GETTING READY FOR THE ROAD AGAIN

Hey All!

We've been busy at the shop. We did a picture layout with Permatex & the racecar last week that went really well. We're ready getting everything ready for the next two races. Ed & I are heading out on Saturday for a TA Travel Centers of America convention in Sandusky, Ohio and then meeting the team @ Maple Grove for the first division 1 event of the season. Then its off to Etown for a national event & the following weekend we'll be at New England Dragway for Funny Cars Under the Stars, Saturday, June 11.

Will blog from the road when I can. Keep an eye out on our website for the webcam in the pits on race weekends & check my facebook for updates throughout the races.

Talk soon,

Jay

HEADING HOME FROM HOUSTON

Hello All,

The National Automotive Technology Competition in New York went great. The Permatex kick off breakfast was successful & there was a steady crowd throughout the show. I competed with a blindfolded ESPN analyst & retired Nascar driver Ricky Craven @ the Universal Technical Institute booth in a spark plug competition, removing four spark plugs from the cylinder head & then repplacing them. Ricky was a great sport & we both had lots of fun. He needs a little more practice doing it in the dark but not bad for the first time. I also competed in the General Motors booth against a sighted Dan Fuller, a former GM Tech instructor & current Bristol Tech High School Automotive Instructor in Bristol, CT. Dan got the better of me by just a little bit but was too afraid to be blindfolded. Congratulations to all the competitiors.

I flew to Houston with the team on Thursday for the 24th Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals. It was a good weekend although the track was tricky-very hot & humid. The team worked very hard to get us another semi final finish.

Ed & I were on the road home Sunday evening & by Monday afternoon @ around 2pm we had a ttrailer tire blow out in Alabama, taking out one of the airbags in the suspention of the trailer. Thanks to our friends at the Petro Truck Service we got the trailer all fixed up & were back on the road this morning after a good nights sleep to continue our journey home.

Once again, thanks to the Dream Team for a great weekend. We're beginning to prepare for our next race & first of the season in Division 1 competition, in Reading, PA, May 27-28.

A special thanks to all the men & women of the Armed Services for keeping us all safe through their tireless work & determination. FREE TO DREAM...THANKS TO OUR TROOPS!

Jay

NORTH CAROLINA TO BOSTON TO NEW YORK CITY

Hey All!

I hope everybody had a good Easter & a great long weekend. I'm in NY City for the National Automotive Technology Competition through Wednesday. When I last blogged, I was still down in NC where I visited Gaston College & NASCAR Technical Institute. We met a great bunch of students & instructors & I was very impressed with both programs.

Eddie & I parted ways at the end of last week, when Eddie headed to Houston to get ready for this coming weekends race & I flew home to get ready to leave for the NY Auto Competition.

Had a great weekend at home with my family & had Easter dinner @ my mothers. My brother Jimmy & I headed out Sunday evening to drive to the Big Apple. We set the show car up this morning @ the Javits Convention Center & will be attending a welcome dinner this evening. I speak @ the Permatex sponsored kick off breakfast in the morning, where some of the best high school auto students in the country will compete. It's always a pleasure to be part of this event-lots of fun & I get to meet some terrific people.

Thanks for checking in, I'll be back later in the week with updates.

Jay

MONDAY IN CHARLOTTE

Hey All!

We're leaving the Charlotte track, just finished filling the fresh water tanks & emptying the holding tanks. We're now on our way to Gaston College in Dallas, NC, where I'll speak to students & faculty tomorrow.

Friday qualifying @ Charlotte went well, where we ended up #2 qualifiier with a 5.58. Saturday qualifying was cancelled due to the weather, fortunately we did not get hit with the tornados & extreme weather that was in the area but still got plenty of rain & a fair amount of wind. The weather did finally clear late afternoon & NHRA did a great job drying the track & getting it safe for racing to continue. We had first round of eliminations on Saturday night & won that round. The team then serviced the car & put it to bed for the evening. Spirts were high for Sunday & the car was running very well. Sunday we won second round, the team again did a great job-the car was getting quicker & faster. We got the car ready for the semi-finals, where we had a mysterious problem in the fuel system, causing a backfire, which shut the car off & allowed our opponent to drive around us. The team was very disappointed but kept their head in the game as we got back to the pits & took the car apart to figure out what happened. We were able to repair the car which had no major damage. We got the pit area cleaned up & we're ready for Houston in a couple weeks.

Thanks to the whole team for a great weekend. We'll go into Houston focused on the win. Will blog again later in the week.

Jay

GETTING READY TO GO RACING!

Hey Everybody,

We've been busy at the shop after returning from the World of Wheels in Boston, which was a great show. Traffic was pretty steady all weekend and it was great to see some friends I hadn't seen in many years & meet some new fans too. My big fear was that we would be waiting to roll out of the show until late into the night but I must say, I learned from the best-my brother Jimmy is a maniac when it comes to getting out of these things. The show was over at 7pm & we were the first ones out the door & loaded by 7:30.

Had a great visit at Madison Park Tech in Boston on Monday & we're looking forward to returning & getting to speak to more of their students. Madison Park Tech is the only public tech school in the city of Boston.

We arrived back at the shop on Monday evening & Tuesday we started the racecar, which has a fresh motor in it all set to go. I really feel like we're ready to go get 'um.

Eddie & I will leave the Cape early Monday morning & will be stopping @ Bristol Tech in Bristol, CT that afternoon. We're planning a stop @ a TA Travel Center in Virginia on Tuesday & then off to zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, where we should pull in on Wednesday to begin set up.

It'll be a busy couple of days packing up & getting ready to hit the road. The entire team has been working extremely hard to get everything ready & I can't thank them enough for all they do.

Will blog from the road-talk to you all again next week.

Jay

WORLD OF WHEELS SHOW IN BOSTON

Hey All!

Eddie I went up to Boston this morning to set the car up for the World of Wheels Show. We'll be partnered/displaying with HTC Racing, powder coaters out of Rockland, MA. If you ever need any kind of powder coating or ceramic coatings for exhausts or headers, these guys are the best-tell Tom & Maryann I recommended them. I'll be at the show all weekend.

This week I spent time in the shop & office. Trying to set some speaking events up & working on the racecar. Worked on getting the showcar ready for this weekend too.

I'll be speaking Monday morning @ Madison Park Tech in Boston and back in the shop on Tuesday. Then the push will be on to get ready for NC race.

Come visit us at the show this weekend & thanks for checking in.

Jay

ANOTHER DAY AT THE OFFICE

Hey Everybody,

Sorry, it's been awhile again. We're back at the office & most recently, we put a new motor in the car to get preped in case we need it in a hurry. We ran and timed that yesterday. Joe Connelly & I are going to pull that out tonight & we'll then put another motor in to get ready for NC race in a couple weeks.

To catch you up....the race in Gainesville went well. Recap of the events are on the homepage if you haven't already seen it. Everybody worked well together, Scott Spencer & Todd worked on the clutch together for the first time & that went really well. Ozzie & Ed did a great job with the motor. It was Joe Connelly's first time at the track as a crew member & he did a great job too with all the fluids & the oil pan. Tommy the tuner did his usual great job tuning, Maura did a wonderful job feeding us all, & Todd did a great job driving too! You always want to win when you go racing but, in reality it's not always the outcome, as was the case at Gainesville, where we went out in the quarterfinals. This was a great weekend, everybody worked well together, turning the car around & we're all really excited to get the rest of the season under way.

Working in the shop for now is keeping us busy & next weekend we're @ Boston World of Wheels. Then, before you know it, we'll be on the road to Charlotte for our next race.

It's great to have the support of the team & the support of my family & all of the families that allow us to do what we do. Thank you to everyone, hang on, the season has started & it's gonna be a great ride.

We'll talk again soon,

Jay

IT'S WARM IN FLORIDA

Hey All,

The winter preparations are over & now it's time to go racing. Ed & I pulled into Gainesville Raceway today & the rest of the team will join us on Thursday. We'll work on getting the pit area set up, the car teched, & be ready for our first qualifying pass on Friday morning. Weather looks like possible rain on Thursday but the rest of the weekend looks good. We'll be updating on Facebook throughout the weekend. Check the website too, we're going to try to get our webcam up & running. Testing on Monday after the race & will blog again on Tuesday to update you all on our progress.

Have a great day!

Jay

GETTIN' READY TO GO RACIN'

Good Afternoon,

It's Tuesday evening & we're working away at the shop. Ed's CC'ing cylinder heads, Scott Spencer & Joe Connelly are coming by tonight to work too. Scott's going to check out the rear end & Joe and I are going to do some work on the trailer. We've got the bearings & brakes on the trailer done, and tonight we'll continue to work down the winter maintenance list-at least the list is getting shorter!

If you're out there & reading the blog-email me any questions you have & I'll see if I can answer them. Sometimes I wonder how much information you really want to know. It's not always real exciting-just another day at the office.

Hope to hear from you & thanks for checking in!

Talk soon

Jay

THE CAR RUNS!

Spring is in the air! We fired the car today in preparation for the Maratta Auto & Cycle Show in Hartford, CT this weekend. Boy, did it sound awesome. You want to know the best part though??? We shut the car off, and not more than 2 minutes later, Terri walks out of the office telling me Tommy Howell is on the phone. Tommy's in Afghanistan! I think he heard the car from over there-he's ready to go racin'. It was great to hear from Tom & to know he's doing well.

We got the car loaded into the trailer & we're all ready to hit the road in the morning. Thanks to the whole crew; Terri, Spencer, Ozzie, Eddie, & Joe for all their help. It's a true team effort that makes it all happen-this team is the best!

I'll blog again next week to recap the weekend. If you're in the Hartford area, stop by & see us.

Jay

HOLY COW IT'S COLD!

I'm really glad I'm able to be working inside today. I'm not sure if we had cold like this last year but, once a year is more than enough. Scott Spencer, Terri, & I have been working away at the shop. More of the same, cleaning, repainting the office, & getting the car ready for the Maratta Auto & Cycle Show in Hartford, CT this coming weekend. Check out their site, www.fmautoshow.com to see what the weekend has to offer. If you're in the area, come check us out at the show, we'll be firing up the car on Sunday afternoon.

I'll check back in again next week, we'll be working more toward getting the show on the road for the racing season & should have more to share.

Have a great week!
Jay

HELLO FRIENDS

I always talk about cleaning but HOLY COW-this week, & I mean ALL WEEK, Terri, Scott, & I cleaned & organized the entire shop. Its not done yet, I'm not sure if its ever done but, we've certainly made it over the hump. We'll be working on the racecar and getting it ready for the season. We've got a few more pieces to be sent out for recertification that we do every year & restocking up on parts.

I'll talk with you all again next week, thanks for checking in.

Jay

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hey Everybody!

I've been to SEMA, PRI, and had the trailer wrapped since I last blogged. You can check out the photos of the trailer wrap on our homepage. We're working at the shop now, mostly office work trying to get everything in place for the 2011 season. We have one of the motors apart that needs to be repaired from last year.

I purchased a plow truck for snow removal. Scott Spencer & I have been working on that, getting it in good shape. So far we've had a about eighteen inches of snow this year-the Gators can't come soon enough!

Although it won't be overly exciting, I'll keep blogging once a week or so to keep everybody updated during the off season. I hope you all have a great New Years & we'll touch base again next week.

Jay

HEY EVERYBODY

We're home now. The season has come to an exciting close with a big win at Atco, our last race of the year. The race in Reading, PA didn't go as well as we'd hoped it would, we lost in the second round. We were able to make the rescheduled Atco race the following weekend, so Ed & I stayed in PA for the week before driving to Atco. On Monday while we finished loading in Reading, Doug Foley had his drag racing school at the track & I was offered the opportunity to get in & go for a ride in his two seater dragster. WOW-what a great experience. Thank you so much to Doug & his driver Jeff. Wednesday, we did a display at the Bordentown, NJ Petro Truck Stop on our way to Atco. We arrived at Atco on Friday to set up & the weather was beautiful, the sun shined all weekend. Tommy was due to leave for Afghanistan on Wednesday of the next week, it was great to get a win at the final race of the season for a multitude of reasons. We wish Tom the best & safe return. Looking forward to seeing him in the beginning of March & getting ready for our return to racing action at the Gatornationals soon after that. Monday we left the racetrack & visited a TA Truck Stop in Paulsboro, NJ where we displayed the racecar. Tuesday we drove to Whitestone, NY to speak on Wednesday at the Lincoln Technical Institute located there. After a great visit at LTI Ed & I headed back to Cape Cod. We're now home & preparing for the 2011 season. Cleaning the shop, getting the car out of the trailer, & getting ready to head to SEMA next week in Las Vegas.

Will update again soon, thanks for checking in.

Jay

WAITING FOR THE SUN

Hey everyone!

Ed & I are hanging out at the Petro Truck Stop in Bordentown, NJ, approx. an hour from the Maple Grove track. Due to all the rain they've had in the area over the last couple of weeks, all of the grassy area at the track is mud-so they're holding off getting folks set up in the pit area until tomorrow.

Monday & Tuesday of this week I spoke at Pennco Tech in Blackwood, NJ & Universal Technical Institute in Exton, PA. Many of the students are automotive technicians in training but some were from a variety of other programs. We had a great visit at both schools.

Check out my facebook for updates from the track this weekend. We'll be trying to stream live video from the pits as well-hoping we have better internet service @ Maple Grove than we did last weekend. Check it out on the home page of our website.

I'll update you all again next week. Have a wonderful weekend and if you're at the track, come see us.

Jay

MONDAY

Hey Everybody,

It's Monday & I spoke at Pennco Tech in Blackwood, NJ this morning. On our way to Universal Technical Institute in Exton, PA to speak tomorrow. It definitely feels like fall is in the air-it's cold & rainy here.

Racing at Atco this weekend was cut short due to rainy weather. We qualified Saturday with the second qualifier also counting as the final round make-up from Englishtown where we shook the tires & broke the output shaft in the transmission. At that point the race was over & Frank Manzo got the win. Sunday the remainder of the Atco race was called due to track conditions & bad weather. The race has been rescheduled to be completed in two weeks.

Friday night our clutch man Charlie Mitchell was notified that his father John Mitchell had passed away unexpectedly. This was a shock to everybody on the team. Charlie, his son Joe, & the rest of the crew struggled through the weekend with heavy hearts and our thoughts and prayers with John. To offer condolences to the Mitchell family, please log onto www.brewittfuneralhome.com.

We'll be racing in Reading, PA at Maple Grove this coming weekend and will touch base later in the week.

Thanks for checking in.

Jay

WE'RE AT ATCO

Hello Race Fans-

Charlie, Eddie, & I visited sponsor Permatex at their headquarters in Hartford, CT yesterday & had a great visit with lots of positive feedback from all.

We drove to ATCO last night for the last Division 1 event of the season. The weather tomorrow is questionable with things turning around by Saturday. We're excited for a good weekend of racing & hope that the weather cooperates. We'll be setting up the webcam in the pit so you can see us as we work on the car throughout the weekend-keep checking the website.

The remainder of the crew will show up at the track tonight & we'll get ready to run tomorrow (weather permitting). Don't forget to check the webcam on the site & we'll be facebooking too-keep checking in. Will blog again on Monday.

Thanks & Have a great weekend!

Jay

ON THE ROAD TO ATCO

Sorry once again for the lapse in communication. Charlie, Eddie, & I have been working at the shop all day getting clutch stuff all ground up & loading the truck & trailer to get moving. We're going to the Permatex Headquarters tomorrow morning to display the racecar & speak to the employees. Then we're headed to Atco for the division 1 race this weekend. Will update you all again tomorrow, believe it-I really am going to try to do a better job of keeping up with the blog.

Talk at you later.

Jay

AT A TA TRUCK STOP IN NORTH CAROLINA

Hey Everybody!

Charlie, Todd, & I are hanging out at a TA Truck Stop in North Carolina. We got the truck washed & had a leaking tire repaired. We'll be getting to the track & setting up the pit area in Concord, NC tomorrow afternoon.

We had a great weekend @ Englishtown last week. Rain was expected on Sunday, so they pushed to get all the racing in on Saturday but came up against the curfew & had to shut things down before getting the finals in for several of the classes. TAFC being one of them. We're in the finals up against Frank Manzo, who else-& will run the final at a race to be determined.

The entire team has been working hard & their efforts are showing in our race results. Hoping that we'll keep the momentum going through the end of the season.

Check back on Thursday, I'll blog again then.

Thanks for checking in.

Jay

GETTING READY TO HIT THE ROAD AGAIN!

Hey all,

Charlie & I just finished loading the racecar, the trailers loaded, & we're headed to Englishtown for racing this weekend. We're going to try to get the webcam up & operational again on Saturday afternoon during qualifying & again Sunday for eliminations. I'll send facebook updates too. Check it out if you get the chance.

Its been a busy week at the shop. We've serviced the engine, new connecting rods, checked all the valve springs, went through the clutch, & did some work on the body.

We're beginning four races in a five week stretch with a couple of speaking engagements & racecar displays thrown in the mix, so it will be a busy time.

I'll try to keep everybody updated & will blog again early next week. Have a wonderful weekend!

Jay

CATCHING UP

Hey Everybody!

Cecil County went well. We lost to Frank Manzo in the finals, 5.65 to a 5.67. The whole team did a great job. When you lose to Manzo, you've lost to the best. We've beat him before, and we'll beat him again. It was a great weekend. Unfortunately, the USO was unable to pull together the soldier visit this time around so we'll try again at another race-we'll keep you updated. We used the webcam in the pit area for the first time @ Cecil. We had some success as well as some trouble. We hope to do it again at Etown-please check out the our homepage to catch us working on the car. The facebook posting went well too.

We're back at the shop working on everything from the truck & trailer to generators & racecars. All in preparation for the next block of races-4 races in a 5 week stretch.

I hope everybody has a great Labor Day Weekend, we'll be back in touch next week.

Talk soon,

Jay

TESTING @ CECIL COUNTY

Good Afternoon,

We arrived at Cecil County Dragway last evening after spending the day at the corporate headquarters of the National Federation of the Blind in Baltimore. Wonderful people & a great tour of the facility.

We'll be testing this afternoon & then the remainder of the team arrives at the track to prepare for qualifying tomorrow @ 5pm.

Wanted to let you all know that we'll be trying to update our facebook page this weekend after each run. Please check it out if you have a chance. Also, we'll be streaming live video from the track, you can click on the link from the home page of the website to keep track of what we're up to in the pits throughout the weekend.

Have a great day & will be back in touch early next week.

Jay

BACK FROM VACATION

Holy Cow! Took my wife Ann on a cruise to Bermuda for a week, it was very relaxing & the weather was great. Returned to Massachusetts on Friday & then Saturday night we went to Fenway Park (home of the Boston Red Sox) for a J. Geils & Aerosmith concert. We had a blast!

Thanks to the hard work of the team while I was away, we're all loaded up & ready to hit the road for the division 1 race @ Cecil County this weekend, August 20-21. Will be making a stop tomorrow at the National Federation of the Blind in Baltimore on our way to the track. We're also hosting a group of wounded soldiers from Ft. Meade in Maryland on Saturday. We're all looking forward to meeting the guys & offering our thanks for their service & sacrifice.

We're going to try to get our webcam up & running in the pit this weekend. Keep a lookout on the home page of the website to see if we have a link to the live stream up. Also, check out our facebook page-we'll be updating after each run.

Will be back in touch soon.

Jay

I'M STILL HERE

Hi everyone! Sorry for the disappearing act. I don't know if you're getting as sick as I am of the previous statement-I know I sure am. Will work on posting on a more regular basis. I do appreciate all of you checking in.

Mitch & I took the showcar down to the motorcycle ride in memory of fallen soldier from Cape Cod @ DY High School on Saturday, July 24. Wow, what an awesome experience. While I was there, I ran into a friend of mine that I hadn't seen in at least 10 years. It was great to see him & have a chance to catch up. Last time we'd seen each other he had been diagnosed with what was thought to be terminal cancer-not so. He's doing well & moving on with his life. After that, it was time to get the car finished up & readied to go testing. We had to put new crbon fiber front brakes on the car on Monday. Tuesday afternoon Eddie & I loaded the truck & trailer. Ed & his buddy left Tuesday evening for New England Dragway where we'd be testing. Wednesday morning we all arrived at the track, got the car out of the trailer & st up the pit area. When we were spinning the engine over for oil pressure we found a wobble on the lower pulley attached to the crankshaft. After inspection & disassembly, we realized the crank hub was no good. After getting this problem squared away, we had time for one pass. Took the car to the starting line, did the burn out & at that point we realized the body was not latching properly. Tommy gave the shut off sign to Todd & that ended the evening. Thursday we took the car to the Carroll Center in Newton, MA where I spoke with 40 students that were there for the summer. Had the car on display for them & then started the car up so they could all experience what 3000 HP sounds like. As always, it was a great visit. Thursday night we drove back to the Cape & got ready to take the racecar to Ozzie's shop on Friday morning, where we worked on the body latch issue. By the end of the day we were loading the car back into the trailer, ready to return to New England Dragway for more testing over the weekend. Saturday morning we arrived back at the track, where we were able to make two passes. The first one, 5.69 @ 257mph & the second was a 5.66 @ 257mph. That put a cap on Saturday. My brother Jimmy was running his car, my nephew Jamie was racing his car, & my niece Patty was driving her car too. It was kinda cool having all those Blake's racing-it was alot of fun. We had a great dinner that night-thanks to Maura. Then everybody got a good nights sleep. Sunday we pulled the car out again to make some more passes. We ran a 5.62 & a 5.63, & by the end of the day we had reset both ends of the track record-a great accomplishment for the entire team. We stayed over Sunday night to work on the car again on Monday, then loaded it up & brought it back to the Cape.

I would really like to thank Joe & all of the staff at New England Dragway for their hospitality, track preparation, and help. New England Dragway is one of the finest facilities in the Northeast.

Back at the shop we unloaded the trailer and will do some more work on the car servicing cylinder heads & clutch stuff in preparation for our next race at Cecil County, August 20.

I will talk to you all one week from Monday, August 16, as my wife Ann & I are going on vacation tomorrow. YAHOO!!!

HELLO FROM FLORIDA

Hey everybody,

Down here in Orlando, FL where I spoke yesterday at the NACAT Conference. Will be helping Tom Dobruck set up the Permatex booth tomorrow & will be in the booth the rest of the day & then again on Thursday. Fly home Thursday evening.

I flew into Orlando from Syracuse Sunday night after a great weekend at the Syracuse Nationals, a Right Coast car show. There were some 8500 cars of all kinds-street rods, rat rods, antique cars, & just a full array of custom cars. There was even one guy driving around in an old Army truck (a troop mover)with the back of the truck converted into a swimming pool! There were thousands of people at the show every day and there was a motorsports thrill show each night. Charlie & I met all kinds of great people and had alot of fun. There was a number of Follow A Dream fans who came by to congratulate us on the win at Lebanon Valley & to commend the team on what a great job we're doing. I was impressed that they knew who we were.

On Monday morning Charlie drove the truck & trailer back to the Cape & unloaded. Today, Charlie, Tommy, & Eddie are in the shop working on the car getting it ready to test @ New England Dragway next week, July & August 1.

Mitch & I will be taking the car over to D-Y High School in Yarmouth, MA this coming Saturday, July 24 for a memorial motorcycle ride in honor of the fallen soldiers from Cape Cod, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The ride will cover a 28 mile route through the mid Cape area and will begin and end at the DY High School. The ride pays tribute to Marine Cpl. Nicholas G. Xiarhos from Yarmouth, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. Gates open at 8am, ride begins at 11am. The event includes live entertainment, food vendors, motorcycle vendors, and raffles. For more info, please log onto www.ngxride.com. All are invited to get involved & participate in this great event.

Terri has been working on getting a web cam set up so stay tuned-we should be streaming live video from the track & the shop soon.

Will get back to blogging at the beginning of next week-stay tuned friends. Look forward to seeing some of you in Yarmouth on Saturday.

Jay