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Update on what’s been going on since the last update.

4/25/2007
Drove all the way to Jacksonville, IL for the POWRi season opener, got there, made it in the pits, and drew for positions. Things looked like they were shaping up to be a great night of racing. Then the rains came, we had been watching the radar and knew it looked like it was coming, but the line of showers didn’t look too wide so there was some optimism. Unfortunately, the pits were a wreck after the rain, and about 90% of the tow rigs in the pits needed a pull out. Luckily the strapman was there to lend us some towing straps and we had it ready so when the wheels started spinning we just hooked it up and out we went. Afterwards we ate in Springfield and made a decision about the next night, do we stay and risk getting rained out the next night at Macon, or do we drive home and try to race locally (which had a better forecast). Eventually we decided to drive home and race at Poinsett County Speedway.

4/26/2007
After driving all night we arrived home, swapped engines (can’t run big motor), and drove to Harrisburg, AR, a short 28 mile journey away.  There we started on the pole of the heat, and won, started on the pole of the feature and was never challenged for the lead. Good night and I had my little man there with me cheering me on.

5/10/2008
Decided to go race with the Tri-State MiniSprint guys again at Winona, MS. We had plans to race at Little Rock, and almost left headed that way, but at the last minute they cancelled allowing us time to get to Winona, MS (3 hours away). Unfortunately we had on our 1mm engine (which is legal at both places, but we have weight penalty with Tri-State guys), we had to add about 50lbs to the car to make weight (kills me). Wild thing is after running there earlier in the year with Std engine weighing 775, and this time running 1mm engine weighing 825 we were 8 tenths quicker with extra weight. Track was about the same both times, pretty much flat out all the way. I won heat, started on outside pole and led every lap for another feature win.

5/17/2008
I finally made my way down south to race with the Alabama gang. This time we were at Moulton Alabama. They had a good car count with several of the Georgia MiniSprint guys making the tow. The track was fast all night, and got just a bit slick in the feature, but still had good grip and good speed. I won my heat from the second row, and had to start 8th in the feature due to the invert, quickly made my way to the front on lap 2 and led the rest of the way. Good thing my crew guys added some extra fuel to the car, because on my mychron it showed we ran 82 total laps (just for 25 green laps).

5/31/2008
Once again we are close to home at Poinsett County Speedway. This time the old man (Travis Senter Sr.), get to race his car. First time since East Bay, since then we rebuilt the car fresh powdercoat, fresh engine , and new bars. My night started off with bang “literally” busted oil pan on scales after hotlaps, changed it. Had oil line break loose in heat, and pulled in before engine damage. So I had to start 17th in feature and didn’t have a whole lot of time to get to the front (15 laps). Dad had a good run and was fighting for 2nd when I finally got up there; he got past him with me in tow. I had a good run around the top, but just didn’t have time get past him for 2nd. By the time I caught up, Gregg Fritts was long gone and pulled off the win. I’m almost certain that it was the first time I’ve ever lost a race at that track, oh well….can’t win ‘em all.

6/6/2008
Once again we try to go to rescheduled Jacksonville POWRi race and have the car ready to load, only to find out they cancel for pending rain and storms. Luckily we find this out on Thursday morning before we get it loaded. We decide its either Riverside with Tri-State MS guys or Little Rock; flipped a quarter, and Little Rock won. Off the big motor comes again and on the 1mm (dubbed “Money Maker”) goes. All loaded up we drive the 3 hours to Little Rock, AR. Once there I draw a 2, which isn’t good because passing points are the name of the game. Track was in great shape and that was possibly the first time I’ve been flat for an entire heat race at this track. In the feature I had to start inside 2nd row, and quickly took the lead coming out of 2 and never looked back. Lap traffic was tough, I had to make some swift moves, but was able to seal the deal and take the win. The 8th win in 10 races this season.

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    A great night of racing at Clarksville Speedway near Clarksville, TN. They held their annual $2,000 to win Mini Sprint Classic this past Saturday. There were some pretty good cars in the pits, and the racing surface was excellent. They did a lot of work to the place in the off season, and while recent rains caused some rough spots in the track, the lap times were out of sight. I was almost a second faster than last year’s times!

     Qualifying went well with me taking top honors with a 12.575 (I think), second was one of my customers Justin Rapp, with another one of my previous customers, Eric Wright, in third.

     Top six in Quals, ran the dash and I started on pole. I can honestly say the track was super fast in the dash, from green to checkered I was flat footed (Mychron shows it), with a best lap of 12.495! I won the dash ahead of Justin Rapp.

     In the feature I started on pole and got a pretty decent start, ran some good times early, then had a little battle with Wright, but managed to pull away steadily and go on to win the feature and the $2,000. It wasn’t easy, because there was some major lap traffic to deal with. I was passing high and low, just wherever you could find a hole.

     This marks the 4th time in a row I’ve won this race, which is a true testament to my crew, car and engine program. The car was dialed in pretty good in the early going of the night, but I never expected the track maintain that much moisture through the night and as laps wore on the car just kept getting tighter and tighter. I had a fresh FTZ engine in the car which did some duty at East Bay in my dad’s car, that thing pulled hard!. Dan at ARS shocks sent a few items to try on the rear suspension, and man can I say it worked just as they said! I can’t thank those guys enough. Mark at Stallard Chassis has been on the phone with me nearly every other day for the past few weeks, discussing changes and concerns on the cars. The level of commitment from Stallard has been raised considerably this year, never before have I seen Mark this pumped for a racing season, which makes me excited to see how things progress throughout the season.

Lap Times for Dash (via gps)
12.883
12.633
12.765
12.647
12.658
12.726
12.495
12.687 

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     After a dismal Friday night showing (finished 7th), we decided to regroup, and reset the car. Saturday the car was nothing short of amazing, I could flat foot pretty much the entire night. The heat race was almost laughable, because I could see second place ahead of me at the checkered. In the feature, I started 3rd and got bottled up on the 3rd restart and had to fight my way past Angelo Mercado, and Clayton Robertson for the point, and never looked back. This gave us 2 wins in 3 races, the $1000 prize, a free 2-Day Caribbean Cruise and the East Bay Winter Nationals 3-Day point championship.

     The car was great and the motor was strong, my crew worked pretty hard to keep things clean and all together it was great effort. I can’t thank Stallard enough for doing all they do to make sure we have the best equipment available. Also FTZ for making sure that thing sings. I also have some others I have to thank which helped make it possible, Xtreme Graphics , Intense Fabrication , Tom Harris, Accurate Machine Works , Clayton’s Body Shop, and Killer Coatings.

     We decided to just race the first 3 days of the Florida Mini Sprint Winter Nationals , and skip their  remaining races at New Hendry County Speedway and back at East Bay for the 2 night deal. I just have too many cars to finish for me to stay in Florida for 10 more days. I can’t thank the Florida Mini Sprint guys enough, they put on an excellent show, keep everyone informed and the show runs without a hitch. I also have to thank East Bay Raceway ; they have a first class facility, and give us a great place to race every time I go down.

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Quick little update here from the hotel room.  I won the feature tonight at the season opener at East Bay. Car worked good, engine was strong and it was a great way to start the year. Two more races before we venture home. Weather is great its 80F and Sunny.

One more thing, using my mycrhon I was able to get some great data and I'm trying out the new AIM GPS Module for the MXL Pista. Why do you need gps on your race car? It offers much more detailed track mapping and data reporting.

If you have Google Earth here is the KML file from last night. 

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     It’s a thing of beauty! It’s done, but it was a bit rushed. There just wasn’t time to do all the necessary modifications and get the frame powder coated, so we’ll tear it down after East Bay (like we always do), and make the car pretty again. This is the new 2008 car for me; I spent, as always, loads of time finding the perfect balance between strength and weight. Speaking of weight, she’s light! 542 lbs. (dry) Why so light, well this will probably be my truly last ultra-light car, most everyone in the country has added at least 25 lbs. to their weight rule. It really doesn’t bother me though, but it does take some of the innovation (and fun) out of finding new lightweight parts and materials.

     While I’m on that subject, I’ve been told from various people that some want to outlaw titanium and carbon fiber in micro racing. There was even a post on a very popular message board (here) about the “death of micro racing: Carbon Fiber ”. I was actually too busy at the time of the post’s popularity to chime in, but I have opinions on it. Carbon fiber is a great material, it is highly resistant to heat, amazingly strong, and in its cloth form rather reasonable in price (if you consider it’s strength). I make most of my own carbon parts. I had no background in any fiberglass or mold making whatsoever, my family and friends thought I was crazy when they came to the shop and saw me in rubber gloves wiping some resin on a piece of glass, but in reality I was saving money (lots of it). The real death of micro racing is not carbon fiber, it’s the lack of innovation that comes with the passing of too many rules. Once we all get the same car, same motor, same wing, same weight panels, then we will be equal….right? Wrong, someone will complain about something, it’s the nature of the beast…there’s only 1 winner each night!! If you’re going to outlaw carbon fiber, then you might as well outlaw fiberglass too!

 We're off for East Bay in the morning, so wish us luck. I'll have more to talk about when I get back!

 More New Photos in the Gallery

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