The 2012 Racing Season - July through December

July 6

Steven, Christian and I went to the Jalapeno 250 at Daytona.

July 14

Winged sprints returned to Showtime Speedway for the first time in 8 years!  This track has just re-opened, and it hosted sprint cars on its second night of operation.  I had never turned a lap there, so it took some getting used to.

I had two practice sessions, but the engine didn't run in the heat race, so I missed it and started in the back for the feature.  We went 30 laps green to checker and I ended up 9'th out of 17.  It was a good night of racing!

Here is our 4 wide salute to the fans.

51 is Mark Gimmler, and Tony Careno drove the 27, which is the car I used to drive.

July 27  Volunteer Speedway, Bulls Gap, TN

I was on vacation with the family, and stopped in for the first time at Volunteer.  Great place, and I got a kick ouf of the Pro Late Model winner, Jensen Ford.  His car didn't have a number on the right side.....just a skull!

8-11-12  Showtime Speedway

After a day of problems and delays, we finally got to the track, and got the car running well in the feature.  There were 20 sprinters that took the green, and I started in the back.  30 laps later, I ended up 10'th.  Oh well, I think the mechanical issues are behind me, so next time I'm looking forward to an easier night!  

Here is a cool shot of the track exit road toward the pits.

10-6-12  Citrus County Speedway

At last, we got the car running great, and I had two practice sessions.  As I was sitting in staging waiting for the heat race, the sky opened up and we rained out.  So close!

10-20-12  TBARA was back at Citrus after the rain-out, and I had my best race in sprints.  4'th place in the heat put resulted in  a 5'th place starting spot.  We had 23 cars tonight, so I was really busy!  

I stayed close to the leaders for all 30 laps, and was running 5'th with 5 laps to go.  By this time, I was falling out of the seat and two cars got around me at the end, so I finished 7'th.  

I didn't know it at the time, but my low overhead team was about to get a big boost!  This was my last race with my old open trailer.

10-27-12  TBARA season finale at Punta Gorda Speedway!

This was my second trip to this track, and the first with my own car.  It was an eventful week!  My dad bought me an enclosed trailer: a 28 foot Featherlite.  Its was a fine surprise!  Then the night before the race, I bought a 4 wheeler to push the car, so I made the trip to PGS with a complete sprint car team at last.

I went into the night leading the Rookie of the Year standings by a single point.  I ran 4'th in the heat and 8'th in the feature.  It wasn't my best night, but it was good enough to win the Rookie title.

Johnny Gilbertson won his second TBARA championship in a row tonight also.

My son Steven rode in the truck with me, and helped out all night.  On the way to the track, we stopped at a Burger King where we picked up a set of TBARA championship crowns.  Oh yeah, we looked cool!

Look who came to see her first sprint car race!  My wife was nervous for days before the trip, but she stayed pretty cool during the event.  My sons Michael and Christian came along too, so we stayed over and made a weekend out of it all.

#3 Garrett Green, J1 Mike Tharpe and fellow Rookie contender Jason Bradford in the 47.

We had 18 cars this week.

It was Halloween weekend, so the track had about a million kids trick or treat the racecars on the front straight.  Steven decorated 85 for the kids!

51 years old and Rookie of the Year.

What an amazing turn my racing has taken.  I am so pleased to be in TBARA, and to think my name is written in their record book is the highlight of my racing life.

All things considered, it has been a fine racing year.  Christian is up to 5 wins, and Steven remains undefeated with 15 wins in 15 career starts.   The boys raced 9 nights.

I got one win in one Strictly Stock start, Rookie of the Year in sprints, and drove a total of 13 nights on 6 tracks.

There were 6 more nights when I had someone else driving the Strictly Stock, and that car visited 2 tracks.

We'll be back for more in 2013.  Christian will graduate to a flat kart, and the boys will get the chance to try out another track or two.  I'll concentrate on TBARA.

Strange but true: 5'th overall.

Other news: my orange strictly stock has "bit the dust" in a crash on the final night of the season.  Mix in a big, heavy Monte Carlo, a big Thunderbird and a concrete wall, and it spelled the end of the road for my Mustang.  

I had a new driver in it who was making their first ever start.  In all, 6 drivers made their first laps in that car.

RETURN to part one of 2012