On January 21st, Evergreen Speedway held their awards banquet for the 2011 season. Our team attended to accept our awards for finishing third in points in the Super Late Model division. When you’re in the top three, you’re expected to say a couple words while on stage. I tried to keep it short because, let’s face it; people aren’t there to listen to the 3rd place person give a long speech. That’s for the champions. So I’ll take this opportunity to expand.
If you were to tell me a year ago that we would finish the 2011 season 3rd in points with 2 win, I would have been ecstatic. And we are. But more that ecstatic is a huge feeling of pride. By the end of the season, we felt that we could have done better. We raced against some of the best, well funded, teams in the Northwest and showed we could race with the best of them. The pride comes from the fact that we did it ourselves while spending so much less than most of the other guys. We built a new car for the 2011 season and did most of the work ourselves. As the season started, we were very low on money and it became apparent that we didn’t have the money for an engine rebuild or for some high-dollar shocks. And we would have to run well to earn enough money to continue throughout the season.
Just to get to the first race took a lot of effort from many people. Mike, Ronnie and I spent a very cold winter building the car. Jessie Jensen and Big Al built the interior of the car. Sandblasters, Inc. took care of getting the car ready for powder coating. Superior Powdercoating took it from there. Streamline Automotive painted the body while Deyoung, Inc. finished the car off with the decals. Our friends at Mobil 1 Lube Express in Everett helped us out with our lubricant needs. And Central Welding Supply gives us free nitrogen for our race tires. And while at the track, Naima Lang’s crew treated us like family helping out with whatever we needed.
Next season will have a new feel to it. Evergreen Speedway will only run 8 Super Late Model races. But they have cooperated with South Sound Speedway to create the I-5 Challenge Series that includes 7 races at South Sound and 7 races at Evergreen. So there will be plenty of opportunity to race in 2012. Right now, we can only afford to race the 8 races at Evergreen. Although, we are always looking for marketing partners to bring exposure to a business while expanding our opportunities to get our car in front of more fans.
So that’s it. The season is over. Time flies when you’re having fun. And fun was had in 2011 by the #48 team. We started to tear the car apart in preparation for the 2012 season, and as we are doing so, Mike, Ronnie and I can’t believe the 2011 season is over. It seemed like it was just getting started when all of a sudden it was done. And that happens when you’re having the time of your life. 2011 brought with it a new car for our team, 2 wins and the best points finish (3rd) that we’ve ever had. We raced some of the best teams in the Northwest this summer and we ran up front with them…week in, week out. I’m so proud of the effort that me, Mike and Ronnie have put in to get us to this point…not just this year, but for the past 5 years that we have been doing this. You don’t run up front on accident. It takes a ton of effort and it takes a ton of help. And we’re not proud, we’ll take help from anyone who offers. Our biggest supporters this year have been Mobil 1 Lube Express on Broadway in Everett, Andy Sole at Superior Powder Coating in Arlington, Joe’s Racing, Fred Hall at Streamline Automotive in Monroe, Jessie Jensen at Jensen Race Cars, and Sandblaster’s Inc. in Marysville. We received all kinds of support from our fellow racers at the track including all of Naima Lang’s crew and family. Thank you.
Our plans for next year? We’ll be back at Evergreen to do it again. We are looking forward to the 2012 rules package and 2012 schedule. In the meantime, we are taking a couple months off. This is the first time we have ever done this since I got involved with late-models back in 2003. We always have something to work on in the off season. But this year we decided that we are only going to work on things that will make the car better. And in order to do that, we will need some additional resources, i.e. money. So I’m taking on some additional overtime at work and we’ll get back to it soon and see you all in 2012.
Practice – Coming off a 3/8’s race last week, we didn’t need to make any changes to the car’s set-up during the week and the car felt good in practice. It was going to be a hot day as the sun was beating down on the track and the temperatures were headed to the upper 80’s.
Qualifying – We put down our fastest lap of the year on the 3/8’s track but so did everyone else. We qualified fifth out of the 9 cars that were there this week.
Heat Race – With only 1 main event this week, heat races were on the schedule. We made it to the fast heat, started on the pole and finished third. Kind of disappointing, but gave us something to work on for the main.
Main – We started the main on the outside of the front row. There was a spin behind me on the first lap that brought out the caution. The pole sitter was involved, so on the complete restart, the inside row moved up putting the 16 car of Dan Moore on the pole. On the restart, Dan got a good jump and beat us into turn 1, I moved back inside of him coming out of turn 4 but couldn’t carry the speed down low into turn 1. That allowed the 70 car of Jeff Knight to move around us on the outside. We tucked into third with Naima Lang in the 00 car fourth. We ran basically nose-to-tail like that caution-free for the rest of the 50 lap race. Jeff made a couple of runs on Dan which allowed me to close on the two of them. But in the end, there was just no place to pass as our cars were very equal.
No racing this Saturday the 17th for the Super Late-Models. We return for our last race of the year on the 24th with a scheduled 100 lap race on the 3/8’s track.
Here is a video from the grandstands of the heat race and main event taken by Dan Moore's team.
We picked up our second win of the year on the 3/8’s track last Saturday night in the first of two 50 lap races. Our week started early last Sunday as we took the broken rear-end out of the car. We disassembled it hoping to find the one part that may have broken, but what we found was a mess of broken parts. Everything was broken. We would only be able to salvage the axle tubes and one axle.
On Monday morning I jumped on the phone trying to find a new center section, first on the West coast, working my way East. We found one already assembled, ready to ship in Michigan. It would be at the shop Thursday afternoon. Monday night, Mike and Ronnie removed the axle tubes from the old rear end and cleaned the hub assemblies, brakes, bearing, etc. so they would be ready to reassemble later in the week.
On Tuesday night, I continued with my normal chores of cleaning the chassis. I usually spend a couple hours on Tuesday nights after a race wiping down the underside of the car. On Wednesday, I did a run for a few odd-and-end parts we were going to need to put the rear end back together. I also stopped by the track and got our race tires.
The new center section arrived about 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon. While unpacking the boxes of parts, we noticed an adjustment assembly was missing. It’s just a threaded rod with a jam nut and a bushing on the end that screws into the side and rides just off the ring gear to reduce vibration. But it’s something we needed…now. I got on the phone to Dan at Northwest Differential in Kirkland and he had one in stock. I left work early on Friday, swung by Dan’s for the missing part, and went to the shop where we went to work assembling and installing the new rear-end.
Practice – Moving back to the 3/8’s track, we made some spring changes up front. I went out and the car felt great. We made no additional changes and skipped the second practice.
Qualifying – We bolted on a fresh set of Goodyear Eagle racing tires and qualified in 3rd spot.
Race #1 – At the drop of the green flag, we scrambled to get to the front and made it there after a few laps. Jeff Knight got by me coming out of turn 4 a few laps later as he was looking good in his new car. We ran second to Jeff for a bunch of laps with Naima hot on my tail until I slipped in turn 1 allowing Naima to get by me. The 3 of us ran together caution-free until we were coming to the white flag when Naima got under Jeff coming off turn 4 causing Jeff to spin to the inside. Naima checked up allowing me to squirt around the outside as the caution flew. That set up a green-white-checkered finish with Jeff on the outside of me as we took the green. We ran side-by-side for the first lap and bumped doors coming off turn 4 to the white flag. That allowed me to take the lead on the last lap and finish the race #1.
Race #2 – With the win in the first race, we had to start in the back of the second race. This race went the first 40 laps caution-free. At that point we had worked our way to 4th and it looked like that was the best we were going to get as the leaders were too far out front and I wasn’t catching them. But a spin with 9 to go bunched up the field. On the restart I tucked in behind Jeff for 4th spot, but it was obvious there was something wrong with the handling with his car. I was able to get by him and finished this race in 3rd.
Practice – We made some changes back at the shop to help the car turn better. Have you heard that before? From the best Cup teams to the low budget guy running Saturday night, everyone is working to get their car to turn better. The problem is, how do you fix the part of the turn that is broken without hurting the part that’s good? That’s were the word balance comes in. The first practice session was good, but the car didn’t feel very stable. Before the second practice, we made a small adjustment and it felt better.
Qualifying – We bolted on 4 new Goodyear Eagle racing tires and put down a good lap. At 23.0, it wasn’t our fastest lap, but on this day, it was good enough for second fastest of the 12 cars that were there.
Race – We started 8th, outside of the 4th row. And finally, for the first time this year, we got a great start and jumped into 3rd place after just a few laps. This was a 125 lap race on the big track and we wanted to settle into a nice, smooth pace for the first half of the race. I tucked in behind the 20 car. I was a little faster than him, but didn’t want to use up the car too early racing with him. That allowed a couple of cars to pass and I followed them around the 20 car. We made it to the 60 lap break in 5th. About 15 laps before the break, I could feel something “funny” in the rear-end while also smelling rear-end grease. The guys checked it out during the break but couldn’t find anything obvious. After the restart, Jeff Knight in the 70 car tried to knock down the outside wall coming out of turn 4 and again when he got to turn 1 without any steering or brakes. That moved us to 4th place. After another restart, I races behind Lewis in the 73 car and finally moved around him with about 30 laps to go. I set my sights on the 16 car of Moore when the rear-end blew apart. We coasted into the pits to end our night as Lang in the 00 car drove to the winner’s circle
We’ll get a new rear-end in the car this week and be back this Saturday for twin races on the small track.
Yes, we got our first win on Saturday night. The amount of support I have received from my wife and son, and the support from my crew, Mike and Ronnie Walker (and their families), has all paid off. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
This week was our first time back to the 3/8’s track since April 30th and the first time on the track since they resurfaced the 3/8’s track. When I tell people they resurfaced the track, they ask, “They repaved it?” No, they hired a company to diamond grind the roughest areas of the track. They took about a 1/10 of an inch off the pavement starting in the middle of turn one and continuing down the backstretch into the middle of turn 4. Although the small bumps and dips are still in the track, more of the car’s tires now touch the track, making for more grip.
Practice – Our lap times we about a second faster than our times in the past. It became apparent that the exit off turn 4 and the entrance into turn 1 would be tricky as the car lost grip on the “old” pavement.
Qualifying – To the chagrin of the late-model teams, the track continued with the European style qualifying where they let multiple cars on the track at the same time for 8 laps, recording your fastest lap. We qualified 3rd out of the 7 cars there. The old track record fell as Naima Lang recorded a lap in the 16.3 second range.
Trophy Dash – We ran a rare trophy dash. We bolted on the practice tires for this short race as we didn’t want to put any more laps on our race tires. We finished third.
First Main – A good qualifying effort comes with a starting position near the rear. We were trying to take it easy at the start of this race as the field worked through the slower cars that started up front. As we got sorted out and got down to some racing, the 5 car and I made contact. He end up in the pits and I continued, but with brake problems. Turns out the left-rear brake line got torn away from the brake caliper. We finished the race in 4th.
Second Main – Mike and Ronnie went to work fixing the car. We installed a new brake line and repaired some of the damage we discovered to the left rear quarter panel. We bolted the wheels back on the car, checked to make sure the front wheels were pointed in the right direction, and got lined up for the second race. We started on the pole and took the lead at the start of the race. There was a caution about 5 laps into the race. On the restart we took the lead again. Another caution just a couple laps later. This time the 16 car got me on the outside and we tucked in behind him as the front 4 ran nose-to-tail. After about 20 laps, we were able to move to the inside of the leader coming off turn 4, ran side-by-side for a lap or two, and the finally took the lead. We ran the last 15 laps caution-free and ended up in victory lane.
In my highly biased opinion, I thought this was some of the best racing in the late-model class we have had all year. The new surface races great. The low line is the fastest, but passing is difficult, and it takes a few laps to complete the pass, making for some exciting racing. It looks like the rest of our race my be on the bigger 5/8’s track as the track is adjusting the schedule to try and get more cars to the track. But I think the racing on the smaller track in now much better.
Next up for the Late Models is a 125 lap race on the big track August 27th during the Evergreen State Fair.
Before heading to the track on Saturday, we learned that we may experience a low car count this week. This is somewhat normal this time of year. After the big race in July, teams who have been having a rough year take a few weeks off to make sure their cars are ready for the first big show during the Evergreen State Fair at the end of August. So the track warned us that our scheduled twin 50 races may be cut to one 75 lap race. And, sure enough, only 8 cars turned out this week.
Practice – We went out for a 20 lap run and the car felt great on the big track For the first few laps, the car was a little loose coming off the corners, but as the tires came up to pressure, the car drove off the turns just fine.
Qualifying – On the second lap of qualifying, coming through turn 4, I hit the apron of the track with the left front tire and upset the car just enough to knock a couple of tenths off of our time. We qualified 5th. This time the car was better than the driver. And once again, I’m not sure what our qualifying time was as you can’t see the scoreboard or hear the announcer from the pits. And the qualifying times don’t seem to be posted anywhere…physically at the track or cyberly (I think I just invented a word) on the internet.
Race – We started on the inside of the second row. On the start, the car in front of us didn’t seem to get up to speed very well and we got freight-trained by the cars in the outside row. The first caution flew about 10 laps into the race, and I had all of the heavy hitters in front of me as I was in 5th place. After a few more laps of green, we were still in 5th place with about 45 laps to go. From here, the race went green to the end. We were able to work our way up to 3rd, but had lost touch with the leaders as Naima drives to his 9th win of the season and Jeff Knight finishes in second. Dan Moore and Tom Moriarity rounded out the top 5.
Our next race is August 13th for twin 50-lap races on the 3/8’s mile track. The last time we raced on the small track was April 30th. Last week, the track hired a company to diamond grind the roughest areas of the 3/8’s track. The racing groove from the middle of turn 1 to the start of turn 4 has been ground down less than a tenth of an inch. The asphalt in that area of the track has to be more than 45 years old. The track still has all of its characteristic small bumps, but now the racing tires will make contact with more of the track surface. It also looks like the track will “take” rubber and make for some faster lap times. Should be interesting.
Here are a few pictures taken at the track on Saturday. I don't always have time to run around with the camera, but this week we had a long time between qualifying and the race. I noticed there are a lot of pictures that include the #92 Mini-Stock of Molly Helmuth. That's only because I think your legally obligated to take pictures of her car if you bring a camera to the track. I wasn't sure about that, but I didn't want to risk it.
I’m going to take a minute here to look at the points standings and explain the points system. After every race, I list the points standings on the right side of this page. But here are the actual points each driver has accumulated so far:
Naima Lang is in the lead with 647 points.
Dan Moore is second with 456.
I’m in third at 402.
Jeff Knight has 370.
And Tom Moriarity rounds out the top 5 with 332.
So when you look at Naima’s huge lead, you have to ask, “What’s the deal?”
Here’s how the point system works:
- Qualifying – The top qualifier gets 8 points, followed by 7 points for the second fastest time on down to 2 points for 7th fast time. Every driver from 8th on down gets 1 point.
- Heat Race - If there is a heat race, which we have when we run a single race on the 3/8’s track, the winner gets 10 points, second 9 points, third gets 8, and so on down the line.
- Main Event – The winner gets 40 points, second 38, third 36, and so on down to 2 points for any driver finishing 20th on back.
So everything listed above is very typical with other short tracks across the country. But Evergreen added one more item: passing points. At the start of the race, the field is inverted…the fastest qualifier starts last, slow qualifier starts first, and a drivers gets 3 points for each position he advances from his starting position at the end of the race. So, let’s take last week’s race as an example: Naima qualifies 1st, 8 points. He wins the race, 40 points. And the big one, he starts in the back in 17th position and passes 16 cars for 48 passing points, for a total of 96 points. Now, let’s look at Dan Moore’s finish from the last race. Dan is second in points. Dan qualifies 10th for 1 point. He finishes 7th for 28 points, and only passes 3 cars, 9 points, for a total of 38 points. So that’s a 58 point difference. He finishes 6 positions back and the difference in points is more than a race win. That is how Naima is in a position to take a week off and still maintain the points lead. The passing points are a huge factor this year. This is also how guys like Jeff Knight and Tom Moriarity can miss a race or two and still be ahead of drivers who have raced every event.
There’s one last rule that plays another roll in the points standing. The driver has to be a NASCAR licensed driver in good standing in order to receive points in a race. This last race was a special event that drew some teams from other tracks and they didn’t buy a NASCAR license to run this race. That’s why you can’t find them in the points standing. Also, a NASCAR licensed driver doesn’t get the 3 passing points when he passes a non-licensed driver. So, for the last race, instead of getting 96 points, Naima got 78 points, Dan Moore received 42 points, and I got 39 points.