Labor Day Weekend… 2 State = 2 Tracks

We started the weekend fat the 3/8 mile Hermiston, Oregon track. During our first 5 minute practice we were .78 off the pace. I noticed with about a minute to go we had a significant vibration so I pulled off early. Come to find out, the front right tire pressure was going down fast and it was a good call to come in early. We made a few minor adjustments for the second practice/qualifying and put down a lap time that was .2 off the leader which put us in P2! We gained over a second from the first practice, and we were pumped for the gain. Hermiston does a unique invert so although we were 2nd fastest the slowest cars started out front and we started 3d with the pole sitter from practice in 4th. The green flag flew, we charged into turn one, the leader in front of me gets sideways, slides up the track, and takes out himself and the car in second. I was able to dive low to miss it, take the lead, and drove off. Sadly they did a complete restart and it was one caution after another with that leader and the car behind me. Overall, 2 cars spun out in front of us, we got hit from behind 4 times, we got pushed into the infield grass/dirt from one of those hits, and there was some frustration. I noticed when I started in third the leader had a tendency to get up to speed way before the restart line and also push the outside pole sitter high on entry to turn number 3 to allow for himself to get a huge jump on the restart. I took a chance in the middle of the race to start on the outside pole, and when he tried to accelerate early and push me up the track I held my position, his front right and my front left tires locked, it pulled us together, and into the infield he went. A huge mess on a restart that thankfully no one else got involved in. When we redid that restart again I let him get away with his tactics, and I got stuck on the outside of this one groove track and freight trained to the rear. In the end, we had a winning car but with a few laps we started to smoke so we pulled off the track early and secured P6. When i pulled into the pit area we were a ball of smoke; it was a leak in the rear gear oil onto the hot brakes. Crazy part about the whole main feature is that we thought our tire pressure was too low due to sparks flying from the front of the car on entry. The car dragging would upset itself on entry and we keep waiting for the tire pressure to build up. We were wrong, the sway bar arm bolt broke and we had no sway bar… still drove to second that way! Oregon was a bit of a bust in regards to the finish we wanted, but at the same time, we were second fastest in practice, was able to pass cars to secure second place for a bit and put down solid times during the race with the sway bar disconnected and the car smoking from that gear oil leak. Not to bad.

Our second race, after a day in the shop to fix the issues we found in Oregon, took place at Meridian Speedway in Idaho. Another Great racing opportunity in a stock car this weekend but this time no spotters are allowed. D-Dawg and I put in some good work in Oregon, nor Idaho is just for me. In the 16 laps we logged during practice we set the 4th fastest time at a track. We worked on the car a bit to free it up on exit but overall not to bad all things considered. During this race we started toward the back based on the invert they run (slowest car start up front, fastest in the back). It was something we looked forward too. It helps us hone our skills with setting up passes, racing in tight packs, and when/where to be aggressive on this tight oval. The race was live on Flo Racing and from my vantage point in the car and watching the video afterwards you see us move all they way up to second place and we’re running down the leader with 10 laps to go. The #51 car (in 3rd at the time) had me on entry but I had him on exit and was fighting to keep him behind me while reeling in the leader. Going into turn one he gave me a hard shot to the rear of the car which pushed me ahead/sideways and I spun out. I do not believe it was his intent to hit me that hard but was instead trying to knock on my rear bumper a bit to rattle me; set up a bump and run. Sadly a few cars were collected in this; the #51 being one of them. We were then out to the back of the pack with 14 cars remaining and with 8 laps remaining in the race we were able to make up a few spots and finish 6th.

I am my hardest critic, and I wanted a lot more over this weekend of racing in Oregon and Idaho. My man D-Dawg and I had long conversations about what we can do better and what wins we did achieve this weekend. We took a car I’d only ever been in once and a car that had been sitting that hadn’t ran since December. D Dawg and the team got it ready in a week. We then went to a track I have never been to before and ran 2nd fastest, and then took it to a track I’d seen once and ran 4th fastest against drivers who have thousands of laps at those tracks. All things considered that’s not too bad at all. I am beyond grateful for the support of my family, friends, and fans as we continue on this amazing racing adventure. 9 days til Bristol… GULDT!