Check out the Cafe Press store for shirts with the updated THRacing logo.  Just click on the green box below.

 

 

 

Let’s get caught up on the summer.  So we did find a used axle in the area and raced on July 31^st.  We didn’t buy any new tires for that race, so our performance was lacking, to say the least. 

 

There was no racing on August 7^th for the Super Late Models, which was a good thing, since it was a rainy first weekend of August.

 

We were back this past Saturday which also saw the return of summer.  With a high temperature in the mid 90’s, the track was slick.  Our heat race was at 7:15 with the sun still beating down on the track.  Our car had a bad push.  We made some minor adjustments for the main.  We knew that the sun would be gone and the track would be about 40 degrees cooler and that would help the car’s handling.  They give us 3 hot laps before we grid-up for the main, and the car felt great.  We line up side-by-side for the drop of the green flag, me on the pole, Jeff Knight on the outside, Tom Moriarity behind me, Dan Moore to his outside.  John Zaretzke and Brian Cottrel make up the 3^rd row.  We take the green, go barreling into turn one, and my car won’t turn.  Flat right-front tire.  I slide up the track, tapping Jeff in the left-rear tire.  He recovers, and the whole field drives by me before I get to the back stretch.  I pull in and Ronnie changes the tire.  We head back out, 4 laps down.  We’ll get ‘em next time.

 

 Yes, it was an axle that broke in the rear end with 8 laps to go in our 150 lap race last Saturday.  We are looking for a new or used axle in the Puget Sound area.  If we find one, we will be back out this weekend.

 

We fell a little short last Saturday during the Fusion Mobile Washington 500.  We completed 142 of the 150 laps in the Super Late Model race.  Something broke in the rear-end when I got on the gas coming out of turn 4.  It felt like an axle broke, we’ll know for sure when we pull the rear-end apart.

 

I originally didn’t plan on racing last weekend.  Mike and Ronnie go on their annual trip to Lake Chelan with their family at the end of July.  Although I have done it in the past, it’s just too much work and stress to do without the help.  But Jeff Kessler at Foss Motorsports volunteered to transport the car and pit-box  to the track, and Tom Moriarity let me pit with him and his crew worked on my car like it was their own.  We had a pit stop at the half-way point in the race.  Naima Lang and his crew came over to change tires and refuel the car.  They were available due to Naima’s car was out with transmission problems.  I would like to thank them all and also thank the many others who offered their help.  Danni Johnson put the word out that I needed help and many people saw to it that I was taken care of.  Thank you, thank you, and thank you!!!

 

While I’m at it, I would like to thank Evergreen Speedway for giving me the chance to join Scott Ellsworth in the announcer’s booth this year.  Never did I think I would get this chance.  The track will have a new promoter next year, so this may be the first and last year of announcing on Saturday nights.  No matter what happens, I’ve had a blast.

 

We do get 6 tires for this weekend's Fusion Mobil Washington 500.  But thanks to Evergreen Speedway, we only had to buy 5.  They gave every late-model entry a free tire!!!

 

If your coming to the race this Saturday, mention "Fusion 500" at the front gate and get $5 off the price on an adult ticket.  Also, racing starts a 5 p.m.  See ya there.

 

We did make it back for the 75 lap race on the 5/8’s mile track on July 3^rd.  An interesting race, indeed.  Only 5 cars raced that night.  About half-way through the race, I cut a right-rear tire going into turn one.  I kept it off the wall and limped into the pits where Ronnie changed the tire and we were back out, 3 laps down.  Later, one car wrecked and another ran out of gas. So we finished in third place…3 laps down.

 

Next up is the 150 lap race July 24th during the Fusion Mobile, Washington 500.  I feel good about this race; at least I did until I saw the schedule.  There is a planned 10 minute break scheduled at lap 75 and I’m not sure why.  Are we adding gas and changing tires?  I know my car can make 150 laps on 22 gallons of fuel and 4 tires.  And I didn’t plan on buying more than 4 tires for this race.

 

Don’t forget about the coupon at the upper-right side of this page.  Click on the printer icon below the coupon to print your own.  You need an oil change anyway.  So why not save some money.  Plus, the more coupons used, the more I get to race!!!

 

We got a chance to go mix-it-up last Saturday (June 19^th) at Evergreen Speedway and mix-it-up we did.  It was our fist time out this season and we discovered a problem with the brakes during the first practice.  We had a broken brake bias adjuster in the car that moves the braking force to the front or rear brakes.  It took us a while to find the problem.  I could turn the adjuster and watch it thread in and out of the brake pedal, but couldn’t feel the difference on the track.  I would adjust to the front but wouldn’t get more front brakes.  So initially, we were looking for a problem with the front brake calipers.  But it ended up being a problem in the brake pedal itself; and something we couldn’t fix at the track.

 

We started on the front row in the main event.  Jeff Knight started along side of us and edged out in font at the start of the race.  Soon after, Dan Moore squeezed to the inside, but we were able to take the position back running on the outside.  Next, Tom Moriarity tried to get to the inside and we ran side-by-side for about 15 laps.  Now Tom is a great racer, you’re not going to find many people to disagree with that, but he is not known for his patience.  I knew he was not going to put up with me running on the outside of him too long, especially when Jeff was extending his lead from us.  And sure enough, just past half-way, I find myself spinning down the front-stretch.  After that, our tires were junk and we finished 5^th.

 

We will be back again on July 3^rd for the race on the 5/8’s mile track. 

 

You may have noticed the coupon on the right side of this page.  You can use it for your next oil change at the Mobil 1 Lube Express at 2411 Broadway in Everett, WA.  Just click on the printer icon below the coupon to print as many as you want.