2013 Season

April 23, 2013

Holy cow.
That was the biggest thrill of my life!
Thank you Daddy, for teaching me to drive a standard car, in what should be a record, of less than 10 minutes. ^^I believe that’s a new record, agreed?  hehe
Anyways, onto the important stuff  As I buckled into my car, put on my helmet and gloves, and drove up to the line up, I realized something.. I would be on the race track.. with OTHER cars ! I’m not gonna lie and say I was fine, not panicking and that I was super confident, because I wasn’t. I actually almost cried. I had tears welling up in my eyes, I know, I know, It’s not that big of a deal, but still, I was very nervous.  But as soon as I got onto the race track, everything felt so natural, and free, and I just felt so perfect. So right. And then I knew, I had made the right decision with this car. This was my sport. This was just the perfect moment. Right then. Perfect.
So through out the day I got faster, and more comfortable, with the car, the track and even myself.
I kept going up further on the track, closer to the wall, and by now I was pretty much just testing my boundaries.
I need to learn how to pull off the track better, ha, definitely that. If you’re reading this Randy, I’m sorry 😉
By the last practice session of the night, I found my boundaries, with speed and how big the track is.
I went into the turn WAY too fast and the back end of my car slid up the track, so now I had ended up turning myself so I was facing the infield wall, I saved myself with a sharp right turn, but.. I saved myself a bit too much, and now I had my front end matching up with the outside wall. I made another sharp left turn, and saved myself, so I only ended up hitting the right front bumper, thank God. And to be honest, I wasn’t worried about my self, only how angry my dad was gonna be.
But, as I pulled into the infield pits, my Dad came down after the other cars had pulled off, and I see him running down, arms over head, clapping all the way to the car. I got out of my car, and he congratulated me and hugged me and told me how proud he was of me…
What..?!
He told me, ‘Hey, everyone has to crash once, and you handled yourself perfectly with this one.’ that was my first, and defiantly not last, ha.
Special thanks to all that came out to give me encouragement on my first day. All in all, I think it went pretty well, even if Dad does have a bit of work to do! Thanks to the guys at Sunset that came over to my car to make sure I was okay after I hit the wall!
I can’t wait to get back out on the track! woo hoo, come Wednesday, come faster! 😀

April 23, 2013

So today I got back on the track tonight for a short practice and I finally mastered the exit from the track ! 😀
I worked on running my line and just general practice and more seat time.
My arms are sore and I hurt my wrist….. Daddy, Daddy can I please have power steering?
In spite of that, I still love my race car.

April 26, 2013

WooHoo! Racing tomorrow! So excited to get back in my car :’)
Mommy, Daddy, I love you<3 thank you,
for the best present of my life.
for the best time of my life,
for the best memories of my life.
This right here, this opportunity, will change, and has changed my life.
Thank you<3

April 27, 2013

Yesterday was a good day; this week has been a good week. I am seriously blown away by the fact that people that don’t even know me would actually give me money, just to race my car. Thanks to, Paul Quail Transport for your generosity
Also, Thank you to my incredible kind Gramma for sponsoring me, and making my dreams, a reality.
I love you Gramma.
My day yesterday may not have been the best yesterday, considering that I was sick, and my eyes were extremely sore   I am a little concerned with the other cars on the track because I don’t wanna do something wrong and end up wrecking someone else! So I’m going to work on building some confidence today. My dad is going to be hooking up some radios for practice today. I really hope they help me out
Wish me luck,
Well now I’m back from the track, my 4th time practicing
That, in my opinion, was the best, by far, the best practice I’ve had so far.
Today I was working on holding my line and getting on and off the gas when I need to.
Me and my ‘Crew Chief ‘, my Dad 😉 , borrowed some radios for practice, from our great friend Tony Tiemersma.
Thanks Tony !
I'm ordering my decals really soon  can’t wait to see them on the car
As I was getting my speed up for throughout the day and getting faster, I said, Ain’t nobody got time for brakes 😉 tee hee

May 2, 2013

So, at practice on Wednesday, I was working on my line and my entry into the corner.   Where to let off and where get back on the gas again.
I don’t have to use the brakes when I’m going into the corners, but I found I enter the corner faster than some others. I got into the corner a little hotter than one of my fellow rookies and when I realized I closed in on her faster than I thought, I put two wheels in the grass to try and avoid her but we ended up touching and we both spun. No damage to either car though.
First spin out, out of the way  I’m ready for more

May 3, 2013

Today was my final night to practice before the race season begins tomorrow. I ran four practice sessions today and was very happy with my progress. The final two practice sessions I was on the track by myself, working on my line again to try to keep myself in the lower grove and out of trouble when the racing starts tomorrow night.
For each of the two final practices, I ran 20 laps each time. Since I can run the car with the gas pedal to the floor now, I had to start working on using the brakes…….remember I said “Ain’t nobody got time for brakes?”….well I’ve found out that I do. lol Sometimes you have to go slower in order to go faster. I am learning where to lift on the gas going into the corner, where to get back on the gas coming out and how much brake I need to make for the best lap time.
I was running laps from 18.5 to 19.2 consistently. I was happy with that, especially when we looked at the conversion chart and I found that I was doing over 70MPH average around the track.
I am looking forward to racing for the first time tomorrow……if practice goes well, I will run in the heat races, but doubtful that I will run the feature race, if I even qualify. We want to make sure that I am ready for the a feature race before we step into that as I don’t want to be a problem on the race track for anyone else. See you all there!!
Oh, and I got decals for my car finally, we are putting them on the car tomorrow morning!

May 4, 2013 - FIRST RACE

Before the heat races, I was feeling extremely nervous. Mark mentioned that he was going to have a heat race for just the rookies in order to see how they did and then he would determine if they would be able to start the feature race. This took off some of the pressure.
All week, my parents had said that they weren’t sure if I was even going to run the feature. They said that they would see how practice went that week, how the heat races went, and then decide from there if I would be allowed to run the feature race. They said that no matter what position I was supposed to start the heats, I would be running scratch. Then Mark said that they would do a rookie heat and then I found out I had the pole for the race, my Daddy said that I could START ON THE POLE! OMG! I felt a little overwhelmed as I really didn’t know what to do. I had never raced before, never mind starting the race on the pole. I had to get some quick information from my Daddy and Randy about what the heck I was supposed to do.
During the race, I felt excited, but in control. I started the race and pulled out in front of everyone and I felt confident and happy. I lead the race for eight laps before getting passed. I felt that I would have won my first race, but I was having fuel problems all day, and we thought we had them fixed, but then the car started to break down again and I just had no speed. I am glad that I was able to hang onto second place.
In the second heat race, I had to start at the back and I just stayed at the back putting in more laps.
And then I found out I would be running the feature! SNAP!! But, I wasn’t nervous at all, until I got to the line up area. But my plan for the feature was just to go out there, run my line, be careful and stay out of the way of the other drivers. I did exactly that. I didn’t drift up in the corners and I was being very careful to hit my marks. I didn’t drive as fast as I would if I was on the track by myself, but I wanted to be extra careful. I figured the best thing I could do would be to stay out of the way and just make sure that I didn’t wreck myself or anyone else. I managed to run the full race, and although I am not sure where I finished yet, I know I was at least 18th or better. So for my first night out, I think that was a good night.
I would like to thank Mark and Steve for being so supportive of the Rookies, the other drivers that have offered me support and encouragement and the person that I don’t know that came to my car at the end of the night to tell me I did a great job. That meant a lot to me.
Looking forward to next week to do it again!!
IMPORTANT NEWS: I got another new sponsor last night!!! More details to follow!! So excited.

May 11, 2013

First off, when I got to the race track and went to sign in, Carol handed me a cheque! Right, I forgot, you actually get paid to do this! My first “winnings” were $40! But sadly, I don’t get to keep it as for some reason it has to go back into the race car.
I only made it to the track for one practice session today, but the car felt good. I was 8th or 9th in the line up for the first heat and felt good about that. I had three cars behind me, two that chose to run scratch, and I felt it was a good spot for me to start. When lining up for the race, I am not as comfortable being right up close to the car in front of me as everyone always checks up and I am afraid of running into the back of someone when they do this. I felt pretty good, the car was good and I was happy with my 6th place finish.
The second heat of the night I was to start on the outside pole and I was thinking to myself that I might be slower than the rest and get pushed out of the way. I held my line while three fast cars passed me on the inside, waited for my chance and went to the bottom lane when I could. It’s a little scary out there! I ran my line and finished my second heat race in 5th place.
And then came the feature! Well, there was a lot of discussion about this race and what I would be doing. I had some suggestions from a couple other people that I should start the race in the scratch position instead of 5th where I would be starting. I talked to my Mom and Dad and Dad and I decided that since starting 5th would put me on the inside, they would be fine with that. Have to learn to deal with traffic sometime.
When I went onto the track to line up 5th, the 07 car went to the infield pits, and that moved me up to the 4th starting position, on the OUTSIDE!! If this had have happened before the line up, I am pretty sure my Mom would have made me go scratch instead of starting me on the outside. But I felt a little intimated out there, not going to lie, a LOT. But we had looked all through the starting line up and I was confident I would be able to get to the inside line if I needed to after a bit.
This was the most fun I’ve had yet. A little scary with all those cars out there but for the most part I think I held my line well and was a mid pack car for sure. I made a few passes, both on the inside and outside and even passed a lapped car on the outside, with us three wide through the corner!!! Me in the middle!! Little scary, but I completely trusted Warren Paxton who was on the outside. He is an amazing driver and such a great guy.
In the end, I believe I finished 11th. On the caution I lined up 11th for the restart and do not believe anyone passed me after that. I had a good battle with the 6 car for many laps. I did get into the corner hot a couple times, but think that I did a pretty good job for my first side to side racing battle. Hope he feels the same way!!
Very happy with the 5th, 6th and 11th place finishes. No practice this week for me unfortunately. See you all on Saturday!!!

May 18, 2013

It was an interesting night! When we got to the track and I drew my starting position number, I drew #1!! So excited!! I was going to start on the pole for my first heat race. After I got over being excited about that, I got a little nervous. I would be starting the field, pacing the heat race. I actually felt a little sick to my stomach in the line up area.
We went out for the heat race and I think I had a pretty good start. I got passed by two fast cars pretty quickly, which was okay as I expected it. I was having a good race with another car for third. I got into corner one a little…okay…a lot too hot and put my car sideways in the centre of the corner! That was scary! I did what my Dad told me to do if I ever get in trouble like that and I straightened the wheel and hit the gas to get myself out of the spin. I put two wheels in the dirt, but was able to recover and didn’t spin out and kept on driving. Although I was happy I was able to save the car, I lost a LOT of confidence after that and slowed right down and was a lot more careful. Always in the back of my mind is that I don’t want to wreck my car, more importantly, I don’t want to be the cause of someone else being wrecked. I ended up finishing the race in 8th. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but I did learn a lot in that race. I was in a very uncomfortable situation and not at all where I wanted to be, but I learned how to get out of it, so it was a good lesson. But as my Dad and Randy say, it’s good to be outside my comfort zone as that is the way that I will learn.
In the second heat race, they inverted the starting order, so I should have started last, but three cars decided to start scratch, so I started 8th. My confidence was still shook and I was way more cautious out there than I should have been, but again, I was still a little nervous after getting my car out of shape in the first heat race. I didn’t lose anything, but didn’t gain either and finished in 8th spot.
One thing that I am extremely proud of is that each weekend, I have qualified for the feature race through the heat races and have been able to start in my starting position instead of having to start at the back.
For the feature, I was supposed to start in 9th. However three cars in front of me started scratch so that moved me up to the 6th starting spot, on the outside.
Very early in the race, like lap one or two, some other cars decided that they wanted around the slower cars at the front. Coming down the backstretch, not one, but two cars decided that they wanted to get to the front in a hurry! We went into corner three with a car that went under the 06 car, then the 06, me outside of him and then the #37 went to the outside of us making it FOUR wide going through the corner!!!
The 37 car on the outside of me ended up cutting down my right front tire. I quickly found out that with a flat right front, turning the car is extremely hard! I couldn’t turn and we both were heading up toward the wall. I managed to get the car turned for the straightaway and kept my lane. It was extremely hard, but I had to do another lap in order to wait for some cars to get by me so I could get to the bottom of the race track.
I had no idea what was wrong with my car, I just knew that I could no longer turn the car. Again, I’ve barely drove a car, so I had no idea what it would feel like to have a flat tire, I just knew that “something” was wrong. When the inside line cleared a bit, I pulled down on the track and was able to get my car to the infield pit, without bringing out the caution. I had a huge gouge in the sidewall of my tire! When I pulled into the infield pit, Coltin Everingham and his crew came over to help me out. They asked where my crew was and I told them, they were in the grandstands. Probably eating ice cream or something!! lol Thanks to Coltin and his crew for helping me out.
So, after all that, I am pretty sure I was the first car out of the race and finished in last place. Not what I was hoping for at all. But, I learned a lot last night. I learned that I can’t get in the corner too hot, I have to run my own line and my own race and not worry about the cars around me, I learned what it feels like to have a flat tire and I learned that while one week you can do amazing, the next week can be a big disappointment. Looking forward to next week! And now I am going camping! Have a good weekend everyone.

May 25, 2013

It was an interesting night! Experienced a few new things so it was pretty exciting.
In practice, I had my first experience with oil on the track! The car two in front of me blew her motor and dumped oil, found out pretty quickly that oil is slippery! Was able to get the car slowed down, so it was all good.
In the first heat race, I would start in the fourth position. I was in a heat with mostly all fast cars. There was a caution early. Restarts are something that I need to work on as I was a little slow on the start and lost four positions immediately. Not a great race, finished 8th in that heat.
In the second heat, I would start fourth in this one as well as some cars decided to start scratch. For the most part, it was uneventful, and I finished in 6th place.
Unfortunately, with 27 cars at the track, my 8th and 6th in the heats would not qualify me for my percentage starting place in the feature – first time I have not qualified through the heat races – so I would start 21st in the feature race.
Very early in the feature race, I was black flagged!! What?? I had no idea what was wrong, so I brought the car down pit lane. Turns out my gas cap wasn’t on so I was leaking gas on the track. My Dad put the gas cap on, and luckily a caution came out, and back on the track I went. I have no idea at this point if I was a lap down or not because of the caution. I started at the back and was attempting to make some passes, which I did, when I got outside of another car going into corner one. The other car broke something in the front end and drove into the side of my car. We went up the race track toward the wall, not sure if we were going to hit it, spin out or what. I turned the wheel away from the wall and floored the gas, was able to get in front and away from the other car, and drove away. No caution came out. I hurt my wrist when we hit, have quite a bit of body damage on my car, but other than that, the car was still running good. I caught up to the field and managed to pass a few more cars before the night was over. It was a little crowded on the track in the closing laps when two cars in front of me were racing side by side. The passing flag was out as the leaders were coming, however, they were still side by side and blocked the leader, the #64 car, and then Warren Paxton was able to get between me and the two lapped cars racing side by side and pass them on the inside, getting by the leader that was stuck behind them, to take another feature win! Congrats to Warren!!
At this point, I have no idea where I finished in the feature, I think 16th or 18th, but with the black flag and the near miss wreck, I am happy with the finish and even more important the learning experience from the evening. **Update, even with the caution, I was one lap down for the gas cap mishap and finished 19th in the feature! Passed all those cars for nothing!! lol

June 8, 2013

It was fan appreciation night last night and it was a lot of fun meeting people and signing autographs! Thanks to everyone that came down to meet the drivers last night.
The night started off fantastic! I had the pole in my first heat, which was awesome, but I also had some top drivers out there – 33, 51 and 9 specifically. I was pretty sure that I would be passed at some point by these drivers as, they are just super great! I was on the pole with the #9 of Steven Belanger outside. He is also a rookie this year, a good driver and has a fast car. During the race, the #78 of Wendy Adams would make contact with the wall, and later the #51 of Eric York would be involved in an incident that would take them both off the track. I was extremely happy with my 3rd place finish in the heat race.
For the second heat race, I would start dead last as the field was inverted. It was a pretty uneventful heat race, made a pass or two and ended up finishing the race in 5th, which I was happy for as well. With a 3rd and a 5th in the heat races, I would qualify through the heats and start the feature in my “qualifying” position.
I was scheduled to start in 5th place for the feature, however, one car dropped out moving me up to 4th for the start. On lap one of the feature, the #6 car of Terry Woodley would have a problem bringing out the first caution on lap #1. This was unfortunate as the front runners had fallen into line comfortably, with me in 4th. Now we would be lining up for a restart, with me in 4th on the outside.
After the restart, on lap two, coming down the front stretch, the 06 of Chris Free would have his bumper to the inside of the rear of my car, I came down a bit, not realizing that he was there, and tagged his front bumper with just inside my rear bumper. This turned me toward the inside wall, which at this point, I turned the wheel and snapped the car around so I was now facing the outside wall, going sideways down the front stretch!! Over correcting the car is something I need to work on. Lucky for me, but unlucky for the #9 car of Steven Belanger, he was going by on the outside and I ended up in the door of his car and got a little bit air borne! My apologies to the #9 car. I certainly didn’t mean to hit his car, but at the same time, I thank him for being there otherwise I would have been head first into the front stretch wall. After hitting the #9 car, my car then swung around and I ended up in the grass in turn one. In my opinion, great job by all the MS drivers last night for not hitting me as I was spinning every way down the front stretch since there were 20 cars behind me and not one of them hit me. The #9 left the race a bit later, hopefully not due to any damage that I caused him.
My car felt alright after I got it rolling again so I didn’t go into the pits under caution. However, special thanks to the #33, Warren Paxton, for coming up beside me to let me know that I had a left rear flat. And then even more thanks to Warren’s crew for helping on pit lane to change the tire, checking the bumper bar was away from my front tire and that there was no further damage from the impact.
I restarted the race in last. The car still felt good! I managed to pass about 5 or 6 cars, unfortunately, while I was passing another car on the outside, he got extremely high in the corner and spun me around and ripped off the front bumper of my car and knocked the tow out on the car very badly. We both got sent to the back for the restart. On the restart, coming into corner 3, I almost spun the car out myself because the handling was so bad on the car. Anyways, I got it corrected, restarted the race, finished almost in one piece. My finish for the night was 19th, which I am not that happy about, especially after the great heat races I had, but it is what it is. It was one of those nights where I had ups and downs and got to learn a whole bunch of things, some that I many not really have wanted to learn. Hopefully next week will be better.
Be sure to check out the Racing Photo’s page for pictures from fan appreciation night. Next week should be interesting as my Dad and Randy won’t be there with me.    They are going to be in Michigan for the Nascar Race, so I have my fantastic crew member, Jerry who comes every week, my Uncles Greg and Steve towing me to the track and helping with the race car for the evening, plus, I am happy that my Popa will be there to help me out as well!! See you all next week!

June 15, 2013

My Daddy and Randy weren’t able to be there last night as they are at the Nascar Race in Michigan, so it was a bit of a struggle to even get to the track this week. We had to find someone to tow my car to the track, thanks Uncle Steve!! And then we had to round up some additional crew and someone to load the car for me. Since I am small, I only have a 14 inch seat so there aren’t many people that can fit in my car for loading it!! Thanks Uncle Greg for being in such great shape to fit!! With the help of my regular crew members, Jerry and Richard, plus my Popa Wally and the fabulous #33 crew that helps in the infield, we had all our bases covered. Thank you to everyone that helped out to make sure that I wouldn’t miss a night of racing. It is very much appreciated.
My Dad and Popa did so much work on the car after last weekend that we weren’t sure how the car would feel this week. My Daddy assured me that it was going to be the best it ever had been! In the early practice it didn’t feel 100% right, but I think that was just because the track was so hot. My tire pressures were pretty high when I came off so my Popa adjusted that and out we went again. Second practice the car felt better, unfortunately, we would be involved in a small incident with my good friend, #28 Morgan Robson! Minor damage to the drivers side and ripped the skirt off my car. I had to go to the infield to get it when practice was done.
With the Super Late Models racing at Barrie Speedway last night, a few Barrie cars were at Sunset racing. Congratulations to Derrick Tiemersma on his 2nd place finish last night!
There were 28 Mini Stocks racing. In my first heat race, I would start 7th, with three non regular drivers starting scratch behind me. I figured since they were visiting from another track, they were likely good, fast cars, so thought I’d be patient and see exactly what they were going to do and how they race. I was passed by two of them off the start and fell to 9th, but then managed to pass the 14 and 5 cars to get myself back up into 7th place for the finish.
In the second heat race, I would start on the pole. With the #33 and #04 starting right around me, I fully expected that I would be passed by these cars early and was hoping to hang on for a 4th or 5th place finish. I know I am a rookie and this is only my 6th night of racing, so I don’t expect anything unrealistic of myself at this point. In corner one of the first lap, the 04 was on the outside of me and came down in the corner where I would then tag his bumper and he would spin in front of me. I tried to brake to miss him when he was coming down, but I couldn’t get slowed down enough and around he went. I managed to slow down and get around him without hitting him again, but in the meantime I was passed by 2 other cars, dropping me back to 3rd spot. The 04 did a great job getting the car going again and did not bring out the caution. The race was fine after that and I managed to bring in a 5th place finish which I was happy with.
Having a 7th and 5th place finish in the heats, I was hopeful that I would have qualified for my up front starting spot in the feature, but it wasn’t good enough. I would start 19th in the feature of 28 cars. Not great, but not too bad. I discussed it with my Mom and we thought the best plan would be to use a lot of patience and stay clear of what was possibly to come in this feature.
There were an early caution, and another caution near the end, but overall it was a good race. There was a late race incident where a car spun in front of me, and I was able to avoid them, but in slowing down for this, I was passed by three cars taking away my 15th place position at the time. I was able to pass two more cars before the end of the race and finished in 17th place. Not bad out of 28. Most important, I was able to finish on the lead lap. Which has been a goal that I’ve finally been able to achieve. Even when I finished 11th and 15th in the past, I was a lap down because the leaders in this division are just that great!! Not sure what happened to the #9 car of Steven Belanger, but he was running in 2nd when he had to pull into the pits and end his night early. He was having a great run so I hope it isn’t anything too serious.
Overall, without my Daddy and Randy, and with some early incidents, I was very happy with the night overall. Can’t wait for next week!!

June 29, 2013 - FIRST WIN

We made the trip up to Sauble Speedway for the first home and home series race between the Sunset and Sauble drivers. The drive was long but fun!
When we first got to the track, we unloaded, my Mom and I walked around the pits so she could show me the line up area, where to enter and exit the pits and we looked at the track, the difference in the track size and the banking.
I went out for the first practice round and HATED the track! In the first corner, on the first lap, I expected the car to react one way in the corner, and quickly found that I was wrong! I spun the car into the infield in the first corner, drove through the infield and continued on. It wasn’t fun at all. I made it through practice, slowly, trying to figure out the track and where I should be lifting for the corners and where I should be getting back on the gas on exit. It was a real challenge for me to try to adjust to the different, tighter, track.
They had a different format than what I am used to. At Sunset we run two heat races and the feature. At Sauble, we were running one qualifying heat race, a B Feature and then the main Feature. You had to qualify through one heat race in order to make the main feature. A lot would depend on starting position and which cars were in your heat race with you. Unfortunately, I drew the 8th starting position in a heat of 12 cars, for a heat race of 12 laps. Started 8th, lost a spot and wasn’t able to move forward in the heat, so ended up finishing 9th. Not good enough to qualify for the feature as I would have needed to finish 8th or better.

So, I would be running in the B Feature. For the B Feature, they take all non qualifying cars and have them run the B Feature and then they take the top four cars from that race and move them into the main Feature race. So, going into this race, I knew I had to finish in the top four!
I was pretty happy to see that I was to start on the pole position for the B Feature! My Dad and I spoke at length about what I would need to do for this race. However, seconds before we were going out on to the track, all that talk was for nothing. They brought up the #46 and put him ahead of me. My Dad checked with the official to see what was happening and they had missed him in the line up and now he would be starting pole and I would be outside pole.   I was a little upset about this.
When the green flag flew, I am not the best on starts and timing them, and I fell back to third place on the outside on the start. But, I wanted that first place position, where I thought I would be starting, back. I had a good run down the back stretch and was back up into second on the second lap and drove hard into the corner in corner three. I passed the #46 car on the outside through corner three/four. I was quite happy with that. I had the lead by corner one and hung on to that for 6 laps. On lap 8, the #46 car and I had checked out pretty good and were battling for the top spot. I had it, he wanted it!! I was not giving this up for anyone!

He cranked me HARD going into corner three in the left rear of my car and got me a bit sideways. I held on to the lead. Got hit again, in corner one, held on to the lead. On the last lap, the #46 hit me again in the left corner in corner three and got me sideways a bit again, but managed to pull out of the corner again and picked up my FIRST CHECKERED FLAG!!! So happy!!!

With that win, I was able to move in to the Main Feature race, starting in the 23rd position. Long road to go in order to move up on a track that is super hard to pass on. However, moving up was not going to happen. A couple of laps into the race, I found there was something wrong with the car. Just didn’t seem to have any power. I ran a few laps but ended up having to pull off into the pits. Not sure what is wrong with the car, even at this point, as we went camping for a few days after the race and haven’t had a chance to look at the car yet. We were hoping to get to practice this week and check the car out, but there was no practice, so that will have to wait until Saturday. Finished 25th in the main Feature.
Special thanks to all my Sponsors: Twin Contracting, Paul Quail Transpost, Mustard Seed Contracting and my Gramma Lynne for their financial support to help me through my Rookie Year. Also, thanks to Spira for their addition to the points fund for the 4 cylinders race at Sauble! Every bit helps!!!

July 6, 2013

It was a long day at the race track, especially for my Daddy. Having raced Thunder Cars and then Late Models, these 4 cylinder cars, especially a Honda, are totally new to him, and pretty much nothing is the same.
At Sauble Speedway last week, I had to pull off in the feature as my car had no power. There was no practice this week, so I didn’t get my car back on the track until today. I had two spark plug wires that were a little loose and we were hopeful that would be the quick fix. It wouldn’t be that easy. We spent the entire day trying to figure out the sensors on the car, which one was causing the problem. Went out for practice, car wasn’t good. My Dad took the car out to see how it felt to him.
In the first heat race, I started 4th and dropped in a hurry. Just no power in the car at all. I ended up having to pull off to the infield before the race ended.
We brought the car back in, did some more work and got ready for the second heat. I was scheduled to start 7th but opted to run scratch to see how the car would be with the changes we made. The car felt better in the beginning of the race, found some power, and I was able to pass two cars, but then it started breaking down again.
My Dad talked to the #88 LM, Scott Beatty, and he helped him figure out what the problem was. Thanks to Scott for helping to diagnose the problem. And thanks to the #37 MS, Gehrig Halliday, for loaning us the part that we needed! Help from both of you was very much appreciated.
We started the feature in the 22nd position. The plan was to see how the car was in the opening laps, if it was still breaking down, then I’d just run a lap or two and pull into the infield. However, I checked the car the first few laps and it felt good, back to normal. So I started racing the car. I was able to pass a few cars, but we were pretty far behind the pack so I took a number of laps to catch up to the pack. I managed to pass a few more cars after that. I ended up down a lap, but it worked in my favour as when the lead pack passed me, I fell in behind them and was able to keep up and pass a few more cars that way. However, by the end of the race, my brakes were pretty much done, to the point where there is almost no brake pedal at all.
My Dad’s got some work to do tomorrow before he leaves for Edmonton. Unfortunately, I won’t be around to help him as I am off to Algonquin Park for a few days! See you all next week!!

July 13, 2013

In the first practice yesterday, I just went our for a couple of laps as I had to cut in my new brakes. Found that we had a broken rotor after last week so we changed those and the brakes. Second practice the car started breaking down again. Thanks to some help from Lance Foster and we were able to get the car back running fantastic.
In the first heat, I was staring in 10th out of 11 cars – and a lot of fast cars! Overall, the car felt great and we ended up finishing the race in 6th. I was very happy with that finish.
In the second heat race, I was supposed to start in 3rd, but two cars ahead of me did not take the green and therefore I started on the pole. I had a real fast car – the 44 I think – on the outside of me and quickly he passed me along with another car. I was in 3rd when the 81 car got underneath me and coming out of corner 4 she got up too high and into the side of my car putting me into the wall. We both went down the track, up against the wall, until past the starters stand before she moved down the track. I wasn’t able to steer at all up until this point. I was braking but was just on for the ride pretty much when I was pinned up against the wall. I was headed for the outside wall in corner 1. I ended up spinning down the track in the centre of the corner. Unfortunately another car was coming and I was there. I got hit in the drivers door and did a lot of damage to my car. Unfortunately, the other car had a lot of damage as well.
We were out for the rest of the night. The roll bars are pushed back a couple of inches, the floor has buckled, the dash buckled and my seat has twisted to the side. Control arm needs replace, broke the alternator belt, rim and not even sure what else at this time.   I feel my bank account is going to take a big hit this week. Thanks to my sponsors for their support of me….and the fact that I have money in my bank account because of them.
A HUGE thank you to all the drivers and crew that came over to offer to help the car to get me back on the race track. There was quite a bit of damage, and my Mom and Randy had two big concerns; with the state of the left side of the car, we were worried another hit there could be serious, plus I had a slight concussion so they decided it would be best for everyone if I didn’t drive the car for the rest of the night. We loaded up at that point. Apparently, bonus points are being awarded for finishing position, on top of the 100 show up points, so I guess I am going to take a hit in the points this week. We may have fixed the car just to get me out for a lap in the feature. I didn’t really realize the impact at the time for the points. Just thinking about that today.   Those points will be hard to make up.
Thanks to the Paxton crew and family for coming back to my house after the race to help move the other car out of the garage and get my MS in there to be fixed. Our plan is to have the car fixed and back at the track next weekend.
We seem to have really bad runs when my Dad isn’t at the race track. I know he is going to miss at least one more night as he’ll be away on business. Hopefully that one will go better.
Once again, thank you so much to all the drivers/crew/staff and fans for your support of me. It is very much appreciated. And thank you to Randy Harris for always being there to help me, support and encourage me. I am so sorry that you have all this extra work to do on my car this week since my Dad isn’t here to do it! Can’t wait for you to get here as I am looking forward to working on the car with you!!

July 20, 2013

After the wreck last weekend, my Doctor took me out of the car, and all sports in general, for two weeks. So, I had to sit out and let my Daddy drive the car instead. It was exciting to see him race, but it was really hard to sit out.
My Daddy had a really good night. He finished 6th in the first heat, 4th in the second heat and 10th in the feature. Overall, it was a good night.
We found out that I pretty much have to car running at it’s limit each week. My Daddy was running pretty much the same lap times as I was, but a bit more consistently.
We went up to practice on Wednesday, again I wasn’t allowed to practice as my two weeks aren’t over yet   The motor is STILL Fluttering. My Dad and Randy have tried so many different things and nothing is working. They are in the garage right now trying to check out a few other things, problem is, the car needs to be on the track to see if the changes have fixed the problem.
Still a lot of work to do on the body and bars before the next race, but we are side tracked by the motor right now.
Good thing we have a week off to try to get all these issues sorted out.

August 3, 2013

Best night in a long time! We showed up at the track, after a bunch of changes were done on the race car this week and the car was horrible.
My Daddy took the car out in the first practice to make sure everything was okay with the motor. It wasn’t. I didn’t get out for any practice until right at the end of the day and the car was fantastic!
The Rookie of the Year battle is a good one. I came into the night second in the Rookie battle just one point behind the #87. After both heats, the 87 and I were still just one point apart
In the first heat, I started 8th and managed to pass a few cars to make my way up to a 4th place finish.
In the second heat, I started outside pole and passed the pole sitter, but then I was quickly passed by the X car. I was in second for awhile when the #37 came up. We had so much fun fighting for that second position, especially since he is a really good friend of mine. He did make the pass on me and I ended up finishing 3rd. It was a great race for me and a lot of fun battling with Gehrig. Oh, and I broke my gear shift when I was coming off the track, that was fun.
In the feature, I would start in the third position. I thought I had a great chance at a top ten finish for this one. In the opening laps I got pinched down and wasn’t able to race the line that I wanted and needed to be in, and I couldn’t get out of the corner, but that’s racing. Three cars passed me there as I didn’t have the speed coming out of the corner that I needed after being forced down into a lane where I could get the speed out of the corner. Coming out of corner 2, the #33 and the #64 both went underneath me and I ended up on the outside. Not long after that, coming out of the corner, we were three or four wide and I got passed by a couple other cars.
In the end, I did not get that top ten I was hoping for, but did manage to finish in 11th position. I was extremely happy with the finish of the race, all my races, and the car was awesome. Probably the best it’s been all year. Thanks to all my crew, Scott and Nick Montanari.
I am going up today to watch the special at Sunset but I am not racing. I have a car show that I have to do next weekend, and my Dad is away, so I can’t take the chance of doing any damage to my car.

August 10, 2013

We had a great day! We went to a Charity BBQ in the morning with The Mortgage Station in Lefroy. They will be the sponsors for the night at Sunset Speedway next Saturday. After the BBQ we headed to the track for practice. The car was good in practice and I was very happy with it.
It was fan appreciation night and I had a great time on the track meeting people and seeing everyone.
In the first heat race, I started in 5th position. I was having a good run with Steve Belanger, #9, and he made a pass on me on the back straight. I went way too hard into corner three and got into Steve and turned us both and we were sideways and in the grass. We both managed to save the cars and get them straight, however, Steve would get a flat tire.   I continued on, we didn’t bring out the caution and I didn’t lose a spot on the track and finished in 4th. I spoke with Steve afterward and apologized. Steve is such a great guy, and so nice, and I felt horrible.

In the second heat race, I was in third place, having fun racing with the 07, when the 07, Tyler Johnston, made a great pass on me on the inside but coming out of corner 4 he got into me a bit and we both ended up spinning, and we weren’t able to save it, bringing out the caution. So to the back we both went. I managed to pass a car or two and finished the race in 6th. Tyler came over and we talked after and he even offered any parts that we may need if anything was broken. Tyler is a fantastic guy.

In the feature, I started 4th. I got a horrible start and fell back from the car in front of me. This started a lot of the issues that would follow. Because of my bad start, it caused people to check up and others to go three wide to get by. I felt a little bit like a pinball out there getting bumped from every side. As we came out of corner four on the first lap, I was hit from behind, and then hit in the door allowing one car to go underneath me and another around on the outside. I got hit again coming into corner one and pushed up the track into the 64 of Brandon McFerran. He then spun in front of the rest of the field, not hitting anyone, but as he got the car stopped, he was hit and this put him out of the race for the night. I felt bad being involved in something that would take one of my great friends out of the race for the night.
For the rest of the night, I was in and out of the pits as my car not handling well. I pretty much was at the back for the rest of the night. I ended up finishing the night in 17th.
Racing is a very humbling experience. I am in my first year and know that I have a lot of things to learn. I know that I’ll make mistakes on the track, as will other Rookies and people who have raced for years. Every time I take my car on the race track, I learn something new. During this race, I learned two things, have a bad start can really affect the other drivers as it causes people to check up or go 3 and 4 wide, and maybe not put them in the best position. I also learned that it’s can be hard on friendships. It’s really hard to be involved in something with a good friend!
It’s been a good learning year, and I am far from done learning, and for the rest of the year, we are just looking for some decent finishes and to keep my nose clean.

August 17, 2013

It was a great night of racing last night. Didn’t have any crew last night as everyone had other things they needed to be doing, so thankfully, things went well.
We went out for practice and worked on some different lines, different marks, getting on an off the gas at different spots to see how to get the car through the corner better. It was awesome! Car never felt better.
In the first heat race, I was to start in 3rd place. I had some amazing cars in my heat, they were faster and more experienced than I was, so I knew going into the heat that I would be happy with a 5th or 6th place finish. The race was good and clean and I ended up finishing in 6th place.
In the second heat race, I would start in 7th place, again figuring the best I might be able to do was a 5th or 6th, and ended up with 6th place. Overall, I was happy with the outcome of both heats. I finished where I needed to and qualified for my starting place in the feature race.
For the feature, I was to start in the 3rd place and I was happy about that. With the #9 in front of me on the pole, I thought I could tuck in behind him and hang on for the best finish I could. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. On the first lap, going into corner 3, the car behind me dove into the corner under my back bumper and spun me into the infield. Fortunately no one else was involved and my car wasn’t damaged, but we both had to go to the back of the field.
Considering 30 Mini Stocks started the feature last night, going from 3rd all the way back to 30th was a bit tough. But there was a long green flag run from there and I was able to make my way up to 20th before a yellow came out.
On the restart, I was 20th with 6 laps to go. I managed to pass four more cars before the end of the race, finishing in 16th place. I thought it was a pretty good outcome for a poor first lap.
I am happy with the way the car was, with my finishes for the night and the fact that I should still be 7th in points and still leading the rookie points. It’s a very tight points battle so I am pretty happy about that.

August 24, 2013

It was an interesting night at the race trace tonight! When we unloaded the car and went out for first practice and the car felt good right away. I practiced running the high groove again and getting my marks for that lane.
In the first heat, I would start in last place. I was blocked in for most of the heat race and wasn’t able to make much progress at all. Not even sure where I finished, but I think it may have been 7th place.
In the second heat, I would start in the pole position. With Warren Paxton and Brandon McFerran in my race, I was pretty sure they would be up there to pass me before the end I held on to the lead for a little bit, but as expected, Brandon and Warren passed me and left me in the 3rd position. I had a good hold on 3rd and likely would have finished there, however, there was a caution at the end of the race and back a lap we went for a two lap shoot out for the finish. I restarted 3rd with the 07 on the outside, but he had a problem on the start and pulled off. I had a good battle with the 04 car, side by side, and he got me right at the finish line, putting me in 4th at the end. It was a fun, clean battle with Brian.
In the Feature race, I would start in the 4th position. It was a good start overall and no issues on lap one like there has been for the last couple of weeks. After a couple of laps I settled into the 8th position and things were going well and the car felt good. We went green until lap 10 when the leader of the race, Steve Belanger #9 would get spun. Both cars would go to the back and move me up to 6th position for the restart.
On the restart, I would fall in line in 9th position, but from here, things would start to go bad overall. There was about 5 cautions between lap 10 and 15 which would result in the starters calling for single file restarts for the rest of the race. I held on to the 9th place position for a long time, but the car was not handling well at all as I had the tow knocked out on the car and wasn’t cornering the best.
On lap 23 the 04 got underneath me and we hit door to door and I was pushed way up in the corner, turned to face the infield and then back to the turn 2 wall. I was able to drive out of this but lost about 4 positions during this time. Unfortunately the next lap would not go very well.
I was coming out of corner two, back on the gas, when the 6 car, with a substitute driver tonight, would spin coming out of corner two. He spun toward the infield and then turned and shot up the track in front of me. I hit the 6 car on the door and this accident collected the 2nd and 3rd place cars as well. The red flag came out, no one was hurt, and as it was lap 24, they called the race.
After the race, I was told that as the caution was out for the 6 car spinning, and then the checkered was thrown, the people involved in the incident would maintain their finishing position. So that was good for us.
My car is extremely well built, thanks again Don and Rory, and my Dad for the extra support bars in the car, there is some damage to the car, but not 100% sure yet as it’s still in the trailer. I drove the car off the track into the infield after the race, but decided to have it towed off as the tow was so far out after that we didn’t want to ruin the tires.

August 31, 2013

Well the whole week was bad, followed by another bad night at the race track.
Lets start with last week. The incident where the 6 car spun out into the infield, I thought he was going to stay down there, but he spun back up in front of me. There has been a lot of talk this week about what I should have done or what I could have done. I did what I could do. Could a more experienced driver have missed the 6 car? Maybe. Could I? Obviously not. I am still a new driver and still learning. I did what I thought was the right thing by going high when he was in the infield, I didn’t anticipate him coming up in front of me. So, that is enough about that and I am more than ready to move on.

This week started out bad and ended worse. All the repairs from last week were done, which thankfully weren’t too bad on my car. The car handled great when I took it out for practice but then it started breaking down again. This is getting old!! We changed the distributor on the car (thanks Warren) and took the car back out. Better for a few laps, but still not great.
In the first heat of the night, I was to start 2nd last. I was hoping to get up to at least the 6th position in the end, but it wasn’t meant to be. I was racing hard with another car for a lap or so and finally got under the other car in corner three. I was up to the door, and we were close racing and banged a few times door to door basically. The other car got loose coming out of the corner and while collecting the car, just tagged the back of my car which turned me toward the outside wall. Unfortunately, there would be additional contact which would turn me into the inside wall. There has been lengthy conversations with the other driver today, and nothing was intentional and it was all just a racing incident.
Unfortunately, there was extensive damage to my car and so many suspension parts had to be changed, both front and rear, to get my car back out for the 2nd heat. Bob Phinnemore was amazing enough to offer to let me use his car so I wouldn’t fall out of the points, however, with all the help that we had, they were able to get my car back out in time for the second heat! And it was a lot of work.
I have nothing to say about the 2nd heat and the feature since I had to pull off in both as there were problems with the car. I finished last in both heats and last in the feature, by far, my worst night yet.
Unfortunately, I fell out of the Rookie of the Year points lead, and likely lost 2 or 3 places in the points standings. Not happy about that. Winning Rookie of the Year was not even something that I thought I would be in contention for at the beginning of the year, but since I have been close and even leading for a few weeks, it was a huge dream taken away. There was a good chance that Steve or Shawn may have beat me in the end, but it was a good close race and one that I would have liked to have lost on the track, not in the pits.   I won’t give up hope and I’ll keep digging the next two weeks, but it’s going to be hard to recover from this.
Special thanks to Warren Paxton, his dad and crew for loaning us parts and helping to fix the car, to Gehrig Halliday and his crew for loaning parts as well and helping with the car. To Morgan Robson and his family for their help fixing the car and to Paul Geniole Sr and Phil Bullen for their help. You are all amazing and have been a great support to me.
Thanks to Gehrig Halliday, Lane Zardo and Lance Foster in their offer to come help fix the car this week since my Daddy is away on business again and won’t be home until Friday. You guys are awesome! My car is still in the trailer and it’s going to stay there until Friday when my Dad is back from Edmonton. Lots of work to do that day, sorry Daddy!!
Hopefully next week is a better week.

September 14, 2013 - CHAMPIONSHIP NIGHT

First off, let me congratulate three people that I couldn’t be happier for.
Warren Paxton and Mike Bentley for winning their championships! They both had great years and I was excited to see two super racers win this year.
And Steve Belanger for winning the Rookie of the Year battle. Steve is an amazing guy, great competitor and one of the nicest people at the race track. Congrats!
When we went to load the car in the trailer on Saturday morning, I couldn’t get the car in gear. URGH! After some adjustments to the clutch, we were able to get it loaded. When we got to the track, I took the car out for practice and it was great for the first 7 or 8 laps and then it just started breaking down again. This was getting really old! We’ve been fighting issues like this since June. We’ve changed just about everything on the car since then.
We made some more changes throughout the day and things were not getting any better. By the time the first heat race came along, we pretty much thought I’d just be starting each race, running a lap and parking the car. We were all frustrated and couldn’t believe that the season was going to end on such a bad note. In the first heat, I ran one lap and the car all but stalled when I was driving it. I pulled to the infield.
My Daddy and Randy were talking and decided to change the fuel injectors. (Thanks to Terry Clodd for supplying these to us! I really appreciate it as you saved my entire last night of the season) With these changed, I went out for the 2nd heat race and the car was fantastic!
Since we hadn’t been able to work on set up since my wreck the week before, we made some adjustments before the feature and hoped for the best with no practice on these changes.
Because of my poor heat races, I would start the feature in 29th, out of 31 cars. My car felt better than it had in a long time. The field was big and I was at the back, the green flag was out for the start of the race just as I pulled out of corner two. I was down half a lap to the leaders before I even started
The race was a fantastic one for me. My car was great, back to being able to pass people, handling well and comfortable. I couldn’t have been happier. There was some great racing through the feature, I passed a bunch of cars, was finding holes as they came up, running three wide on the outside. My car came off the track without a mark on it and it was a really fun night of racing.
I ended up finishing, I am pretty sure, 15th on the track and I believe that I finished 8th in the points, but I might be wrong, and it would be 9th, but we think that I moved back up a position by the end of the race. We’ll find out for sure when Sunset updates the points this week.
For a team that started with no goals – to the point that on the 2nd night, my crew wasn’t in the infield when I got a flat on lap one of the feature, because we weren’t even going to concern ourselves with worrying about it. I was just supposed to be getting seat time – I am so happy with how our year went. It was an amazing year, I learned so much, and my crew learned “too” much about every part on that car with all the issues we had. My crew is amazing and I want to thank Daddy, Randy, Richard and Gerry for all their help every week.
I’d also like to thank the other drivers and crews that helped out with working on my car, parts, their knowledge etc when I needed it. The support of so many of the drivers has been overwhelming for me. Thank you all.
To my amazing sponsors, thank you so much Twin Contracting, Paul Quail Transport and Mustard Seed Contracting and my amazing Grandmother, Lynne Tipton, for their financial help and continued support throughout the year. I am so thankful to you for taking a chance on sponsoring me in my first year of racing. To have you fantastic people helping me means the world to me.
I wanted to race for a long time, when it finally came true it was overwhelming the first time in the car, and now it was a total dream come true and I loved every minute of it. Thanks to everyone that made this dream come true for me.
To my friends at the race track, it was so amazing to meet all of you this year and develop some great friendships with so many different people. You all made the year complete and have become some of my best friends. Thanks!
We’ll be out on the 27th and 28th to race at Sunset in the special. It will be my first special and I am sure there will be some amazing cars there! Our goal for that weekend will be just to qualify for the feature, which will likely be pretty hard, but we’ll go an get some experience at least. I've raced 47 races this year so far and hope to run another three at Velocity to make it 50 by the end of the season. See you all there!

2013 Rookie Season review

2013 marked the year that I would begin racing! It was the most exciting and most terrifying thing that I have ever done. I never raced go karts or anything else like a lot of other young drivers, I had never driven a car before April of this year.
Getting into the car for the first time, driving around the pits at Sunset Speedway to learn how to drive and to learn how to drive a standard was amazing. After 10 minutes in the pits, I took to the track for the first time. As I sat in the back line up area, I wondered if this was more than I could handle. I had wanted a race car for years and now that I had one, I wasn’t so sure. I actually cried a little while waiting to go on the track for the first time, nervous, scared, exhilarated all at the same time. Could I do this? Would I embarrass myself? Would I let my family down? It was emotionally overwhelming to say the least.
But, I pulled out onto the track that first time, and as soon as I was out there, I knew this was the right thing for me.
My parents had no expectations at all! But, since they had given me my dream, I wanted to do well, not only for myself, but for them as well. My parents expected me to go on the track, learn to drive the car, run around the back and just get some seat time. On opening night, they had a “Rookie” race and I lead the entire race until the engine started to break down and I ended up losing the lead with two laps to go. But I was that close to winning my first race, on my first night in the car, it made me want more!
The heat races were easy to deal with, the features were a little more stressful, with more cars on the track and people going three and four wide within a few laps of the start of the race. I started out the year running the very bottom lane on the track, but quickly learned that this was not the way to go. I worked every week in practice with my dad, running different lanes, finding my marks for when to get on and off the gas, what made my car go through the corners the smoothest. It was a great year for learning the ins and outs of a race car.
After a month, I really felt more comfortable and felt that I belonged out there. I was making passes and was finishing generally between 15th and 20th. I had some bad luck in May with flat tires, leaving the gas cap off the car, but it was a good learning experience for not only myself but my crew.
In June, we had to go to Sauble Speedway for the Home and Home series race, otherwise we would have put ourselves out of the points as it was 100 points to go to the race. I couldn’t afford to be 100 points behind! I was excited to go and race at a different track, until I go there. Sauble is much different than Sunset. It is flat and tight. The first practice lap on the track, I went into the corner and spun myself out. I was not loving this track at all. In my heat races, I didn’t do that great so I was in the Consi race. I had to finish top 4 I think it was, in order to make the feature race. I didn’t want to miss that. I raced hard the entire race, took the lead and never looked back. I had a lot of pressure from the car behind me, got me sideways a few times, but I hung on to win my first ever race. It was a very exciting night.
Coming into the year with no expectations at all, it was exciting to find myself up into 10th place in the points. This became my new goal, to just finish in the top ten. I had no goals at all at the beginning of the year, but after winning my first race and now finding myself in the top ten, it sounded like a realistic goal. I do tend to put a lot of pressure on myself to do well.
Then the problems began. We had electrical/motor problems for almost a month. It was extremely frustrating for me as a driver and for my Daddy trying to figure out what was wrong with the car. After a month of changing pretty much everything on the car, and having some less than impressive finishes, we finally got it figured out and things were so much better.
At the end of July, I suffered my first big set back in racing when another car thought they were clear of me coming out of corner four, we ended up riding the wall down the front stretch and I spun down the track and was T-Boned by another car in the 2nd Home to Home series race. My car suffered a lot of damage and I suffered a concussion. My Daddy was not home as he was away on business, so it was amazing to have our friends pitch in and do a bunch of work on the car while he was away, to make sure it was ready for the next weeks racing. Unfortunately, with a concussion, my Doctor would not allow me back in the car. I had to have my Daddy substitute for me that week. Sitting out of the car for one night was one of the hardest things that I’ve ever had to do.
We got back on track after that and had some good finishes and I moved up in the points. I ended up moving up to 7th in the points toward the middle of August and leading the Rookie of the Year points! I was excited! I went from having no expectations and just learning how to do this, to suddenly leading the Rookie points. Now I had a new goal. I had been second in the Rookie of the Year points for the majority of the year, but I never really was sure this was attainable until I actually took the lead. I wanted this Rookie title badly.
We continued to dig hard, maintained the Rookie lead and my 7th place in the points until the first weekend in September. A wreck where I ended up turned into the wall dropped me from the leading Rookie position and back to 9th in the points. I went from having a 13 point lead in the points with 3 races remaining to being behind by 7 points with 2 races left. The disappointment was huge. I felt I was going to need to race hard to maintain that 13 point lead and help secure the Rookie of the Year Award, but now being behind by 7 points, with only two weeks left, it was going to be extremely difficult to get those points back.
Now we are up to the second last night of racing and the weather did not co-operate and the racing was cancelled for tonight, which will give me only one final night to try to regain that Rookie lead.
I’ve found that with racing, there are so many highs and lows. I’ll never forget my first night at the race track and getting yelled at by another driver, from another division no less, before I even took my first green flag. Or how differently people will race you when you are doing well. I think people forgot that I was a rookie at times as I was raced pretty hard a lot of the time and put into positions that I never had experienced before. It was a huge learning curve. But through all of this, I learned the most important thing; I’ve made some great friends at the track, had so much support from some of the other drivers and crews, received some amazing messages from fans on my face book page. The amount of support and help that I’ve received have been unbelievable and I can’t thank everyone enough.
My goal is still to try to win the Rookie of the Year award, but my other goal is still to finish in the top 10 in the points standings. I feel that I have learned a lot this year, I have far exceed any expectations that were put on me and I have had a great time while doing this. Overall, I think I have had a very successful and amazing time racing this year.
**UPDATE: The final points night is now done and I’ve had an amazing experience. I finished in the top ten in the points in my rookie year and I am extremely proud of myself and my crew for our season.