Headed out to the rescheduled OMMS race at Dallas County Speedway (Urbana, Mo.) Drew number 13 at the pill draw! I thought it was illegal to use that number in racing? LOL. However, it stayed sunny and the big old storm clouds with lightning bolts never appeared that I figured would come with that #13. Started the heat second row outside. Bailed off into turn one at the start. Got drilled in left side and knocked me up the track to the "heavy stuff." I said to myself, "While you're up here goofing around bozo, why not go WFO and try passing some of these guys?" Worked like a charm. Worked so good, I stayed up there and passed everyone within a lap. Lucked into a heat win despite the #13. Put me on the pole of the feature. Jumped out into the lead and lead it it for 10-12 laps. Battled with the second place guys side by side for 3-4 laps and wrestled the lead back only to come up on a back marker that had been running slow around the bottom. Figured I'd use him as "pick" and swing around the outside of him. Just as I got to him, he pulls over to the right, in front of me, sticks his friggin' arm out and slows down dramatically. Wonder I didn't climb clear up his ass. About killed my motor trying not to hit him. Second place and third place guys saw all this and freight trained by on the inside as I lost momentum. Just goes to show.....running second in traffic is sometimes better. Got right back to both of them but the damage was done. Settled for third place. Other than the stupid lapper, really had fun racing clean and fast with the other guys. Fast, fun track. No shame in third place racing with those guys. Hope we get to go back next year. Traditional Miller Lite Longneck extravaganza and a very "speedy" trip back to the KC area. 44 degrees when I left the track at 10:00 pm. Nice number...huh?
Valley's final openwheel show. High point average put me at the back of a heat again. Worked my way up to second but just didn't have enough poop to go around the leader. Besides....This guy is on a roll right now and flying so I didn't feel to bad. Had fun. He became my "best buddy" when he rolled a "2" for the feature. Put me on the pole. Jumped out and lead 15 laps. Fought through a couple of restarts with bigger 1200cc motors trying to blow by me on the restarts until I could get my momentum backup and fend them off. The lap 15 restart......I knew I was a setting duck. If I went high, the guy would go low and do a slide job on me. If I went low to block a possible slide job, I would kill my momentum and he's power around the outside. Stupid move on my part....went low and yep......he went high. He got around me before I could get backup to full speed. Followed him the next 5 laps and got second. He was fast, I had fun and did the best I could. That's all that matters. My son had a slight car "issue" that made it necessary for him to use the 44 car for the second night of racing since he is in a points battle for the MOLS Championship. A "no brainer"......He took the 44 car the second night and kicked everybody's ass and won the Championship. Proud of him. I figured I better start celebrating right then since I immediately had a premonition he would win the next night. Hello Miller Lite Longnecks. And like I said......he won the race and the championship so I was right! Miller Lites Longnecks can give you some strange and wonderful powers. You just have to know how to use them and interpret them. Mainly...Never abuse them.
Decided to attend another MOLS race. This one was the John Heffernon Jr. Memorial. I really wanted to be there. John was such a great guy I couldn't miss this one. Having a high point average put me at the back of the first heat (7th). Worked my way up to second fairly quickly and played "follow the leader." Tried about everything I could to get around short of hitting him and I don't operate like that so I settled for second. Could get beside him but just couldn't find a groove that would carry the speed on around him. Besides....Second to Bobby Layne isn't any disgrace. The roll of the die put me third row inside of the feature. Not bad. Somehow, I got my head up my butt and had the car in the wrong gear at the start evidently. The pole setter was having everyone literally idling around trying to "load" some competitors up. Pretty cheesy move but if you have to race like that to stay up front.....his choice. Anyway, like I said, I screwed up and had it in 4th rather than 3rd. Bogged the motor for two laps thinking it was loaded up and then I said "What the Hell....down shift it and zing it to clean it out." Whaaalaaa.....The right gear. But by then I had lost numerous positions. Started overdriving the car trying to make something happen. I'd pass a couple and then over-cook the corner and let them back by, Banzaing the corners isn't always the answer. Didn't touch anyone but couldn't make the passes stick. Then I'd pass them again just as a yellow came out and have to give the position back again. This was getting tedious. I passed two particular guys three times before the night was over. Ridiculous! Ended up falling to the tail in my stupidity, I think. Was wasting laps big time. Finally settled down, got my shit together and started passing cars and making it stick. Worked my way from basically last up to third but ran out of laps as I was catching the second place car (pole setter). Wasted too many laps (half the race) farting around acting stupid, trying to hard. I really wanted to win this Memorial race but it wasn't meant to be. That bogged start cost me any chance. Maybe next time? It was great seeing John Sr. and Lenny Heffernon again but I wish it would have been under different circumstances. Really miss those guys at the races. Didn't let the racing effect the normal Miller Lite Longneck ritual in the slightest. Got to go talk to some of 360 sprint car buddies and have a few beers after the races which was nice. All in all......a fun night of racing. You can bet your ass I won't make that gear error again.
OMG! I caved in and attended an MOLS race. Decided to go winged racing with the Lightning Sprint. Been missing that kind of racing evidently? With no point average....Started third row outside of the heat. Not only did I have to knock the rust off.......Literally had to wipe the cob webs off the wing stuff for the car. Been over a year and a half since I ran this car with a wing. High flyn Photos has a picture of the cob webs and spider nests I missed. Nice. Anyway.....I floundered like a fish out of water trying to get phased in with the car and get some rhythm. Struggled to get up to third. I will say though......There are a few MOLS guys that have really stepped up their programs. With roll of the die.....I ended up starting the feature fourth row inside. After a failed attempt at the first start, second time was the charm. Fell back since I got "freight trained" on the start. Settled down, started getting my shit together and slowly picked cars off until I go to second. The leader, Cousin Dave, was in the process of checking out.....as they say. He was slowed by lapped traffic for a bit and I caught up to him about the time they threw a yellow. That lapped traffic was my only hope of getting by him. He was on a rail. Followed him the remaining laps and just flat didn't have enough motor to get by him. Finished second. At least I started getting comfortable again in the car as far as knowing what to do technique wise. The only problem I had was my stupid back. Couldn't hardly stand setting in the car after 3-4 laps. Continual yellows the last part of the race were killing me setting in the car that long. Track was smooth.....Just my ignorant back distracting me. As soon as I got to the trailer after the scales........(2) 800 mg Ibuprofens and slammed (3) Miller Lites. Wasn't "instant" relief but damn close to it. Thank you Miller Lites!!! Well maybe the ibuprofens helped a little but my money's on the Miller Lite Longnecks! Sucked down a few more Miller Lites catching up on the Bullshit with some MOLS guys and headed out. All in all..........Had a fun night.
Back to Valley Speedway with OMMS. Was hoping they had learned a few things about track prep. Same shit.....different day. Same sloppy assed mess that develops craters and ruts later. Didn't go out to help pack because it is futile with our little cars plus.....It pisses me off that they can't get packing vehicles and expect the open wheel cars to do their work. Didn't go out to practice either. So friggin' muddy and slick it would serve no purpose either. Was scheduled to start the heat second row inside. Lucky break.....Pole setter's car would not fire up. Got to start on the pole beside a full midget. Jumped into the lead on a very, very tacky track in the racing groove by then. Pulled away until a red flag. Seems one of the guys got out of the narrow groove and got in some greasy shit and stuffed it into the front stretch wall. Flipped it pretty hard. Last I heard...broken collar bone and bruised ribs plus really sore. Luck that was all it was. Hope he gets well soon. Hate seeing that. Wrecks are bad enough but having one because the track is unsafe is really bad. Anyway.....On the restart, I luckily pulled away again and backed into a heat race win. Feature time, they decided to invert which didn't surprise me in the slightest. I was mentally prepared already. Funny how none of the other features were inverted though?? Started last and decided to let them string out a little since the track was a one lane affair again. Was picking off cars and got up to pass the second place car around the outside. I thought he knew I was out there but then I get pushed up into the back stretch wall big time. Climbed it with both outside tires. Some spooky shit. Lost all my momentum and the let the third place guy back by. Gathered my shit backup and started closing the huge gap back up to the third place car. Got by him but the first and second place cars that started up front were now about a full straight ahead. No problem, it wasn't even half way yet and I felt confident I could reel them in. Sounded good. I got to within half a straight of the second place car in a couple of laps car and look up and see the "Two to go" signal! WTF? Evidently they decided to severely shorten our race. Like in half! Real friggin' nice and considerate. I drove my ass off and missed second place by about half a car length in those final two laps. Talk about pissed. We had just ran 10 laps with no cautions. The actual racing had only consumed about 2 1/2 minutes and the next 10 laps would no doubt only consume another 2 1/2 minutes. This was bullshit. They could have at least told us that they were going to shorten our feature and let us adjust our "plan of attack" accordingly. Or not invert since the race was going to be shortened so much? I guess I need to be happy with third. But I'm not..... Watched the "parades" called features (that started heads up) of the other two classes, slammed a few Miller Light Longnecks and headed out. You can bet your ass, I'll ask an official "how many laps we running this time" everytime I go on the track at Valley from now on. Now I have to decide if I am going to run any MOLS races or wait for the final OMMS race at Dallas County. I really want to attend the John Heffernon, Jr. Memorial race that MOLS is having......He was a really nice guy and a great racer. It would be an honor for me to partipate in that race. The entire Heffernon family is one of the best families I have ever met in all my life experiences.
Final race at Double X for the year. Hate that. Really neat place to race. Drew second row inside of the heat. Battled with the pole setter for a couple of lapped going back and forth trading the lead. A full midget. Finally wrestled the lead from him and then a yellow. By then, the "guy to beat," Eric Todd, had worked up behind me because it was the second and third place guys that created the yellow. Knew it was going to be a FUN battle to hold him off. Track was still racy and tacky. I can honestly say, I ran my little 1000cc car as hard I could for the next six laps. All it had and WFO. Can't beat that kind of racing. Lucked out and held him off for the heat race win. Really fun. They decided to invert the feature which put me third row outside. I absolutely misjudged the track thinking it would hold a little moisture. Boy.....Was I an idiot. Bad call. Plus the fact on the start, I got pinned up high when most of the guys on inside came up the track in turn one at the start. No place to go but no big deal....first corner, first lap. Except for one small detail........Someone driving right off their front bumper evidently drives right in the ass end of my car. Leaves his foot in it and pushes me over the cushion to the top edge of the track. I think he would still be pushing me if he hadn't finally glanced off. Too bad some guys consistently drive like that. By the time I gathered it up, the whole pack was down in turn three and I was still floundering in turn two. Should have stopped and brought out the yellow but I didn't panic because I figured there'd be a yellow sometime to bunch us backup. WRONG. Green to Checkers. I drove my ass off and reeled the pack back in and picked off guys up to fourth. Was right behind second and third but they were fighting for position and using the entire track. Their privilege. Just couldn't get around them with the setup I had. My bad. That's racing. Leader had checked out. Still had fun....as usual when we run at Double X. Loaded up, watched the sprint car feature and did a double dosage of muscle relaxer (Miller Lite Longnecks) and headed to KC. Upped the dosage as prescribed for my ailing back during the trip which I have to admit works wonders. Now have to get the car ready for the final race for OMMS at Valley. Then their final race of the year at Dallas County in September. Might have to put the wings on the Lightning Sprint after all this year and run some MOLS??
Decided to try doing double duty at the special non-winged show. Luck of the draw had me starting the "midget" third row outside of my heat race. At the drop of the green, I decided to move up around everyone. Lucked out and got up to second by the end of the first lap. Farted around trying to pass a full midget for six of the eight laps. Just let me say......That was one wide assed midget. Finally wicked it WFO around the outside and prayed he didn't try to stuff me in the wall coming off of turn four. Made the pass and won the heat. Exciting and a lot of fun. Then I jumped into the 305 non-winged sprinter. This was a "run what ya brung" show and it didn't seem there were to many 305's. Anyway.......I had better luck on a starting position. Front row outside. Had a 360 on the pole. Obviously, he should and did beat me to the corner. Tried passing him for eight laps. No matter where I went.....I would get the door shut on me. Oh well, that's racing but I was happy with second place. Started the "midget" feature front row outside. Got lucky on the second attempt of the start and lead into turn one. Lead for 10-11 laps and was "lulling" myself to sleep until a guy comes rolling around the outside of me. That's the trouble with leading.....You really don't have a chance to go find the race track until you are forced to. At that point apparently the fastest line was about a car width above where I had been running. Ran behind the leader and summized following sucked and running the same line was never going to work. DUH! Went back to my original line and pushed as hard as I could. Lit a fire in my ass and got the car rolling around pretty good and got the lead back with 2-3 laps to go. Definitely LUCKED into another feature win in the "midget." The night was not over....Jumped into the non-winged sprinter after the trophy presentation on the front stretch. Was starting third row inside. The track was GONE. Super slick. They decided to invert the feature four rows. Great. The intial start.....The flagman gives us the green light but is waving the yellow flag evidently. Ya might say that was a little confusing. Jambed the cars up big time. I lightly clipped the guy in front of me and got out of the throttle. The guy behind me was on the wrong page or was asleep. Nails me in the butt WFO. Talk about whip lash! About broke my neck. Instant stars and electrical shocks through my body. Talk about a friggin instant headache. Bent the head rest on the seat clear back into the roll cage bracing. Restarted the race and fell in line. Not much happening since it was so slick. My head was killing me, I figured I was wearing out about $400 dollars worth of rear tires and $50 worth of alky for maybe $150-$175. Did not make good sense so I pulled off before my head exploded. If there was ever a night that required Miller Lite Longnecks......This was it. All in all......Was a pretty good night for a 60 year old fat man until I about broke my neck. I can't complain. Neither of you that read this listens anyway.
Hallllllllllaloooooooya, halalooya, halalooya! Sing along if ya know the words! How about "Joy to the World?" Know that one? Talk about a happy fat boy! Got to go back to Double X. Had to miss their race on July 5th for the simple reason I couldn't walk or set because of my old geezer back. I really hated that. But I'm back Jack and that's a fact! The "LUCK-O-RAMA" started at the sign in gate. Little side note here.....Those that know me know I have a "few" racing superstitions. You know....lucky shirt, lucky shoes, lucky socks, certain quantity of various "things" in the cooler, certain foods not allowed on race day, no hair cuts on race day, lucky race flag just to name the basic ones. Trust me...there are more. Well.......I decided to break tradition due to my luck being "not so good" lately. Got gutsy. Tried different shoes. Pretty bold, huh? But I threw caution to the wind. However, I was petrafided all the way down to the track thinking I had really screwed up. Got there and......Get this.....Drew a #2. Front row outside of the heat. Jumped out at the start and lucked into a heat race win. Had a really fun run with a full midget. Luck continued with no inversion for the feature.....Starting straight up. Front row inside. Big guy midgets all around me. Was starting to "warm up" to the new lucky shoe theory anyway. Got lucky at the start and headed down the back stretch in the lead. Car was perfect. LUCKED into a "marvelous" setup. Even a 60 year old fat man couldn't screw this deal up. Pumped off 20 fun laps and lucked into a feature win. Really felt good and I really needed this after fighting the back pains I have had for the last 2-3 races. Adrenaline is wonderful pain killer. When that wears off though, it's best to switch to the tried and true Miller Lite Longnecks immediately. So I did. Repeatedly. Got good mileage though.....22.6 miles/beer. Impressive? All it takes is FOCUS! Anyway......Another lucky night at a great racing facility run by great people. They always have such an exhuberant crowd too! Makes for a fun night of racing...win or lose. Finally......Your mission, should you decide to accept it.....count how many times I mentioned "lucky" in this result......
