It's time to get the car ready to go race at Lawrenceburg Speedway this weekend.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
7/26/10
Although ti’s been over a week since I last raced, its been a busy one and I haven’t had a chance to blog. My intentions were to make my first visit to Brownstown Speedway with the M.M.S.A. during Sprint Week, my plans changed as I was leaving for the race. As I was backing out of the garage I ran over the family cat. Although it looks like she is going to be okay, a trip to the veterinarian placed us far enough behind schedule that we had to cancel. The story of running over the cat produced some great stories about how others similar experience. It sounds as if I missed a great race. Congratulations go out to Seth Motsinger on his win.
Since we missed Brownstown, the decision was made to stay close to home on Friday and attend the A.M.S.A. race at Moler Raceway Park. I’ve got a real mental block when it comes to Moler. We haven’t had the best luck there. It all started a few years ago when I lost a chain and destroyed a motor. Our next trip was on a night when they had exceptionally bad track conditions leading to the eventual cancellation of the race. We got to spend a little time with Kevin and Kim Moler last year when we rented the track so that my daughter, wife and A.M.S.A. rookie Brandon Longworth could get some track time. Former street stock driver Kim Moler and her daughter also took a few laps in our mini sprint. Kevin told me that he would not bring the mini sprints in until mid season this year to make sure he could deliver a smoothing racing surface. He was right as the track was in very nice shape.
My mental block came through in my heat race performance as I was excessively cautious, finishing in fifth position—one spot ahead of where I started. David Applegate deserves mention for his strong performance in the heat race. I think this was the youngsters first heat race win in 1000cc competition after spending his rookie season racing a 600cc upright at 35 Raceway. The win earned Applegate the pole for the feature. I started the feature inside the fifth row. I was happy with my start in the feature, unfortunately it was called off due to a spin. I wasn’t quite as successful on the restart, however started picking up positions a few laps in. The car was very good for the feature. There was a little bit of moisture left at the bottom of the track. If I could get the car down in it, it would leap off the corner. Unfortunately, I’m seldom consistent enough in my lines to hit such a small band on the track each time. When the checkered flag fell I was in fourth position. Given my history at Moler I was very happy with my finish and am looking forward to going back. Kudos go out to Ryan Broughton on his win at Moler. As I mentioned earlier the track was a bit of a challenge to get a hold of—and Ryan did a very nice job of pedaling the car around the track.
The M.M.S.A. was also in action Friday evening at Bloomington Speedway as part of Indiana Sprint Week. Mike Kiser’s trip from New York was paid off as he claimed the $1,000 prize. It wasn’t without a little work though, Garry Loney led fifteen laps of the race. Loney is in his first year in a 1000cc mini sprint after running a 600cc upright last season at Waynesfield. I’ve had the chance to run with Garry a few times now and have been impressed each time.
On Sunday I started a whirlwind tour of France to visit one of our customers at work. It was a lot of traveling in a short period of time, but this time I made it out of Paris and got to see some of the country side and the beaches. The customer visit was pretty cool as I got an up close look at one of the manufacturing facilities that builds aircraft engine for General Electric. It’s pretty amazing how large the components on those engines are. My train ride out to the coast also took me through Le Mans. If I would have had more time, I would have loved to make a trip out to the famous road course. After a long flight home, I am happy to be back on U.S. soil.
I continue to work on new product ideas for the shop and have a few new ones to report this go around. There are a couple of items that are specific to our new race car that have drawn comments over the past several weeks.
Wing wraps – On my past two racing cars I have employed wing wraps instead of traditional paint and vinyl. There are several benefits to wing wraps. They appear to be much more cost effective than traditional paint and vinyl. They provide greater flexibility in the quality and quantity of graphics that it allows you to place on the car. Finally as long as you use the right materials they are durable and fairly easy to apply. I recently have entered into a joint partnership with a leading provider of wraps that will allow us to provide wraps of all kinds, including a special deal on 16 square foot wings. For a limited time we will be able to offer the printing of wraps for both sides of the wing for $169.00. Unless significant design is required, there will not be a design charge. We can also apply the wing wraps to your wing for an additional charge. For more information give us a call at the shop 513.874.2034.
Dashboard decals – I designed and printed switch decals for the cowl of my new mini sprint. It’s kind of a small thing, but they have received much more attention than I would have ever expected. The one comment I got was that they really finish the car off and make it look professional. Not wanting to miss out on an opportunity, I’ve had them professionally printed and packaged for sale. We now offer a set of switch decals that can easily be applied over standard toggle and push button switches. The set sells for $12.95 and includes decals for; Power, Fuel Pump, Starter Button, Fan and Wing. I also have the capability of designing specialized decals upon request. These dashboard labels can be ordered through Speed Partz at http://www.speedpartz.com/panelpak.htm.
Tachometer – If you’ve read past blogs you probably remember me writing about the full featured $139.00 tachometer that I found. Unfortunately the original distributor that I was working with went bankrupt. After a little bit of detective work I have been able to reconnect with the tachometer. The tachometer provides a 20,000 RPM readout with recall of high RPM for the session. It also has a programmable shift light and water temperature read out. It is also backlit for easy viewing at night. The tachometer can be easily programmed for many different engine configurations. The first shipment of 10 units is due in sometime in the next two weeks. I probably won’t add them to our website until we get a larger shipment in. If you are interested in one of them just give my dad a call and get on our list. You can call him at the shop at 513.874.2034.
Adrenaline Outfitters – Since I’ve been in college one of my ambitions has been to design and market my own line of t-shirts. My idea was to develop a line that is aimed at the true racer. Not something that you could purchase at a retail store, but instead something that would have a bit of a cult following. While I had them up and going pretty well a few years ago, I got frustrated with the task of managing inventory. It seemed like whatever sizes I had on the shelf—it was not the size the customer was requesting. Recently I have entered into an agreement with a third party company that takes care of printing and fulfillment. So far the arrangement has been working very well, allowing me to concentrate on the design and marketing of the shirts, while greatly improving delivery and customer service. I hope to start featuring one design each blog. This week I am featuring one I call Loose Nut. It is one of my initial designs and has been a popular one. These shirts can be ordered online at http://www.adrenalinets.com/.
The good Lord willing, hope to be back out at Lawrenceburg Speedway next Saturday evening. That’s all for now. Thanks for reading.
Since we missed Brownstown, the decision was made to stay close to home on Friday and attend the A.M.S.A. race at Moler Raceway Park. I’ve got a real mental block when it comes to Moler. We haven’t had the best luck there. It all started a few years ago when I lost a chain and destroyed a motor. Our next trip was on a night when they had exceptionally bad track conditions leading to the eventual cancellation of the race. We got to spend a little time with Kevin and Kim Moler last year when we rented the track so that my daughter, wife and A.M.S.A. rookie Brandon Longworth could get some track time. Former street stock driver Kim Moler and her daughter also took a few laps in our mini sprint. Kevin told me that he would not bring the mini sprints in until mid season this year to make sure he could deliver a smoothing racing surface. He was right as the track was in very nice shape.
My mental block came through in my heat race performance as I was excessively cautious, finishing in fifth position—one spot ahead of where I started. David Applegate deserves mention for his strong performance in the heat race. I think this was the youngsters first heat race win in 1000cc competition after spending his rookie season racing a 600cc upright at 35 Raceway. The win earned Applegate the pole for the feature. I started the feature inside the fifth row. I was happy with my start in the feature, unfortunately it was called off due to a spin. I wasn’t quite as successful on the restart, however started picking up positions a few laps in. The car was very good for the feature. There was a little bit of moisture left at the bottom of the track. If I could get the car down in it, it would leap off the corner. Unfortunately, I’m seldom consistent enough in my lines to hit such a small band on the track each time. When the checkered flag fell I was in fourth position. Given my history at Moler I was very happy with my finish and am looking forward to going back. Kudos go out to Ryan Broughton on his win at Moler. As I mentioned earlier the track was a bit of a challenge to get a hold of—and Ryan did a very nice job of pedaling the car around the track.
The M.M.S.A. was also in action Friday evening at Bloomington Speedway as part of Indiana Sprint Week. Mike Kiser’s trip from New York was paid off as he claimed the $1,000 prize. It wasn’t without a little work though, Garry Loney led fifteen laps of the race. Loney is in his first year in a 1000cc mini sprint after running a 600cc upright last season at Waynesfield. I’ve had the chance to run with Garry a few times now and have been impressed each time.
On Sunday I started a whirlwind tour of France to visit one of our customers at work. It was a lot of traveling in a short period of time, but this time I made it out of Paris and got to see some of the country side and the beaches. The customer visit was pretty cool as I got an up close look at one of the manufacturing facilities that builds aircraft engine for General Electric. It’s pretty amazing how large the components on those engines are. My train ride out to the coast also took me through Le Mans. If I would have had more time, I would have loved to make a trip out to the famous road course. After a long flight home, I am happy to be back on U.S. soil.
I continue to work on new product ideas for the shop and have a few new ones to report this go around. There are a couple of items that are specific to our new race car that have drawn comments over the past several weeks.
Wing wraps – On my past two racing cars I have employed wing wraps instead of traditional paint and vinyl. There are several benefits to wing wraps. They appear to be much more cost effective than traditional paint and vinyl. They provide greater flexibility in the quality and quantity of graphics that it allows you to place on the car. Finally as long as you use the right materials they are durable and fairly easy to apply. I recently have entered into a joint partnership with a leading provider of wraps that will allow us to provide wraps of all kinds, including a special deal on 16 square foot wings. For a limited time we will be able to offer the printing of wraps for both sides of the wing for $169.00. Unless significant design is required, there will not be a design charge. We can also apply the wing wraps to your wing for an additional charge. For more information give us a call at the shop 513.874.2034.
Dashboard decals – I designed and printed switch decals for the cowl of my new mini sprint. It’s kind of a small thing, but they have received much more attention than I would have ever expected. The one comment I got was that they really finish the car off and make it look professional. Not wanting to miss out on an opportunity, I’ve had them professionally printed and packaged for sale. We now offer a set of switch decals that can easily be applied over standard toggle and push button switches. The set sells for $12.95 and includes decals for; Power, Fuel Pump, Starter Button, Fan and Wing. I also have the capability of designing specialized decals upon request. These dashboard labels can be ordered through Speed Partz at http://www.speedpartz.com/panelpak.htm.
Tachometer – If you’ve read past blogs you probably remember me writing about the full featured $139.00 tachometer that I found. Unfortunately the original distributor that I was working with went bankrupt. After a little bit of detective work I have been able to reconnect with the tachometer. The tachometer provides a 20,000 RPM readout with recall of high RPM for the session. It also has a programmable shift light and water temperature read out. It is also backlit for easy viewing at night. The tachometer can be easily programmed for many different engine configurations. The first shipment of 10 units is due in sometime in the next two weeks. I probably won’t add them to our website until we get a larger shipment in. If you are interested in one of them just give my dad a call and get on our list. You can call him at the shop at 513.874.2034.
Adrenaline Outfitters – Since I’ve been in college one of my ambitions has been to design and market my own line of t-shirts. My idea was to develop a line that is aimed at the true racer. Not something that you could purchase at a retail store, but instead something that would have a bit of a cult following. While I had them up and going pretty well a few years ago, I got frustrated with the task of managing inventory. It seemed like whatever sizes I had on the shelf—it was not the size the customer was requesting. Recently I have entered into an agreement with a third party company that takes care of printing and fulfillment. So far the arrangement has been working very well, allowing me to concentrate on the design and marketing of the shirts, while greatly improving delivery and customer service. I hope to start featuring one design each blog. This week I am featuring one I call Loose Nut. It is one of my initial designs and has been a popular one. These shirts can be ordered online at http://www.adrenalinets.com/.
The good Lord willing, hope to be back out at Lawrenceburg Speedway next Saturday evening. That’s all for now. Thanks for reading.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
A Full Week of Motorsports Stuff
This week has allowed me to enjoy motorsport from all sides. I started the week off on Monday with a trip to Big Rock ATV Park in Maysville, Kentucky to ride dirt bikes with my daughter and a few friends. A very hot day, but enjoyable riding. Friday night was my first outing in the new mini sprint at Lawrenceburg Speedway as part of Indiana Speedweek and finally a trip to Mid-Ohio on Saturday to visit Vintage Motorcycle Days.
Friday night at Lawrenceburg Speedway the A.M.S.A. joined USAC for the opening round of Indiana Sprint Week. A total of 35 cars pulled into the pits including five cars from New York. My good luck at the pill draw hit the rocks with a number 32 coming out of the bag. I started outside the third row in the fourth heat. In typical fashion I spent too much time getting to business and ended the race in fifth place, one spot out of a qualifying position. I really hate going through the B-Main, but guess I should look forward to every chance to get myself accustomed to the new car.
In the B-Main we started in fourth position. A total of 19 cars started the B-Main with several strong runners included in the mix, making it feel a little more like an A-Main. Within a few laps we had managed to move our way into second position behind Ryan Braughton. Although I felt like we were starting to pick up on Ryan, the car popped out of gear in between turns one and two. I wasn't sure what happened at first believeing that I had lost a chain. Thankfully another car spun on the same lap and I was able to regain my second place position on the restart. The car was handling great and although I felt like I had a chance of running down Ryan, I just ran out of time.
Be sure to visit CMI Racing Vids. Colin was recently at Twin Cities Raceway Park to tape the MMSA action. It was a great evening of racing. Be sure to pop over to his site to order your copy.
My second place finish in the B-Main at least earned me a spot for the feature; although deep in the field. The few tweeks my dad made to the car delivered a car that was well suited to the racing surface by the time the feature rolled around. Although we got decent starts and started to gain positions, we were once again plagued with the mysterious problem of the car jumping out of gear. Almost every other lap the car would jump into neutral as we passed through turns one and two. Each time was a set back to our progress, leaving us to an eventual 11th place finish. Although I was dissappointed in my finish, I am very excited about how the car was performing. I think we've determined the fix for our gear problem.
Looking forward to getting back out on the track Thursday evening as the MMSA visits Brownstown Speedway.
This is a first in mini sprint racing in the midwest and hopefully a good sign for its future. During USAC's Indiana Sprint Week, mini sprint drivers have been treated to the opportunity to run no less than five times in eight nights between the A.M.S.A. and the M.M.S.A The week kicked off with the AMSA with the USAC sprints at Lawrenceburg. The AMSA then moved on its own to KC Raceway. There was also racing action on the same evening at Chillicothe. On Thursday evening the MMSA opens with the USAC Sprints at Brownsburg and follows up on Friday evening at Bloomington. On Friday evening the AMSA is also at Moler Raceway Park. The MMSA then finishes things off at Paragon Speedway. Sounds like about as much fun as a mini sprint racer could have in a single week.
There is always a lot of fun scenery when a big race roles into Lawrenceburg. Friday night was no exception. One of my favorite attractions was Josh Shaw and his nastolgic sprinter that were pitted next to us. Josh is building replicas of sprints long ago and pulls them in on a flat bed trailer attached to an old pickup. I have posted some photos of Josh's set-up. If you'll look closely you'll notice that the car is the Ellison Special. The famous sprinter depicted in Dave Argabright's series that ran over a several month period in Sprint Car and Midget Magazine.
My daughter Sami and I made the trip on Saturday morning up to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Vintage Motorcycle Days. Before switching to dirt we spent a lot of time at Mid-Ohio racing Formula Fords and Formula 2000s. If you have never been to Mid-Ohio, it definately deserves a visit. It is a beautiful setting for a racing facility. Its also worth checking out Vintage Motorcycle Days if you've never been. They have a swap meet that has to cover several acres. You can find just about any type of bike or part you are looking for at the meet. The event includes road racing, motorcross, trials and flat track. Here are a few pictures from our trip.
One of the things that I have enjoyed doing early in this summer is spending some time with my family dirt biking. I finally have everyone on a bike including my two daughters and wife. We've made a handful of outings so far this year and I've been very proud of just how well they are all coming along as riders. Here are a few pictures from last weeks outing.
Friday night at Lawrenceburg Speedway the A.M.S.A. joined USAC for the opening round of Indiana Sprint Week. A total of 35 cars pulled into the pits including five cars from New York. My good luck at the pill draw hit the rocks with a number 32 coming out of the bag. I started outside the third row in the fourth heat. In typical fashion I spent too much time getting to business and ended the race in fifth place, one spot out of a qualifying position. I really hate going through the B-Main, but guess I should look forward to every chance to get myself accustomed to the new car.
In the B-Main we started in fourth position. A total of 19 cars started the B-Main with several strong runners included in the mix, making it feel a little more like an A-Main. Within a few laps we had managed to move our way into second position behind Ryan Braughton. Although I felt like we were starting to pick up on Ryan, the car popped out of gear in between turns one and two. I wasn't sure what happened at first believeing that I had lost a chain. Thankfully another car spun on the same lap and I was able to regain my second place position on the restart. The car was handling great and although I felt like I had a chance of running down Ryan, I just ran out of time.
Be sure to visit CMI Racing Vids. Colin was recently at Twin Cities Raceway Park to tape the MMSA action. It was a great evening of racing. Be sure to pop over to his site to order your copy.
Looking forward to getting back out on the track Thursday evening as the MMSA visits Brownstown Speedway.
I recently received this photo from J&T Photos who take all the shots at Waynesfield. We are lucky to have great photographers covering several of our tracks. I wanted to give J&T a special shot out since they helped me with this photo for an article an industry publication is doing. Visit http://www.jandtphotos.com/.
This is a first in mini sprint racing in the midwest and hopefully a good sign for its future. During USAC's Indiana Sprint Week, mini sprint drivers have been treated to the opportunity to run no less than five times in eight nights between the A.M.S.A. and the M.M.S.A The week kicked off with the AMSA with the USAC sprints at Lawrenceburg. The AMSA then moved on its own to KC Raceway. There was also racing action on the same evening at Chillicothe. On Thursday evening the MMSA opens with the USAC Sprints at Brownsburg and follows up on Friday evening at Bloomington. On Friday evening the AMSA is also at Moler Raceway Park. The MMSA then finishes things off at Paragon Speedway. Sounds like about as much fun as a mini sprint racer could have in a single week.
There is always a lot of fun scenery when a big race roles into Lawrenceburg. Friday night was no exception. One of my favorite attractions was Josh Shaw and his nastolgic sprinter that were pitted next to us. Josh is building replicas of sprints long ago and pulls them in on a flat bed trailer attached to an old pickup. I have posted some photos of Josh's set-up. If you'll look closely you'll notice that the car is the Ellison Special. The famous sprinter depicted in Dave Argabright's series that ran over a several month period in Sprint Car and Midget Magazine.
My daughter Sami and I made the trip on Saturday morning up to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Vintage Motorcycle Days. Before switching to dirt we spent a lot of time at Mid-Ohio racing Formula Fords and Formula 2000s. If you have never been to Mid-Ohio, it definately deserves a visit. It is a beautiful setting for a racing facility. Its also worth checking out Vintage Motorcycle Days if you've never been. They have a swap meet that has to cover several acres. You can find just about any type of bike or part you are looking for at the meet. The event includes road racing, motorcross, trials and flat track. Here are a few pictures from our trip.
I recentlly began work on yet another new product. As I mentioned earlier, my family and I have been doing some dirt bike riding lately. Many of the dirt bike riders make use of the Camel Bak. A system that allows them to carry water or fluid along for the ride and actually take a drink without stopping. I recently purchased one of these handy little rider accessories and wouldn't be without it. It got me to thinking about a way to use it on my racing car. Although one might question why it would be needed during such a short race, you would be shocked at how much fluid you can really loose in such a short period of time. The only problem is that there really is no good way to attach it to the car. I started prototyping a pouch that would easily and securely fasten to the car and have been trying it out the last few races. I have gotten quickly attached to it. The new design attaches to the rear uprights of the car and has a special tube and bite valve that just dangles down in the cockpit where it can be easily reached when your ready for a drink. I use it sometime sitting on the grid, during cautions and red flags. I now have it ready to go to market under our Shox Skinz brand name. It will be called a Hydra-Pak and is currently available for $49.95. Although we haven't put it on the website yet, if your interested you can call us at 513.874.2034 and request the Shox Skinz Hydra-Pak.
The Hydra-Pak is designed to easily attach to the rear upright on a mini sprint, midget, TQ midget or sprint car. It is secure and can be easily removed whenever you would like.
The blue tube with a special bite valve dangles down in the cockpit and can be easily reached for a quick drink on the grid, under caution or a red flag.
That's all for now. I hope to be back next week with another blog. I have a few additional products that I am working on and hope to have a race report from Brownstown Speedway.
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