BACK AT THE SHOP

Hey All!

Thanks for checking in. I wish I had more of an exciting blog to write but, we're back from Cecil County where things didn't go well. We tested on Thursday, which went fine & then Thursday night a storm came in. Fortunately, we got the car put away in time & as we were tying down the awning a gust of wind kicked up-around 60-70MPH & ripped the awning to pieces. The weekend had begun!

Friday things were held up due to water seeping through the track because of the heavy rains Thursday evening. We got one qualifier in where we broke a blower belt. Then on Saturday racing was held up again because of water coming up through the track again. Around 4pm we finally made out 2nd qualifying pass where we broke an intake rocker arm (engine part) which caused the engine to break-torched the head & the block. The crew worked extremely hard dropping a new engine in for first round of eliminations so we could meet up with multiple world champion winner Frank Manzo. We smoked the tires off the starting line & Frank drove off to victory once again. We loaded up & headed back to the Cape on Sunday morning. Charlie Connelly, Joe Connellys dad has been traveling with us for the last couple of races. Charlie's been driving the truck & helping out wherever he can & has been doing a phenomenal job. We very much appreciate all of his efforts. My stepson Brandon has also been to the last two races helping crew, and has been doing a great job too. He worked with me Monday at the shop getting everything offloaded & back into the shop. Today, Brandon & Eddie worked together getting the engine all apart so we can send the block & cylinder head out to Brad Anderson Enterprises for repair.

Will catch you all up again soon. Please also let us know if you have comments or have specific questions you'd like answered & we'll add info to the next blog.

Have a great day race fans!

Jay

JUST SURVIVED A WHOPPER STORM @ CECIL COUNTY

To back track a bit-we went to Atco a couple weeks ago & struggled. We did not qualify for the first time in four years & the entire team was pretty disappointed. But we shook it off & headed home to get prepared for Cecil County this weekend. We arrived at Cecil early this morning for testing & we were able to make two passes. The track is very green with not much rubber on it & we shook the tires first run.. Second pass was better with a 5.75 which isn't bad for the track & weather conditions we're experiencing. We should be in a good spot for qualifying tomorrow. Had a severe storm this evening with marble size hail, heavy rain, wind, thunder, & lightning. We're all fine but our trailer awning didn't make it. It has served us well for a number of years & the fact that it was old & probably fatigued didn't help. I guess it's time to invest in a new one.

Everybody is in good spirits & looking forward to a super weekend of racing. Crew member Joe Mitchell wasn't able to make the trip due to illness. Hope you're feeling better soon Joe!

Well, back to work for me. Hope you'll all check facebook for updates throughout the weekend & don't forget, we'll have the pit cam up & running too.

Have a great weekend & see you at the races!

Jay

HEADING TO ATCO

Hello All!

We're heading to Atco for the NHRA Division 1 event this weekend. Qualifying is Friday & eliminations Saturday. Come check out the action if you can. The crew has serviced the car while we were home & it's ready for action.

After returning from the points meet in NH I was able to get away with my wife Ann for a couple days to celebrate our wedding anniversary-5 years have gone by so fast! This week two of the guys on the team lost family members. Mitch Sullivan lost his mom Edith last Friday & Scott DeWitt lost his dad Bud as well. Our prayers & well wishes go out to both Mitch & Scott and their families.

Follow us on facebook this weekend, we'll be updating from the track. Will blog results next week.

See you at the races!

Jay