I have to start by thanking my family for allowing me to do what I enjoy. A special thanks to my mom and dad and daugther Sami for making the trip with me - its just not as fun without them along. Our trip to Tulsa will be something that I always remember. I remember my first trip to the SCCA Runoffs in Atlanta as a spectator. The circus atmosphere of a big event is electric and the Shootout was no different. I believe the final car count was 785. Put that many cars, trailers, drivers, mechanics and fans under one rough and you definately have a one of a kind event. It is neat to get be a part of something that big.
www.shoxskinz.com
Having several days now to review video and replay things in my mind, there is a lot I would do different. As you might guess, the track was dry and slick yet racey.(not sure if that is how you spell that) Unfortunately based upon some of the carnage I witnessed early in the week I had slipped into safe mode and had resigned myself to just trying to put it in the feature and come home with a respectable finish. We ended up 7th out of the 40 cars that were there. In the feature I just played it safe driving around the bottom. After crossing the finish line I drove the car in high just out of curiousity and it seemed to work. This fact was cemented after I returned home and watched race video on You Tube that showed the front runners up high just below the cushion. The changes my dad made to the car prior to the feature were dead on. I believe the car was much, much better than the ride I gave it. Its always easy to say I would have, could have or should have...but I definately should have been more aggressive.
www.viperpipes.com
I can say that running without the wing has me excited about the upcoming season. The Midwest Mini Sprint Association has several non wing races on its schedule this year and I hope to run at least a few of them. At the end of the week in Tulsa I felt like I was just barely starting to get a feel of what the car should do without a wing. I still have a long way to go before I am backing it in there like those with more non wing experience. I would really like to take the wing off and go practice at 35 Raceway early in the spring. I think it would be a great non wing track for our cars.
www.speedpartz.com
If I've often complained about not having enough time--the Shootout does provide that. With so many races to run, the time between on track activities can be long. It did however provide a chance to meet some new folks and do some catching up with those I already knew. I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed meeting some of the people that until this time had just been names on Facebook and other website pages. Racing people really are good folk. We pitted right in the middle of several of the folks from Colorado. Guys like the Giegs remind you of why racing is such a great family sport. No matter the circumstances they always greeted us with a smile and were enjoying the weekend as a father and son team. I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with both Jeff and his dad. Merrill Lamb is a name that I have been familiar with only through the results pages on the internet. He and I raced side by side for several laps during the feature. I knew from the results pages that he was a fierce competitor - didn't guess that he would be such a nice guy. I also enjoyed meeting the infamous Wayne Davis and driver Scott Krueger. I wish them all the best with their event in Florida early this year. If my schedule works out I would definately enjoy making the trip. I also happened across Canada's Aaron Fell eating dinner in our hotel. He has been fast both years but also experienced trouble both years. A character of our sport but also a nice guy that talked pretty openly about setup. We pitted next to Colorado's Dale Johnston and enjoyed talking over setups most of the weeked. Like I started, a lot of super nice people. I hate to mention any names because I know I probably left someone out.
www.minisprintbook.com
Traveling like this also gives you the opportunity to get to know some of the regulars much better too. There was a fairly small group from Ohio this year - myself, T.J. Heil, Trey Gustin and Eric Semple. T.J. and I shared transportation to the event. I have to thank both my dad and Phil Heil for driving the cars out. I was planning on driving, but last minute changes at work meant that I was unable to leave early enough to drive. I was really worried about my dad going that far solo and appreciate Phil's willingness to make the drive in my place. I could tell by the banter between my dad and Phil all weekend that they enjoyed their ride out - even if Phil wouldn't let my dad stop to eat as often as he might have liked. My daughter quickly figured out that Phil was the entertainment for the weekend and especially enjoyed his rendition of Jerry Seinfeld's popular Helllooo schtick from the third floor balcony of our hotel. T.J.'s mom Kathy also ensured that there was actually some photographic history of the weekend. Our cars for the weekend looked very similar. One of the side benefits was that Kathy mistaked my car for T.J.'s and recorded part of one of my races. My family is not real good at taking pictures. It was also nice to spend more time with Trey Gustin and his dad Spud. I still remember when Spud was just getting started in the mini sprints. His stable now includes a couple of sprint cars and the mini sprint that his son drives - I am not sure but think that might make us both old. With a teenage daughter of my own, I beginning to appreciate being around young people like Trey and T.J. (and many of the others I race with). Their parents should be proud of the way they respect others and also conduct themselves.
I also had the opportunity to put my marketing hat on for a while on Saturday and get out and promote our Viper Pipes venture. While things have gone well on the 1000cc mini sprint front, we've had little exposure to the 600cc market. I started out just passing out flyers, but found it was much more effective to carry around a couple of our mufflers. Nick has worked hard to manufacture a quality product and people were very receptive. I am hoping that maybe we can make a bigger splash in that market.
That's all for now. In closing, I would like to thank Lynsey Tilton and Kevin Greer for their coverage of the Rumble. Please be sure to visit the front page of www.minisprintracer.com and click on the Ft. Wayne Rumble link to read more. Best wishes to everyone in 2012. I hope to post more regularly on the blog this year so stay tuned.
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