Kelly gave me a good punch with his front bumper as we rolled through the center of turns 3 and 4. I almost lost it, but gathered it up, and I maintained the spot. I'll be honest, it surprised me he hit me as hard as he did. He let it rest the next lap, but I sensed he was still there because Kelly does not go away, he's a good racer. He didn't

With the white flag waving Kelly punched me again in 3 and 4. This time there was no saving it, I started to spin. He then hit me in the nose, I think he was kindly trying to straighten me out? Anyway, the left rear tire blew out due to the contact, but I was full throttle trying to save it. I went around backwards spinning. As I was spinning I saw the big white tires on the inside of the track, I knew I would hit them. I did. It crushed the rear of the car.

I finished 13th. I was going to have a great points night against my rivals; it was all for nothing.

Conclusions.

• It's my sophomore season. It's suggested, in NASCAR racing, that the sophomore year can be the one with the most grief. I don't believe in superstitious jargon, but it makes me wonder what it will take to get another break.
  
• As I sat there on the front stretch watching my hopes of 3rd or 4th in season points drift away with every car that passed I realized I've been turned 3 times this year, all while running in the top 5. How different the season might be if I get to finish up front 3 times instead of 12th or worse.
  
• I thought, "It makes no sense to me why a guy who's not racing for points, or the lead (we were 3rd and 4th), turns a guy who is racing for points with one lap to go?" Maybe someday I will get it when I'm the one not racing for points...
• Roger gave me some good advice. He told me that at the end of the season there will be a lot less give than take, it's the nature of racing. He told me to start taking more. I've always raced (cars, bikes, whatever) and took what was there to take. If the position is not there, I haven't taken it. I guess it's different, time to take.
  
• One super big positive on the day. Everything we changed on the car made the car better. We are really close to figuring out this 3/8's track, really close.
  
• I can't wait to make the car a little better, and get back out there next week.
• The good news is the only damage is cosmetic so hopefully we can pick up the speed where we left off and improve just a few more spots. I'd enjoy nothing more than winning one more before the season is over!
  
• 4 races to go!