Car 54 Where Are You?

9/20/07 The last race of the season The car was running and handling great in the heat race. We were excited and expected to have a good finish in the feature but in the first turn there was a wreck in the front of the pack. This caused a chain reaction of cars to pile up including us. I rear ended a car and spun into the wall where I then got hit head on by another car. I was able to drive the car off the wall and to the pit area of the track but it would go no further. We finished last in the feature which placed us 21^st in the points for the season. We are more than happy with our season since we have never raced or built cars before. We have learned a lot this season and can’t wait to build on that knowledge and experience next year.
9/13/07 After the last race on 8/30 we found out we had 2 cylinders down. Our crew worked hard to get the car back on the track for this week. We would like to thank Howie Sheppard for his help getting the motor back together. We worked some kinks out during the heat race and started the feature last. We were running in the top 16 with only a few laps left but unfortunately hit some debris on the track which caused a tire to go down. We finished in 20^th out of 26. We have dropped to 21^st in the points. With one race left next week we have a good chance to finish in 19^th for the season.
8/30/07 The car felt good for the start of the heat race where we started in 2^nd place. Coming out of turn 4 the car got loose and with a tap we ended up hitting the infield wall. With some help from the 13 team and the 36 team lending us some parts our crew was able to get the car out on the track but a flat tire took us out of the race. We finished 25^th out of 26 cars and are 20^th in the season points. Click here for pictures
8/23/07 Things went our way this week. The car was running strong and we got faster and more consistent lap times throughout the day. During practice we worked out a few bugs and in the heat race I was able to lead a couple laps for the first time. We stared the feature in 18^th place and finished in 16^th out of 27 cars. We are now in 19^th place in the point standings and on 14 points between the 17^th place and the 21^st place drivers.
8/16/07 This Thursday had an awful ending to the race day. We send our sympathy to the family and friends of John Blewett III, who was in a tragic accident in the Whelen Modified race. We had many issues with our car throughout the day but were able to have it ready for the feature. Since we were working on mechanical problems we did not workout the minor handling issues. We missed a few big wrecks and were able to pull away with a 14^th place finish. We are now in 20^th place in the point standings and 26 points behind the 43 team.
8/9/07 We took care of the bad handling from last week but things did not turn out much better for us this week. During the feature we were running a strong 17^th for most of the race and there was a good battle between the 43, 00, 7, 13 and us for a few laps. We barely got by many spin outs during the race. Then on the restart we had an issue with the car and it shut down due to a fuel cell problem. We were not able to finish the race. The official results are not yet posted.
8/2/07 The car had handling issues all day that we could not over come throughout the day. We finished 21^st out of 28 cars. This dropped us back to 22 in the point standings and 4 points back from the top running rookie.
7/26/07 Bad luck strikes again but the crew was able to over come it with help from fellow racers. In our heat race we were involved in a big wreck which ripped body panels off and bent suspension parts. We were about to call it a day when the 49 team offered to lend us parts. The crew did a great job to get the car back on the track just in time for the feature. Although we struggled with bad handling we were still able to come away with 17^th out of 30 cars. We are now only 2 points back from the top running rookie and we sit in 21^st place in the standings.
7/14/07 Thompson Speedway put on another great special event this Saturday. The day entailed a salute to our nation’s brave men and women of the military, the PASS prostocks and the Busch East races. In our event we started 21^st and were able to finish with our best position yet, 13^th. This now brings us to the top 20 in points for the season and only 4 points behind the top running rookie in the #43 car.
7/12/07 This Thursday there were no races at Thompson, so we took the P.A.R. Limited sportsman to the car show at Hebert’s Candy Mansion in Shrewsbury to promote our sponsors and maybe pickup some new ones. The kids were excited because we had the only car that they could climb in and touch. Here are pictures of a few of them.
Phillip
Arron
J.J.
7/5/07 After last weeks cancellation due to rain and the threat of rain today the track officials wanted to keep things moving quickly. We only had one practice which was uneventful. Then we had a heat race where we started in 3^rd place and was staying in the top five for a couple laps. I then got bumped in the rear in the middle of turns 3 and 4. I tried to save it but ended up hitting the wall. From the impact there was an issue with the fuel cell. Thanks to the 43 team we were able to correct the problem and get out for the feature. I had to start in last out of 27 cars. The first few laps I was not able to pass more then one car but then after a caution I was able to pass a few more on the restart and then the caution came out due to the weather. The race finished under caution where I placed 20^th. We will be ready for next Saturday’s race where we will be racing with the PASS prostocks and the Busch East Series.
6/21/07 We were able to overcome some handling issues, with the help of Rick from Greenwood Power Equipment, in practices throughout the day.   We were in much better shape for the feature.  In a 28 car field we started and finished 20th and again barely got by a wreck.  This moved us up to 24th in the point standings.
6/14/07 We had a very good set of practices and heat race which had us in a good starting position for the feature. In the pit before the feature I had made a stupid rookie mistake which caused the engine to not run properly for the feature and I had to pull off the track and watch the race from the infield. This dropped us from 24^th in the standings to 28^th. After the race we fixed the issue and are ready for next week’s race when the Whelen Modified tour is in town.
6/7/07 Our 50 lap feature went very well after some practices that did not go so well. We had brake issues during the practices but got it straightened out for the feature. We had many near misses with spinning cars at a number of different laps but this time was able to get by without hitting anyone other than a one small bump. We finished the race on the lead lap with a 15^th place finish out of 32 cars that started the race. Photos from 6/7/07
5/31/07 Things at the track went much smoother at the track for us this time. The whole team has learned a lot about getting the car handling better. We had some good practice sessions and got the car running good for the heat race which we finished 10^th of 13. Unfortunately we got rained out of our 50 lap feature race but will continue it next week. Photos from 5/31/07
5/24/07- First race blues We had a couple of uneventful practices and worked on the car to have a decent heat race.  During the heat race I was able to narrowly miss a couple of wrecks.  Unfortunately that wasn't the case in the feature. We were able to start the feature in 16th place out of 26 cars.  In the first turn of the race there was a big wreck in front of me which I could not avoid.  I hit the brakes but still rear ended a car which spun me out and a car that was behind me could not slow down in time and hit the driver side door.  I could not get the car started, so the push truck pushed me to the pit where a few minuets later the car started. Unfortunately the race had already gone back to the green flag and I could not get back in the race until the checkered was waving.  We placed 23rd out of 26.  I want to thank all of you that came out for the support and hope to see you next week for a 50 lap special event for the limited sportsman class.
More Photos from 5/24/07
5/10/07 Our second practice was a success. Unfortunately, we are unable to make next week’s practice but we will be racing hard on the 24^th for the first Thursday Night Thunder race of the season.
More Photos from 5/10/07
4/7/07 After a year and a half we finally got the PAR limited sportsman on the race track for a practice. We learned a lot about the car and I learned a lot about driving. With some help from the 36, 71, 7 and 13 teams, we were able to work some bugs out of the car and we figured out what we need to work on before the next practice in May.
More Photos from 4/7/07