Well the end of the season is here. It has been a great season with many ups and downs. We learned a tremendous amount about the car and the different types of tracks. We finished fourth overall and had a chance to claim third but just couldn't get it done. Going into Friday, we were 20 points behind the third place car--Morgan. We only had 10 cars and for whatever reason they put all of them in the same heat. Didn't give you much chance as the track was real greasy for the heat race. Delaney went out on the inside of the third row and the only car able to pass was Jake...he made it look easy. We ended up sixth and Morgan ended up seventh. The A-Feature was just about a carbon copy of the heat. The track stayed tacky and we were tight on the bottom and loose on in the middle...we ended up 6th again and Morgan was 8th. So going into the Saturday night final, we trailed Morgan by 10 points. It was basically the same type of track and mirror image of the night before...10 cars, one heat...very little passing. Morgan finished in front of us in both the heat and the A-Feature. I am extremely proud of Delaney! She showed great sportsmanship all year! She raced hard and clean! She is very competitive but she never let's that get in the way of being a good competitor! We achieved more than we thought possible at the beginning of the year. Congrats to Jake on his Track Championship! Congrats to the 8 car for being the highest finishing rookie. See ya all next year!
Sep 23
We had a beautiful night for racing. We had a good rain Friday night, a cool day and the sun going down earlier meant the track was different than we were used too. It looked liked the track was starting to dry out during hot laps so I set the car up a little tighter than normal for a heat race. Well, it seems the moisture came back to the surface as we went out for the heat race. She started on the inside of row two. Didn't get a great start as the pole sitter didn't get up to speed as Delaney was late as well. She continued to drop to the back as the car was really tight and wouldn't turn in the corner. Delaney said she would go into the corner and would turn left but the car would head right for the wall. Needless to say she wasn't happy and neither was I as we came in dead last. Reading the track has been a struggle for me all year and tonight was worse than usual. Now it looked like the track was going to hold the moisture through our A-Feature....so I set the car up with more rollout than I normally do and did some other things to offset it. Well while watching the Limited A-Feature, the track started to dry out. I told Delaney that I set the car up to be loose so, if it was too loose move down to the bottom and hang on. She went out for the A-Feature on the inside of row three. She didn't get a good start...she was concerned about going into turn one with a loose race car...she dropped almost to the back...she was in 11th position at the end of lap two as she tried to find a line that worked. As it turns out, dropping back was a good thing as four cars (2nd-5th) got together coming out of turn four and eventually involved two other cars and Delaney was able to avoid the whole mess. She restarted in the seventh position. She worked her way up to the rear bumper of the 7 car. She made several attempts to pass, but Morgan held the position as they raced side by side for several laps before Delaney was a able to complete the pass for the 6th position. Now she started working on the 8 and 38. Within a few laps she was able to get by both of them only to have the 8 car come back at her in the final laps. She was able to keep him at bay and bring it home in the fourth position. We gained another position after the race when the 9 car was protested and he declined to have his motor torn down which eliminated him from further competion and he also lost his points for the year as well. It's really disappointing to see that happen and unfortunate that the kid was put in that position.
Sep 16
Delaney again was on the outside of the front row for her heat race and was able to take the lead and was continually challenged by the 8 car, but was able to hold him off to take the checkered flag.She lined up on the outside of the front row for the trophy dash and ended in third.She went of for the A-Feature on the inside of row three.I missed the setup and the car was wicked loose through the middle of the corner.She did an outstanding job holding her position despite an ill-handling race car.Her driving ability has taken a giant leap in the last couple of weeks.Last weekend, she got some awesome tips from Dalton Janeway who was kind enough to spend some time watch her and explaining some different things to her.She has taken them to heart in a big way and the results reflect that.We own a big thanks to Dalton.On a side note…Dalton was severly injured in an automobile accident on Friday night.Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family while he works his way through a difficult recovery.We look forward to seeing back at the track.
Sep 15
Delaney went out on the outside of the front row for her heat race and powered her way to the front as they went through turns 1&2.She never looked back on her way to the win.She was on the outside of the front row for the trophy dash.She challenged for the lead several times but just wasn’t able to close the deal and ended up finishing 2nd.She was on the outside of row 2 for the A-Feature.When the green flag dropped the car in front of her checked up for some reason forcing her to check up and the car behind her tapped her and as she gathered it back up she found herself all the way back in the 8th position.She quickly started picking them off and moving to the front.She was closing on the second place car but just ran out of laps to come home in the 3rd position.All in all a great night.
Sep 9
Spent the day tuning on the car in hopes of seeing some improvement the performance of the car.I had it running in the garage and Delaney said it sounded much better.She has a pretty good ear.She went out on the outside of the front row of her heat race.She powered to the front and held the lead for a few laps before giving it up to the 9 car to finish in the 2nd position.She was on the outside of the second row for the trophy dash.She battled hard to come home in the third position—if she would have had one more lap she would have finished second.She went out for the A-Feature on the outside of row two.She was running fourth and closing on the 3rd place car a couple of laps into the race when the 15 car got completely sideways in front of the 38 who reacted and spun.Delaney also reacted and slid sideways into the 38 car.She was subsequently tagged by the 8 car, the 27 car, and finally the 23 car.The last hit finished our night as the rear axel was bent.Delaney was the only one unable to continue.A bummer finish to promising night, however, we felt better about how the car ran.
Sep 8
Because of the rain outs we raced both Friday and Saturday nights.We probably should have stayed home Friday night as the car ran terribly.She went out on the outside of the front row for her heat race.At the green flag the car didn’t come too life and she did a great job of just not getting run over as she quickly fell to the back to finish in the 6th position.She went out on the inside of row two for the A-Feature.I spent time trying to clean the carburetor between the heat race and the A-Feature and it seemed to run better, but still wasn’t up to par.She continued to give up positions throughout the race to bring it home in 11th place.The end of a frustrating night.
Aug
We went into Nationals with some momentum that was short lived.Grandpa and Grandma Jost were down to watch the Nationals.The track was extremely rubbered down and I wasn’t able to give her a car that was drivable the whole weekend.We didn’t make it out of the B-Feature.We learned a lot but not enough to make the car fast.After Nationals we ran much better as track conditions were more in line with what we were used too.We’ve been working on a number of different setups in an attempt to learn more about what effects different things have on the car.Her Aunt Kelly was down to visit but didn’t get a chance to see her race because we got rained out.
July
Wow---it’s been awhile again since I’ve updated this section.It has been a crazy summer.Delaney had a strong July.Grandpa and Grandma Thompson and Aunt Pam were down to see her win her first heat race in the Restrictor class.
Jun 23/24 - Jul 8/15
Wow, it's been awhile since I've updated this. Well we had an interesting month. I just provide some highlights and in some cases the low lights. We raced on Fri, 23 Jun to make for getting rained out the previous weekend. It wasn't a good night...we have struggled with the setup for the heat races on a tacky track. I just can't seem to get the car tight enough for her. Friday we were just glad to load up and go home. Saturday went better...however with four laps left in the A-Feature she was running fourth when she went to pass a lapped car going into turn 1 and the lapped car came up into her line. She clipped his right rear tire with her left front...the impact snapped the front axel and the car wheelied. When it came down, the nose dug in and she went end-over-end a couple of times and into the wall. Needless to say her Mom and I were extremely concerned. I ran to the other end of the track and got there just as the track officials got her back up on her tires and they told me she was fine. The track officials couldn't thank me enough for having all the proper safety gear. Delaney wears the HANS (Head And Neck System) device that is required in NASCAR. The other track official told Mom the same thing. I got on the track as Delaney was getting out of the car. She waived to the crowd. She was more emarrassed by all the attention than anything. She told she didn't move at all and when she realized she was going over she just closed her eyes and held on. She even had the presence of mind to reach up and shut the engine off and the fuel pump off. She ended up with two small cuts on her knees from hitting things inside the car. She came back after the July 4th break to finish 3rd in the A-Feature and then 4th on 15 Jul. The wreck didn't seem to bother her at all.
Jun 10
Another solid performance! The track was dried out by the end of hot laps...it was over 100 degrees at the track. Delaney went out on the outside of the front row for her heat race. There were only eight cars total for the night so they only ran one heat race. Delaney lagged the start a little bit and was side-by-side with the pole sitter as they took the green flag. She hit a bump on the front stretch and the car got a little squirrelly. She gathered it back up and went into turn one in fourth place. She was battling back and made a run on the 3rd place car for a couple of laps and was defending her position as she was under attack by the 92 car. He slid up into her exiting turn two and Delaney had to lift to gather it back up and gave up the position and then gave the 5th spot up to the 9 car. She battled back but ran out of laps to take the checkers in the eigth position. Delaney went out on the outside of the front row again for the A-Feature. We talked about the start and how she needed to be up on the wheel going into turn three. She did an awesome job...best of the year...on the start. She cleared the pole sitter going into turn one and set sail. She opened up a half a straight away lead over the second place car who was slightly faster than her. By lap eight he was at her rear bumper. Once again we were real good through turns 3 & 4 and good getting into turn one, but through the middle and exit of turn two we were loose. Every time through turn 2 she would have to chase it up the hill. Well this was where we were getting beat by the 92 car and allowing him to close the gap. Once he got to her back bumper she was able to close the door for four more laps, but then she got way out of shape in turn 2 and the 92 took the lead. He opened up a gap and she continued to pull away from the 3rd place car to take the checkers in the 2nd position!! Our best finish of the year and she did awesome!! A guy that has been helping me watched her between turn 2 and turn 3 on the backstretch and said she never lifted...even when she was washing up the track she was still in the gas. I can't tell you how amazed I am at what she has accompished in so little time.
Jun 3
We had a pretty good night overall. The track was quite different from what we normally experience...it was rough and wet, but not overally tacky. Delaney went out on the pole for her heat race with seven cars in the field. It was her first pole start of the year and was nervous because she just wanted do it right. She set a good pace coming to the green and got in the gas as the green flag waived...turn 4 was pretty rough and she bounced up the hill and got into the 23 car...they both collected themselves and drove on...Delaney took a lap or two to settle in but didn't loose or gain any positions to finish in fourth place. I decided to tighten the car up for the A-Feature because I believed the track would dry out...well it didn't dry out enough. Once we got up to the staging area, I realized we may have gone too far...made some quick adjustments in an attempt to loosen her up a little. She took the track on the outside of the front row with 13 cars in the field. She got a good start and cleared the pole sitter going into turn one. Fortunately she was clear when the second place car spun collecting five cars to bring out the red flag as they were all balled up in turn one with one on it's top. After they got them untangled, only one was unable to continue. The field had a complete restart and again Delaney was on the outside of the front row. She got a good start and fell into second place going into turn one. She held second for 5-6 laps before Jake (92) got to her and cleared her. She held on to 3rd and several hard challenges from the 42 and 9 car. The track was pretty goofy, dry at one end, tacky at the other. She was really good on the bottom through 3 & 4 and terrible through 1 & 2. She was real tight through 1 & 2. She would slide up the hill and the 42 & 9 would close on her and she would pull away down the back stretch and through 3 & 4 and the same thing would happen again. She had some great saves! She survived two green-white-checkered restarts! On the final lap, the 9 car finally cleared the 42 car and made a run on Delaney going into turn 3 where Delaney gave him the bottom. They were side-by-side through turn 4 and exiting turn 4...they were wheel-to-wheel to finish line...with Delaney prevailing and holding on to 3rd!! Our best finish this year!!! It was a blast to watch! We even had her older brother Zach there to cheer her on!!
May 27
We had a tough night of racing. Hopefully our luck will start to change soon. We've been battling a loose condition on entry into the corner so I decided to try a stiffer left front shock to try to keep more weight on the right rear as she entered into the corner. Really thought this would fix and because the car was really leaning hard on the left front and this was a minor adjustment. Delaney went out on the outside of the front row for her heat race with seven cars in the lineup. She lagged back a little on the start but got off the corner well and was running second coming into turn three....she was nearly sideways through the middle of the turn and it finally came all the way around....most of the cars missed her, but she got tagged pretty good by the 9 car. The track officials looked the car over and gave her the "ok" sign and she returned to the track, but had to start on the back with six cars remaining. After another caution on the re-start, she had her hands full with a very loose race car. She finished 5th. She told me the car felt very different and it wouldn't lean over in the corner. It didn't feel comfortable at all and wanted us to go back to our old setup. So we did...I swapped out shocks and set the car just like the previous weekend as the track was going to be dry slick again. She went out on the inside of row two with 13 cars in the field for the A-Feature. This was going to be a 40-lap A-Feature and I told her she has to be there at the end to finish and no one was going to win it on the first lap. She took the conservative approach partly due to our discussion and partly due to the results of the heat race. She was conservative on the start and slipped back to the 7th spot...but once she found some confidence, she started picking them off one by one. She worked her way up to fourth and was closing in on the 2nd & 3rd place cars as they battled for position. She made several attempts to pass as those two beat on each other, but just couldn't close the deal...she was clearly faster, but the track was pretty slick and tough to get by two cars at once. We had just passed the 30 lap point when the 6 car lost the handle as Delaney was attempting to pass both the 6 & 8 car exiting turn 2. As the 6 car spun, she spun to avoid him...she managed to spin down into the infield and re-entered the track on the back stretch...but had lost six positions. We badly needed a caution to bring the field back to us. We didn't get it....she ended up in the 9th position. Once again we had a top three car and didn't get the finish we could have. The good things were, Delaney had fun, the car drove well...she wasn't even tired after 40 laps! The 6 car came up to her and apologized and thanked her for not taking him out...Delaney told him no problem because she doesn't race that way. We are very proud of her competitiveness and most of all her sportsmanship!
May 20
Went to practice on Wed night and worked on handling and getting Delaney to change her racing lines. We had a break through on the latter and hopefully it will pay some dividends in the future. It helped on Sat night. She went out on the inside of row two again for her heat race. She lagged back a little on the start and was running 6th at the end of lap one. She worked herself by the 5th place car by lap four. She was working hard to pass the 7 car through turn one and two...she had a good run into turn one but entered a little low and pushed up as she went through the middle of the corner and ended up getting into the side of the 7 car. She spun 180 degrees and ended up facing a tire going the wrong direction bringing out the yellow. Having caused the yellow, she had to start on the back...eighth in line. with three to go. She quickly disposed of the 7th place car and begin zeroing in on the 5th & 6th place cars. She got by both of them on the white flag lap to come home in the 5th position. We tightened the car up some more for the A-Feature. She was on the outside of row three for the A-Feature. She got a good start but was conservative with everyone trying to win the race on the first lap. She rolled out of turn two in the 7th position. Four laps into the race she was working to find her groove when the 23 car got all out shape coming out of turn 4 while she was under Delaney. The 23 car got into the left rear of Delaney turning her completely sideways down the front stretch. She spun into the infield and there she sat...we kept waiting for her to get going...finally she got rolling...I was concerned she wasn't able to get the car started...later she informed me she got it started right away, because as she was spinning she reached up and shut the fuel off and the motor, but just couldn't find an opportunity to get back on the track with all the traffic. Finally, she got back on the track just in front of the leader but three laps down. She quickly found her line and started putting distance between herself and the leader and making up on ground on the top five. She was clearly one of the fastest cars on the track, but unfortunately our 11th place finish didn't reflect how good we were. We are making progress! She is doing awesome!
May 13
Well finally we went into the weekend with no rain. Worked all week to clean the fuel system and installed a fuel pressure regulator. So with new fuel we were ready to go racing and hopefully solve our problem with clogged carburators. The car ran very well. Delaney went out on the inside of row two for her heat race. She didn't get a good start and again we were too loose for the track conditions. Not much action and she came home in the 4th position. She went out for the A-Feature on the inside of row three. We tightened the car up by changing tires and moving the wing. She got a good start and battled in the top five for the entire race. As the leaders raced into turn one with five to go, they encountered a lapped car on the inside. Delaney came on the lapped car so quick with a car on the outside she had no where to go and got on the binders but still bumped/booted the lapped car turning herself sideways and down into the infield between turn one and two. With no where to go, she managed to keep the car running she mashed the gas and re-entered the track on the back stretch and gave up two positions falling back to sixth. She battled hard and got the two positions back with one to go and was closing in on the 3rd place car. She finished in the fourth position. Great save and great job driving! Now that our motor/carb/fuel problem under control, we can start working on our set ups.
May 6
Again we got lots of rain on Fri and Sat. It looked liked we might not get the race in, but it cleared and we we're able to go racing. It was a real heavy track...something I've not seen. We tried to set the car up to be loose for her heat race. She went out on the inside of row two with eight cars in field for her heat race. Delaney didn't get a particularly good start and came out of turn two in 5th place. We were successful in getting the car loose....tooo loose. I didn't think it was possible on a track that heavy, but we did and she was working hard to keep moving forward and not spinning. She came across the checkers in 6th place. We made some aggressive changes for the A-Feature to tighten the car up. It seems Delaney likes a tighter race car. She started the A-Feature on the inside of row three. She got a good start...probably her best start of the year. She rolled into turn one battling for the fifth position. She maintained the fifth spot for the majority of the race holding off the steady challenge of the 23 car. With two to go, the 23 car made a strong move down the front straightaway and took the high line through turns one and two to take the spot from Delaney. Then Delaney had her hands full with a kid from Tulsa who earlier, while under caution, felt he belonged in the same spot as Delaney and proceeded to body slam her as they went down the back stretch...he was eventually put in his place behind the 23 car who was behind Delaney. After the 23 car got around Delaney, this kid bumped Delaney going into turn one trying to move her out of the way....Delaney held her ground, but lost her momentum and it was drag race going down the back stretch...again the kid put the bumper to Delaney and moved her up the track and she ended up giving up two positions to finish 8th. I was proud of her effort and her sportsmanship. She wasn't very happy about the body slam though. I did go and speak to the parents of the kid...not overly productive...they seemed to think that was the way to race. It is amazing what some parents are willing to teach their kids.
Apr 29
Saturday was another interesting night. Lots of rain on Fri and Sat...finally cleared around 2:00 PM and racing was on. Delaney went out for her heat race on the inside of row two. The car just didn't sound right and she was passed. The car sound like it was running on two cylinders and when the final car passed her, she decided to just make laps and not push it too hard. She brought it back to the pits and I pulled the carbs off--I had no clue what I was doing but knew I couldn't make it any worse. I got the book out and went to work. It appeared the fuel jets were plugged and I cleaned them out. Got it back together just before we had to go out for the A-Feature. Delaney changed a tire and we were ready. It fired right off and sounded good. She went out on the inside of row three for the A-Feature. The track was still real heavy and tacky. I told her the car may be too tight and she may have to adjust how she was running. I think that had her a little concerned...she wasn't very aggressive on the start and for the first 8-10 laps she looked like she wasn't pushing it too hard. She was running 10th when it looked like she was finally confident in the car and started closing in on the 9th place car as the leader was closing on her. The leader got to within a straight away of her and never got any closer. There was a big crash coming to the checkered flag involving a lapped car and four of the top ten cars. The caution moved Delaney up to the sixth spot and with a green-white-checkered restart. She held her position and managed to challenge for the fifth spot but came home sixth. She told me after the race the car worked really well...and she said she was lonely/bored in the middle of the race because she was chasing the car in front of her and nobody was close to her.
Apr 22
Saturday was an eventful night! Delaney went out for her heat race on the outside of the front row. We discussed the start and how she needed to work on getting better starts and not worry about jumping them. She did better, but still needs to be up on the wheel a little earlier. She ran second for the first three laps until Jake/92 got to her and took the position away from her. She battled with the 29 car for the remaining laps and managed to hold him off to finish in third place. The track was already dry and Delaney was pretty loose. We tightened the car up for the A-Feature and I was concerned we had her too tight....not the case. She went out on the inside of row two for the A-Feature. The track was very dry slick. She did much better on the start and went for the lead through turn 1 & 2 and had taken the lead coming done the back stretch. She went hard into turn three and there wasn't much grip and she was completely sideways and ready to go around when the 88 car got into the side of her and straightened her out, but then the 88 spun and brought out the caution. They lined them up two-by-two for the restart and the leader jumped the start and was put on the back and they lined them up again two-by-two and we went back to green with Delaney moving up to the pole. She jumped out to an early lead. She was pretty good through 1 & 2 but was stilling getting into 3 & 4 too hard. She stayed up on the wheel, but rubbed off too much speed being almost completely sideways through 3 & 4. She gave up the lead to the 92 and then 2nd to 9 car. She continued to run in third until with six to go, she got really hard into three and wasn't able to save it and spun. She stopped in the middle of turn four facing the wrong direction...most of the cars missed her, but got tagged pretty good by the 23 car who ended up on her side bringing out the red flag. The 23 car's driver was okay, but upset at the outcome and wasn't able to continue. The track officials checked Delaney's car out and determined she was able to continue. During a red flag, they bring the cars around and let us work on the them for 5 mins. A couple of guys that are providing me with advice went out with me. We adjusted the wing back and moved the panhard bar (changes the rear weight distribution) to try to tighten the car up. I told Delaney she needed to lift a little earlier going into to turn 3 to let the car settle in and then get back in the gas. She had to start on the back with six laps to go. She was able to pass three cars and was running down the 5th place car. She took the advice to heart and ran some awesome laps to finish the race in the 6th position. All in all, we learn so much every night. Delaney has done an awesome job and will only get better!
Apr 15
We went to practice on Wed and Delaney found her mojo!! She really did amazingly well and was excited about the results. After our Wed practice session, Delaney felt confident enough to take her point position on Sat and I agreed. We got to the track early on Sat and the car worked perfectly...finally. Delaney went out on the pole for her heat. After some confusion between the corner officials (who signaled Delaney to roll in the top of the track) and the flagman (who gave the one to go sign) it was a pretty sloppy start as the whole group was at the top of the track when the green flag waived and Delaney got a slow start. She went into turn one already in third place. She got one position back and then ended up giving that position up to her friend Jake who won the heat. All in all a good efort. Again she went out on the pole for the A-Feature. This car is a lot more sensitive to adjustments I make than the Jr Sprint was. She did better on the start, but still got jumped, but went into turn one with Morgan underneath her...she powered past Morgan going through the corner and took the lead but the caution came out for a single car spin and they lined up two-by-two for the restart. The restart looked much like the first start, she again got jumped, and went into turn one with Morgan underneath her...she powered past Morgan going through the corner and took the lead that she would hold for 6-7 laps, before Jake got to her and passed her. She gave up second place a couple of laps later and continued to run in third place and was being pressured by the 29 car when the yellow came out with five to go. She looked really smooth...like she was out for a Sunday drive. After the restart, she had her hands full as the right rear tire cooled down and glazed over...it had no grip for the final five laps, but she managed to hold off the 29 car coming to the white flag, she bobbled in turn 1 & 2 and he was able to get under her. She made a run on him going into turn 3 and off turn 4, but came up a little short at the checkered flag to finish fourth. Tammy and I were extremely proud of her.
Apr 8
Not a great night.... Started the car Friday night to make sure everything would work and it ran great. Got to the track and prepped the car. Delaney got in the car to go out for hot laps and it wouldn't start...after several minutes of trouble shooting, I determined that it had to be a resistor that is in the wiring harness. Originally there as an anti-theft tool and it can't be bypassed
. I had some extras, but they were at home....so Tammy ran home to get them, but we missed the hot lap session and her heat race. Once Tammy returned with the resistors, I replaced it and the car fired right off. Now we were prepping for the A-Feature. Because we haven't gotten many laps in yet this year, Delaney and I decided we would start on the back until she felt comfortable. She also hasn't felt comfortable passing people either. She started the A-Feature on the back behind another new driver....he is very slow right now and when the green flag flew, she stayed behind him. It took 4-5 laps before she finally passed him and by then she was nearly a lap down to the leaders. She would get to the back bumper of the car in front of her then, back off. The car was really loose as well. She ended up finishing 10th out of 11 cars, but forgot to go across the scales and ended up losing her position to finish 11th. There will be better days!
