2005 Diary

2005 Diary

Sunday, September 11th - Last race of the regular season

The short tracker stayed home and I went to the track on the last night. I didn't have the money to put a new head together in time for the last race. Dennis Barta allowed me to drive the #19 car in the Figure 8s so I was really excited about the night. I had a blast driving in the figs again and I really feel that I improved in the 2nd feature of the night. I am going to be buying a car to run in the Figure 8s full time next year and I will compete for the Rookie of the Year Title in '06. I also hope to gather up some sponsorship money over the next few months so that I can rebuild the short tracker motor and give it another try next year. The 2005 season was filled with lots of frustration, disappointment, heartache, tears and bad luck, but overall I still had fun going to the track every Sunday to be around other people who share my passion. Once I again I want to thank all of my fellow competitors, fans and friends for your support during the 2005 season and I am looking forward to the 2006 season! I will keep you updated on my progress through the winter, so keep checking back to see what's new! See you next spring!

Monday, September 5th - Enduro Race

I decided to take the "ugly beast" out for another try. I made it only 19 laps because of brake failure, and it is definitely not safe to race without brakes. The beast needs a lot of work to be competitive, but I still had some fun in the few laps I was out there. I had one scary moment in turns 3-4, my brakes locked up, I got punted from behind which sent me around, then the car died right there, facing the oncoming traffic in the middle of the turn! I was waving my arms like crazy and hoping that nobody would hit me head on. I was lucky enough to get the car to coast down in the infield just in time. Ahh, the excitement of racing!

Sunday, September 4th

We pulled the head on Monday night (the 29th) and brought it down to the machine shop. The machine shop called back on Wednesday and had bad news. The head is cracked and it is extremely warped, so it's not worth trying to fix it. If we shaved it anymore it would be over my compression rule of 11:1, so that idea was shot. We thought that maybe we could take the head off my other motor, the one the timing belt jumped on, and maybe it would be OK. So we pulled that head off the other block and put it on the block that was in the car. Got everything hooked up and ready to go and fired it up. It sounded terrible, so we did a compression test. Cylinders 2 & 4 were completely dead, and after looking at the pistons in the other block you could see where the valves hit, so there are bent valve issues as well. So needless to say, I didn't race my short tracker tonight. I went to the track anyway because I was racing the school bus figure 8 race. When I got to the track I told everyone that I wasn't racing and if anyone wanted me to drive for them I could. Dennis Barta was so nice he asked me to drive one of his cars in the figure 8 races. I was soooooo happy that I would be able to race. I drove his #881 car and had a blast! I feel like I am getting better at driving the right lines in the figure 8 races, I just need to get a car set up for me and learn it. Then the school bus figure 8 races were AWESOME! I was having so much fun going through the "x" because the buses are so much longer than anything I'm used to driving, your perception is so different. I had a few close calls in the "x" and it was fun! I don't think I'll be able to get enough $ together to get another head in time for the last race next Sunday, but Dennis already told me I can drive his 881 car again in the figure 8s next week! How cool is that?!! I can't wait!

Sunday, August 28th

In checking over the car for the races today, we did another compression test and found that the 2nd and 3rd cylinders are still down on compression. We figured I'm down at least 20%-25%, which is huge in this little motor. We think the head is warped and some of the valves are not seating properly, so the plan for next week is to bring it in to the machine shop and see what we can get done for next week. There are 4 weeks left including tonight, so as long as I'm out there to keep my point average up I should be able to be competitive the last 2 nights at least. I'll let you know how I do after the races tonight...

So I started on the pole in my heat, and I held them off for the win. I could definitely feel and hear the lack of power, it was basically like I was running on 3 cylinders which is obviously a huge downfall. Anyways, I started on the outside pole for the feature. I contemplated just going to the back to start since I knew that I couldn't really be competitive up there, but I decided to stick it out and start up front. The first lap was fine, then coming out of 3 and 4 the #28 car decided to push his way through the middle of #44 and I. I was up in the dirt and paused for a quick second, saw enough of a clearing to merge back down into the race, so I took it. I still ended up falling way back, I think I ended up finishing 2nd to last. It was a good opportunity for me to work the outside line a little more to test my set up, although it wasn't 100% accurate since I am lacking so much horsepower. I still had a decent time out there and my car drove up onto the trailer, and overall that's really what it's all about. Having fun and ending the night in one piece! (Plus bringing home another trophy isn't half bad.) The head definitely needs work, hopefully we'll get it pulled out and find some $ this week so I can hopefully win a few more races in the last 3 weeks. See you next week!

Sunday, August 21st

I started on the outside pole in my heat race. It should have been a good opportunity for me to win another heat, however my car was not handling right at all. I arrived at the track at about 5PM, so I missed all warmups. I was at the track by myself, so I did what I could do to fix the handling with the limited tools I had with me in my trailer. I missed the inversion in the heat race, so I started 6th row inside in the feature race. I was content just finishing where I started considering how the car was running. I was pulling the car down low coming out of the turns so that I left plenty of room for my fellow competitors to pass me cleanly. The #71 was behind me and kept hitting me the entire time. I waved to him to go around me, but he didn't. He ended up hitting me hard enough to spin me right around. I didn't cause a caution, but now the car wasn't running right again. Something got knocked out of place and my oil pressure dropped to 20lbs. so I decided to pull off the track before anymore damage was done. It was actually pretty lucky of me to pull off when I did because the next lap brought a red flag caution out. Several cars ended up getting taken out by each other due to a blown motor and oil all over the track. After I saw some of the other cars I was glad that my car was in one piece. Back to the drawing board for next week. I would like to win at least 1 feature race this year, only 4 weeks left, so we'll see what happens. I still had a fun night because it was kid's rides. (Kids get to come down onto the track and pick a car and ride around with us for a few slow laps) I love kid's rides because I get a chance to interact with the kids and parents and lots of them really enjoy seeing a woman out there. I had a great group of kids riding with me and we had a lot of fun! (They wanted to go faster though!)

Sunday, August 14th

After we replaced the head gasket and made some other adjustments, I headed for the track. I started on the pole for my heat race and won it. I started on the pole for the feature race too. Everything was going fine until lap 4 or 5 when going into turn 1 my car just died. I ended up pushing high into another car and getting hit hard from behind by another. The impact was enough to spin me around. It took awhile for the car to refire, and when it did it wasn't sounding right so I decided to come off the track.

Sunday, August 8th

This was an interesting night to say the least. In the heat race my car was lacking power. (It turned out that it was down on compression in 2 cylinders and 1 spark plug was completely gone.) I wasn't about to just give up so I went out for the feature race and started toward the front on the inside. I left plenty of room for the other cars to get by cleanly. I was passed by several of my competitors without a problem. Then a few laps in the 42 car kept bumping me from behind. I wasn't just going to give him my spot, I want them to work for it. So I continued to drive my line and my race leaving plenty of room to pass me on the outside. The 42 continued to bump me for several laps and finally forced his way through me coming out of 4. I wasn't going to let him by on the inside without a fight so I turned into him and pushed him into the infield. (I am not going to let people think they can just come out and push me out of the way, because when my car is working like it should I am real competition.) I felt good about defending my position and getting into him. After all if you are going to dish it out you better be able to take it! I know that most of my fellow drivers consider me a fair, clean driver, but if you push me around, I will push back. Hopefully that team has finished pushing me around on the track, because I have proven to them that I do fight back and I don't give up my position just because I'm not working as great as I would like. Rivalries are pretty irritating in my book because you really have to focus on the race, not what some jerk might or might not do to you on a particular night. I go out to the races to race and have a little fun. I don't have a lot of money or time, so I really value my time at the track, and when somebody tries to take it away from me I get pretty upset. It is not my intention to get even or whatever...What's done is done, let's move on already...

Sunday, July 31

I started on the pole for the heat, but after the green flag was dropped the car had no power and started to smoke, so I was forced to the pits. The water level was very low which puzzled me because I had checked it earlier and it was fine. We filled up the water and I went out for the feature race starting in last place. I was out for about 5 laps and I felt and saw water coming into the driver compartment so I headed back to the pits. I lifted the hood and saw that the water pump was leaking. Although I was upset with the ongoing problems, I was looking forward to racing a school bus at the end of the night. I was asked to drive one of the school buses in the night's event and I was pumped! I had never driven anything that big and it was a blast! One of the other buses actually tipped over! Overall it was an awesome experience.

Sunday, July 24

I started on the outside pole for the heat race and took the lead 2 laps in. I led for about 3 laps, then the 42 car went underneath me in turn 1 (we were already 2 wide and I clearly had the inside line). He forced his way under me and hit me in the sweet spot and caused me to spin out. We were both sent to the back of the pack. I was quite upset since I was leading the race and this was not the first time the 42 car had tried to force his way through by passing underneath, so I was feeling a bit vengeful. I waited for him to come up along side of me at the restart. I played it cool for the first lap to see what he was going to do. He again tried to go underneath me coming out of 4 so I backed off and let him. As soon as his passenger side door passed me, I made my move. I turned into him and he went for a spin. It felt good to get some payback on the rookie driver who's ego is a bit too big. (I am normally a very clean driver, however I was sick of being used as a pinball and I wanted to show the guys I could fight back.) As we were exiting the track he rearended me twice in front of the officials. When I got back to my pit his dad was waiting for me. He immediately started yelling at me and calling me names. We had a few words, then I went down to get the officials to alert them of the situation. They went down to his pit and warned him about his inappropriate actions. For the feature race I didn't make the inversion and neither did the 42 car, he started right behind me, so I was thinking "here we go again". I was done, it ended for me when I spun him out. The officials told me they were keeping a close watch on him because of his actions in the heat. Surprisingly he was pretty clean in the feature. I was starting to move up in positions, then my timing jumped and I lost power. I decided to pull off the track because the car wasn't working right and I didn't want to chance anything.

Sunday, July 17th

The first week back with a new motor. The weather was threatening, so I was just hoping to get a few warmups in to help break in the new motor. I ended up getting to run in the heat race and the feature race, then the rain forced the rest of the event to be cancelled.

Sunday, July 10th

I did OK in the heat race. In the feature I made my way into the top 5 and then about 8 laps in to the race coming into turn 1, my motor blew up.

Sunday June 26th & July 3rd I'm sorry I wasn't able to update my diary because our internet service was down and I can't find my notes on how I did.

Sunday, June 19th

We missed the warmups, we didn't get to the track until after 5PM again. I just hoped that the new wiring fixed the electrical problem once and for all. Since I didn't have a 2 week point average, I started dead last in the heat race (8 cars in the heat), and I finished 2nd. I was proud of the way I worked my way through and around traffic. I missed the inversion for the feature race so I started 6th row inside, 11th place. I ended up finishing 7th, which isn't too bad considering the car was lacking in power coming down the straights. I am just happy that the car wasn't cutting out on me and it didn't die on the track. I was able to drive it up on the trailer at the end of the night in one piece. Even though I am completely out of the season points run, I still want to be competitive and win a lot of races. My goal now is to win 3 features. We're just about 1/2 way through the season, so hopefully the luck will start turning around for the better for once.

I also got to race in the 2nd Figure 8 feature because a fellow racer offered me the opportunity to drive his teammates car. I've never raced in a figure 8 race before, so it was quite an experience! I loved it and it was a huge rush!

Sunday, June 12th

I had to wait a few days to write in my diary because I am so upset and disappointed with my car this season! I can't believe the terrible luck we're having every week! It just seems like when something gets fixed and working, something else breaks! When will it end?! I'm not trying to be negative, but I just want to race. Anyways, we got to the track late, 5:30PM, the races start at 6, so you know what that means. No warmups, no nothing, just hurry up and get the car unloaded and get suited up. My car fired up, so right there I was pretty excited. I pulled off the pit slab and made my way to the turn 2 entrance to get ready to line up for my heat race. I had an OK starting position, 4th, and I was actually looking forward to being able to make my move and possibly win another heat. So, I'm sitting there letting the car idle and warmup and just as we got the wave to start heading out to the track, the car dies! AHHH!!! It wouldn't fire back up. I had to get pushed off the track by the wrecker! The coil was hot again, I have no idea what's going on with this thing! It's probably something so simple that we're overlooking it! The car still wouldn't start for kid's rides or the feature, so I loaded up and went home to get some sleep. I just want to race and be competitive!

Sunday, June 5th

With the backup motor in place and a decent starting position for the heat, I was excited to race. I started on the pole for the heat and I held on for the win. For the feature I started on the pole. The first 2 laps were great, then out comes a caution, causing the quick lead I had built up from the rest of the pack to diminish. Once we were lined up again I continued to lead for a few more laps, then my motor just couldn't give me any more power. I needed more if I was going to hang on for the win. Unfortunately, I was passed but I was kind of content with a 2nd place finish. Then the flagman threw me the lane choice flag, although I had a decent lead built up from the third place car. I started sticking to the inside lane rather than using the apex, so my momentum began to sink. The third place car eventually caught me and the flagman continued to give me the lane choice flag even though I was clearly on the inside line. I was trying to please the flagman so I wouldn't get black flagged, so I hugged the inside even more, which caused my momentum to get totally messed up. Before I knew it the race was over and I was stuck in 4th place. My original motor was definitely a more competitive motor.

Heat race, starting on the pole

Feature race wave lap

Feature Race running in 3rd

(Troy had terrible luck tonight, during the Hobby Stock Feature race he was running in 5th and coming out of 2 on the back straight the rear axle broke, it was quite a ride!)

photos courtesy of MHC-Media

Sunday, May 29th

We just can't catch a break! We re-wired the car again, and moved the ignition box and coil into the engine compartment. It seems to have solved the electrical problem, at least for now. We got to the track early enough for warmups, and to my surprise, KARE 11 and FOX 9 news stations were out to record a story about women in racing. I brought my car out for warmups and in the first set the car had power, it was just pushing a little coming out. Oh, and I lost my exhaust out on the track too! Other than that I was psyched about finally being able to be competitive again. I decided to make a few minor adjustments to cure the push and go out for the second round of warmups. About 4 laps in as I was coming out of 2 I lost power and I looked over at my gauges and noticed that my oil pressure had dropped to only 20 lbs of pressure. (Normal is 40-60) Then the driver compartment started to fill up with smoke from the engine. I was black flagged and made my way off the track. There is water in the oil, and the motor is toast. I couldn't go out for my heats or feature because I wanted to save what was left of the motor so it can be rebuilt. It was pure torture not being able to race, especially with the media there!

Sunday, May 22nd

The new wiring did nothing. I ended up finishing 4th in my heat and I had to pull off the track in the feature because I was about to get lapped due to the lack of power since the car was cutting out. Back to the drawing board, again...

Sunday, May 15th

I finally got to the track early enough for warmups. Unfortunately the car was not running well. It was still popping as I was getting on the gas coming out of the corners. I pulled off early and I didn't get back out for any more warmups. We replaced the distributor and hoped for the best. I started on the outside pole for the heat race. By the 2nd lap I was leading the race. With 4 laps to go my car started to cut out again. Luckily I had enough of a lead to hold on for the win. I went down to Victory Lane for my winning photo and couldn't get the car to fire up again. I had to be pushed off the track by the wrecker again. Once the car was back in the pits Troy and Mark tried to figure out what was wrong again. The coil was burning hot again. I hunted around the pits for a new box and coil, thanks to Mike Dimmick and Terry Larson we got the car to fire up. We left it alone until it was time for the feature race. I got in and started it up and it was running fine for about 2 minutes. The car just died sitting there on the slab. Unfortunately Troy and Mark couldn't get it going again in time for the feature. It was another burned up box. There is something wrong with the wiring somewhere. I am just very disappointed because now my chance for the championship is pretty much shot.

Sunday, May 8th

We didn't get to the track until 5:30PM because we were working on the cars trying to get them ready. I missed all warmups and I was starting on the pole for the heat race. I had no idea how the car would feel since I didn't have any warmups to test out the adjustments that were made. I still didn't feel that I had the power that I needed and I was trying to protect my inside line too much so I wasn't letting the car float up like it wanted to. I ended up finishing 3rd in the heat. For the feature I started on the outside pole. The car felt good. On lap 4 coming out of turn 2 the car died. I coasted around the outside of the track and a caution came out. I was trying to refire the car the entire time, but no luck. I had to be pushed off the track by the wrecker. Luckily it started raining so the races were called so I didn't miss out on any points! I have another week to try to get this thing working right! I need to win a race!

Sunday, May 1st - Season Opener - Short Tracker Division Raceway Park

Only the true diehards were out, it was freezing, raining, and snowing throughout the day. Car counts were down and the stands were pretty sparse. I missed all of my warmups so my heat race was my warmup. The car handled great, but the power was severely lacking because the electrical system was cutting out on me. I started 3rd in the heat race due to an inversion because the pole sitter didn't come out, and I finished 4th. I started 5th in the feature and finished 9th I think. I have a lot of work to do this week to get the car ready for next Sunday. I also need to paint the car for this year's sponsors. I'm just glad to be back racing again!

Troy getting hit (3rd car in the inside lane)

(I'm by the wall)

Photos courtesy of MHC-Media

Saturday, April 23rd, 2005 - Enduro race at Elko Speedway 240 laps

New rear shocks and a new valve cover gasket was all there was time for in prepping the car for this race. It helped a lot though as there was no wheel hop. But I was still really slow as I suspected. I ran it in 2nd gear, but it was still wrong and I was a turtle compared to some of the cars out there. Again, I stayed high and out of the way for the most part. I completed about 189 laps out of 240 due to a clogged fuel filter in the first segment. I ended up finishing in the top half of the 38 car field just because I didn't wreck it and I was cautious in avoiding other wrecks on the track. Before the Memorial Day race I hope to get a new tranny and new gearing so I can be somewhat competitive. It was awesome racing on a new track though!

Sunday, April 17th, 2005 - Enduro race at Raceway Park 250 laps

This is my first time back at an Enduro Race since I crashed at the October 16, 2000 Enduro Race in my Bomber car. I raced a 1984 Chevy Caprice in a field of about 54 cars. This car is HUGE compared to my short tracker and I knew it would feel a lot different since it is so much bigger and heavier than what I am used to. We got to the track later than we wanted to so I started in the back of the field. (Enduro races are lined up on a first come basis, so the earlier you can get to the track and get through tech, the better starting spot you will have.) I wasn't concerned about starting in the back because I didn't know how the car was going to handle and I know that in the first leg of the race most of the guys take each other out and I would rather be out of the way for all that. The car handled terribly. We didn't do much to the car because of time constraints, so I knew it wouldn't handle that great, but I expected it to be better than it was. I had terrible rear wheel hop due to old rear shocks. I also had no right front brake because the valve cover gasket was leaking oil all over the place. The front suspension also wasn't set up at all. Compared to the other guys, I was just out for a Sunday drive and to say the least, it wasn't that fun. I am a very competitive person and if I can't at least keep up it's no fun! In the first leg of the 250 laps I spun out in turn 3-4 because of the wheel hop. I got hit hard head on and it took out my radiator! Luckily we were able to borrow another radiator from a fellow Sunday night driver. Troy, Todd, and Chad put the new radiator in and got me back out for the second leg of the race. I was doing OK, but very slow so I decided to just cruise around the outside of the track to try to stay out of the way for the guys who were competitive. A red flag came out so I braked, but the guy behind me didn't see me stop so he hit me and spun me around and railed me in the driver's side. It was a hard hit, I saw stars! As soon as they threw the green flag I was still facing sideways just out of turn 4 with oncoming traffic heading my way. I couldn't get the car to shift! Luckily I was able to coast into the infield just in time. The jam truck came to my rescue and pushed me off the track back to the pits. Troy found that the tranny linkage had been knocked off from the impact. He fixed it and I went back out for the final leg of the race. I was still shaking from the hit and the car really felt unstable so I decided to come back in rather than chance wrecking the car or hurting myself. Troy took the car out for fun and he too said that it was the worst handling car ever! Besides the poor handling, the car has the wrong gearing and the wrong transmission, so to be competitive I'm going to need a new tranny and new gears. Overall, it was a good experience and fun for the seat time.