Tough to get back in the swing of things

photo courtesy Mike Weaver

Three weeks is far too long to be off. We shared a half day of testing back in August with a coach to help us get our times down and to polish up our act. The day was very useful to both of us, but when you're out of the seat for over three weeks you become a bit rusty.

Actually I was far worse off than Sam. I couldn't remember settings, I forgot the usual set of tools I take out, and tire pressures were all lost in the fog. I finally got my head straight by about our third time out on the track and things began to feel more routine for me. Unfortunately our lap times that I had anticipated for this weekend didn't culminate either. Up until Sunday we held the fast time record for our class. We were bound and determined to lower that and hopefully challenge the track record. Nice cool temperatures, one set of new tires, and a chassis that was laser straight and I felt we had the right combination to do just that. Too bad for us as two drivers from our class had the same idea and put an end to our record fast.

No disrespect to Sam. Although he had little to no sleep the night prior, he found his stride relatively quick but it just wasn't enough. The two front runners left us in their paths by the tune of almost a half second! Usually we're right there with at least Travis but not this time. He was on rails and nipping at Tommy Anderson's tail for most of the event. Third place was the best we could muster and the unofficial (at the time of this writing) fast time of 38.7 is now awarded to Tommy Anderson. I have a feeling it won't stay there for long though, he has gone quicker.

It goes without saying that both Tommy and Travis have far more experience than us at this game. But on the other hand Sam has come a long way this year and he's proved that he's no slouch. Having said that I can't chalk this disappointment up to anything other than a motor that could be getting tired. After all I haven't even put a new ring in it this season so it's probably crying for help. It did sound noticeably different than the others but that could also have been a gearing issue. Whatever it was we didn't share the same crisp sound of the two ahead of us.

With two races left on the season I think we're going to just stick it out. It makes no sense to work on anything at this point. I don't share the luxury that our competitors have in owning multiple engines. Some day I hope to but at this time I have only one. When it goes in for a rebuild we're down and I can't chance not getting it back in time for the next race. Our lead in the points is pretty safe as long as we compete in the next two events. We'd be smart in focusing our attention on that and making the dash for the track record next year.

Our next event is at Badger Raceway on Sunday October 7th. The season is quickly coming to a close so if you haven't had the chance to get out there we'd be happy to see you.

Congratulations on 1000 visitors!

It took a while, but we reached one-thousand visitors to date on Sam's Race Page. Thank you to everyone who stops by from time to time to see our progress. We hope you continue.


Unfortunately I don't have the name of the lucky individual who checked out the site and helped us reach this milestone. If I had, I'd be giving them the keys to a brand new 2008 Chevrolet Z07 Corvette with all of those 650 Supercharged horses crammed under the hood. The kind of trouble one could get in with this thing is almost inconcievable.

Too bad though. I'll just have to drive it until we reach our next milestone of 10,000 visitors, or I lose my license. Whichever comes first. I'll keep all of you posted.

Thanks again,

Sam, Mike, and the whole crew at Inch-Hi Motorsports

2008 Corvette Z07 Giveaway disclaimer: Let it be understood that there is no car to giveaway. At the sake of being sued by someone who can't take a joke I am obligated to print this refuse after making the statement that I did. At no time was there ever a 2008 Z07 Corvette available to the 1000th visitor to Sam's Race Page.com. Any person who honestly thought there was one should seriously look into getting a life, not a car. For any of you out there who know me personally you know that I pretty much don't have two quarters to rub together much less the ability to give a gift of this size. And even if I did have the money I don't think my lovely wife (who has more common sense than me) could justify us spending this type of cash on ourselves. So if I've disappointed anyone, I'm truly sorry.