In the spring of 2009 I made a deal to purchase a Super Truck from Andy Jirik. I was hoping that Andy would be able to come to the track with me and help learn how to race on oval tracks (I’ve been road racing for 40 years but have no real experience on ovals). Andy’s schedule would not allow him to help me as much as I was hoping for. I also struggled finding the right crew to help prepare the truck.
Last fall a long time and dear friend of mine, Pat Stair, became available to take care of the preparation on a full time basis. Craig Furlong also helped out a lot at Memphis and several races this year. 2010 produced limited success. We did lead several laps at the ASA race at Elko in June but never qualified up front and finished no higher than 5th.
We ran a USST race in Milwaukee in July with the same limited success. For the race on Sept 11th, Andy made himself available to come along and help with set up. We practiced on Friday running second fast about 5/10s slower than Larry Fiztsimmons who had won back in July.
It rained Saturday morning which gave Andy and Pat more time to make some changes to the truck. They were determined to get us up front.
Andy and Pat collaborated and worked really well together. Their efforts paid off BIG TIME with my first oval track Pole Position! I felt honored to produce after they have worked so hard to get the truck ready.
This is a landmark event in my racing career. I’ve won a bunch of amateur races over the years and a couple of championships. On the professional level I’ve done well but never really closed the deal with being on top. This pole is my biggest professional accomplishment. I owe it all to Pat and Andy. I will forever be in their debt for helping me.
This is a pole I will remember forever. I really put my foot down and drove the wheels off the truck. It felt really good. Stable and fast. We all enjoyed beating the competition with a ten year old truck by 2/10s when they have a brand new truck with factory support. It was a great moment when the officials confirmed we had the pole!
The race did not go as well. Larry Fiztsimmons jumped the start and I held back waiting for the officials to wave off the start. They let me down and kept the green out. I was really upset at the officials but it was an honest mistake as they thought I missed a shift.
With Andy’s help in the radio, I started working my way back up front when a truck I was passing got loose and nailed me in turn 4. I had to pit so Pat could rip some body work off and restarted at the end of the field. Several laps later after I had passed half the field the motor let go. Big time blow up, smoke, fire, and rear wheel lockup. Might as well go out in style!
Pat, Andy, and I are really psyched to kick butt at Octoberfest in LaCrosse and then head out to North Wilksboro later in October and get revenge. The three of us make a hell of a team and I hope we can continue to work together for future success.
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