We raced this last weekend. Hear is a rundown of what happened.  

Friday had 40% chance of rain and 40% chance on Saturday…no rain. Finally we get to race after 6 months, 2 months late. We tow up 3 racecars on 2 trailers to opening day. We got there early to make sure we had room to pit together.  

All 5 of us get to go into the pits now. This is Jakes 2^nd time in the pits and Jennifer’s first time in the pits. Grandma came out to watch Jaclynn and a couple of new timers.  We had hamburgers and French fries from a good snack bar. We had about 4 hours to hang out and talk to friends we haven’t seen since last season. 

At one point I was walking back from getting fuel and there was my car. I felt lucky and just basically can’t believe I get to race one of the kick butt cars. Not only that, but I get to watch Jake race and get to race with Jaclynn.  

So first we had to mud pack (now I think it is cool, It will get old soon though – just gets the car dirty). Next I had practice. I am now getting some more speed. I feel fast, I feel like I’m flying… but I’m not. I think the most I got out of that practice was I need practice tearing of my tear offs. 1st time I pulled…gone! All of them! 

Oh, by the way, 35 dwarf cars are there. We usually have 15 to 22. Only 18 make it to the ‘A’ main. At this point I’m thinking I’m going home early. There’s no way I’m going to make it to top 18. 

The 1^st heat I started 9^th out of 9. Remember – rookies start in the back. From here I’m not sure. It’s kind of a blur. I remember passing a couple cars…oh what a feeling. I finished 5^th. That puts me as the last car to make it into the ‘B’ main. 

From the 18 cars in the ‘C’ main, 6 will transfer and fall in behind me. After the heat race I went to the scales just to see how much I weighted. The car and driver have to weigh a minimum of 1200 pounds. I’m about a c-note over? Must have been the French fries. 

In the ‘B’ main I stared 8^th. This time I remember it being way bumpy. In the turns there is a rut starting. In turns one and two, it’s a pretty good size rut. I ran over that thing a few times and my hand came off the steering wheel it was such a hard landing, and, at least one wheel of the ground. How do I know you say? Because I as watching it happen to the cars in front of me. I think I saw 2 tires off the ground. I finished 2^nd in the ‘B’ main…I can’t believe it…I made it to the ‘A’main with 35 cars there. I’m in the top 18. 

So now we line up for the main and I’m in back again. I’m starting 15^th. Don’t forget, roookies staart in the back (I hate that rule). So as we do our parade laps we wave to the fans, I’ve always wanted to do that. The Antioch speedway fans are really into their racing. When we started racing, there is a couple of places I’m not going, as few ditches as possible. They were forming when I was in the ‘B’ main.  

There were ditches in the racing groove. The one foot deep 10 yard long groove  (I think it was) in the racing groove was an accident waiting to happen. This is now my 4^th time on the track today and I think I’m getting a little feel by the seat of my pants thing going. I’m getting a little sideways in the corners and getting on the gas on exit and getting that power down type of sideways.  

A few times I just let the car go up a little and I just shot down the straight away (oh what a feeling). Most of the time I hold the car down to stay away from the wall which make for a slow lap. Call me a chicken. The next thing I know I’m passing cars right and left, sometimes 2 at a time.  

The 1^st yellow we had I’m close to top 5. Whoa! I pass a couple more and I’m in 4^th. Whoa! I pass for 3^rd. Huh? Dude – I’m in position to pass for 2^nd place, I’m on his bumper off and on for a few laps…I’m flying. Oh, did I mention I’m riding the high line. I can’t believe it but its working. We have our 3^rd or so yellow on about lap 15 out of 20. 

We line up and I’m in 3^rd, in the ‘A’ main out of 35 cars. I have a good car. We get into turn one from the restart and I see I’m passing Jaclynn on the out side, I get to the exit of the turn and get on the gas and….quite, not good. I feel this… weightlessness, within a split second I know I’m air born. The next thing I see is the ground, I’m in the middle of turn 2 and I’m literally standing on my nose, trunk straight in the air. Boom, I see the ground as the front of my car smashes and now I know where I am, ohh maan! At this point I think, please don’t run into me.  

Now with the trunk in the air, roof of the car facing oncoming, I don’t know it but, the back of the car is coming down. The next thing I feel is… slam, the back of the car falls from the sky and slams into the track. Ooff, my breath is half gone, my shoulder blades from the sudden stop (it’s always that sudden stop) get this numb tingly thing going and I think - ouch, my shoulder blade. The next thing I notice is my hood is blocking my view and track officials are checking on me. I’m shaken but not detoured. 

I did not feel a thing on take off. The car just seemed to roll over for no reason. But it seems I tangled with somebody on my left side when I nailed the gas to head down the back stretch. That ditch had something to do with it too. Looking at the video, my right front just sinks, next thing you know...air born. So guess who I tangled with, you guessed it, it was Jaclynn.  

As I was rolling over, Jaclynn was getting on the gas and we touched and my left front wheel went up her passenger door denting it badly and bending the frame of the door. Then the LF went up her quarter panel and dented and tore the body above her right side rear window. Unfortunately I have some experience fixing these cars now (or is that luckily), so we can fix Jaclynn’s car.  

My car is in the frame shop. Minor, but still. It looks like so far – Grill (custom made), Radiator and fan, custom made upper radiator hose (aluminum), Carb air box (custom made), air ram, hood, shock, spindle, rear bumper, and the frame damage is the welded brackets for the rack and pinion. It could have been worse. We are lucky we didn’t crunch the roof. I just can’t believe this happened to me on the first night out. Both cars. This sucks. 

The main thing is none of us are hurt and we will race again. Jim at the shop says my car is not all that bad. We can rebuild.  

Talk to you later.

Jack.