This week was a real push to get both cars ready to race. I had to fabricate a new protective hoop for the radiator on the factory stock, then weld brackets for the hood pins and fender supports. I also had to replace a starter and fuel pump on the stock car and change oil on both cars.

Saturday started out humid and cloudy, with intermittent showers in the area. The forecast called for clearing skies and highs in the low to mid-90's. The two person cruiser class was also scheduled to race.

I got a late start for the track, but everybody else must have, too. I was the first person to sign into the pits. Got the stock car unloaded and headed back home to get the factory stock.

Preparing a race track is a lot like what I would imagine farming is like. You always second-guess Mother Nature as to how much water to put on the track to have a good smooth racing surface, not too wet, but not so dry that the drivers and fans can't see.

As the track was rolled in by the track packers, an announcement was made that the factory stocks that wanted hot laps would go out first. I decided to hot lap the factory stock and let the stock car sit. We got about 5 or 6 laps and the car felt good. The track was weird; it went from dry in the chutes to tacky in the corners.

The line-ups are up and I find that the R & R Racing/Blue Knights Monte Carlo factory stock will start on the outside of the second row in the 1st heat race. The top 5 cars will make the invert; 6th place back falls in at the rear. I felt that if we got a good starting spot in the A Feature, we could have a good run.

I was scheduled to start on the pole in the 2nd heat in the R & R Racing/Blue Knights Monte Carlo stock car. Once again, the top 5 would make the invert, the rest would fall in at the rear of the A Feature.

Our factory stock heat race pulls onto the track. I'm still having a problem with the transmission, so I use the ratchet strap on the shift rod. We're starting behind the 6B of Travis Burger. The m34 of Matt Spanjer is on the pole. The important thing for me is to get past these two cars as fast as possible. The cars behind me will be coming up fast as current point leader Neal Mittan, who won last week, is bringing up the rear. Also behind me is the 89 of Ronda Meves and the 6R of Roy Armstrong, who have both led the points race this year, and the 94j of Jeremy Jensen.

Out of turn 4 and the flagman is showing the green. We're racing! Into turn 1 and out of 2, and we're all bunched up behind the cars that started up front. The m34 is all over the track and very hard to pass. I want to get to the bottom, but can't because of the cars on the inside of me.

Going into 3, the 89 and 94j go by me on the inside and the 6R passes me on the outside in 4. Going into 1, the 5m passes me on the outside. Still trying to pass the 6B and the m34, I find myself in 9th.

Going down the front chute at the start of the 4th lap, I'm able to get under the m34 and into 1 behind the 6B. Both cars wash up the track in 1 and 2 and I'm able to pass both on the bottom. Once I can get to the bottom of the track, the car feels good. Out of 4 I look up at the leader board and see that I'm in 7th. I'm gaining on the m64 of Matt Post and pass him on the bottom going into turn 3. I still need to pick up one spot to make the transfer. The 5m of Neal Mittan is ahead of me, but I'm not sure I can catch him. He does seem to struggle in the middle of the corners and his car wants to go high at that point. We go under the flagstand with 3 to go and I'm gaining on him. He washes up again in 2 and I'm still hugging the bottom. Darn, this car is awesome!

The 5m is still a car length ahead of me coming out of 2 and we battle down the back chute. Into 3 and he washes up the track in the middle of the corner and I pass on the bottom. That gives me 5th, the final spot to make the invert!

Two laps to go and I'm gaining on the 94j, but don't have time to catch him. At the checkers, I'm in 5th and have made the invert for the A Feature.

Run across the scales and back to the pit area to cool the engine down. Then, I'm out of the car and getting ready to do battle in the stock car. A last minute check of the air pressures, and I'm getting in the car.

I hope to be able to finish the A Feature in the Stock Car class on the lead lap. With the track pretty much going dry, I may be able to do that. But, I need to get the heat race out of the way first.

The flagman gives us a couple of extra laps to roll in the marbles at the top of the track, then as we come down the back chute, the traffic light goes out, signaling a pending start. I'm on the gas in the middle of turn 3 and as we hit the front chute the green flag is out. Somebody is tapping the R & R Racing/Blue Knights Monte Carlo stock car in the back bumper, but does not get me out of shape. I want to stay on the bottom, and make everybody else pass me on the high side. We're out of 2 and I'm in about 4th or 5th place. Amazingly, as we finish the first lap, I'm not in last place yet!

At the end of the 2nd lap, I'm in 6th place; there's still somebody behind me. I check on the cars ahead of me and realize that the 25 of Kevin Snyder is still someplace behind me. It's his first night out in a brand new car after having engine problems last week.

As we come out of turn 4 for the crossed flags (half-way), Kevin passes me on the front chute on the bottom. I fall in behind him and see if I can stay close. Kevin builds race cars for Jet racing and has raced for over 20 years. I'm able to close on him in the corners, but he can pull away a little in the chutes. At the checkers, I finish 7th, which puts me on the inside of the 7th row in the A Feature.

We have a short intermission which gives us a little extra time to check the factory stock over. Top off the radiator and re-check the air in the tires. The line-ups are on the board and we will start on the outside of the front row. The 33d of Derek Sand will start on the pole.

I'm all strapped in and we're starting to pull onto the track for the A Feature. I'm hoping we didn't miss any nuts or bolts and that the car will hold together for 20 fast laps. I don't notice the heat once we're moving; I guess that's the adrenaline rush taking over. Once again, they give us an extra lap to roll in the top of the track. I know I have to beat the 33d into the first turn if I hope to run up front. If not, I could have a hard time getting past him as he uses up a lot of track.

Out of turn 4 for the "official" parade lap as we wave to the people in the stands and they are waving back at us. The pace truck pulls off the track and we pick up the pace. Down the back chute and the traffic light flashes and then goes out. In the middle of 3 we're on the gas and as we hit the front chute, the green is out and we're racing!

I didn't quite clear the 33d and we're side by side into 1. I get about a half car lead on him as we come out of 2 and hit the back chute. I don't feel like I've completely cleared him as I go into 3 and give him a lane at the bottom. As we come out of 4, I'm in the lead, but I know there are a lot of hungry drivers right in my tire tracks.

The best place for me to run in the corners is the bottom of the track. If somebody wants to pass me, they'll have to go high. I'm out of 2 and back down the back straightaway and into 3. Out of 4 and back down the front chute to complete lap 2. The leader board shows the 33d behind me, with the 94j of Jeremy Jensen behind him. Another lap completed - 3 down and 17 to go - and I'm still in the lead. As I pass the grandstand, I see that the 94j is now in 2nd place. Coming out of 2, he gets a run under me and we go into 3 side by side, with the 94j on the bottom. Out of 4 and there's a yellow out for something. That will give the lead back to me as the order goes back to the last complete lap.

I glance down at the temperature gauge and it's showing about 225. As we idle around the track, the temp comes back down to about 210. I'm not sure what the yellow was for, but we just keep idling around. Then, the flagman signals one to go before we go green. It's a single file restart, with no passing allowed before the orange cone out of 4. However, as we head down the back chute, the traffic light stays on. One more time around, and the green is finally out.

I lead into 1 and through 2 and back down the back chute. I know the 94j is right behind me, but he always races me clean. I'm still trying to run as low as I can to make him pass me high. The leader board shows 14 left and I'm still in the lead. As I go through 1 and 2, I can feel somebody tapping my back bumper, but it's pretty light and doesn't get me out of shape. Coming out of 2, the 94j pulls to my inside and beats me into 3. We're side by side through the corner and I come out of 4 in 2nd place.

With 13 to go, the 15j of Jason Jensen passes me on the back chute, then the 89 of Ronda Meves passes me on the bottom coming out of 4 and the 6R of Roy Armstrong passes me high. We go down the front chute 3 wide, but the 6R comes down in front of me as we go into 1 and I back out of the throttle to avoid hitting him. One more lap and the 03 of Aaron Roth and the 5m of Neal Mittan pass me. With 11 to go, the yellow comes out again and we are re-aligned. I'm in 7th place, behind the 03 of Aaron Roth.

When we go green again, it's a mad scramble with everybody fighting for the lead. With 9 to go, the 35 of Mike Schwartz passes me. However, it looks like the 5m is backsliding a bit. I'm still running the bottom and trying to be patient and stay out of trouble. The 5m is once again washing up in the middle of the turns. I'm able to pass him on the bottom in turn 4. I can also see that I'm now gaining on the 35. He's going into the corners higher and harder than I am, and I can see his tires smoking. With 6 to go, the 94j drops out with a flat tire. The next lap, the 15j slows coming out of turn 2 and I pass him. On the next lap, I get a run on the 35 as we come out of 2 but I can't complete the pass. The next lap, he gets into the marbles in 2 and I finally pass him clean coming out of 2. I'm back to 5th with 3 to go. The 89 and the 03 are battling for the lead.

Coming out of turn 4, the leader board shows 2 laps left. Ahead of me, the 03 tries to pass the 89 low and hits the tractor tire on the inside of the track, taking himself out of contention. I see the 03 turning sideways in the track and going toward the top of the track, facing back toward me. I go past him, now in 4th place! One more time out of 4 and the white flag is showing. I'm not sure how far behind me the next car is, so I don't dare do anything but drive in as hard as I dare. I don't hear anybody around me. I'm coming out of 4 and the checkers are waving. Nobody passes me and we've got a career-best 4th place finish!!

I take an extra cool down lap to let traffic in front of me clear. The top 4 A Feature cars have to weigh and go through a tech inspection. It was kind of wild in the tech area - the car was now running hot and the radiator had to be cooled down. Once I shut it down and got out of the car, I realized how hot the weather really was. I was soaked in sweat!

I'd never been in the tech area so didn't know what would be checked. We had to take the air cleaner off to have the inside of the carburetor checked. They also checked to be sure that all the brakes were working. I would sure hope so, as much as I had to use them!! :-) He was also under the back of the car - not sure of what they looked at under there. He also checked under the dash - I think he was checking to be sure I didn't have a brake shut-off or dual master cylinders. After getting a thumbs up, we put the hood back on and drove it onto the trailer.