Well, the boss has been keeping me very busy. I put 24K miles on my truck in three months and it doesn’t look like she is done with me just yet. Growing up I watched so many race car drivers move up in the ranks. I knew that I always wanted to be a race car driver but my father didn’t see it that way, not sure what way he saw it but it wasn’t racing. But anyway, I watched all these famous drivers and not only wanted to meet them, but I wanted to be one.
Fast forward a couple years because I’m not that old yet, we got to hang out with my idols. I was like a kid in the candy store. Over the past couple of years I got to meet some amazing people. Don Gartlits, Billy Lynch, Bernie Schacker ,Tony Pedregon, Cruz Pedregon, Clay Millican, Frank Manzo and many others. These are racers that believed in themselves through thick and thin. I love getting to hang with them.
Now how cool is this, we are at Etown for the SuperNationals and we are talking to Bunny Burkett. Seriously, Here is Bunny… that has done it all and she is hobnobbing with me and the boss. I still pinch myself thinking it is all a dream. I just hope that all of us racers can be as influential to the younger generation as drivers before us were. Who is the Next Bunny, Billy L, ‘Big Daddy and so many others. Those are some big shoes to fill.
I know you all are waiting on the Cadillac CTSV Pro Mod. It is almost done and will be out shortly. Rob and his team at Matheis Race Cars has been very busy working on it. They are perfectionists and I can’t wait to drive it. Oh did I say me. You never know what will happen in DPR camp. Matheis is doing an amazing job on this car with some real ‘trick’ stuff. When you have the 8th dwarf for a driver that weighs less then a watermelon it presents some challenges. But this car is going to be awesome, so awesome, I might have to get one for myself soon. Ugh, I hope the boss doesn’t read this.
Things are moving ahead in many ways but I just can’t say too much. What I can tell you all is that driving across the country is not fun. But it is very quiet in my truck. Just kidding. We have a ton of work to do in a short period of time. Since I do the schedule,( yes I do something besides drive )Oh maybe I don’t do the schedule, Now I’m in trouble…. Anyway we have testing on two cars to do and a lot of new parts and pieces to iron out. My crew chief won’t see home for a while.
One thing that I ‘stress’ (besides my wife LOL!) is race track is safety. You can never be too safe in a race car or at the track in general. When we raced a 9 sec car, we over did the safety. Was it over kill, yes but I knew Dina was safe. I help guys who race 12 sec and 8 sec cars and I always hear ,”Belts are too tight”. Well, I rather be too tight then flop around in the car like a fish. When I went to the race track with Carl Spering, the man tighten my belts so hard it dislocated my shoulder. Ya it was a little too tight but his point I will never forget. You want to go rounds you need to be here for the next round. Safety is not for anyone but ourselves. Yes, its uncomfortable, hot, you feel like you cant breathe but it is there to keep us safe. Once the car is stopped then start taking your belts off and helmet. How do you know if the guy next to you doesn’t have brakes or your parachutes don’t get tied up to the fence. You just never know. We do drills with all of our gear on to make sure we can get out of the car quickly. Try this fully suited in the car with a friend. Blind fold yourself, seat belts locked and you have to get out of the car on the passenger side. Have your friend time you. Check the time and see if fire would burn you. Safety is key. Drag racing isn’t an X-Box game. If your mind is off that day go become a fan. Live to race another day.
The boss only gave me 1 hour to write this and I am way over my time limit. We are hitting the road again so always look for some pictures of our road show.
On the Road Again……
Andrew~