Adios "Exploder"

A sudden urgent issue kept us off the track Saturday night at Barberton Speedway. Rebeeca's Explorer's (named years ago by one of my crew members as the "Exploder') transmission exploded in a big way, and we were stuck at a dealership into the evening. She is now the proud owner of a Mountaineer with a 6-year, 75,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, which is the most important accessory you can buy for a Ford, because you are probably going to need it at some point.

May 16th is an off date, and it loks like we are heading to Deerfield Speedway to watch some great dirt track racing. We return to the track on May 23rd at Barberton Speedway.

Next Up: Barberton Speedway

It's shaping up to be another extremely busy week, but it looks like we will make it to Barberton this weekend. We brought the car home in one piece from Lorain, and it already had the Barberton gears in it. I look the car over from top-to-bottom and we should be good to go.

Top-10 Finish at Lorain

Due to time constraints this past week, I was not able to change rear end gears for Lorain. So we headed there with 3.42 gears, normally used at Barberton Speedway, which are a little high for Lorain. The result was a car that was seriously loose all night long with the motor dropping out of the power band coming off the turns. But, as I told a number of people at the track, "I would rather be here with the wrong gears than not be here at all."

I finished 5th in the Heat, after bringing out the yellow flag for my spin in Turn 2. I finished 10th in the Feature, fighting the car for the entire race. I was pleased with the outcome, given the circumstances.

Thanks to Dave Spotton for all his help tonight.

Next week, we are off to Barberton again. See you there.

Ready for Lorain

I was able to get the car ready, so we will be racing tonight at Lorain County Speedway!

Status Unsure for Lorain Legends Event

Given my current teaching obligations, and semester-end obligations for classes I am taking at Kent State, our status is unsure for the Northern Ohio Legends event at Lorain County Speedway this weekend.

Watch this spot for the latest news regarding our status for this event.

R.I.P. David Poole

As I listened to Sirius Speedway this afternoon, I noticed that Mike Bagley and Dave Moody were speaking of David Poole in past tense. The first thing that crossed my mind was that he either quit or was let go from Sirius. As the conversation went on, it became obvious that this was much more serious. I was saddened to hear that David Poole, host of the Morning Drive on Sirius, had passed away this afternoon.

I listened to David Poole every morning on the way to work, literally since NASCAR moved to Sirius. I admired his "tell-it-like-it-is" style, and he wasn't afraid to ruffle some feathers, yet he was also known as a very caring and generous person. He made us laugh; he made us mad at times, too, but he was the best NASCAR writer around.

I will miss hearing Mike Bagley ask David Poole how he was doing, and most mornings the reply would be "living the dream". Our thoughts and prayers go out to our entire NASCAR family over this sad loss.

Good Time at Barberton Speedway

Barberton, OH After struggling with arthritis the last couple of weeks, I was feeling much better this week. Combine that with a new driver's suit made of new "breathable" Nomex, and I haven't been this comfortable in a car in quite a while.

The night began with Barberton Speedway's annual autograph session. My wife, Rebecca, our daughters Hannah and Lauren, and Rebecca's mom were in attendance and had a great time. I gave each kid (and some adults, too) who stopped by one of our 2009 baseball cards.

I just have not had enough seat time at the track to rum competitively, so I treated the event like a giant hot lap session, and I was picking up speed as the night went on. I finished 7th in the Heat Race and 12th in the Feature. The best part is that I am getting some much-needed seat time there, and I brought the car home in one piece.

Special thanks to Dave Spotton, normally the driver of the #41 Legends car, for all his help last night.

Up next: Lorain County Speedway - May 2nd.

Up Next: Barberton Speedway

Barberton, OH This Saturday, April 25, we will race in the Northern Ohio Legends event at Berberton Speedway in Barberton, OH. It is also the speedway's Autograph Night. Get your 2009 CSR Autograph Card (pictured at right) during the autograph session. Hope to see you there!

Pain Continues at Lorain

South Amherst, OH Due to continuing frustrating issues with arthritis, we did not run in the Lorain Northern Ohio Legends race on April 11. I am taking steps to minimize the effects and am planning to race in the Northern Ohio Legends event at Barberton Speedway on April 25.

Up Next: Lorain County Speedway

South Amherst, OH This Saturday, April 18, we will race in the Northern Ohio Legends Series event at Lorain County Speedway's Opening Night. We had a great run there at the Cavalcade last fall.

Happy Easter

Here's wishing all of you a very Happy Easter.

Painful Start to Our 2009 Season at Barberton

Barberton, OH An extremely busy winter slowed our preparations for the 2009 season, but that didn't keep us from racing in the first Northern Ohio Legends event at Barberton Speedway. The car was completed just in time to head to the speedway, but it would prove to be the least of our worries Saturday night.

I periodically suffer from bouts of arthritis, but have been extremely fortunate in the last 13 years as I have not had it interfere with racing... until Saturday night. From the moment I got into the car for hot laps, I was in serious pain. My ankles. knees and back were giving me fits all evening long.

I practiced the car once, and it was a lot better than I was. I decided to sit out the heat, as I was in no shape to drive the car at that point. I climbed into the car about 30 minutes before our feature, and tried to get as comfortable as possible. I then proceeded to run the first 11 laps of the feature until the pain became too much.

So, even though the driver wasn't up to par, we ended up passing a couple of cars, earned enough to pay our pit pass and brought the car home in one piece. It could have been a lot worse.

(Photo by Chris Nicastro)