Wasn't planning on getting the Lightning Sprint out again until the Turkey Day Race with OMMS but "circumstances" warrantted me reconsidering another appearance with MOLS. Let's just say I had a point to prove. Started the heat second row outside. Jumped out to the lead on the first lap. Was cruising along and hit something slick and about spun the car. Luckily, the second and third place guys were far enough back I didn't lose my position. Didn't go all the way around but almost slid to a stop and killing the motor. Lucky I had built a large enough lead by this the 4th lap. Lucked into a heat win. Winner of the first heat rolled a 3.....invert 3 rows. Not bad.....I'll take that.....third row outside starting position. Took the green and rolled off into turn one. Whoa......did my setup man miss the boat! Talk about a wild assed bicycle. All the way around turn 1 and 2. Whistled it into turn three.....Severe push this time. Fell into line trying to figure what to do. Spent a moment trying to think of how I was going to kill my setup man if I made it through this race. In the mean time, I found a place the car would actually go around the corners and I could live to tell about it. Started picking off cars and worked my way to lead about lap 14-15. Settled in and was watching for the checkered flag. Then the unthinkable......lap 18 the friggin' clutch starts to slip big time. Had to get out of it and pull off the track. Bummer. Gave away a sure victory. DNF's suck but when they take a victory away they really suck. Oh well. I proved my point to MOLS. That was the main thing. Still resorted to the traditional Miller Lite Longneck feast. Little thing like a DNF wasn't going to hinder that deal! Looked the clutch over the next day and evidently an internal mechanism that disengages the clutch slipped. These R-1's have a weird clutch release deal. Fixed it and drove it down the highway and it is again working fine. Son of a gun couldn't wait another lap and a half? That's racing. Now I have to decide if I want to attend the MOLS race at Heartland Park or go to Valley with the 305 the next two races. Have to make sure the Lightning Sprint is 100% for the Turkey Day OMMS race.
Finally got to go racing again. Against my Doctors advice I might add. Tough shit. 18 cars showed up which showed potential for a great OMMS show. Day race. Tough to keep a good track. We all knew that going in. Line ups determined by time trials. Hmmmmm......Time Trails? The thing I usually grab my throat on. Waited too late to go out because the track was going away quickly due to the heat and sun. Fast time guy which was a full midget went out first. Should of went out earlier like he did. Still got second quick time so I guess I better not bitch. Started the second heat on the pole. Backed into a heat win which put me on the outside of the front row. Right in all the marbles. Time to play head games with the pole sitter which was a full midget. On the pace lap, this guy tried to run me off the back stretch and way up in the marbles so I couldn't get a good start. Foiled his dasturdly plan and snuck around his ass on the start and lead the first lap. Friggin' yellow flag. Restart. I missed the "one to go" signal like the the rest fo the first two row did. Besides, the pole setter was blocking my every attempt to get beside him anyway. Green flag while I was behind him. Didn't panic.......I figured we'd get another yellow and we did. This time I got beside the pole setter and he tried pushing me off the back stretch again on the restart. Figure it was time to rub some serious wheels and let the guy run over some rubber if that was what it was going to take. After all the pushing and shoving on the back stretch he was doing was to no avail, it must have screwed his head up. Smoked his ass coming out of turn four and took the lead. Car was perfect again. Track was hard to pass on but I could pull away on the restarts. Backed into another feature win. Lucky....Very lucky. Talk about some Miller Lite Longneck time!!! Running with the OMMS guys is always fun and that "day race" made it tough. Starting up front was paramount. Did I mention the Miller Lites flowing like a fountain? Now I have to decide which and what car to take out next? Might save the Lightning Sprint for that Turkey Day race and maybe just run the 305?
Been dragging my feet explaining this one because if still hacks me off. Started the heat race dead last.......Seventh. Took the green flag and drove the car straight to the top of the track going into turn one. Never lifted and the car stuck. Whistled around the outside of all six competitors by half way down the back stretch on the first lap. The car was absolutely a rocket. Handled perfectly. Won the heat. Went to the scales and was told I weighed 908 lbs. on a 900 lb. minimum requirement. But then they decide to weigh it again? Problem started with unauthorized people in the scale area which is totally against the rules. Didn't watch the pad alignment or the pads touching the metal approach ramps and now it weights 894 lbs. Lost 14 pounds in less than 30 seconds! Simply friggin' amazing...huh? I know what the car should have weighed.....This ain't he first rodeo I have been to. It should have weighed around 909-910 so the first weight was pretty close. Didn't say a word, just went back to my trailer and decided to load up. I was tired of the MOLS inconsistancies and bull shit. I've had enough. After the officers approached me and said I wasn't DQ'd, I still decided to load it up. Besides I was only there to test the car and SAVE it for the big open midget race Valley was getting ready to have. I am on a mission to see what a 1000cc motor can do against full midgets. Watched the races and went home. No big deal. Then with my luck......The open midget show gets rained out. Lovely. Can run with OMMS midgets and really excited to go run the Turkey Day race they are having in Springfield, Missouri later on! Another Open Midget show.
Decided I hadn't sweated enough in our intense heat so I went down to Double X for the last OMMS race there. Drew outside second row of my heat race. Got into the second by corner two and followed the leader for about a lap and motored by him. The car car let me luck into a heat win again. It was absolutely perfect. The track was fast and tacky too. Even with all this heat. I probably could have pulled someone out of the stands and they could have done as good. That's how good the car was. Then the "luckfest" continued.......They actually started the feature heads up. I got to start front row outside! That was the good thing. The bad thing......Right beside a high horsepowered FULL midget. One that I watched "root" his was to win the first heat. I figured he would literally blow my doors off going down the front straight at the start. If he didn't and I got lucky, I figured the next move would be to slide me going into turn one and maybe knocking me out of the way. Anyway......I was a tad apprehensive. Didn't matter. Got a great start and jumped out to a lead going into one. Held my breath waiting for the "big bang." Didn't happen. He didn't get a chance to get that close thank goodness. I drove my car as hard as I could until the first yellow. Ironically, it was the guy I was concerned about that caused the yellow. Don't know what his problem was but he refired and continued. Took a big deep breathe and put it on cruise control for the next 15 laps and backed into a nice feature win. Made the "sweatin" all worth it. All that sweatin' left a huge vacancy for Miller Lites! Besides that......I still had a couple of "evenings" to make up for that were sans Miller Lite Longnecks. It's a nasty job but someone has to do it. It was a good night.......Won the feature and got caught up on my Miller Lite obligations! Back to Valley next week with the 305 due to a previous rain out.
Made the trip to Lamonte's last race of the year. Nice place to race. Started front row of my heat and won it handily simply due to the fact the car was hooked up and handling perfect. Really felt good. Figured that would put me third or fourth row of the feature after watching their inversions the past two weeks. WRONG! Sixth row. For the life of me, I cannot figure out how the line ups are determined. Not complaining, just wish I knew the scheme of things so I would know what to expect. Starting sixth row isn't the end of the world but on a dry slick track that is hard to pass on it, it makes it tough on this old fat retard. Floundered around for about half the race back in 10th. I missed the setup big time plus didn't have the right LR to get the stagger I needed. Hardly anyone back there was moving forward. My motor temp climbed to about 220 which drew my immediate attention. It usually runs around 190-195. Plus the fact that me and all my buddies around me were running for $75 made me think of the $20- $25 of extra fuel I was burning plus the tires I was wearing out made that $75 not feel worth it. It was hot, I was tired and had little to no chance of improving my winning so I pulled off rather than build dangerous heat in the motor. "Lightly" Miller Lited down and headed home. After such a great heat race I was rather disappointed in the feature. Oh well........
First race with the upstart MSCA 305's. Rain has canceled all but one of their races this year. I am still skeptical of their engine rules package but figured I'd give it a whirl with my Lamonte legal motor since I missed their first race. Started the heat race second row inside but got lucky and the front row outside guy comes up a "no show." Broke my heart. That meant I had to start front row outside. Old Bucky sucked it up though and made the best of it. I can be such a trooper. Jumped out to the lead and never looked back. Car was perfect. Up until 3 laps to go. Started acting "weird" going into the corners.......Like a pig. Come to find out........Right rear shock spud retainer clip broke. No right rear shock. Wasn't that big of deal and still won the heat. The car was that good. Starting up front makes all the difference in the world. So I lucked into a heat race win. Started getting set up for the dash. Hello rain. Everybody loaded up and hauled out as fast as possible because it didn't look like it would take much water and you'd need a boat to get out of the pits. No time for Miller Lites again! Two racing nights in a row. This is absolute bullshit. Conditions are breaking down. Now I have to decide whether I will run at Lamonte's last race this Friday or the Lightning Sprint or Full Sprint at I-70 Saturday night. The other option is to just wait and run the Lightning Sprint at Double X on Sunday night. Mother nature might have more to say about this than old Phil. Wherever I go........I figure I have two nights of Miller Lites Longnecks to make up now! Whew..........
Talk about a hot son of a gun! Like Tarzan hot! Started the heat race third row inside. Getting all balled up in traffic was a concern but it became a "panic" situation when I discovered I had ZERO brakes on lap 4 in the middle of this mess. Competely cut through the rear brake line. I actually used my head and set the guys up in front of me as to not jepordize anyone. Got lucky and got up to second. My biggest problem at that point was the guy in front. He wanted to idle around on a restart and then do a minor "brake check" in the middle of 3 and 4. Good thing I left a little gap or I would have owed him a new rear bumper. Followed him the remaining two laps and got second. The car was handling perfectly. "Didn't need no stinking brakes" with no traffic to contend with. Started the feature third row inside again. On lap 1 1/4 the guy that won my heat race pinched me into the inside berm and then proceeds to drive right over my right front tire. Every bolt on piece to the front axle and the axle itself was destroyed. Can't believe this guy does this so soon in the race. I was so disappointed I didn't even get mad. The car was definitely an up front car this night. All I was trying to do was stay out of trouble and let things string out and go from there. So much for patience. This is why I don't have much. And trust me.....Around this guy, I'll have very little if any next time. My son and I worked our asses off just to get the car where it would roll in the trailer. Kinda' killed the Miller Lite Longneck moment if you know what I mean. Hauled ass home and mentally prepared myself for the "fix-it" fest I had in store for me so I could race the next night. Damn.......It sucks when your hobby is worse than having a second job.
Finally got a chance to go to Lamonte with the 305. Really a nice track to run on. Heat and humidity were almost unbearable. I know.......I'm being whimpy. Old people get cranky and whimpy so deal with it. Figured going down that I would probably start at the back of my heat race. Wasn't disappointed in the slightest. Started dead last...7th. Seems they are implementing a new deal down there. They invert the finishing order of the last week's race. If you weren't there, you go to the back. No problem. I can live with that. I worked my way up to 4th on a follow the leader, fast track. Felt good with that considering this car hadn't even been started since the first of April and this was my first winged race since the first of April on a track I hadn't been on since last year. Figured that would get me 4th row outside. Silly me. No, no........They invert the line up again for the feature. That meant I started at the back again with the 2-3 others that weren't there last week either. Not to sound like a habitual bitcher but I find that a tad on the unfair side. I realize it benefits his "loyal / local" weekly racers but I really don't see this as a way to attract "floaters." Put them at the back of their heats but don't penalize them on the feature again. Double penalization sucks. Oh well................
I still had fun and worked my way up to 6th. Started 13th. Fun track and a really good bunch of cars to run with. Coulda, woulda, shoulda but I had a 4th or 5th place car but just couldn't get around a guy that refused to make a mistake. Good hard clean racing made it all worth it though. Want to go back before they shut down for the year. They are only having two more races. So if I have any brain cells left, next friday would be the logical choice to go back. And being the brainiac I am, we all know what will probably happen......I'll go back in two weeks so I can take full advantage of starting in the back twice due to the "double inversion" deal. Remember the heat and humidity thing? Took advantage of that too.......
Miller Lite Longneck Extravaganza. Mmmmm, Mmmmm Good!
Alrighty then! Hauled back down to Double X to a broiling hot day. We finally got our summer! Great track and great people working there. OMMS is an outstanding group of guys. Much like the MOLS group.....Willing to help each other and there to have fun. Anyway.......Was hoping I found my "concerns" with the R-1 Yamaha. Erased all doubts during practice. Of course this baby has been fast in practice only to take a dump on me about heat race time. Not this time. This baby was a bullet in the heat race. Lucked into an outside front row starting position, right beside a full midget. Didn't matter.....Got a great start and the car handled perfect. Lucked into a heat win. That put me on the third row outside of the feature. Set the car up the best I could guess because the track was seemingly drying out but had patches of moisture. Took the green flag and immediately jumped up to third going down the back stretch. Went by the second place guy going down the front stretch at the beginning of the second lap. Followed the leader for a couple of laps due to a yellow flag and set him up in turn three of lap 4. The car was perfect any where I put it. I have said it a million times but it's true again......This car would make anyone look good. The motor ran flawlessly all night. Think I found my "issues" and am really excited to get this baby out again. Luckily cruised to a feature win which I needed really bad. Watched the sprint car feature, loaded up and Miller Lited down. Hauled ass back to KC a happy camper. Gettin' ready for I-70 now. I can hardly wait.........
This would have been my Dad's birthday.......This one was for you Dad.
Decided to head out to try another OMMS race. Good car turnout. Great track and good people to race with. Track was super tacky and smooth. Meant advantage to the full midgets since they could use every bit of horsepower they had. Famous last words......The car was a bullet in practice. How many times we all hear that? Went out for the heat......wouldn't go past half throttle. Pulled in. Went through everything. Tried resetting the computer. Ended up being the final filter before the injectors. The one I clean every race just like the first filter. Some sort of "film" developed on it??? Got ready for the feature. Had the privilege of starting 13th. Took off and immediately discovered I should have ALSO changed the plugs. Erratic firing. NO top end or not like it should. I am a retard. Played with the computer while racing. Let me say......That was interesting and challenging. Tried to dial it back in. Didn't work but you know what........Drove my ass off and got up to fourth despite the misfire. So all in all......I can't bitch or "cry" over this one. Especially considering how tacking the track stayed and only running a stock 1000cc motor that wasn't running on all cylinders all the time. Now......Fix my shit and get ready for the next race there. This night was good enough to warrant a "few" Miller Lite Longnecks plus I felt obligated to make up for abstaining the previous night. Let's face, all that crying about I-70 left me extremely dehydrated. Besides.......I was looking at a long drive home. Me and my "little buddies" made it just fine.
Not a good night. But you know what? They are going to happen. You see.....I-70 has turned into a track that your night depends on the luck of the draw. I am living proof. Last race there, I drew up front row outside of my heat which I lucked into a heat win which put in the draw for the final line up. Drew the pole. Battled with Tyler Blank and lucked into a feature win. Start up front, finish up front. Or you have to set tight, not really race and wait for others to mess up in front of you. Not really fun racing lately. Track is sealed up dry slick by the time practice is over anymore. Now...let's get down to the serious cryin'! Drew fifth in my heat. Ended up fifth. No one passed anyone. Being the third and final heat......Absolute zero track left. One lane on the bottom. Started the feature 15th. Nice. Decided to take it easy, cruise around and stay out of trouble. Too bad the idiot behind didn't try the same thing. First attempted start.....We go into turn 1 and this guy comes blasting in WFO. Jumps my left rear tire and puts his right front in the cockpit with me. Little crowded I might add. Having the area already occupied by a big fat old fart didn't leave a lot of room for his tire. Road rash on my suit and left shoulder. Lovely. Second attempt at the start.....Same shit. This guy was an idiot. We finally get started and about lap 4-5 a guy does a slow spin two cars in front of me. The guy right in front of me decided he can blast his way through. Nice try, no cigar. Big log jamb. I slow spin to a stop. Not problem. Not contact.......Yet. Then a NEW idiot comes in about 5 seconds (which is a long time) later and drives right into all of us. Takes out my left rear wheel and tire. Fixed that due to the long red flag and went back out. Ran about 3-4 laps and picked up a 2-3 spot and discovered I had no brakes now. Pulled off. Finished 19th. Ooooooo...impressive. Went from Hero to Zero in two race nights. Watched the last half of the feature. Boring. One guy passed a single car. The leader that had'em covered lost his left rear wheel. The rest either fell out or got knocked out. Single file freight train on the bottom of the track. Most of the fans left at the half way point. This was terrible racing. Only took about an hour to run it too. I figured it cost me about $550 to get $75. Can't say I ain't a financial wizard. Well.......Mr. Wizard is going to stop and think before I put my equipment back in that environment. Not good when your race night is almost soley determined by the luck of the draw or misfortune of others. This was a Miller Lite Longneck Mood killer. Maybe I can quit all this crying by the next race and reconsider? I guess it depends on whether I will feel lucky at the pill draw. I just know this track is not going to survive unless they start getting a track that racers can actually race on. You know...actually pass other cars, crap like that. Spectators are not going to endure this shit either. Fresh towel please.....this one is soaked.
Talk about an "excellent" night! Luck of the draw put me front row outside of the second heat. That's the break I needed. Got a good start and lucked into a heat race win. Little 305 held off some healthy 360's. My luck of the draw continued when we drew for the positions in the feature from the 1st and 2nd finishers in the heats. Lucked into the pole position. Jumped out into the lead. Cruised along trying not to make mistakes. Must have slacked off enough to let a 360 get by for a lap and a half. Woke my ass up and relit the fire. Picked the pace back up and went back by the guy. Maintained my pace this time and won the feature. Conservative shit don't get it. Luck of the draw put me in position to do my job. The one they pay me the BIG BUCKS to do. Yeah....right. I got your BIG BUCKS.....
What I am really excited about is the fact you have to jump clear down to 9th (I think) to find the next 305 motor. Everything down to that point was either a 360 or a couple of 410's. Anyway......Winning is always a treat. Especially for a 58.989 year old gray haired fat man. Also, my son, Beau won the feature for the MOLS group there that night. Kinda' neat having a "Heavelow" night at the races! All I can say to all of this is "Helllllloooooooo Miller Lite Longnecks!"
Participated in my first OMMS race. Nice experience. Seems like some really good guys. We were putting our Lightning Sprints up against full blown midgets with no system of equalization by means of a small right rear tire or anything. Drew second row inside of the second heat. Got a really good start and jumped up to the lead going down the back stretch. Car was a little loose but I can't complain. Clicked off 7 more laps and lucked into a heat race win. Started the feature second row outside. After 2 attempts to get it going, third time was the charm.....Jumped up to second on the second lap. Followed the leader (pole setter) and followed the leader. One line race track, right on the bottom. Finally tried way up around the top. Started getting some momentum on 3 and 4 but would get the door shut coming off of turn four everytime I could make the pass. Try the bottom again.....door shut there too. Finally got up beside the leader and got chopped off in turn one. Rather than rub wheels and possibly taking us both out, I chose to lock it up and spin it. Went to the back (12th) and with 5 laps left, let the adrenalin flow and worked my way up to 5th. Literally missed 4th by inches. Bummer. All in all, a good experience. I gave it my best. Being Sunday night, quickly loaded up and headed back to KC. Miller Lite Longneck time. After a hot, sticky day/night, they were just what the Dr. ordered. Look forward to running with the OMMS guys again and maybe even run their next race at Double X.
Second night of I-70 non-winged racing. They started practice on a dry hard slick track. Imagine what it turned into after that. When you can describe it, email me and tell me because for the life of me.......I can't even begin to tell you how slick it was. We were the last of three features. Tire eater too. Drew second row outside of the last heat. Got third. Started the feature fourth row outside and rode around like everyone else and picked up one position. Finished seventh. Not as many yellow or reds because everyone just wanted it over. Didn' t even feel like a race. Seemed like a waste of tires, fuel and energy. That shit happens when you try running a semi-day race on a windy day. Won't be doing that shit again. Wasted $450 of rubber and fuel to get $100. Smart. Brilliant to be more exact. Hey......at least the car didn't get tore up and it rolled in the trailer. The "rolling in the trailer" part was grounds for more Miller Lite Longneck celebration. Shit....The wind blowing was grounds for Miller Lites. Who am I kidding? BS aside....I was happy to finish seventh and have a complete car with little work to do. Just have to find the energy to demount and mount tires now. Anybody out there want to be a "tire sponsor" or need a car to throw money at?
Did the mad dash at the last minute and decided to run the non-winged show at I-70. Looked and sounded like rain all day. Hadn't even fired the car or set the timing yet. It all worked out but talk about a friggin' fire drill trying to get there. Drew second row outside of my heat. Battled for the lead but ended up second. I was happy since I had just fired the motor for the first time that night and hadn't run this car as a 305 yet. I was pleased. Luck of the draw......Got the pole for the feature. 24 cars started the feature. Slick. Real slick track. Ice ain't this slick. There isn't even a term to describe this "slick." Battled the world famous Jesse Hocket for the lead for 3-4 laps and then fell back to second. Then I fell back to third. Then I fell back to fourth. Then I got back up to third with 2 laps to go. Lucky......Real lucky. A "happy" lucky mind you. Took us an hour and twenty minutes to run the 15 lap feature. They cut it down from 20 laps or we'd probably still be there and here it is Wednesday. Embarrassing. However.....most of the time was setting on "reds." They wadded up some shit. Tore up the front stretch fence too. Bottom line......I was extremely happy with my finish with all things considered. 360 winner, hi-po 305 second, my Lamonte legal 305 and I think 360 fourth. Miller Lite Longneck time. Ahhhhhhhh.......Refreshing to say the least. I earned it. Then get ready for the second night at I-70. Which turned into an even more unattainable word for "slick."
Finally got a chance to race "something" again. The weather produced a great night for racing. Therefore I felt it my "civic duty" to do my best. Drew third row outside of the second heat race due to the fact I hadn't raced and therefore had no point average. Fortunately for me but not my cousin who was slated to start the first row outside his tranny took a dump on him and he couldn't get up to speed for the start. That meant the outside row slipped up one position. Ooooooooo......Passin' cars and I hadn't even taken the green yet. I can live with that. Sorry but thanks Cuz! Anyhoooooo.......Started the race second row outside and jumped immediately to second. Followed the leader for 3-4 laps, watched his line and took the lead. The car was performing marvelously. You like that word? I know I do. Got lucky and cruised to a heat race win. Nice start to the Lightning Sprint season for me. First heat winner threw a "three" on the die for a three row inversion. I was delighted with that considering I usual throw a 5-6 row inversion. But wait! There's more! Two rookies on the front row. They were instructed to go to the tail since it was only their second race. Broke my heart. Damn the luck. That put me on the second row. Feel my pain? Besides, was it my place to bitch? I think not. That proverbial gift horse was looking at me eye to eye. Did I mention, with all this "luck," I had good intentions of heading to the "boats" after the races. Life was good......Now I am passing cars and we haven't even left the pits yet! Worked for me. Makes me all "tingly" just thinking about it. All the bullshit aside......Let me go on record saying those two rookies impressed me and I really think they would have done fine starting up front. But this is how these situations have been dealt with in the past. They'll have their day......soon. Anyhoooooo......Fell in line at the start of the feature since going around the outside at the start didn't look to favorable with all the dipping and diving in front of me. Besides.......A phenomenon came over me I seldom experience. Patience. Worked out great. Watched the three cars in front of me for 4-5 laps, picked them off one by one, working my way to lead. The car was once again......"marvelous." Made my job easy. Besides....My reserve of "patience" was starting to run out. Hit my marks the final 14-15 laps and backed into my first 2008 win. It's hard to describe how much fun this car is to drive. Being the first race of the year for me I really thought the 58 year old fat man driver would "fall out of the seat." But since the 58 year old fat setup man pulled one out of his butt, the car made it easy. Bought my setup man a "few" Miller Lite Longnecks after the races. Really enjoy setting around the pits catching up with friends and spectators after the races. One of the best parts of racing for me. Not that I am a bullshitter or anything mind you................
