Car 54 Where Are You?

September 28

The Lincoln RI Touch a Truck was a lot of fun and the children enjoyed sitting in the vehicles. The rain was not enough to discourage people from attending.

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September 25

The last points race of the season turned into a demo derby rather than a race. There were many accidents with cars spinning all over the track throughout the race. We were able to avoid most of the wrecks but unfortunately most does not count. On lap 7 the 73 and 38 got tangled up and both cars were spinning on the front stretch. I went low and the 73 just clipped our car. It was only a little jolt but it ripped the entire right side of the body (from the front fender to the rear bumper) off in one piece. The car was drivable until the right rear tire went down. The track allowed me to get off and change the tire. With the help of the 57 team we made it back to the track only to have the right front go down also. We were unable to finish the race but still placed 19^th out of 23 because of all the wrecks. We finished 18^th in the points for the year. Although we hoped to finish higher, it was an improvement from last year and we as a team have learned from another year’s experience. We have a lot of work to do to get both cars where we want them for the 2009 season.

September 18

We were running a little slower than usual in practice but started off well in the heat race. We were able to hold second for a few lap until I went into turn 3 too hard and washed up the track which allowed a few cars to get by on the inside. I then fell out of my rhythm and fell back to 9^th place where we finished the heat. We started in 18^th in the feature and started out strong but as the race went on the car got harder to handle and we finished in 17^th. We are in 18^th in the points and 8 points away from 17^th going into the last race of the season. The six Thompson Speedway Champions will be crowned this Thursday, Don’t miss it!

September 11

Again we took our backup car and feel it was a good choice. In practice, the car felt good and we were set up for the heat race by starting on the pole. I mad a couple mistakes going into the turn causing me to drift up high allowing cars to pass. We finished 8^th in the heat. With the handy cap we started on the pole for the feature also. I got a bad jump on the start allowing a few cars to pass on the start. The car was not as good at night as it was in practice and I dropped back to 13^th where I finished the race out of 23 cars. Although it is our best finish this year, I had hoped for a position. We have now moved up to 18^th place in the point standings and hope to improve in the last two races on 9/18 and 9/25.

Click here for pictures of the race

August 28

Since the backup car was running so strong last week, we took it this week again. We were running faster times in practice than usual. We had a bad starting position for the heat race and then it felt like a tire was going down so we did not finish the race. This had us starting in 19^th out of 20 cars. We made a few passes and were running strong. We made it though a couple wrecks without incident until after a wreck an involved car came up on the track from the grass in turn 1 and hit the car in front of me causing both cars spinning. I had no where to go and rear ended the 7 car. I was able to pull away and thought everything was OK until water started spraying on the windshield. Unfortunately a small hole in the radiator took us out of the race. This will tighten the points race between the 2, 24 and us all battling for the 19^th position. We will see where we stand once the official standings are posted.

Click here for pictures of the crash

August 21

Because our primary car has some problems that we need to address, we took our backup car this week. In the practices and heat race we were able to get it handling much better than it has in the past. We started 19^th and made our way forward a few positions in the beginning of the race. A few laps in, we were involved a minor wreck but we only sustained cosmetic damage. We then were running strong again and made a couple passes but then while trying to pass the #10 car, I went in turn 1 too hard and lost control. I bumped the outside wall a little and saved it only to lose 3 or 4 positions where we stayed for the rest of the race. We placed 15^th out of 24 cars.

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August 14

After battling the rain throughout practice early in the day, the speedway was able to get the track pumped out and dry for the features. We started 24^th out of 25 cars, and moved up quickly in the beginning of the race but started falling back near the end. We placed 19^th which now brings us back up to 19^th in the points from 21^st. There are only 5 races left for the season.

Date	Day	Grandstands	Pit Pass
8/21	Thursday	$15	$25
8/28	Thursday	$18	$30	50 Lap Sunoco Modified Feature
9/11	Thursday	$15	$25
9/18	Thursday	$15	$25
9/25	Thursday	$15	$25	Last Points Race

August 7

Another wash out at Thompson Speedway! Next Thursday, if the rain holds off, the Whelen Modified Tour is the feature event, with 150 laps of excitement!

July 31

Mike and Jenn were away preparing for their wedding on 8/2 and we were unable to race.

July 24

Due to the heavy rain Thompson Speedway canceled the race.

July 17

Again we wanted to try our back up car and get it handling better. We made some progress in the practices but we were not bale to get it where it needs to be. We placed 15^th out of 21 cars.

July 12 Full Fender Frenzy

We were running in 18^th out of 26 cars throughout the race despite getting bumped by a few cars in the turns. Coming out of turn four I spun the tires and lost control right in front of the 10 car. He had no where to go except into my drivers door. This straightened out my car and I was able to keep going. After a couple more laps we ran into mechanical problems and the car died with 2 laps to go. We finished 23^rd out of 26.

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July 3

After a couple of good practices we were ready for our feature. This week there were no heat races, the track decided to go by last week’s heat results. We started 12^th and made it as high as 10^th but fell back half way through the race. We had more consistent and faster lap times than in the past. We finished 14^th out of 22 cars. Although the position does not indicate it I feel we had a big improvement this race. We are now tied for 15^th in the standings.

June 26

We decided to try the backup car again this week. In the practices, we got the car handling much better than the last time we had it on the track. We started out side of the front row for our heat race. We were passed by the usual top runners and finished in 7^th. As the features were about to start the rain came and the rest of the event was canceled. Although we did not get to race, we found that are back up car was running strong and it is available if we need it. Next Thursday is a big event, the NEMA Midgets are in town, there are double Sunoco Modified features, and an extra distance feature for the TIS Mods. Also don’t forget there is no race on July 10^th, we will be racing on Saturday the 12^th for full fender frenzy instead.

June 19

We had much better luck this week. We fixed both cars the weekend before this race, neither had any major issues. After having a couple of tough practices we got the car handling well. Because of the special event with the Whelen Mods, we did not have any heat races. In the feature we started in 13^th place. In the beginning of the race the 6 car, which was a few cars ahead of us, blew his motor and dumped oil on the track. We were lucky enough not to spin and just made it though the almost blocked track. After the restart we were chasing the 18 car but could not catch him. We placed in 14^th and are now in a 3 way tie for 16^th place for the points.

click here for pics

June 12

This week was the first time we were going to race the back up car. In the first practice we found we needed to make some big adjustments to the handling. We took it out for the second practice and found that we corrected the majority of the handling problems but then had motor problems. We took a quick look at it and decided to skip the heat race and went home to get our other car for the feature. Since we missed the heat race we had to start in the rear of the field. After a couple lap I was able to pass a few cars but then the car has electrical problems and we were unable to finish the race. We will be back at Thompson next week for the special event featuring the Whelen Modifieds.

Click here for 6/12/08 pics

June 5

After battling the rainy mist for practice, Thompson Speedway officials allowed the drivers to vote if the race should be canceled. The drivers voted not to race, and risk crashing due to a slick track. Next week we plan to race our back up car for the first time.

May 29

We placed 13^th out of 27 cars in our 50 lap feature. We were able to make it through a few accidents in front of and around us with out any major damage. We are now 16^th in the point standings. Thank you to our sponsors and fans for showing you support tonight.

May 22

Due to the weather Thompson Speedway officials called off the race. Hope to see everyone next week for our 50 lap feature.

May 15

We had a great practice and feel our car is ready for the first TNT race of 2008 on the 22^nd of May. Hope to see everyone there.

April 5 & 6 Ice Breaker week end

First and foremost, we would like to send our condolences to the friends and family of Shane Hammond, who died in a crash on Sunday.

It was an exhausting week of work to get the car ready. Thanks to the crew and some extra help from Jenn, Brian, Dave and Rick we were able to make it to the track on Saturday just in time for the heat race. Before the race we realized that the power steering was no good. We attempted to race without power steering but the exhaust also started leaking badly, so I had to pull off the track. Thanks the Bates Auto Parts and the 43 team we had a power steering pump Sunday morning. We were able to get the car back together as the field was pulling on the track. This made us have to start in the rear of the pack. We were able to pull of a 19^th of 24 cars, despite the obstacles we had to overcome to get the car back together. Please check out vlfphotos.com for additional pictures

March 29

Our second practice also was going well. We were able to scuff some tires for the Ice Breaker next week. The last practice of the day did not go as well. A car in front of me blew its motor in turn 3, dropping oil on the track. I hit the oil and spun into the wall causing a lot of mechanical damage. We have a lot of work to do if we are going to make it to the Ice Breaker.

March 22

After making many changes over the winter, our first practice went good. We were able to get the car handling pretty well, despite the cold weather.

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