August 29 Race Recap
It’s been a really tough last few races. We’ve had a solid season overall, but something about this year feels like we’re constantly working our butts off and just treading water. We’ve gone over every inch of this car so many times this season...doing and redoing the setup, trying to get it right. And we do have a solid car. I’ve put up some really good qualifying positions and even taken home a few trophies, but we just haven’t been able to nail the main-event setup.
The last two weeks between races, my dad and I worked on the car all but maybe three nights in the shop. Most nights we stayed until 10:30 or 11 p.m., and there were several mornings my dad was already out there at 4:30 or 5 a.m. before heading to work. On top of that, we had the entire 21 crew in the garage helping more than once. I can’t even tell you how many hours we’ve poured into this thing.
After redoing the setup over those two weeks, we had a practice day at the track on August 28. The car was good - we put down some solid laps and I felt confident heading into race day. Aside from a brief lightning delay and a little wind, conditions were really good. The day started strong with a few practice runs, and we ended up P4 in qualifying.
It was a double-feature night. With my qualifying position and the invert, I was slated to start P5 in the first feature. I had some really strong restarts, the car was handling well all around, bringing home a P3 finish.
The team and I made a few changes ahead of the second feature, knowing it was a 30-lap race and that we probably wouldn’t hit the track until after 10 p.m. Starting P6, I knew I’d have my work cut out for me. We struggled to stay green early on, but eventually got a stretch of uninterrupted laps. Unfortunately, the car had tightened up significantly and I just couldn’t drive it the way I had earlier in the day. It wasn’t a bad race, but I was a little disappointed to lose the speed we had before. We finished P7.
We have one race left this season at CNS. I’m dang proud of what we’ve done this year, and it’s not over yet. It’s been a tough stretch, but we’re still in it to win it. We’ll spend the next few weeks doing what we always do...going over the car, checking everything, and resetting it for our final race in Colorado.
I want to take this opportunity to welcome Neal Hilger to the crew - we're stoked to have him on the 21 team. Also, a special thank you to Nick and Mike for all the help this past weekend. You guys rock!
Stay tuned, friends, and make sure you’re wearing your 21 shirt for good luck next race weekend!
