#9 4 Cylinder Team Race Day Recap. 9-20-14 (Wall Stadium, NJ) First of all, everyone associated with this team was happy to just make it back to the track because of all the problems we had recently. When we unloaded the car off the trailer, it was just a waiting game for practice to open since we did our routine check prior to loading up. TJ had a small notebook of ideas to try in practice but we eliminated that pretty quickly since the Crew Chief aka my Dad said Just go out and make laps, will worry about all the notes you have later. When TJ fired the car up, a big smile came on his face because he now has Gauges that actually work in the car. We made it through our first practice with no problem other than almost fencing it due to being loose off the corner. When TJ rolled back to the pits he told his Dad, These cars are real easy to save rather than overcorrect. Right as TJ said that, someone came over and said, nice job realizing not to overcorrect, most rookies would just have fenced it. We didnt check any data or anything due to the fact TJ was explaining what the car was doing, plus we only have a 3 man crew including the driver, and the 2nd man didnt arrive yet. As we were strapping back into the car for our 2nd Practice session, someone from another division put down quiet a lot of oil and which resulted in us losing Practice #2. When the announced our final practice session TJ said I dont want to risk junking the car, id rather gain some new fans from the On Track Party, later in the day. His Dad respected his decision. Just as Practice #3 ended TJs Mom had arrived with his candy to give away to the fans. The On Track Party was great, TJ had some fans sign his car and he signed a bunch of things for the fans. He even got some fresh pictures. Once the Party concluded, it was time to get ready for the Heat Race. Our division was the last heats of the evening. We started 8th in the heat race. As the heat race progressed we were moving up rather slowly but still learning as we go. We finished 7th in the Heat and ran Side by side with #03 Michael Dunn for 3 laps. This placed us 14th for our starting position for the feature. TJ was debating on offering to head to the rear since he wants to gain the other drivers respect, but he felt confident enough to start right in his position he was scheduled. When our feature finally arrived, We started to make a little ground early but decided to just see how the race plays out and learn from the other drivers. That ended up being a good plan since it was a yellow fever race. We were as high as 8th one point in the race and a low of 15th. We did find a little trouble when #03 Michael Dunn smacked the wall and regathered it but then slew down resulting in me hitting him unsquare and having a little front bumper damage. We then almost had a tbone collision later in the race but TJ weaved his way through. Once the race was down to 5 to go, race control comes on the radio and says so and so driver has a black flag. I wasnt that so and so driver but since I can see the flagger fine, I thought he pointed the flag at me and I pulled down to the apron then race control really yelled at the guy who had the black flag. At that point I re entered the track and finished the race in 11th spot. We went 1 lap down due to that move and should of finished 8th but thats how it goes sometimes. In my Go Pro footage you will see me slam the steering wheel as we take the checkered flag. That is all part of the learning experience. Since our feature ended so late and it was really dark, I couldnt take any pictures until this morning. We did have a little rain so thats why my car is wet and I have to use those wheels to get it on the trailer. It was a big success to finally complete a full event without having to pull in real early.. We will be back next Saturday Night at Wall Stadium, NJ. If your in the area come out and see us. #9 4 Cylinder Team
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 23:03:02 +0000
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