Blown Up!

The weather was perfect.... The week had gone smoothly for getting the car ready..... Everything was falling into place for a great race and a great finish. Randy and I were excited about the prospects of a successful night and weekend.

Enjoying the Start of a Beautiful Evening

But, racing is cruel so many ways. Mechanical failures take place.  Driving errors lead to wrecks. Racers are at the mercy of other drivers who make errors.

On this night, we were on our way to another eighth place finish before things went wrong. Then there was lap fourteen. As I was exiting turn two, the engine let loose...and the night was over for us.

Oil-Soaked Hauler

Randy Uppinghouse does such a great job with the Cowman Racing car! He is always determined to figure out what went wrong when there's a problem. As we backed the hauler up to the garage, we agreed to put the car in the shop, which we usually do the morning after the race. Once the car was inside, Randy became motivated to tear into it. Forty minutes later, it was torn down to the bare block!

What we had suspected was a reality! A rod had broken, causing a major catastrophe in the engine. Little was salvageable, so that means we'll be putting in a different bullet this week. We hope to have it back together and ready by Friday...if everything goes beautifully.

Friday Night 11:30 PM at my House

I want to thank all the sponsors who have made this year a reality for us. We are down, but not out!