Racing deals

Ron will earn his quarter this week!



 "Racing deals" happen each week at the track. It is a reality of the sport. Human error, mechanical issues and track conditions, are the perfect formula for "racing deals" to happen. I've been fortunate this year. Going into week 8, I had not been involved in a "racing deal."

Tonight that changed.

I was in two.

Today was the hottest day of the summer. I was thinking we would be dealing with heat.  Boy was I wrong!

Hot laps are a time to check your car. If you are experiencing mechanical problems they usually show up then. We had just put in a new clutch and needed to hot lap. I noticed low oil pressure and a bit of smoke coming into the cockpit.

Once I pulled into the pits, Timmy and Ron jumped on diagnosing the problem. They quickly discovered it was a value cover gasket. No problem, just go over to the parts trailer and buy one....Not!!!! They were out of them and we could not find one anywhere. Trust me I asked everyone I could find. In desperation, as the my heat race drew near, I found one. A big shout out goes to a fellow competitor, Matt Tucker. He gave me his only spare within five minutes of the heat race. Ron and Timmy work frantically to get it on.  Just in time!  I finished 3rd and qualified for the front row of the main.



Less then an inch of clearance



The feature started and my "racing deals" began. I was able to hold my line and stay at the front through the first lap. Exiting turn two on the second lap, we came out four wide.  I was on the outside and everyone drifted toward the wall. I ended up in the wall.  Ouch!! I was given a nice white paint kiss but no serious damage.

A few laps later, another "racing deal" happened. This time I got to see the suspension of another car. Coming out of turn two, a car spun in front of me. I had no room to avoid him. I clipped his left rear as he went up into the air. It smashed my left front.

I thought I was done. Somehow it missed the tire, radiator and suspension. I was able to get through it and continue racing. At that point, I knew that my suspension was toed in. I made the best of it and ran fairly well under the circumstances. I ended up with a seventh place finish.

I want to again thank Ron and Tim for their efforts. Without you guys, I could have not finished. We will take a week off to re-group, then back at it on July 15th.  "Racin deals!!"