Well - I had my complete list of excuses prepared... Haven't raced since November of 1999, brain turned to mush finishing my MBA, out of shape, paper pusher hands, motor not exactly fresh... afternoon start threw me off, moon in the wrong position... wind blowing the wrong way... the list goes on. Fortunately, I didn't need any of them. Team Ragged Edge Racing scored a big WIN this weekend - and it felt GOOD. Here's the details....

All joking aside - this really was the first race in a very long time. Our last race was the 1999 Parker Gran Prix - to sew up the 1999 points championship. The car was BEAT. It had finished a full season, had a wrinkled roof line, and was in a serious need of some TLC. It started with cutting the old roof off, throwing away the doors, and searching for a 1969 VW in a junk yard with a good roof. We found this car in a yard overlooking Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix. I figgured that this roof had witnessed more racing than I ever had - and would be a good choice. The "deliverance" brothers at the yard hacked it off for us - and away we went.

After hours and hours of cutting, and fitting, and tweaking, the car was welded in place by our buddies at Finishline Motorsports. Since I couldn't find a body shop willing to take on the new paint job, and body work - Todd and I decided to take it on ourselves. It would be our first paint job. The body work alone was a tremendous amount of work - as this little baja had really been hammered in last year's wreck. We did the best we could, picked our battles with the bondo, and sprayed the car ourselves. Countless hours, buckets of sweat, gallons of water, and several beers later - voila!! it was done. I have to say I was surprised how it turned out... several strategically placed stickers, and some dust - and it looks GREAT.

Now the real work needed to be done. A full prep job is interesting - it takes only a few hours to tear the car down, but DAYS to put it back together. We had everything checked, Replaced a bunch of parts, changed all the fluids and filters, checked all of the fasteners, and carefully rebuilt the car from the frame up. It was alot of work, but really needed to be done.

It was finally finished about 10 days before the race - and a trip to Sycamore for some testing was in order. We pounded the car through the whoops. We had some guests join us for a ride - and I think they had a good ride... The car worked very well, motor pulled great, and it was deemed - race ready.

We headed up to Snowflake on Friday early AM. It was nice and cool up there. Looking good so far. Thanks a MILLION to Mike and Barb Herrick for holding a spot for us... We unloaded, got settled, and proceeded to tech the car.

At any rate , tech was uneventful, and we proceeded to jet the car. I chose to run a very fat jet - and to back the timing down a little bit for this race. I wanted to be certain to give the motor the best chance of surviving this race. The motor was running good - but was definately a little sluggish.

RACE DAY-

The day started with the "big dawgs" starting at 8am. It was nice to be able to enjoy this race - and to dream of what it must be like to race one of these cars or trucks. My personal favorites are the V4 powered cars of John Phillips Jimco, and the Pavolka Millenium Chenowth. Horsepower - Raw Horsepower... Maybe someday.

We put the last few touches on the car - gassed up the shocks, got the air pressure right, put in some last minute tools, and oil, and were ready to race. The driver's meeting was the usual - it would be the same course as last year, and would be dry with the expection of the trees - which were always muddy.

Todd and I got buckled in - and proceeded to stage. We were going off the line 3rd, behind Milt Moore, and Ric Sanders who were leading the way. We watched them roar off - and waited our turn. Green flag - and away we went. The car was running great, and we blasted over the jump to begin the race. The first section of the course was a little tricky - but we were all over it. The car was handing as good as ever. We raced for about 5 miles before even getting a glimpse of the cars in front of us. We could see the Milt Moore car ahead - and were gaining ground steadily. As we headed into the trees, he was within reach. I had hoped to catch him before the tree section - but he was too fast. We were able to gain more ground in the twisty turny pines, and were right on his rear cage. We could also see that Milt had caught the Ric Sanders car, which was not far ahead... Luckily the wind was blowing pretty good, and it was easy to work through Milt's dust. We were able to pressure Milt (without contact) enough to let us by. He gave us some sort of fist shaking as we went by. That pumped me up - and we were well into the dust plume of Ric. Within another mile or so - we were able to reel him in - and were right on his cage. However, his car was really working well, and despite some serious honking - he wouldn't let us by. We chased him thru the trees, up and down the powerline, and into the meadows. I was afraid to give Ric a tap - for fear of sending him into a tree. It was just too risky... it was a long race - and patience was in order. Ric's car was really fun to watch - and was pitching baseball size rocks continually. I couldn't get by - and wouldn't let him go. Finally, in a big 90 degree left - we were able to pull along side - and Ric finally gave us a wave farewell - and let us by. It had been some great racing...

We finished the first 28 mile lap in 35 minutes and some change. The class fast lap of the day... We got the wave from our pit crew on our way through - and continued to make dust and distance to the competition. We had some 20 seconds on Ric after 1.

It was cruise control time - and with the competition behind us - time to focus, get smooth, and just hammer out the miles. I was satisfied with a 36 minute 2nd lap - with the competition falling further behind.

Lap 3 was more of the same - until we started on some dust... I was thinking 1/2 1600 car - but it was a vintage racer instead... I wanted to pass him - to put more dust in front of the other 5/16's. Sounded like a good idea at the time... I was able to catch the vintage cars at about mile 20 something - going through the praries and cross grain ditches... We were working up through his dust - but he was tough to catch. We were in 4th gear and accelerating and really struggling in the dust... He was able to pull away just enough that I lost his amber light - and was running on instinct alone... You know the drill - stay in the throttle - count to 5 - panic. The dust cleared just enough to see that we were about 3 feet off the center of the track - with a BIG Ditch in front of the car. The impact was unavoidable, and we were at the top of 3rd gear just hauling. The car impacted the ditch with a WHOOMP, and we were airborne. All I can say is that this is the highest, farthest, and most out of shape that this car has ever flown. While in the air - I heard a voice clearly say "This is gonna hurt"... I don't know if it was Todd thinking aloud, or me talking to myself, or those little voices that sometimes talk to me... but I know I heard it... The car was twisting in flight - and I thought it would land square on the passenger side of the car. It was also nosing over like a stalled biplane.... "This is gonna hurt..." But somehow, it landed solely on the passenger front tire - and settled down without a kick, bounce, or hop... I am positive I heard Todd say - (kinda like he was genuinely surprised...) "WE'RE OK!!" I backed off - expecting something to be broken - but the car kept right on going... I was surprised also... It was totally unbelieveable - and wish there had been a camera rolling at that moment - because it's the closest to disaster I have ever been...

I backed off - let the vintage car go - let the dust clear, and finished the lap. We had our pit crew take a look over the car as we passed by - but no damage was obvious - and it was back to work... We had several minutes on the field, and they had to catch us and pass to win...

We cruised for the last 2 laps turning them in 36 minute laps and took the win by about 6 minutes. We were passed by several 9 cars on the final lap - and I let them go without hesitation. They were in a real dogfight... The Jo Sheble 9 car did give us a tap - and I let him go - He did win the class 9 fight...

It was a great race - and I accomplished exactly what I wanted to... Drive time, test the car, bring home a victory, and most of all - don't hurt the car. Mission accomplished. It couldn't have been scripted any better.

I have several friends to mention - First - Nicole for hanging in there - and keeping me company for long hours in the garage... I was a ghost at home for weeks on end getting this car put back together... and also to NiCE Custom Embroidery as my main sponsor... Thanks to Todd for helping me with the prep, bodywork, and all of the work that went into the car... Also for being fearless in the seat without the wheel or brakes...

To Kasey and K.C. of Finishline for their support and advice... You racers out there that want to win... Here's your ticket...

To Shannon and Amie at Signs Now in Mesa for doing up some fine signs for us. Appreciate it, Shannon!!

To Mike and Mike at Kartek, Lee-Bob at RaceShock for making the car handle - and probably saving our ass in this race... I still can't believe we raced away from that ditch... It could have easly ended in a "parting out slightly mangled 1969 baja" classified ad...

Thanks for the excellent help to Pit Crew and cheerleaders Dana and Patty Andrews, Matt, Scottie and Casey, and to Todd's own cheer section Krista, Breanna, Kayla, and Marissa...

Additional thanks to Frank Bradley for the great digital photos (up on 9/4) and to Dan and Shirley who came to watch us race. Hope you guys had a good weekend - and thanks for coming out...

Also thanks to Jeff at Private RV Rentals. We rented a great "Toy Hauler" for weekend that really worked out great. They rent everything - and are reasonably priced... Something to think about next time you head out for that long weekend. They rent toy haulers, RV's, boats... Follow this link if you're interested... It was really the order of the day...

Last but not least - A few messages..

Tim Hayosh - Congrats on your win - you're ready for the big leagues...

Mark Herbold - Nice hanging out with you - Bring your car next time - and see what you're made of...

John Phillips - Awesome car - hope you now understand the situation in the tech line...

Kurt Brewer - You da man...

The Herricks, Fords, and Robinson's (2B) - Good hanging out with you...

Sandlizrd and friends - Thanks for coming out - send me those pix when you get a chance!!

Those little voices in my head - go away...

To Tony Tellier - this is my story and I'm sticking to it...

Stuey Baxter... Looking good in the 9 car...

Alan Cluck - Cup up or cup down?

Mark Milne - Thought you had em!!

Dan and Shirley - Thanks for enduring the dust - hope you had a good time.

Mom and Dad - Sandy had a blast - thanks!!

Next Race - Sept 23 at the Orleans 250 up in Las Vegas. Looking forward to my first SNORE race - and getting to see what SNORE 5/1600's are all about... I've heard all good stories - and am looking forward to mixin it up with you guys...

Adios!!

Mike