Hey Everyone!
Cape Cod got hammered with 2 feet of snow last weekend. It's a good thing we're not trying to race today. Fortunately, I only had to do a little bit of shoveling. Looks like we'll get some rain this weekend so some of the snow should melt. I spent alot of this week on the phone, wishing people a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. Serviced the generator on the Freightliner, did some more picking up in the shop with lots still to do. It never ends & keeps us busy. I spent evenings shopping & preparing for Christmas. Going to take tomorrow off to help Ann get ready for the holiday and then over to my mothers for Christmas Eve. Family will all meet there for dinner & presents-a long time tradition since we all grew up & moved out to start our own families. Christmas day we'll be home in the morning & then over to my father in laws in the evening for dinner. I'll be back to work at the shop on Saturday-going to get some cleaning & organizing done with the tunes cranked up.
Wishing everybody a great Christmas. I hope Santa is good to you all and for all of you on the naughty list-I hope it was worth it! Will be in touch again next week.
Jay
December 23, 2009
December 17, 2009
WORKING AT THE SHOP
Hey All!
Cool pictures will accompany this blog....As you'll see, we unloaded the car last night and got it into the shop. Charlie is down from NH helping out. It's great having him around. He pulled the clutch out so we can send that off for recertification. I just finished making up a 60' extension cord to plug the trailer in while its outside. Unfortunately, I underestimated by a couple of feet-Son of a gun, I came up short! We'll be doing a variety of other work in the shop over the next couple days. I'm going to take advantage of Charlie's help while he's here. It's brutally cold here so we're doing our best to stay inside to work.
I'll update you all again early next week. Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by.
Jay
December 14, 2009
BACK FROM PRI SHOW
Hey Everybody!
Its been a busy week but we're back from Florida. The Performance Racing Industry (PRI)Trade Show was a great show. Jimmy & I spent three days walking the show, shaking hands, doing some research, and talking with people in the industry. We got alot of positive feedback on the car that was set up in the Permatex booth. We're back at the shop now and will start to prepare for the racing season. Will be taking some time over the holidays to hang out with my family. Otherwise, busy here in the shop & office as usual. Thanks for checking in & if you have questions...please let me know.
It's a crazy time of year so, take a moment in all the craziness & remember to be thankful for all that you have.
Jay
Its been a busy week but we're back from Florida. The Performance Racing Industry (PRI)Trade Show was a great show. Jimmy & I spent three days walking the show, shaking hands, doing some research, and talking with people in the industry. We got alot of positive feedback on the car that was set up in the Permatex booth. We're back at the shop now and will start to prepare for the racing season. Will be taking some time over the holidays to hang out with my family. Otherwise, busy here in the shop & office as usual. Thanks for checking in & if you have questions...please let me know.
It's a crazy time of year so, take a moment in all the craziness & remember to be thankful for all that you have.
Jay
December 7, 2009
Updates From The Road
Hey Everybody,
Eddie & I are driving I-95 South in Georgia, it's a little bit warmer here. Eddie just commented, "not by much". I want to thank team members Mitch & Ozzie for all the hard work they put into the truck before we left Massachusetts. Rich, from In A Flash Welding donated lots of time to help us out as well, thanks Rich! The truck has been running great!
We dropped the Dodge Avenger body off with Jesse at Circus Paints in NJ on our way to Florida. He's going to repaint the Avenger to match the Impala paint, so they will look identical. This will be a big plus for our sponsors so that we have a matching show car for when the Impala is elsewhere racing.
Eddie and I will arrive in the Orlando, FL area early tomorrow for the the PRI Show. Set up for the show is Wednesday, where the car will be in the Permatex booth throughout the show. Jimmy will fly down to meet us on Wednesday. Tom, Barbara, & Fred from Permatex will be meeting us & working the booth as well. It'll be good to see everybody and it should be a great time.
Check back later in the week for updates from the show. Thanks for checking in, I hope you're all having a wonderful day!
Jay
Eddie & I are driving I-95 South in Georgia, it's a little bit warmer here. Eddie just commented, "not by much". I want to thank team members Mitch & Ozzie for all the hard work they put into the truck before we left Massachusetts. Rich, from In A Flash Welding donated lots of time to help us out as well, thanks Rich! The truck has been running great!
We dropped the Dodge Avenger body off with Jesse at Circus Paints in NJ on our way to Florida. He's going to repaint the Avenger to match the Impala paint, so they will look identical. This will be a big plus for our sponsors so that we have a matching show car for when the Impala is elsewhere racing.
Eddie and I will arrive in the Orlando, FL area early tomorrow for the the PRI Show. Set up for the show is Wednesday, where the car will be in the Permatex booth throughout the show. Jimmy will fly down to meet us on Wednesday. Tom, Barbara, & Fred from Permatex will be meeting us & working the booth as well. It'll be good to see everybody and it should be a great time.
Check back later in the week for updates from the show. Thanks for checking in, I hope you're all having a wonderful day!
Jay
November 25, 2009
HAPPY TURKEY DAY
Hey All,
Working in the shop, the office, and on the truck. Mitch has been helping to winterize the truck and get it ready for the trip to the PRI Show at the beginning of December. Will be nice to head south for a couple of days, although the weather here in New England has been absolutely great for this time of year.
We're going to try something new today and post some photos of the new paint on the racecar. Thanks to Jesse LeJeune @ Circus Custom Paint in New Jersey, I think it looks great. Let us know what you think.
Will be going to my moms with the family tomorrow for turkey. My sister Bonnie and her family are here from NJ and brother Jim will be down to help celebrate as well. It should be a great time and very filling!
Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! We'll be back in touch next week.
Jay
November 18, 2009
WORKING AT THE SHOP
Hey Everyone!
The weather has been great here in New England. I've spent the last week doing a variety of things in the shop & office. We have the truck that pulls the racecar trailer inside, giving it a once over. Our pal (and one of our biggest fans), Mitch Sullivan came down to the shop this past Saturday to service the truck. Changed all of the fluids, and have ordered some replacement parts that we'll get in when they're delivered. I'm also doing some reconfiguring to make some more storage area under the bed of the back of the truck. Jared of Red's Reconditioning was here as well, working his magic to make the inside of the truck look like new after a long season of race weekends and our recent journey West. We're headed to Texas Roadhouse in Danvers, MA tomorrow evening for a visit & racecar display. If you're in the area, stop by and say hello. Just a one evening event and then back to work in the shop & office. Will touch base again in a few days, thanks for checking in.
Jay
The weather has been great here in New England. I've spent the last week doing a variety of things in the shop & office. We have the truck that pulls the racecar trailer inside, giving it a once over. Our pal (and one of our biggest fans), Mitch Sullivan came down to the shop this past Saturday to service the truck. Changed all of the fluids, and have ordered some replacement parts that we'll get in when they're delivered. I'm also doing some reconfiguring to make some more storage area under the bed of the back of the truck. Jared of Red's Reconditioning was here as well, working his magic to make the inside of the truck look like new after a long season of race weekends and our recent journey West. We're headed to Texas Roadhouse in Danvers, MA tomorrow evening for a visit & racecar display. If you're in the area, stop by and say hello. Just a one evening event and then back to work in the shop & office. Will touch base again in a few days, thanks for checking in.
Jay
November 11, 2009
Back from AAPEX
Hey Everyone,
Lots to talk about today. It was a great trip to AAPEX, I'm back in the office, & Eddie has returned from Vegas with car in tow. I flew out Sunday night, Nov. 1 and arrived in Vegas late. Monday morning we moved into the show, Todd Veney arrived from Indy. Todd helped us set up and had his first opportunity to get behind the wheel of the racecar, where he was pushed through the convention center to the booth. Monday night Todd & I went to a dinner hosted by Permatex at Smith & Wollensky-a world renowned steak house. The best filet I've ever had! I'm no food connoisseur but everyone else at the table agreed. Great food, great company, great night! No gambling that night, off to bed for all. Tuesday we were up & at the show by 9:30, meeting & greeting customers and introducing Todd to Permatex & Wynn's folks. John Force, Robert Hight, & Ashley Force Hood stopped by the booth and John in his usual great humor had everybody laughing. It was great to see them all and have the chance to congratulate them on their successes and Roberts possible and hopeful championship. Todd & I went out Tuesday evening for dollar beers at Casino Royale. We met a lovely couple from Philly (they stopped at the Permatex booth on Thursday to say hi) and hung out for awhile. Went and got some dinner and again, bed early. No gambling for us! Wednesday was much of the same, spent the day at the show, met with some good friends at Clevite, and spoke with our friends at Wynn Oil. Todd flew home Wednesday afternoon. Tom Dobruck and I stopped and had a couple beers after the show closed for the evening. Then, my wonderful wife Ann showed up. Wow, a much better roommate than Todd for sure! Ann & I went to dinner at a Mexican joint and had amazing guacamole & chips. Called it an early night as Ann had been traveling from the East all day. Aaand....again.....no gambling! Thursday down on the show floor by 9:30 again for the last day of the show. Eddie & I took a quick trip across town to the SEMA Show, where we visited our friends & supporters at Meguiar's & ARP. We were out of time and had to rush back to AAPEX to move out of the show. The show ended at 5pm, we loaded the racecar into the trailer, and sent Eddie on his way back East. I hung out with Tom as they closed up the booth. I met up with Ann for a nice dinner and then called it a night. That's right....no gambling. Friday we slept in and Ann and I kicked around the strip, got tickets to see Jay Leno that night, and visited the wildlife sanctuary at the Mirage where they have dolphins, white lions, & tigers. It's amazing to think that lions & tigers make their home in the middle of the Las Vegas strip, in their own little world. That night we went to the Leno comedy show, which was absolutely terrific. After the show, we hung around the back door to wait to meet Jay Leno. Thanks to Ann, we found the right spot and were able to meet him and have our picture taken. I took the opportunity to pass him some info on Follow A Dream, maybe we'll get an invitation to the show. By this time it was early Saturday morning, time for bed and up early for flight home. I got out of Vegas without losing a dime.....again....thats right.....no gambling. Ann & I arrived home Saturday evening where Marybeth & friends picked us up at the airport. Back to our crazy schedules and the lives of our busy teenagers. Have been working in the office the last couple of days, catching up and gearing up for PRI and the 2010 season.
Thanks for checking back, will post early next week.
Jay
Lots to talk about today. It was a great trip to AAPEX, I'm back in the office, & Eddie has returned from Vegas with car in tow. I flew out Sunday night, Nov. 1 and arrived in Vegas late. Monday morning we moved into the show, Todd Veney arrived from Indy. Todd helped us set up and had his first opportunity to get behind the wheel of the racecar, where he was pushed through the convention center to the booth. Monday night Todd & I went to a dinner hosted by Permatex at Smith & Wollensky-a world renowned steak house. The best filet I've ever had! I'm no food connoisseur but everyone else at the table agreed. Great food, great company, great night! No gambling that night, off to bed for all. Tuesday we were up & at the show by 9:30, meeting & greeting customers and introducing Todd to Permatex & Wynn's folks. John Force, Robert Hight, & Ashley Force Hood stopped by the booth and John in his usual great humor had everybody laughing. It was great to see them all and have the chance to congratulate them on their successes and Roberts possible and hopeful championship. Todd & I went out Tuesday evening for dollar beers at Casino Royale. We met a lovely couple from Philly (they stopped at the Permatex booth on Thursday to say hi) and hung out for awhile. Went and got some dinner and again, bed early. No gambling for us! Wednesday was much of the same, spent the day at the show, met with some good friends at Clevite, and spoke with our friends at Wynn Oil. Todd flew home Wednesday afternoon. Tom Dobruck and I stopped and had a couple beers after the show closed for the evening. Then, my wonderful wife Ann showed up. Wow, a much better roommate than Todd for sure! Ann & I went to dinner at a Mexican joint and had amazing guacamole & chips. Called it an early night as Ann had been traveling from the East all day. Aaand....again.....no gambling! Thursday down on the show floor by 9:30 again for the last day of the show. Eddie & I took a quick trip across town to the SEMA Show, where we visited our friends & supporters at Meguiar's & ARP. We were out of time and had to rush back to AAPEX to move out of the show. The show ended at 5pm, we loaded the racecar into the trailer, and sent Eddie on his way back East. I hung out with Tom as they closed up the booth. I met up with Ann for a nice dinner and then called it a night. That's right....no gambling. Friday we slept in and Ann and I kicked around the strip, got tickets to see Jay Leno that night, and visited the wildlife sanctuary at the Mirage where they have dolphins, white lions, & tigers. It's amazing to think that lions & tigers make their home in the middle of the Las Vegas strip, in their own little world. That night we went to the Leno comedy show, which was absolutely terrific. After the show, we hung around the back door to wait to meet Jay Leno. Thanks to Ann, we found the right spot and were able to meet him and have our picture taken. I took the opportunity to pass him some info on Follow A Dream, maybe we'll get an invitation to the show. By this time it was early Saturday morning, time for bed and up early for flight home. I got out of Vegas without losing a dime.....again....thats right.....no gambling. Ann & I arrived home Saturday evening where Marybeth & friends picked us up at the airport. Back to our crazy schedules and the lives of our busy teenagers. Have been working in the office the last couple of days, catching up and gearing up for PRI and the 2010 season.
Thanks for checking back, will post early next week.
Jay
October 27, 2009
DID YOU SEE THE NEWS???
Hey Everyone!
If you haven't seen it yet, I'd like to let you all know that Todd Veney will be the new driver for the Follow A Dream/Permatex Funny Car. We're ery excited to have Todd in the seat, he's a great team member and an all around terrific guy! The entire team is very excited and can't wait to start racing. I've been working in the office with Terri on the new race schedule and readying a new newsletter. Working a bit in the shop as well. Tonight Scott Spencer and I are working on the pit floor-nothing overly exciting but something that need to be done. I received a message from Eddie a few minutes ago-he's in Flagstaff, AZ on his way to Vegas. All is well and he's making great time.
Thanks for checking in! Talk to you again toward the end of the week.
Jay
If you haven't seen it yet, I'd like to let you all know that Todd Veney will be the new driver for the Follow A Dream/Permatex Funny Car. We're ery excited to have Todd in the seat, he's a great team member and an all around terrific guy! The entire team is very excited and can't wait to start racing. I've been working in the office with Terri on the new race schedule and readying a new newsletter. Working a bit in the shop as well. Tonight Scott Spencer and I are working on the pit floor-nothing overly exciting but something that need to be done. I received a message from Eddie a few minutes ago-he's in Flagstaff, AZ on his way to Vegas. All is well and he's making great time.
Thanks for checking in! Talk to you again toward the end of the week.
Jay
October 26, 2009
BACK TO BLOG LAND
Hey everybody, sorry I've been missing in action. Things have been busy since I returned from Florida & DC. We've been preparing the racecar for its trip to Las Vegas to be displayed at the AAPEX Show. The body has been @ Circus Custom Paint in NJ where Jesse put a brand new beautiful paint job on the car. Pictures coming soon! Eddie departed the shop on Friday, picked the body up on Saturday, and is headed West to Vegas. He's hoping to get there in time to catch the National event there this coming weekend. Terri & I went to Hartford, CT-home of Permatex World Headquarters and we're excited that Permatex will again be on the car next year. We had a good meeting and as always, it was great to see our friends & supporters there. They're all such great people, with great products, it makes our job so easy to represent them.
We've been extremely busy in the office-working on a variety of major changes that are happening around here. Check the website tomorrow to look for a big announcement. I'm such a tease!
Will be in touch again tomorrow folks, thanks for checking in.
Jay
We've been extremely busy in the office-working on a variety of major changes that are happening around here. Check the website tomorrow to look for a big announcement. I'm such a tease!
Will be in touch again tomorrow folks, thanks for checking in.
Jay
October 8, 2009
Advance Auto Parts
Hello Friends!
Have been working the Advance Auto Parts Commercial Sales Conference & Auto Show here in Orlando all week. Yesterday morning I spoke to a group of about 500 Commercial Sales Managers and we displayed the racecar throughout the day. It was a great day and the energy was amazing. We moved the car out of the vendor show last evening and Eddie is on his way back to Massachusetts. I fly to DC this evening to speak tomorrow morning for Service Specialists Assoc. at their annual conference-then home tomorrow afternoon.
Wanted to let you all know that our 2009 team t-shirts have been discounted, you can see them and place an order from the home page of our site!
Will be in touch soon,
Jay
Have been working the Advance Auto Parts Commercial Sales Conference & Auto Show here in Orlando all week. Yesterday morning I spoke to a group of about 500 Commercial Sales Managers and we displayed the racecar throughout the day. It was a great day and the energy was amazing. We moved the car out of the vendor show last evening and Eddie is on his way back to Massachusetts. I fly to DC this evening to speak tomorrow morning for Service Specialists Assoc. at their annual conference-then home tomorrow afternoon.
Wanted to let you all know that our 2009 team t-shirts have been discounted, you can see them and place an order from the home page of our site!
Will be in touch soon,
Jay
October 6, 2009
Sunny Florida
Hey All,
I'm in Florida, where it's 95 & sunny! We're down here with Advance Auto Parts & Permatex. Tonight we're moving the racecar into a trade fair, and tomorrow I speak for 500 commercial sales people. Eddie and I had an uneventful trip down South until we got to Southern Georgia, where we lost an air valve on the trailer. Thanks to Petro for their help, they had us back on the road pretty quickly. Great people, great service! This morning I spoke for a leadership group for Advance. Spilt orange juice on my Braille N' Speak this morning as well-have sent that out for repair but in the meantime, I'm without my "life"-contacts, schedule, all lost....until I get it back. I've been having a problem with my ear so I went to a walk in medical place this morning. Diagnosed with an ear infection and prescribed antibiotics-should be feeling better soon. That's it for the time being-will be in touch soon.
Jay
I'm in Florida, where it's 95 & sunny! We're down here with Advance Auto Parts & Permatex. Tonight we're moving the racecar into a trade fair, and tomorrow I speak for 500 commercial sales people. Eddie and I had an uneventful trip down South until we got to Southern Georgia, where we lost an air valve on the trailer. Thanks to Petro for their help, they had us back on the road pretty quickly. Great people, great service! This morning I spoke for a leadership group for Advance. Spilt orange juice on my Braille N' Speak this morning as well-have sent that out for repair but in the meantime, I'm without my "life"-contacts, schedule, all lost....until I get it back. I've been having a problem with my ear so I went to a walk in medical place this morning. Diagnosed with an ear infection and prescribed antibiotics-should be feeling better soon. That's it for the time being-will be in touch soon.
Jay
October 1, 2009
Back To Blogging
Hello Friends!
Been a long time and I apologize. We've been in and out of MA for the last several weeks, racing and speaking. Went to the finals at Etown divisional and lost to Frank Manzo. The computer read 4 points past the decimal and all 4 were zeros. It was the closest race in history according to what we've heard since. It was a great race and a terrific way to gear up for NC Nats. On the way to Charlotte, we stopped in Raleigh and participated in the TMC SuperTech Competion, where we display the car and I spoke to all of the attendees to kick off the event. Wednesday evening we visited sponsor Texas Roadhouse's Charlotte location, where we displayed the car and met some customers. Then we headed to the track where we spent late Wednesday night setting up the pit. Spent Thursday putting new connecting rods in the motor, servicing cylinder heads, and the clutch-pretty much getting ready for the team to arrive and Fridays qualifying rounds. We worked through rain delays most of the weekend but qualified 6th. Friday evening I left the team and flew to Washington, DC where I spoke at a national meeting of Mack & Volvo Parts, Service, & Body Shop Managers. I spent Saturday evening in the Permatex booth at that event and met alot of great people. I returned to NC Sunday morning for the races. We lost in the semi finals to none other than Frank Manzo-again! That guy kills me! That was a wrap on our season. We dropped the racecar body off at Circus Custom Paint in NJ on our way home to get it ready to go to Vegas for the AAPEX/SEMA Show in November with our sponsors Permatex & Wynns. Have put the old car together for a show car. Went to The Carroll Center for the Blind to introduce their new President, Mike Festa. Mr. Fest is replacing outgoing President Rachel Rosenbaum, who is retiring. Went to the Touch-A-Truck event in Hyannis, MA last Saturday, which was part of the grand opening of the new recreation center there. Monday morning I spoke to some 20 students from the Southeast Alternative School based in Hyannis. We're preparing to head out this weekend to Orlando, FL with the racecar for an Advance Auto Parts convention. I will leave there and fly to DC again to speak for the Service Specialist Assoc. at their annual convention. Between events I've been cleaning up the shop and squeezing in some office work. Terri & I will work harder at keeping you all up to date. Thanks for visiting!
Jay
Been a long time and I apologize. We've been in and out of MA for the last several weeks, racing and speaking. Went to the finals at Etown divisional and lost to Frank Manzo. The computer read 4 points past the decimal and all 4 were zeros. It was the closest race in history according to what we've heard since. It was a great race and a terrific way to gear up for NC Nats. On the way to Charlotte, we stopped in Raleigh and participated in the TMC SuperTech Competion, where we display the car and I spoke to all of the attendees to kick off the event. Wednesday evening we visited sponsor Texas Roadhouse's Charlotte location, where we displayed the car and met some customers. Then we headed to the track where we spent late Wednesday night setting up the pit. Spent Thursday putting new connecting rods in the motor, servicing cylinder heads, and the clutch-pretty much getting ready for the team to arrive and Fridays qualifying rounds. We worked through rain delays most of the weekend but qualified 6th. Friday evening I left the team and flew to Washington, DC where I spoke at a national meeting of Mack & Volvo Parts, Service, & Body Shop Managers. I spent Saturday evening in the Permatex booth at that event and met alot of great people. I returned to NC Sunday morning for the races. We lost in the semi finals to none other than Frank Manzo-again! That guy kills me! That was a wrap on our season. We dropped the racecar body off at Circus Custom Paint in NJ on our way home to get it ready to go to Vegas for the AAPEX/SEMA Show in November with our sponsors Permatex & Wynns. Have put the old car together for a show car. Went to The Carroll Center for the Blind to introduce their new President, Mike Festa. Mr. Fest is replacing outgoing President Rachel Rosenbaum, who is retiring. Went to the Touch-A-Truck event in Hyannis, MA last Saturday, which was part of the grand opening of the new recreation center there. Monday morning I spoke to some 20 students from the Southeast Alternative School based in Hyannis. We're preparing to head out this weekend to Orlando, FL with the racecar for an Advance Auto Parts convention. I will leave there and fly to DC again to speak for the Service Specialist Assoc. at their annual convention. Between events I've been cleaning up the shop and squeezing in some office work. Terri & I will work harder at keeping you all up to date. Thanks for visiting!
Jay
September 3, 2009
WEEKLY UPDATE
Hey Everybody!
Spoke at Ben Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston today. It was a quick trip up and back to the Cape with Eddie. We're pulling the operation together to hit the road middle of next week for the Englishtown division 1 event and then off to NHRA Nationals in Concord, NC. Have some events between races-trying to work some Texas Roadhouse store visits into our plans and will be visiting Pennco Tech in Bristol, PA next Thursday morning. Lots going on, will blog again beginning of next week. Have a wonderful holiday weekend-hope the weather where you are is as beautiful as it has been here on the Cape.
Blog soon friends,
Jay
Spoke at Ben Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston today. It was a quick trip up and back to the Cape with Eddie. We're pulling the operation together to hit the road middle of next week for the Englishtown division 1 event and then off to NHRA Nationals in Concord, NC. Have some events between races-trying to work some Texas Roadhouse store visits into our plans and will be visiting Pennco Tech in Bristol, PA next Thursday morning. Lots going on, will blog again beginning of next week. Have a wonderful holiday weekend-hope the weather where you are is as beautiful as it has been here on the Cape.
Blog soon friends,
Jay
August 28, 2009
BACK FROM THE RACES
Hey everyone!
Would love some feedback on Meaghans blog, if you've seen it. We're back in the shop after race in Reading, PA last weekend. Made some stops on the way home. Displayed the racecar for Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Islands Bereavement Camp, a camp for kids who have lost a parent or loved one. It's a great two day event where the kids get to have some fun and meet others who have been through a loss. We try and help out every year and it's always a very uplifting experience. Also stopped to display the racecar at the Texas Roadhouse in North Dartmouth, MA that evening. Had a great time and met some terrific people. Marketing manager Dave Pacheco was very welcoming and we're planning some more events for him at other stores.
The car is back in the shop, where we'll do some maintenance to get ready for Englishtown. Catching up on some office work too and will touch base with you all again early next week.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Jay
Would love some feedback on Meaghans blog, if you've seen it. We're back in the shop after race in Reading, PA last weekend. Made some stops on the way home. Displayed the racecar for Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Islands Bereavement Camp, a camp for kids who have lost a parent or loved one. It's a great two day event where the kids get to have some fun and meet others who have been through a loss. We try and help out every year and it's always a very uplifting experience. Also stopped to display the racecar at the Texas Roadhouse in North Dartmouth, MA that evening. Had a great time and met some terrific people. Marketing manager Dave Pacheco was very welcoming and we're planning some more events for him at other stores.
The car is back in the shop, where we'll do some maintenance to get ready for Englishtown. Catching up on some office work too and will touch base with you all again early next week.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Jay
August 25, 2009
Maple Grove Race
Hey Everyone,
I guess I should introduce myself first. My name is Meaghan, and I am the girlfriend of Joe, one of Follow a Dream's crew members. This past weekend, I went with the team to their race at Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania. It was a great weekend, although weather conditions kept everything slow.
After about a 7 hour ride, Joe and I arrived at the track on Thursday night around 8. The body of the car had been wrapped, and looked much better than when I had seen it the week before. There was still a lot of work to do though. The pit area looked great with a brand new mat, and we were pitted next to some of the top fuel guys. We worked on setting up some tents and lights so the crew could work in the dark. They put the car away and focused on getting the body ready for the race. Eventually, we had some dinner, and then Joe, Rich and I headed off to the hotel.
Friday morning, we got up early and after a quick stop for an iced coffee for me, we were off to the track. They were planning on having their first pass around 1:30, so there was plenty of time, but they had some last minute things to do. It was so hot and humid out, we tried to stay cool. We all just kept complaining about the heat and how much we were sweating. Family members and friends came, and we watched them warm up the car and prepare for the race. I helped Rich with some English muffin toasting for breakfast. We all knew a storm was in the forecast, Marty was checking the radar on his phone, and we all hoped it would hold off.
Finally, it was time for their first qualifying pass. We piled into the tow vehicle and onto the golf cart and headed for the staging lanes. Pam and I walked towards the starting line to watch some of the other cars make their passes. The darkest, most ominious looking clouds covered the track. The temperature seemed to drop about 20 degrees and it got really windy. We watched as 4 pairs made their passes, and then it started rain. We walked over to the car; they had placed a cover over it, but it started to downpour. I managed to get completely drenched, and I was cold the rest of the day. Hard to believe that we had all been complaining about being too hot that morning.
The guys did some things with the car, but mostly we just all sat around waiting fot the rain to stop and for them to dry the track. Jay decided that ice cream was a good idea, and a few of us headed off for a golf cart ride and some ice cream cones in the rain. It was great! Eventually, we realized that we were not going to get our first qualifying pass that day, and we had dinner and relaxed. The rumors were that the weather on Saturday was going to be even worse. Some speculated that we wouldn't get a qualifying pass in at all. It was being said that the eight cars that had qualified would be the top 8, and the bottom 8 would be based on our rank in points. If this were the case, then we would qualify unlike some other teams who would not be able to race at all. Everything was up in the air.
When we left the track that night, there was still no schedule or plan for Saturday. We weren't sure if there was going to be any racing. Joe, Rich and I decided to spend the night at the club at our hotel, which was a lot of fun. We woke up the next morning and called Jay, but he said nothing was established yet, so we got brunch and then took a nap. Then Jay called back and said that we should head down, they were hoping to run some races soon. We went to Walmart, where we literally spent half an hour in line because we didn't know the zip code for the credit card. We thought we would never make it.
Turns out, there was no cause to be alarmed. We did race on Saturday, but not until about after 5pm. It was another hot, muggy day, but the track was wet. After every couple of runs, they would have to stop to dry the track. It seemed like we would never race. I sat around reading my book like I usually do. Everyone was just talking and walking around. We spent some time watching the fuel car crews work on their cars. I was impressed.
Eventually, we headed to the staging lanes. We found out that they were going to consider this the 2nd qualifying pass. If you had raced the day before, then you would have 2 times, they would go by your better time. If this was your only pass, then you would have to use this time. I didn't think it was very fair, but someone has to make the hard decisions. I went to the starting line to watch the Top Fuel Funny Cars, and there was a bit of a delay when Ashley Force Hood's car exploded at the end of the track. Luckily, everyone was okay, and we sat around waiting some more. That is the theme of drag racing, "Hurry Up and Wait."
Then we were up. This was going to be our first run since the mishap in Englishtown. The car had been tested the weekend before at New England Dragway, but this was the big comeback. It didn't go quite as well as everyone had planned, and we ran a 5.93. I walked down to the finish line, where I watched that 5.93 light up the board in huge red numbers as the bump spot. Luckily, we were able to hold on and qualified 16. I walked back to the pit to hear what I already assumed: we would be up against Frank Manzo. The guys were servicing the car really quickly, and I thought we were planning to race again that night, but we weren't. Rich, Pam and I took a trip to the store, and we all had a relaxing night. The guys took their time servicing the car. The main thing we knew was that we had to get to bed early because we were racing Sunday morning at 9:30.
Sunday morning, we got there bright and early; the track was pretty much empty. People that hadn't qualified had already left. I walked around, got myself a cappuccino, and then I sat in the stands to watch some of the stock cars. Then, we once again piled into the golf cart for Round 1.
Soon our first round of eliminations were underway, and I watched as car after car were elimated from the competition. Next, we were up against Frank Manzo. We certainly gave him a good race. We ran a 5.66 to his 5.56. Unfortunately, we had lost. On a more optimistic note, this was the 3rd fastest time in this round. If it had only been our second qaulifying pass like it should have been.....
After that, we spent some time packing up the trailer. Everyone had agreed that although the run hadn't been enough to win, it had still been a great run. It put everyone in high hopes for Englishtown in just a few weeks. We will see! Thanks for taking to the time to read about my experience at the race. Hopefully, you'll be hearing from me again soon.
Best,
Meaghan
I guess I should introduce myself first. My name is Meaghan, and I am the girlfriend of Joe, one of Follow a Dream's crew members. This past weekend, I went with the team to their race at Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania. It was a great weekend, although weather conditions kept everything slow.
After about a 7 hour ride, Joe and I arrived at the track on Thursday night around 8. The body of the car had been wrapped, and looked much better than when I had seen it the week before. There was still a lot of work to do though. The pit area looked great with a brand new mat, and we were pitted next to some of the top fuel guys. We worked on setting up some tents and lights so the crew could work in the dark. They put the car away and focused on getting the body ready for the race. Eventually, we had some dinner, and then Joe, Rich and I headed off to the hotel.
Friday morning, we got up early and after a quick stop for an iced coffee for me, we were off to the track. They were planning on having their first pass around 1:30, so there was plenty of time, but they had some last minute things to do. It was so hot and humid out, we tried to stay cool. We all just kept complaining about the heat and how much we were sweating. Family members and friends came, and we watched them warm up the car and prepare for the race. I helped Rich with some English muffin toasting for breakfast. We all knew a storm was in the forecast, Marty was checking the radar on his phone, and we all hoped it would hold off.
Finally, it was time for their first qualifying pass. We piled into the tow vehicle and onto the golf cart and headed for the staging lanes. Pam and I walked towards the starting line to watch some of the other cars make their passes. The darkest, most ominious looking clouds covered the track. The temperature seemed to drop about 20 degrees and it got really windy. We watched as 4 pairs made their passes, and then it started rain. We walked over to the car; they had placed a cover over it, but it started to downpour. I managed to get completely drenched, and I was cold the rest of the day. Hard to believe that we had all been complaining about being too hot that morning.
The guys did some things with the car, but mostly we just all sat around waiting fot the rain to stop and for them to dry the track. Jay decided that ice cream was a good idea, and a few of us headed off for a golf cart ride and some ice cream cones in the rain. It was great! Eventually, we realized that we were not going to get our first qualifying pass that day, and we had dinner and relaxed. The rumors were that the weather on Saturday was going to be even worse. Some speculated that we wouldn't get a qualifying pass in at all. It was being said that the eight cars that had qualified would be the top 8, and the bottom 8 would be based on our rank in points. If this were the case, then we would qualify unlike some other teams who would not be able to race at all. Everything was up in the air.
When we left the track that night, there was still no schedule or plan for Saturday. We weren't sure if there was going to be any racing. Joe, Rich and I decided to spend the night at the club at our hotel, which was a lot of fun. We woke up the next morning and called Jay, but he said nothing was established yet, so we got brunch and then took a nap. Then Jay called back and said that we should head down, they were hoping to run some races soon. We went to Walmart, where we literally spent half an hour in line because we didn't know the zip code for the credit card. We thought we would never make it.
Turns out, there was no cause to be alarmed. We did race on Saturday, but not until about after 5pm. It was another hot, muggy day, but the track was wet. After every couple of runs, they would have to stop to dry the track. It seemed like we would never race. I sat around reading my book like I usually do. Everyone was just talking and walking around. We spent some time watching the fuel car crews work on their cars. I was impressed.
Eventually, we headed to the staging lanes. We found out that they were going to consider this the 2nd qualifying pass. If you had raced the day before, then you would have 2 times, they would go by your better time. If this was your only pass, then you would have to use this time. I didn't think it was very fair, but someone has to make the hard decisions. I went to the starting line to watch the Top Fuel Funny Cars, and there was a bit of a delay when Ashley Force Hood's car exploded at the end of the track. Luckily, everyone was okay, and we sat around waiting some more. That is the theme of drag racing, "Hurry Up and Wait."
Then we were up. This was going to be our first run since the mishap in Englishtown. The car had been tested the weekend before at New England Dragway, but this was the big comeback. It didn't go quite as well as everyone had planned, and we ran a 5.93. I walked down to the finish line, where I watched that 5.93 light up the board in huge red numbers as the bump spot. Luckily, we were able to hold on and qualified 16. I walked back to the pit to hear what I already assumed: we would be up against Frank Manzo. The guys were servicing the car really quickly, and I thought we were planning to race again that night, but we weren't. Rich, Pam and I took a trip to the store, and we all had a relaxing night. The guys took their time servicing the car. The main thing we knew was that we had to get to bed early because we were racing Sunday morning at 9:30.
Sunday morning, we got there bright and early; the track was pretty much empty. People that hadn't qualified had already left. I walked around, got myself a cappuccino, and then I sat in the stands to watch some of the stock cars. Then, we once again piled into the golf cart for Round 1.
Soon our first round of eliminations were underway, and I watched as car after car were elimated from the competition. Next, we were up against Frank Manzo. We certainly gave him a good race. We ran a 5.66 to his 5.56. Unfortunately, we had lost. On a more optimistic note, this was the 3rd fastest time in this round. If it had only been our second qaulifying pass like it should have been.....
After that, we spent some time packing up the trailer. Everyone had agreed that although the run hadn't been enough to win, it had still been a great run. It put everyone in high hopes for Englishtown in just a few weeks. We will see! Thanks for taking to the time to read about my experience at the race. Hopefully, you'll be hearing from me again soon.
Best,
Meaghan
August 18, 2009
Testing & Getting Ready for Reading Race
Hey Everyone!
It's been a bit crazy. We tested up at New England Dragway over the weekend and-OH MY GOD, was it hot! It had to be 100 degrees up there. The whole team worked incredibly hard in the heat, the track temp was almost 140 degrees. Saturday we made one half-track pass, 202 mph in the 1/8 mile. The chutes worked great and the car went straight. We prepared for Sunday. Made two passes on Sunday, a 5.76 & 5.71. Everything looked good. We headed back to the shop, where we serviced the car yesterday. Loading the trailer today to head to PA for the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals this weekend.
Thanks to all of our sponsors and fans for their support as we have worked through this process. We're all very excited to go to Reading and resume racing. I will not be blogging again until next week-will fill you all in then.
Have a great weekend.
Jay
It's been a bit crazy. We tested up at New England Dragway over the weekend and-OH MY GOD, was it hot! It had to be 100 degrees up there. The whole team worked incredibly hard in the heat, the track temp was almost 140 degrees. Saturday we made one half-track pass, 202 mph in the 1/8 mile. The chutes worked great and the car went straight. We prepared for Sunday. Made two passes on Sunday, a 5.76 & 5.71. Everything looked good. We headed back to the shop, where we serviced the car yesterday. Loading the trailer today to head to PA for the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals this weekend.
Thanks to all of our sponsors and fans for their support as we have worked through this process. We're all very excited to go to Reading and resume racing. I will not be blogging again until next week-will fill you all in then.
Have a great weekend.
Jay
August 6, 2009
WORKING ON THE RACECAR REPAIRS
Hey Everybody!
We're still here. Arthur finished up all the carbon fiber work on the racecar and the body is back at the shop. Ozzie is going to do some body work and get the car in primer for testing next weekend at New Englad Dragway. We plan to be there both Saturday & Sunday, Aug. 15-16. The chassis is up on jack stands, the short block is in it, and new front wheels and tires have been added. There is lots of cleaning & assembly work to be done, Tommy will be here tomorrow to help with that. Joe Mitchell will be here working on Saturday and if all goes well we'll start the car up then.
Sunday I'm going with Ann & the kids to NY City for a couple of days on vacation. We're planning on seeing the Statue of Liberty and touring the big city. Will be back to work on Thursday, hard at it to get ready to go racing.
Will touch base when I return to work, will fill you all in on our family adventure. Hope all are well.
Jay
We're still here. Arthur finished up all the carbon fiber work on the racecar and the body is back at the shop. Ozzie is going to do some body work and get the car in primer for testing next weekend at New Englad Dragway. We plan to be there both Saturday & Sunday, Aug. 15-16. The chassis is up on jack stands, the short block is in it, and new front wheels and tires have been added. There is lots of cleaning & assembly work to be done, Tommy will be here tomorrow to help with that. Joe Mitchell will be here working on Saturday and if all goes well we'll start the car up then.
Sunday I'm going with Ann & the kids to NY City for a couple of days on vacation. We're planning on seeing the Statue of Liberty and touring the big city. Will be back to work on Thursday, hard at it to get ready to go racing.
Will touch base when I return to work, will fill you all in on our family adventure. Hope all are well.
Jay
July 23, 2009
LOTS GOING ON
Hey Race Fans,
Sorry again, we let the blog slide! Wanted to catch you all up on the latest Follow A Dream news. We went to the Syracuse Nationals last week, although we were behind a bit due to mechanical problems with the Freightliner. Had to make a pit stop at Utica General Truck in Utica, NY where they had to replace the injectors. They were terrific-got us back on the road in record time! Had a great time thanks to John Weston & Bob O'Connor of the Right Coast Assoc. for all their hospitality. We had the Follow A Dream/Permatex Dodge Avenger on display. Andy the Aardvark & some staff from Texas Roadhouse came out to the event to promote TXRH and to hand out appetizer coupons. Everyone really enjoyed that.
Returned to the shop, getting some organizing and maintenance done on the truck & trailer. Arthur is making good progress on the racecar body. We're waiting for the new nose to be done at Roush and then delivered to Arthur to complete the work.
Mitch Sullivan will be at the shop this weekend putting new shocks on the Freightliner and do some light work on the truck as well.
Will touch base next week. Have a wonderful weekend friend!
Jay
Sorry again, we let the blog slide! Wanted to catch you all up on the latest Follow A Dream news. We went to the Syracuse Nationals last week, although we were behind a bit due to mechanical problems with the Freightliner. Had to make a pit stop at Utica General Truck in Utica, NY where they had to replace the injectors. They were terrific-got us back on the road in record time! Had a great time thanks to John Weston & Bob O'Connor of the Right Coast Assoc. for all their hospitality. We had the Follow A Dream/Permatex Dodge Avenger on display. Andy the Aardvark & some staff from Texas Roadhouse came out to the event to promote TXRH and to hand out appetizer coupons. Everyone really enjoyed that.
Returned to the shop, getting some organizing and maintenance done on the truck & trailer. Arthur is making good progress on the racecar body. We're waiting for the new nose to be done at Roush and then delivered to Arthur to complete the work.
Mitch Sullivan will be at the shop this weekend putting new shocks on the Freightliner and do some light work on the truck as well.
Will touch base next week. Have a wonderful weekend friend!
Jay
July 9, 2009
WE'RE STILL HERE!
Hello Fans,
Sorry about the lapse in communication it has been a busy couple of weeks all around. We're still working on getting the racecar back in shape for Maple Grove in August. The chassis is all set and the brakes are back from Strange (manufacturer)and all checked out. Eddie & I are going to go down to NJ to pick up the chassis early next week and drop off the body at Arthur Gallants to get that repair done. Tom Howell is going to be helping with that as well. I've pulled the old racecar out of the trailer and have been cleaning up the chassis & body to be used for the Syracuse Nationals Car Show @ the NY State Fairgrounds next weekend, July 17-19. Getting both cars ready has kept us very busy.
Took it easy over the holiday, spent time with the family & enjoying the pool. My daughter Marybeth's puppy Camo had an accident last week, got kicked in the head by a horse and has been very sick. Doctor says she'll be fine in time, which is great news for all involved. Poor MB-she's had a week!
Jared from Red's Reconditioning has been helping too, putting a good shine on all of the equipment for our upcoming trips. Red does fabulous work, there's nobody like him. He really is the best-give him a call if you're local to the Cape and need your vehicle detailed. 508-815-7305.
Will give you all a shout when Ed & I get back from NJ and before we take off for Syracuse. Have a great day!
Jay
Sorry about the lapse in communication it has been a busy couple of weeks all around. We're still working on getting the racecar back in shape for Maple Grove in August. The chassis is all set and the brakes are back from Strange (manufacturer)and all checked out. Eddie & I are going to go down to NJ to pick up the chassis early next week and drop off the body at Arthur Gallants to get that repair done. Tom Howell is going to be helping with that as well. I've pulled the old racecar out of the trailer and have been cleaning up the chassis & body to be used for the Syracuse Nationals Car Show @ the NY State Fairgrounds next weekend, July 17-19. Getting both cars ready has kept us very busy.
Took it easy over the holiday, spent time with the family & enjoying the pool. My daughter Marybeth's puppy Camo had an accident last week, got kicked in the head by a horse and has been very sick. Doctor says she'll be fine in time, which is great news for all involved. Poor MB-she's had a week!
Jared from Red's Reconditioning has been helping too, putting a good shine on all of the equipment for our upcoming trips. Red does fabulous work, there's nobody like him. He really is the best-give him a call if you're local to the Cape and need your vehicle detailed. 508-815-7305.
Will give you all a shout when Ed & I get back from NJ and before we take off for Syracuse. Have a great day!
Jay
June 22, 2009
June 22 - Back at Home and Back at Work
Hey Everybody;
I hope all of you fathers out there had an awesome Father's Day. I spent the weekend taking it easy and trying to fight off a cold and I guess misery loves company because Ann was doing the same...fighting off a cold!
Back in the office today, doing some office work and then into the shop where we began cleaning dirt off of engine parts, car parts and the like. The good news from Pro Start Racing is that the chassis is in good shape! We'll begin working on the body and before too long hope to be back at the track.
Marty is doing well and is ready to get back to racing...as are we all.
I think it's important to remind us all, that although sometimes things don't always work out the way we'd like, it's the power of keeping a positive attitude that keeps us on the path to where we need to be.
We love to see your comments and questions on the blog!! Please always feel free to ask us, let us know how you feel or just give a shout out. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
I hope all of you fathers out there had an awesome Father's Day. I spent the weekend taking it easy and trying to fight off a cold and I guess misery loves company because Ann was doing the same...fighting off a cold!
Back in the office today, doing some office work and then into the shop where we began cleaning dirt off of engine parts, car parts and the like. The good news from Pro Start Racing is that the chassis is in good shape! We'll begin working on the body and before too long hope to be back at the track.
Marty is doing well and is ready to get back to racing...as are we all.
I think it's important to remind us all, that although sometimes things don't always work out the way we'd like, it's the power of keeping a positive attitude that keeps us on the path to where we need to be.
We love to see your comments and questions on the blog!! Please always feel free to ask us, let us know how you feel or just give a shout out. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
June 17, 2009
WEEKEND RECAP
Hey Everybody,
Sorry to disappear on you but things got crazier than I ever would have thought or for that matter, would have liked. We ended up qualifying 6th in a field of 19 cars and felt confident going into round 1 of eliminations. Round 1 of eliminations were rained out on Saturday so eliminations began on Sunday. We ran a 5.59 in round 1 to take the win, and we were all very excited as we prepared for round 2. We set the car up for round 2, where Marty left the line first. The car slowed to a 5.62, with Tony Bartone's car getting the win with a 5.54 @ 259mph. At that point, everything changed. The parachutes failed to blossom, so the car was not stopping. Marty was pulling on the brake, the car started bouncing, the end of the track was getting closer, the end of the track came, and the car went into the gravel pit and then into the catch net. Thankfully, Marty was okay. I spoke with him today, and he's gone for a run and not hurt at all. That's whats most important. The body of the racecar is badly damaged and we are going to bring the chassis down to Kurt at Pro Start Racecars in New Jersey to have it checked out. Hopefully, we'll know that the chassis is a-okay by the middle of next week. We are still working diligently to figure out our options with the body, so we can get back on the track as soon as possible. I believe we will miss the next two races on our schedule but hope to be back for the National event at Maple Grove later in the summer. From what I'm told, there is TV footage of this mishap that will air on ESPN, Sunday, June 21 @ 11am.
The most important thing about all this is that everyone is okay. This is just an unfortunate part of the sport. Don't you worry for a second, we'll be back and stronger than ever.
Will touch base again soon.
Jay
Sorry to disappear on you but things got crazier than I ever would have thought or for that matter, would have liked. We ended up qualifying 6th in a field of 19 cars and felt confident going into round 1 of eliminations. Round 1 of eliminations were rained out on Saturday so eliminations began on Sunday. We ran a 5.59 in round 1 to take the win, and we were all very excited as we prepared for round 2. We set the car up for round 2, where Marty left the line first. The car slowed to a 5.62, with Tony Bartone's car getting the win with a 5.54 @ 259mph. At that point, everything changed. The parachutes failed to blossom, so the car was not stopping. Marty was pulling on the brake, the car started bouncing, the end of the track was getting closer, the end of the track came, and the car went into the gravel pit and then into the catch net. Thankfully, Marty was okay. I spoke with him today, and he's gone for a run and not hurt at all. That's whats most important. The body of the racecar is badly damaged and we are going to bring the chassis down to Kurt at Pro Start Racecars in New Jersey to have it checked out. Hopefully, we'll know that the chassis is a-okay by the middle of next week. We are still working diligently to figure out our options with the body, so we can get back on the track as soon as possible. I believe we will miss the next two races on our schedule but hope to be back for the National event at Maple Grove later in the summer. From what I'm told, there is TV footage of this mishap that will air on ESPN, Sunday, June 21 @ 11am.
The most important thing about all this is that everyone is okay. This is just an unfortunate part of the sport. Don't you worry for a second, we'll be back and stronger than ever.
Will touch base again soon.
Jay
June 12, 2009
June 12 - Guess Where?
Hey Everybody;
Well it's Friday evening and you'll never guess where I am. Last night I was on I-91 Northbound, heading through Connecticut to Lynn, MA. I am now back on I-95 Southbound back to New Jersey after the graduation ceremony at Lynn English High School this morning. My address to the graduates went very well and I received terrific feedback. However, the highlight for me was that Charlie was able to sit up on the stage with me and when it came time for his son Andrew to receive his diploma, they asked if he'd like to present it to his son. In short, it was just AWESOME!
We're now traveling to NJ caravan style with Charlie, his older son Joe and Andrew, my daughter Mary Beth and her friend Judy all heading for Englishtown.
Tommy tuned the car for our first qualifying run this morning. The Follow A Dream/ Permatex/Wynn's/Roadhouse Impala ran a 5.68 @ 254 mph. That was good enough for the #5 qualifying spot. Unfortunately rain kept us from 2nd round qualifying today. Second round qualifying will take place tomorrow morning, and eliminations will begin in the afternoon.
I'll keep you posted as the action heats up.
Well it's Friday evening and you'll never guess where I am. Last night I was on I-91 Northbound, heading through Connecticut to Lynn, MA. I am now back on I-95 Southbound back to New Jersey after the graduation ceremony at Lynn English High School this morning. My address to the graduates went very well and I received terrific feedback. However, the highlight for me was that Charlie was able to sit up on the stage with me and when it came time for his son Andrew to receive his diploma, they asked if he'd like to present it to his son. In short, it was just AWESOME!
We're now traveling to NJ caravan style with Charlie, his older son Joe and Andrew, my daughter Mary Beth and her friend Judy all heading for Englishtown.
Tommy tuned the car for our first qualifying run this morning. The Follow A Dream/ Permatex/Wynn's/Roadhouse Impala ran a 5.68 @ 254 mph. That was good enough for the #5 qualifying spot. Unfortunately rain kept us from 2nd round qualifying today. Second round qualifying will take place tomorrow morning, and eliminations will begin in the afternoon.
I'll keep you posted as the action heats up.
June 11, 2009
June 11 - Englishtown Bound
Hey Everyone;
My daughter Mary Beth graduated from Barnstable High School on Saturday and it was just Great! The rain managed to stay away and during the ceremony the sun came out and made our day even better.
Charlie and Mark worked late into Saturday night on the clutch. The team took Sunday off and we loaded up on Monday. Tuesday was spent dealing with some last minute minor details, and we headed out Tuesday night. We drove to Bordentown, NJ, and stopped at the Petro to have the truck serviced. I have to tell you that they took great care of us and a big shout out to the folks at Petro for their excellent service.
We proceeded and got to the race track. As we sat outside the truck unwinding, Eddie noticed the sunrise and we all decided that it was time for a nap.
We got up Wednesday and Eddie, Paul and I set up the awning and the pit area. We're now all set up in Englishtown and ready for the racing to begin.
Right now, I'm on my way back to Massachusetts for my commencement address at Lynn English High School, tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. Right after that, we'll be turning around and heading right back to Englishtown for the next week or so. We're hoping that the rain stays away and that the weekend is beautiful.
I'll be keeping you all updated throughout the weekend.
My daughter Mary Beth graduated from Barnstable High School on Saturday and it was just Great! The rain managed to stay away and during the ceremony the sun came out and made our day even better.
Charlie and Mark worked late into Saturday night on the clutch. The team took Sunday off and we loaded up on Monday. Tuesday was spent dealing with some last minute minor details, and we headed out Tuesday night. We drove to Bordentown, NJ, and stopped at the Petro to have the truck serviced. I have to tell you that they took great care of us and a big shout out to the folks at Petro for their excellent service.
We proceeded and got to the race track. As we sat outside the truck unwinding, Eddie noticed the sunrise and we all decided that it was time for a nap.
We got up Wednesday and Eddie, Paul and I set up the awning and the pit area. We're now all set up in Englishtown and ready for the racing to begin.
Right now, I'm on my way back to Massachusetts for my commencement address at Lynn English High School, tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. Right after that, we'll be turning around and heading right back to Englishtown for the next week or so. We're hoping that the rain stays away and that the weekend is beautiful.
I'll be keeping you all updated throughout the weekend.
June 5, 2009
June 5 - Preparing for Englishtown
Hi Everyone;
The team and I are working hard preparing for the National Event in Englishtown, NJ next weekend. Charlie is working on the clutch this weekend and Scott DeWitt and Scott Osborn will be back working with us for the Englishtown meet. We are REALLY excited to have them back with the team.
We're also putting gift bags together to hand out at Pennco Tech in NJ and PA. We're looking forward to welcoming all of the Permatex guests that will be visiting with us at Englishtown.
I continue to prepare my speech for the graduation ceremonies at Lynn English High School, and also am extremely excited that my daughter, Mary Beth, is graduating from Barnstable High School this coming Saturday. It makes a father proud.
Stay tuned for another update on Sunday and thanks for continuing to check the Blog.
The team and I are working hard preparing for the National Event in Englishtown, NJ next weekend. Charlie is working on the clutch this weekend and Scott DeWitt and Scott Osborn will be back working with us for the Englishtown meet. We are REALLY excited to have them back with the team.
We're also putting gift bags together to hand out at Pennco Tech in NJ and PA. We're looking forward to welcoming all of the Permatex guests that will be visiting with us at Englishtown.
I continue to prepare my speech for the graduation ceremonies at Lynn English High School, and also am extremely excited that my daughter, Mary Beth, is graduating from Barnstable High School this coming Saturday. It makes a father proud.
Stay tuned for another update on Sunday and thanks for continuing to check the Blog.
May 31, 2009
A Beautiful Sunday, May 31
Hey Everyone;
The team and I are taking the day off and enjoying an absolutely gorgeous day here on Cape Cod.
Yesterday, we had an open house at Anderson Hardware in Centerville, MA, displayed the car, met lots of great folks, handed out Fast Orange and Ultra Cherry samples from Permatex and took in WAY too much sun! It was really a great day.
Friday we were supposed to show the car at an event supporting the Special Olympics, but bad weather put a "damper" on our plans and we weren't able to attend. We'll have to wait for our next opportunity.
Tomorrow I'm going to be pulling the motor and putting in some new connecting rods getting ready for a big weekend in Englishtown, NJ, June 12-14. The whole team is really excited about our chances in Englishtown, and I'm really getting confident about our chances for the rest of the season; you could say I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I'm also beginning preparations for the Lynn English High School commencement address that I'll be delivering in Lynn, MA.
Tommy is in Australia tuning an alcohol dragster, but he'll be back in time to work with us for Englishtown.
More news for you some time mid week. See you then.
The team and I are taking the day off and enjoying an absolutely gorgeous day here on Cape Cod.
Yesterday, we had an open house at Anderson Hardware in Centerville, MA, displayed the car, met lots of great folks, handed out Fast Orange and Ultra Cherry samples from Permatex and took in WAY too much sun! It was really a great day.
Friday we were supposed to show the car at an event supporting the Special Olympics, but bad weather put a "damper" on our plans and we weren't able to attend. We'll have to wait for our next opportunity.
Tomorrow I'm going to be pulling the motor and putting in some new connecting rods getting ready for a big weekend in Englishtown, NJ, June 12-14. The whole team is really excited about our chances in Englishtown, and I'm really getting confident about our chances for the rest of the season; you could say I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I'm also beginning preparations for the Lynn English High School commencement address that I'll be delivering in Lynn, MA.
Tommy is in Australia tuning an alcohol dragster, but he'll be back in time to work with us for Englishtown.
More news for you some time mid week. See you then.
May 25, 2009
May 25 - Memorial Day and Home from PA
Hey Everybody;
On Saturday evening the Follow A Dream team was ready to resume our quest for another victory. The team had worked hard to tweak the car for the following rounds. Some engine mods resulted in a few more horses and some added clutch work gave us a bit more bite. When we got to the line, Marty hit the pre-stage light and then began to roll into stage, but ended up deep staging. As a result, when the lights came down, the new combination resulted in a red light, and our stay in Maple Grove, although initially encouraging, was over for this time around. So, we packed up the truck, drove through the night and ended up back home on the Cape in the early morning hours.
The team will be taking Sunday and Monday off to celebrate Memorial Day weekend with family and friends.
We hope you will remember, as you do the same, that about 233 years ago some of our forefathers "followed a dream" which lead to the beginning of our great country. One of the few countries in the world where each of us can be free to follow OUR dreams whatever they may be. I ask that as you enjoy whatever activities you have planned for this holiday weekend, you take pause for a moment or two to remember those who have given their all in service to you and your family, to provide the freedoms that make America great. I know the beach and the bar-b-ques and the sales at the mall are all great, but let's remember the men, women and their deeds that allow us to enjoy this weekend the way we do; that's what this holiday is all about.
On Saturday evening the Follow A Dream team was ready to resume our quest for another victory. The team had worked hard to tweak the car for the following rounds. Some engine mods resulted in a few more horses and some added clutch work gave us a bit more bite. When we got to the line, Marty hit the pre-stage light and then began to roll into stage, but ended up deep staging. As a result, when the lights came down, the new combination resulted in a red light, and our stay in Maple Grove, although initially encouraging, was over for this time around. So, we packed up the truck, drove through the night and ended up back home on the Cape in the early morning hours.
The team will be taking Sunday and Monday off to celebrate Memorial Day weekend with family and friends.
We hope you will remember, as you do the same, that about 233 years ago some of our forefathers "followed a dream" which lead to the beginning of our great country. One of the few countries in the world where each of us can be free to follow OUR dreams whatever they may be. I ask that as you enjoy whatever activities you have planned for this holiday weekend, you take pause for a moment or two to remember those who have given their all in service to you and your family, to provide the freedoms that make America great. I know the beach and the bar-b-ques and the sales at the mall are all great, but let's remember the men, women and their deeds that allow us to enjoy this weekend the way we do; that's what this holiday is all about.
May 22, 2009
May 22 - A Beautiful Day @ Maple Grove
Hey Everybody,
A couple of great days here at Maple Grove. We tested yesterday and Tommy put a fresh motor together. After a half track and then a full track pass, the car ran a .68. The car was "happy". We felt confident going into qualifying today. After the first run, we qualified in 3rd place with a 5.73. We went back to the garage area and made some minor tweaks. Later in the afternoon, our second pass moved us into second place with a 5.64.
The team did a GREAT job! The car is happy! We've got a late start tomorrow; probably around 5:00. The weather here's been excellent and in the 80's.
For May 22nd, It's a BEAUTIFUL day!
A couple of great days here at Maple Grove. We tested yesterday and Tommy put a fresh motor together. After a half track and then a full track pass, the car ran a .68. The car was "happy". We felt confident going into qualifying today. After the first run, we qualified in 3rd place with a 5.73. We went back to the garage area and made some minor tweaks. Later in the afternoon, our second pass moved us into second place with a 5.64.
The team did a GREAT job! The car is happy! We've got a late start tomorrow; probably around 5:00. The weather here's been excellent and in the 80's.
For May 22nd, It's a BEAUTIFUL day!
May 18, 2009
May 18, Off to PA
Worked in the shop today in preparation for departure tomorrow. Warmed up the car and then loaded the truck. Speaking at the Lion's Club in Acton, MA tomorrow night, then Eddy and I are off to PA for the weekend. Barry Carrus is going to be writing the Blog for me as I continue to contact him. Barry will be working on some exciting upcoming projects for us as we continue on, so you'll be seeing his name from time to time. We will, of course, keep you updated.
May 15, 2009
I'm Still Here!!
Hey everyone, thanks for continuing to check on our blog. I apologize I haven't been in touch. This week has been spend in the office, the shop, & the trailer. Alan's been cutting floaters, Tommy's been working on getting a new motor together, Charlie's been on the clutch. Lots going on. I've been bouncing around doing a variety of things. I got the motor pulled out and about ready to go back in the trailer. New motor is in the frame rails. If all goes according to planned, we'll fire it tomorrow afternoon in preparation for Maple Grove. Wednesday, Eddie & I will be on the road to Maple Grove for our next race. I'll be speaking Tuesday night for the Lions Club of Acton, MA.
I'd like to thank K&N Filters & Auto Meter for their continued support this year. Two great companies, we're honored to have on board.
Will write on Monday to let you all know how the weekend goes. Have a great one!
Jay
I'd like to thank K&N Filters & Auto Meter for their continued support this year. Two great companies, we're honored to have on board.
Will write on Monday to let you all know how the weekend goes. Have a great one!
Jay
April 25, 2009
Hey Everybody!
Had a nice day at Porter & Chester last Thursday. It was a beautiful day and my face got fried, looks like I've been on a cruise-wishful thinking!
Got back to the shop on Friday and we've been working to get ready for VA Div 1 race. Charlie, Alan, & Mark have all been working on clutch stuff in the shop. Tommy & I have been working on motor stuff, Tommy serviced the heads and put new rods in, making sure everythings happy.
Continuing to try and organize is a never ending battle at the shop but we're working on it. Terri's been hard at work in the office keeping it all going. She's convinced me (against my better judgement) that its time for FAD to go green. Going to try recycling bottles, cans, cardboard, paper, etc. We'll see-she says she'll take care of it so, we'll give it a shot!
We're going to load up and head out to VA on Tuesday. I'll talk to you all later.
Have a great weekend!
Jay
Had a nice day at Porter & Chester last Thursday. It was a beautiful day and my face got fried, looks like I've been on a cruise-wishful thinking!
Got back to the shop on Friday and we've been working to get ready for VA Div 1 race. Charlie, Alan, & Mark have all been working on clutch stuff in the shop. Tommy & I have been working on motor stuff, Tommy serviced the heads and put new rods in, making sure everythings happy.
Continuing to try and organize is a never ending battle at the shop but we're working on it. Terri's been hard at work in the office keeping it all going. She's convinced me (against my better judgement) that its time for FAD to go green. Going to try recycling bottles, cans, cardboard, paper, etc. We'll see-she says she'll take care of it so, we'll give it a shot!
We're going to load up and head out to VA on Tuesday. I'll talk to you all later.
Have a great weekend!
Jay
April 15, 2009
National Automotive Technology Competition
Hey Everybody,
Sorry for the delay in getting a blog up, been really busy.
It's Wednesday afternoon and Eddie and I are leaving the Javitz Center in New York City where we've been at the National Automotive Technology Competition for the last couple of days. Our third year in a row! We moved into the show on Monday and I spoke at the kick off breakfast on Tuesday morning. We had the Permatex/Wynn's/Texas Roadhouse funny car on display, where Tom, Chris, Andy, & Mark from Permatex were all there to demonstrate Permatex's dedication to training and educating the technicians of tomorrow. This morning, former Nascar driver Ricky Craven and I kicked off the start of todays competition.
Had the opportunity to see some of the folks that we haven't seen since last years competition and that was great.
Heading to Stratford, CT tonight where we'll display the racecar tomorrow for Porter & Chester Institute from noon to 6pm.
Returning to the shop on Friday and will blog again soon. Have a great day!
Jay
Sorry for the delay in getting a blog up, been really busy.
It's Wednesday afternoon and Eddie and I are leaving the Javitz Center in New York City where we've been at the National Automotive Technology Competition for the last couple of days. Our third year in a row! We moved into the show on Monday and I spoke at the kick off breakfast on Tuesday morning. We had the Permatex/Wynn's/Texas Roadhouse funny car on display, where Tom, Chris, Andy, & Mark from Permatex were all there to demonstrate Permatex's dedication to training and educating the technicians of tomorrow. This morning, former Nascar driver Ricky Craven and I kicked off the start of todays competition.
Had the opportunity to see some of the folks that we haven't seen since last years competition and that was great.
Heading to Stratford, CT tonight where we'll display the racecar tomorrow for Porter & Chester Institute from noon to 6pm.
Returning to the shop on Friday and will blog again soon. Have a great day!
Jay
April 1, 2009
I'M HOME
Hey Everybody,
Ed & I arrived back at the Cape at about 10am this morning. Eddie drove his butt off, 8-10 hours a day since we left Houston.
It's great to be home and now the daunting task of cleaning the truck/trailer from the trip. Terri's done a great job starting to get things cleaned up from the disaster we brought home-all the mud in Texas and just the usual road debris.
I'll unload the car tomorrow. I took off from the office early this afternoon and am home doing laundry. Looking forward to a long hot shower.
My mom came by the shop today to say hello and it will be great to see my wife Ann and all the kids this evening.
Will touch base again soon. Have a great day!
Jay
Ed & I arrived back at the Cape at about 10am this morning. Eddie drove his butt off, 8-10 hours a day since we left Houston.
It's great to be home and now the daunting task of cleaning the truck/trailer from the trip. Terri's done a great job starting to get things cleaned up from the disaster we brought home-all the mud in Texas and just the usual road debris.
I'll unload the car tomorrow. I took off from the office early this afternoon and am home doing laundry. Looking forward to a long hot shower.
My mom came by the shop today to say hello and it will be great to see my wife Ann and all the kids this evening.
Will touch base again soon. Have a great day!
Jay
March 30, 2009
GREAT WEEKEND IN HOUSTON
Hey Everyone,
It's Monday morning and Ed Parker & I are driving home from Houston. In Louisiana right now and heading East. It's been a great trip but we're excited to get home and spend some time with our families.
Had a great weekend in Houston. We had our last qualifying pass on Saturday morning and ended up 3rd qualifier going into first round of eliminations later in the day.
Arnold Gacita & Edward Ibarra from Wynn's came to the races on Saturday. Arnold brought his son Andrew with him and it was great to have them there to experience the racing. They really enjoyed themselves and we were glad they could join us.
The whole team worked hard to ready the racecar for the first round of eliminations, where we won the round. We gave the car a service after the run to prepare for second round on Sunday morning. Woke up to sunny skies and much less wind on Sunday-just a beautiful day for racing. Rich made us all a great breakfast and we got ready to go racing. Ran a 5.71 @ 255mph in the second round of eliminations that got us through the round and into the semifinals. Everybody was extremely pumped up and ready to work quickly to get the car ready for the next round. Short turn around between rounds and before we knew it, it was time to stage again. Won the semifinal round as well and everybody continued to be excited and very satisfied that all the hard work throughout the weekend was paying off. Going to the finals with the Permatex/Wynn’s/Texas Roadhouse Chevrolet Impala SS Top Alcohol Funny Car!
Our opponent in the finals was Steve Harker, who had the racecar to beat all weekend. Unfortunately, we came up on the losing end with a 5.61 to Harkers 5.63 due to a red light. It was disheartening to lose but we were greatful to be there.
The team worked really hard all weekend to get us to our first final of the year. Not our last though, as we're getting closer all the time. Tommy's getting more comfortable and we seem to be getting a better handle on the car with every run.
I can't thank our sponsors enough for giving us this opportunity. Again, it was great to have some folks from Wynn's join us. We also had visitors from San Jacinto College, where we spoke last week before getting to the track. Also saw some folks from Texas Roadhouse at the track. It was great to have friends and fans with us.
Will get home later this week and begin to ready the car for Div 1 race in Petersburg, VA at the beginning of May. In the meantime, we'll be making some appearances in the month of April. Keep checking the site for updated schedule of events and we'll keep you updated on the blog as well.
Have a great day!
Jay
It's Monday morning and Ed Parker & I are driving home from Houston. In Louisiana right now and heading East. It's been a great trip but we're excited to get home and spend some time with our families.
Had a great weekend in Houston. We had our last qualifying pass on Saturday morning and ended up 3rd qualifier going into first round of eliminations later in the day.
Arnold Gacita & Edward Ibarra from Wynn's came to the races on Saturday. Arnold brought his son Andrew with him and it was great to have them there to experience the racing. They really enjoyed themselves and we were glad they could join us.
The whole team worked hard to ready the racecar for the first round of eliminations, where we won the round. We gave the car a service after the run to prepare for second round on Sunday morning. Woke up to sunny skies and much less wind on Sunday-just a beautiful day for racing. Rich made us all a great breakfast and we got ready to go racing. Ran a 5.71 @ 255mph in the second round of eliminations that got us through the round and into the semifinals. Everybody was extremely pumped up and ready to work quickly to get the car ready for the next round. Short turn around between rounds and before we knew it, it was time to stage again. Won the semifinal round as well and everybody continued to be excited and very satisfied that all the hard work throughout the weekend was paying off. Going to the finals with the Permatex/Wynn’s/Texas Roadhouse Chevrolet Impala SS Top Alcohol Funny Car!
Our opponent in the finals was Steve Harker, who had the racecar to beat all weekend. Unfortunately, we came up on the losing end with a 5.61 to Harkers 5.63 due to a red light. It was disheartening to lose but we were greatful to be there.
The team worked really hard all weekend to get us to our first final of the year. Not our last though, as we're getting closer all the time. Tommy's getting more comfortable and we seem to be getting a better handle on the car with every run.
I can't thank our sponsors enough for giving us this opportunity. Again, it was great to have some folks from Wynn's join us. We also had visitors from San Jacinto College, where we spoke last week before getting to the track. Also saw some folks from Texas Roadhouse at the track. It was great to have friends and fans with us.
Will get home later this week and begin to ready the car for Div 1 race in Petersburg, VA at the beginning of May. In the meantime, we'll be making some appearances in the month of April. Keep checking the site for updated schedule of events and we'll keep you updated on the blog as well.
Have a great day!
Jay
March 27, 2009
FIRST QUALIFYING PASS
Hey Race Fans!
We're in the process of servicing the car for our second qualifying pass later today. The rain has held off and we got our firt quailifying pass in after a bit of a thrash to be ready to run. After 18 cars made an attempt at qualifying, we're currently #1 qualifier. Tommy made a great tuning call this morning.
All is going well and we're excited about the rest of the weekend. We're missing crew member Joe Mitchell who's home in MA working.
The weather report for Saturday & Sunday is still great so we should get all the racing in.
That's it from the track for now. Will try and keep you updated as the weekend progresses.
Jay
We're in the process of servicing the car for our second qualifying pass later today. The rain has held off and we got our firt quailifying pass in after a bit of a thrash to be ready to run. After 18 cars made an attempt at qualifying, we're currently #1 qualifier. Tommy made a great tuning call this morning.
All is going well and we're excited about the rest of the weekend. We're missing crew member Joe Mitchell who's home in MA working.
The weather report for Saturday & Sunday is still great so we should get all the racing in.
That's it from the track for now. Will try and keep you updated as the weekend progresses.
Jay
March 26, 2009
RAINING IN HOUSTON
Hey Everybody,
I'm out buying plywood to give us a solid surface for the pit area. Raining today and predicted for tomorrow and Houston can get muddy. Eddie and I stayed up late last night taking the car apart for between race maintenance. Ed put rods in this morning and Tommy's working on heads. Charlie's doing his thing with the clutch. Awning is up and Rich is getting the kitchen set up. We're looking forward to Arnold Gacita with Wynn's coming to the race with some guests.
Hope its not a rain out tomorrow. Will be in touch to fill you all in.
Have a great day!
Jay
I'm out buying plywood to give us a solid surface for the pit area. Raining today and predicted for tomorrow and Houston can get muddy. Eddie and I stayed up late last night taking the car apart for between race maintenance. Ed put rods in this morning and Tommy's working on heads. Charlie's doing his thing with the clutch. Awning is up and Rich is getting the kitchen set up. We're looking forward to Arnold Gacita with Wynn's coming to the race with some guests.
Hope its not a rain out tomorrow. Will be in touch to fill you all in.
Have a great day!
Jay
March 25, 2009
WE'RE AT THE TRACK!
Hello Again,
We've found our home at Houston Raceway Park. Eddie and I have been setting up the pit area all afternoon & we're about to set up the awning. Should be fun, boy is it windy! Looking forward to the rest of the teams arrival and for the racing to get underway. Rain is predicted sometime between now and Friday, I wish it would hurry up and get here and then go away. Really, I hope it misses up completely.
That's all for tonight, will touch base again tomorrow.
Have a great night!
Jay
We've found our home at Houston Raceway Park. Eddie and I have been setting up the pit area all afternoon & we're about to set up the awning. Should be fun, boy is it windy! Looking forward to the rest of the teams arrival and for the racing to get underway. Rain is predicted sometime between now and Friday, I wish it would hurry up and get here and then go away. Really, I hope it misses up completely.
That's all for tonight, will touch base again tomorrow.
Have a great night!
Jay
March 24, 2009
ANOTHER DAY AT SAN JACINTO
Good Day Friends!
Spoke at the San Jacinto College North campus today, we had a great day! They had a high school group in to hear me speak this afternoon as well. Then Glen, the body shop instructor drove us over to the racetrack so we could continue to chase the elusive UPS package we've been pursuing since Florida. Upon arriving at the track we found that UPS had locked up our package and gone home for the day at around 2:30. Fortunately, we were able to talk with someone on the phone and get them to come back to release the package so that we could take delivery. We went back to San Jacinto, got into the truck and now we're on our way to Texas Roadhouse in Pasadena, TX where we're displaying the racecar this evening.
Tomorrow we'll head to the track where we'll start to set up for the O'Reilly Spring Nationals, beginning Friday.
Thanks for reading our blog, will be in touch again tomorrow.
Have a great day!
Jay
Spoke at the San Jacinto College North campus today, we had a great day! They had a high school group in to hear me speak this afternoon as well. Then Glen, the body shop instructor drove us over to the racetrack so we could continue to chase the elusive UPS package we've been pursuing since Florida. Upon arriving at the track we found that UPS had locked up our package and gone home for the day at around 2:30. Fortunately, we were able to talk with someone on the phone and get them to come back to release the package so that we could take delivery. We went back to San Jacinto, got into the truck and now we're on our way to Texas Roadhouse in Pasadena, TX where we're displaying the racecar this evening.
Tomorrow we'll head to the track where we'll start to set up for the O'Reilly Spring Nationals, beginning Friday.
Thanks for reading our blog, will be in touch again tomorrow.
Have a great day!
Jay
March 23, 2009
IT'S MONDAY & WE'RE IN TEXAS
Hey everybody,
Had a great meal at Steve Baker's Friday evening. Thanks to Steve's wife Karen and daughter Missy. It was great to meet Missy's new husband Gary and their kids Blake & Delany.
UPS completely screwed up and the package we were waiting for wasn't getting delivered Saturday as expected. So we were off to Texas.
We landed in Texas late Saturday night, slept in on Sunday. Ed & I did laundry, had breakfast, washed the truck, & fueled up. Sunday evening we headed out to San Jacinto College Central in Pasadena, TX. I spoke at 10am today to an automotive group. Spoke again at noon time in their community center. Going to speak to another auto group this evening at 6pm. The local MATCO Tools rep Joe Andrews met us for our morning presentation. It was great to meet him. Thanks for coming out Joe.
David Norman runs an amazing program here. They're getting ready to break group on a huge new facility. We look forward to coming back again.
After tonights presentation, we'll load up the racecar and move over to the San Jacinto College North campus, where I'll speak tomorrow morning. Have a display at the Pasadena, TX Texas Roadhouse scheduled for tomorrow evening from 6-8pm.
Will arrive at the track on Wednesday and start to get ready to go racing again. Team arrives on Thursday.
Will touch base tomorrow. Thanks for checking in.
Jay
Had a great meal at Steve Baker's Friday evening. Thanks to Steve's wife Karen and daughter Missy. It was great to meet Missy's new husband Gary and their kids Blake & Delany.
UPS completely screwed up and the package we were waiting for wasn't getting delivered Saturday as expected. So we were off to Texas.
We landed in Texas late Saturday night, slept in on Sunday. Ed & I did laundry, had breakfast, washed the truck, & fueled up. Sunday evening we headed out to San Jacinto College Central in Pasadena, TX. I spoke at 10am today to an automotive group. Spoke again at noon time in their community center. Going to speak to another auto group this evening at 6pm. The local MATCO Tools rep Joe Andrews met us for our morning presentation. It was great to meet him. Thanks for coming out Joe.
David Norman runs an amazing program here. They're getting ready to break group on a huge new facility. We look forward to coming back again.
After tonights presentation, we'll load up the racecar and move over to the San Jacinto College North campus, where I'll speak tomorrow morning. Have a display at the Pasadena, TX Texas Roadhouse scheduled for tomorrow evening from 6-8pm.
Will arrive at the track on Wednesday and start to get ready to go racing again. Team arrives on Thursday.
Will touch base tomorrow. Thanks for checking in.
Jay
March 20, 2009
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT TODAY
Hey Friends,
Eddie and I displayed the racecar at the Lake City, FL Texas Roadhouse restaurant on Wednesday evening. As always, great food & hospitality.
Today we spent the day at Walton Career Development Center in DeFuniak Springs, FL where our good friend and official Follow A Dream videographer Steve Baker of SB Video Productions got us hooked up to speak to about 400 students & staff members. Thanks Gary & Chopper for your amazing southern hospitality-we had a great time!
On our way to Steve Baker's for a home cooked meal tonight. Steve's wife Karen and daughter Missy have been cooking all day-can't wait. YUM!
Will hang at Steve's tomorrow morning waiting for a UPS package being delivered-valve keepers, and then we head West to Texas in preparation for next weekends O'Reilly Spring Nats.
Will touch base over the weekend as time permits.
Have a great weekend!
Jay
Eddie and I displayed the racecar at the Lake City, FL Texas Roadhouse restaurant on Wednesday evening. As always, great food & hospitality.
Today we spent the day at Walton Career Development Center in DeFuniak Springs, FL where our good friend and official Follow A Dream videographer Steve Baker of SB Video Productions got us hooked up to speak to about 400 students & staff members. Thanks Gary & Chopper for your amazing southern hospitality-we had a great time!
On our way to Steve Baker's for a home cooked meal tonight. Steve's wife Karen and daughter Missy have been cooking all day-can't wait. YUM!
Will hang at Steve's tomorrow morning waiting for a UPS package being delivered-valve keepers, and then we head West to Texas in preparation for next weekends O'Reilly Spring Nats.
Will touch base over the weekend as time permits.
Have a great weekend!
Jay
March 18, 2009
Sorry I Disappeared!!
Hi Everybody!
Sorry I've been out of touch but haven't had access to a computer, so I'll recap since our blog last Friday.
Saturday we had our 3rd qualifier & first round of eliminations. We ended up qualifing 8th and we prepared for first round of eliminiations. Marty did a great job getting a hole shot on Frank Schuster, and we won with a 5.72 over Frank's 5.71. We serviced the car saturday night and made some changes to prepare for our second round on Sunday morning. Woke up to a beautiful day and we were ready to go racing! After the warm up we realized we had broken two intake springs and in order to make the run we had to change all eight. Nick & Tommy went to work but, unfortunately we had run out of time to get them all replaced. This is the first time we had been plagued with breaking intake springs all weekend. We are making changes to run a different spring in Houston to rectify this problem.
We tested on Monday and found the changes Tommy had made for Sunday were definately going in the right direction. Our first pass was a 330 ft. shut off pass and we were very happy with the time slip. We went back and tried to hop the motor and clutch way up to see if the track could handle a very aggressive change. The track had heated up and we were too aggresive and shook the tires. The third pass, we backed it down a little bit and the track had gotten even hotter and we were still too aggressive-the car shook the tires again. Although this may not sound great, Tommy was very happy with what we learned.
It was great to be back in Gainesville, we had a bunch of visitors in the pits and it was good to see old and new friends.
Eddie and I loaded up the car and the pit area on Tuesday and headed to Lake City, Fl where we will display the car at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant there this evening from 5-7pm.
Right now its about 1pm and we're hanging out at a truck stop waiting for later this afternoon to roll around so that we can pull into the Texas Roadhouse.
Am planning a speaking event up near the Florida panhandle for Friday on our way out of the state-will fill you in tomorrow on the details.
Have a wonderful day!
Jay
Sorry I've been out of touch but haven't had access to a computer, so I'll recap since our blog last Friday.
Saturday we had our 3rd qualifier & first round of eliminations. We ended up qualifing 8th and we prepared for first round of eliminiations. Marty did a great job getting a hole shot on Frank Schuster, and we won with a 5.72 over Frank's 5.71. We serviced the car saturday night and made some changes to prepare for our second round on Sunday morning. Woke up to a beautiful day and we were ready to go racing! After the warm up we realized we had broken two intake springs and in order to make the run we had to change all eight. Nick & Tommy went to work but, unfortunately we had run out of time to get them all replaced. This is the first time we had been plagued with breaking intake springs all weekend. We are making changes to run a different spring in Houston to rectify this problem.
We tested on Monday and found the changes Tommy had made for Sunday were definately going in the right direction. Our first pass was a 330 ft. shut off pass and we were very happy with the time slip. We went back and tried to hop the motor and clutch way up to see if the track could handle a very aggressive change. The track had heated up and we were too aggresive and shook the tires. The third pass, we backed it down a little bit and the track had gotten even hotter and we were still too aggressive-the car shook the tires again. Although this may not sound great, Tommy was very happy with what we learned.
It was great to be back in Gainesville, we had a bunch of visitors in the pits and it was good to see old and new friends.
Eddie and I loaded up the car and the pit area on Tuesday and headed to Lake City, Fl where we will display the car at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant there this evening from 5-7pm.
Right now its about 1pm and we're hanging out at a truck stop waiting for later this afternoon to roll around so that we can pull into the Texas Roadhouse.
Am planning a speaking event up near the Florida panhandle for Friday on our way out of the state-will fill you in tomorrow on the details.
Have a wonderful day!
Jay
March 13, 2009
Hey Everybody-
Sitting in the back of the tow vehicle on our way to the staging lanes, getting ready to make second pass of the day. Currently sitting in 6th after one round of qualifying earlier this morning. Had some problems with the computer during first run but got that straight with the help of Les Deavenport-Thanks Les! Car looked great after the first pass and the crew is doing a terrifc job, as always. Everybody is loving this warm weather.
Have seen alot of friends from the New England today. Had a visit from Barry Carrus and his group of students from the Dunnellon High School in Dunnellon, FL this afternoon. Had some time to introduce the kids to the crew and show them the funny car. They suprised us all with Dunnellon High School T-shirts...WOW...we had fun!
Getting some great feedback from folks at the track who've checked out the blog-thanks for the input guys!
Will try and fill you all in later on results of our second pass. Have a great evening!
Jay
Sitting in the back of the tow vehicle on our way to the staging lanes, getting ready to make second pass of the day. Currently sitting in 6th after one round of qualifying earlier this morning. Had some problems with the computer during first run but got that straight with the help of Les Deavenport-Thanks Les! Car looked great after the first pass and the crew is doing a terrifc job, as always. Everybody is loving this warm weather.
Have seen alot of friends from the New England today. Had a visit from Barry Carrus and his group of students from the Dunnellon High School in Dunnellon, FL this afternoon. Had some time to introduce the kids to the crew and show them the funny car. They suprised us all with Dunnellon High School T-shirts...WOW...we had fun!
Getting some great feedback from folks at the track who've checked out the blog-thanks for the input guys!
Will try and fill you all in later on results of our second pass. Have a great evening!
Jay
March 12, 2009
READY TO GO RACING!
Hey Everybody,
We're in Gainesville, got the car out of the trailer, getting a new pair of Hoosiers on the car, putting some new intake rocker arms on the car, filling it up with fresh Valvoline and a new FRAM filter so we'll be ready for our first qualifying pass at 10:30 tomorrow morning. Most of the crew arrived this afternoon, Marty & Nick fly in later this evening.
Another beautiful sunny day- unfortunately, Terri's been hard at work on cold Cape Cod! I do really appreciate all that Terri does, we wouldn't be here without her.
We'll touch base again tomorrow and let you know how our runs went. Please forward feedback on the blog, anything we're missing, not telling you that you'd like to know-let us know and we'll try and get it out there for all you readers. We appreciate you stopping by and checking the blog.
Jay's positive thought for the day: It's great to be in America!
Post again tomorrow,
Jay
We're in Gainesville, got the car out of the trailer, getting a new pair of Hoosiers on the car, putting some new intake rocker arms on the car, filling it up with fresh Valvoline and a new FRAM filter so we'll be ready for our first qualifying pass at 10:30 tomorrow morning. Most of the crew arrived this afternoon, Marty & Nick fly in later this evening.
Another beautiful sunny day- unfortunately, Terri's been hard at work on cold Cape Cod! I do really appreciate all that Terri does, we wouldn't be here without her.
We'll touch base again tomorrow and let you know how our runs went. Please forward feedback on the blog, anything we're missing, not telling you that you'd like to know-let us know and we'll try and get it out there for all you readers. We appreciate you stopping by and checking the blog.
Jay's positive thought for the day: It's great to be in America!
Post again tomorrow,
Jay
March 11, 2009
HOT, HOT, HOT IN SUNNY FLORIDA
Hello From Gainesville-
Arrived today at about 1 this afternoon. Got our pit spot, unload the racecar and took it over to body tech, all was good. Got back to the pit, set the awning up, unloaded the trailer, and getting ready to go racing on Friday. Boy, it's great to back at the track. And did I mention, HOT, HOT, HOT.....
Teams arrive tomorrow early afternoon. We'll be pretty busy once they get here. Eddie and I are visiting with some friends now having a cold one after a long trip.
Will blog again tomorrow.
Jay
Arrived today at about 1 this afternoon. Got our pit spot, unload the racecar and took it over to body tech, all was good. Got back to the pit, set the awning up, unloaded the trailer, and getting ready to go racing on Friday. Boy, it's great to back at the track. And did I mention, HOT, HOT, HOT.....
Teams arrive tomorrow early afternoon. We'll be pretty busy once they get here. Eddie and I are visiting with some friends now having a cold one after a long trip.
Will blog again tomorrow.
Jay
March 10, 2009
Hey Everybody!
It's been a busy 24 hours since leaving the shop. Early this morning, around 1am, we were driving through a dirt parking lot at a truck stop and bottomed out the trailer on the crown of a paved road going through the dirt parking lot. After messing with it for an hour, it was time to get something to eat and go to bed. We decided to revisit the problem in the morning. We got up bright & early and in about an hour had the truck and trailer freed up-everything was much easier with a clear head and some daylight. We hit the highway once again.
Our next stop was in South Carolina, where we fueled up and put water in the truck and trailer. We had not been happy with the trailer brakes since we left the shop so we took a look at them and didn't find any major issues. Added some fluid, bled the system, repacked the trailer (having unloaded a bunch of stuff to get access to the brake system), fueled up again and we're trucking South headed for the Florida/Georgia line tonight. Looking forward to a good nights sleep.
It's a beautiful sunny day, t-shirt weather! Should be at the track by early tomorrow afternoon if all goes well.
That's all from the highways and byways of America, will touch base again tomorrow.
Jay
It's been a busy 24 hours since leaving the shop. Early this morning, around 1am, we were driving through a dirt parking lot at a truck stop and bottomed out the trailer on the crown of a paved road going through the dirt parking lot. After messing with it for an hour, it was time to get something to eat and go to bed. We decided to revisit the problem in the morning. We got up bright & early and in about an hour had the truck and trailer freed up-everything was much easier with a clear head and some daylight. We hit the highway once again.
Our next stop was in South Carolina, where we fueled up and put water in the truck and trailer. We had not been happy with the trailer brakes since we left the shop so we took a look at them and didn't find any major issues. Added some fluid, bled the system, repacked the trailer (having unloaded a bunch of stuff to get access to the brake system), fueled up again and we're trucking South headed for the Florida/Georgia line tonight. Looking forward to a good nights sleep.
It's a beautiful sunny day, t-shirt weather! Should be at the track by early tomorrow afternoon if all goes well.
That's all from the highways and byways of America, will touch base again tomorrow.
Jay
March 9, 2009
ON THE ROAD AGAIN......
Hey Everybody!
We left the shop at 11am today. Driving through rain, snow, clear skies, and now overcast. Going to hook up with Marty in the next little while to load his firesuit & all his driving gear so that he doesn't have to fly with it. After that we'll keep moving south and should be outside Washington, DC before we quit for the night. All is going well.....just the way we like it. Will touch base again tomorrow.
Have a great day!
Jay
We left the shop at 11am today. Driving through rain, snow, clear skies, and now overcast. Going to hook up with Marty in the next little while to load his firesuit & all his driving gear so that he doesn't have to fly with it. After that we'll keep moving south and should be outside Washington, DC before we quit for the night. All is going well.....just the way we like it. Will touch base again tomorrow.
Have a great day!
Jay
March 8, 2009
SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!
Hey Everybody!
It's almost 48 hours before Eddie and I will jump in the rig and head to Florida, and the most amazing thing about that is the rig is loaded and ready to go! We're talking 48 hours before we're supposed to leave-not 48 minutes before, not 48 hours late, but....48 hours EARLY. It's a miracle!! Hope this is a trend of things to come. I still can't believe it myself.
The excitement of getting back to the racetrack is slowly setting in and we're all excited to get the season under way.
It's been a crazy off-season but here we go. Tommy's been going over things throughout the winter, Charlie's been spending time with the clutch (we don't always ask what he's up to with that clutch cause that could be too scary)!
The shop is organized (kinda), the trailers ready to go with lots of extra room, don't know what I've forgotten but will surely figure that out after we're on the road.
Oh my God-we're leaving tomorrow, I was thinking it was Saturday. For you faithful readers, I thank you for always visiting the blog. I will try and blog daily as we hit the road for the first big trip of the year. If you're at the races, come by the pits and say hi.
Oh ya, I got my new eyes-still can't see through them but everyone says they look great.
Always remember to keep an eye on it & have a great day!
Jay
It's almost 48 hours before Eddie and I will jump in the rig and head to Florida, and the most amazing thing about that is the rig is loaded and ready to go! We're talking 48 hours before we're supposed to leave-not 48 minutes before, not 48 hours late, but....48 hours EARLY. It's a miracle!! Hope this is a trend of things to come. I still can't believe it myself.
The excitement of getting back to the racetrack is slowly setting in and we're all excited to get the season under way.
It's been a crazy off-season but here we go. Tommy's been going over things throughout the winter, Charlie's been spending time with the clutch (we don't always ask what he's up to with that clutch cause that could be too scary)!
The shop is organized (kinda), the trailers ready to go with lots of extra room, don't know what I've forgotten but will surely figure that out after we're on the road.
Oh my God-we're leaving tomorrow, I was thinking it was Saturday. For you faithful readers, I thank you for always visiting the blog. I will try and blog daily as we hit the road for the first big trip of the year. If you're at the races, come by the pits and say hi.
Oh ya, I got my new eyes-still can't see through them but everyone says they look great.
Always remember to keep an eye on it & have a great day!
Jay
February 25, 2009
UPDATE
Hey Everybody-
I got facebook & my space up and running-kind of. Working on getting pictures up on all, including updating the website. Keep checking back.
Working on getting the operation ready to leave for the Gators & O'Reilly Spring Nats, will depart from MA on March 9. Tommy Howell's been down working on the racecar and Charlie Mitchell's been down working on clutch stuff.
I'm going to try and get in the habit of blogging at least once a week-on Mondays. Tomorrow I'll be speaking for the Lions Club International at an event in Woburn, MA.
Getting a new set of eyes tomorrow, wonder if I'll be able to see through them! Not really, just new prosthetics that I'm supposed to have replaced every couple of years. After 11 years I figure it's time for a new model.
You don't have to look far to hear the negative, it's driving me crazy listening to the newscasts on tv-not for nothin' but, everybody is reading this while on their computer, in their house, with the heat on. Lets not lose site of all the good things and all the things we need to be thankful for. Times may be tough but a positive attitude is the key to fixing the whole problem.
On that note, I'm gonna go back to work. Will blog at you again soon.
Have a great day!
Jay
I got facebook & my space up and running-kind of. Working on getting pictures up on all, including updating the website. Keep checking back.
Working on getting the operation ready to leave for the Gators & O'Reilly Spring Nats, will depart from MA on March 9. Tommy Howell's been down working on the racecar and Charlie Mitchell's been down working on clutch stuff.
I'm going to try and get in the habit of blogging at least once a week-on Mondays. Tomorrow I'll be speaking for the Lions Club International at an event in Woburn, MA.
Getting a new set of eyes tomorrow, wonder if I'll be able to see through them! Not really, just new prosthetics that I'm supposed to have replaced every couple of years. After 11 years I figure it's time for a new model.
You don't have to look far to hear the negative, it's driving me crazy listening to the newscasts on tv-not for nothin' but, everybody is reading this while on their computer, in their house, with the heat on. Lets not lose site of all the good things and all the things we need to be thankful for. Times may be tough but a positive attitude is the key to fixing the whole problem.
On that note, I'm gonna go back to work. Will blog at you again soon.
Have a great day!
Jay
February 10, 2009
A QUICK UPDATE
Hey Everybody!
Back from the Maratta Show this past weekend. Once again, it was a great show and there was a great turn out-and boy, it was good to hear the car run. That must mean spring is coming soon-to hell with that groundhog!
In the shop trying to prepare for the season. I'm working on getting some photos up on the blog-stay tuned. My daughter Marybeth and I are working on getting facebook & my space up and running today. Check me out!
I'll touch base again in the next couple of days.
Jay
Back from the Maratta Show this past weekend. Once again, it was a great show and there was a great turn out-and boy, it was good to hear the car run. That must mean spring is coming soon-to hell with that groundhog!
In the shop trying to prepare for the season. I'm working on getting some photos up on the blog-stay tuned. My daughter Marybeth and I are working on getting facebook & my space up and running today. Check me out!
I'll touch base again in the next couple of days.
Jay
February 5, 2009
LOADING FOR MARATTA SHOW
Hello Race Fans!
Been awhile since I touched base. I apologize, been very busy since returning from vacation. Had a wonderful & relaxing trip with the family. We went swimming with dolphins and that was absolutely the best time ever! Got back to the miserable New England winter with a sinus infection-YUCK!! Took me awhile to get back on my feet and get the business of racing back on track.
Trying to hammer out the 2009 race schedule and have posted what I believe to be our final draft. We'll be starting the season at the Gatornationals in March and planning to test the Monday following. Keep looking to the site for more information.
Right now Eddie Parker, Mitch Sullivan and I are loading the racecar for the Frank Maratta Auto & Cycle Show in Hartford, CT. this weekend. The team will be meeting us there and we'll be starting the car for the fans @ approx. 10PM on Saturday night. Check out the Maratta website for more information about the show, www.fmautoshow.com.
Will touch base next week and hope to see some of you this weekend in Hartford-stop by and say hello.
Jay
Been awhile since I touched base. I apologize, been very busy since returning from vacation. Had a wonderful & relaxing trip with the family. We went swimming with dolphins and that was absolutely the best time ever! Got back to the miserable New England winter with a sinus infection-YUCK!! Took me awhile to get back on my feet and get the business of racing back on track.
Trying to hammer out the 2009 race schedule and have posted what I believe to be our final draft. We'll be starting the season at the Gatornationals in March and planning to test the Monday following. Keep looking to the site for more information.
Right now Eddie Parker, Mitch Sullivan and I are loading the racecar for the Frank Maratta Auto & Cycle Show in Hartford, CT. this weekend. The team will be meeting us there and we'll be starting the car for the fans @ approx. 10PM on Saturday night. Check out the Maratta website for more information about the show, www.fmautoshow.com.
Will touch base next week and hope to see some of you this weekend in Hartford-stop by and say hello.
Jay
January 16, 2009
Going On Vacation
Hi folks-
Wanted to touch base before leaving the office for a week on vacation with the family. Taking a cruise to celebrate my father-in-laws 80th birthday. Happy Birthday, Ray!
Had a great turn out at the Boston World of Wheels last weekend. Met lots of new people and had a chance to catch up with some old friends.
The team will be working on getting the racecar ready to go south in February, where we'll plan some testing and begin our racing season. Will be firming up our race schedule for 2009 in the next week or so and will post to the site when we have it all worked out.
Keep in mind, we'll be displaying the racecar at Frank Maratta's Auto & Cycle Show in Hartford, CT the weekend of Feb. 6th. Will be starting it up at some point & will fill you all in as we know more.
Have a great weekend & will touch base again when I return to the frigid Northeast!
Jay
Wanted to touch base before leaving the office for a week on vacation with the family. Taking a cruise to celebrate my father-in-laws 80th birthday. Happy Birthday, Ray!
Had a great turn out at the Boston World of Wheels last weekend. Met lots of new people and had a chance to catch up with some old friends.
The team will be working on getting the racecar ready to go south in February, where we'll plan some testing and begin our racing season. Will be firming up our race schedule for 2009 in the next week or so and will post to the site when we have it all worked out.
Keep in mind, we'll be displaying the racecar at Frank Maratta's Auto & Cycle Show in Hartford, CT the weekend of Feb. 6th. Will be starting it up at some point & will fill you all in as we know more.
Have a great weekend & will touch base again when I return to the frigid Northeast!
Jay
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