2019 RACE RESULTS
1-19-19
4-17 Speedway
Steven drove the Wilkins TQ to a third place finish.
Here is a look at the former #85. The new driver ran it hard all night and finished very well!
2-16-19
4-17 Speedway
This was a heck of a race! Steven ended up second after a close and exciting battle.
Race winner Rob Kohler and Steven meet in victory circle after the race. Steven caught Rob in the last corners of the last lap, and put the bumper to his car. Things got a wild, but Rob held on in a wild, fun finish.
I had to do a little body work to the Wilkins #11!
Check out the left front wheel: that powerful little car can pull it off the ground at the start/finish line.
Michaela joined Steven with the flag.
3-23-19
Victory!
We put it together and Steven parked it in victory circle for the first time in a TQ.
Gary Gimmler was on hand to help coach our driver to find a little extra speed. It worked!
3-17-19
Marion County Speedway
Thanks to our bud Louis Brashear for giving Steven a day of practice in a dirt sprint! He took it out several times and logged a ton of laps. This was his first time in a wingless, dirt sprintcar. Even though this was a vintage car, it has plenty of punch for this track.
Thanks Louis!
Finishing our work at Dean Bartholomew's shop the night before the race.
4-27-19
We had 7 cars tonight. Steven started 6'th and finished a close second. Check out the result sheet: the best laps for the four fastest cars were with in 0.039 seconds of each other.
We finally have some new trailer graphics.
5-4, 6-1 and 6-15-19
The rain has been playing havoc with central Florida, so this race took 3 weeks to fully get in.
On May 4, we showed up to race at Space Coast Full Throttle Speedway to race the "EL" tire class, but were informed that the class was no one else showed up for EL, so the track owner gave us a set of take-off Vega (open) tires and we were in business.
Steven hit the ground running; he started in the back and won the heat race. Unfortunately, the feature rained out.
So we went back on 6-1 for the make-up feature. Steven took the lead and was driving away, but with 5 laps to go, the left rear wheel flew off.
Ok, so we were on to this weeks show. Steven came from the back in the heat race and was fighting for the lead with the winner, but ultimately finished second.
As they lined up for the feature, and when the starter gave the field the "one to go" signal, lightning struck and the skies soon opened up, so the race was rained out.
On 6-15, I was out of town, so Steven finished up the preparations on the kart himself. His friend Matt used his truck to haul the team to the track, and for the first time Steven was both driver and crew chief.
I wish I could have seen this race, but Steven said it was a heck of a race with plenty of passing and re-passing. He took the win; his first one in the open tire class!
Thanks to Ray Rivers for lending us a set of take-offs.
6-22-19
Good news: Steven won the heat race.
Bad news: we got outrun in the feature and finished second. Steven made it close on a late race restart, but we just have to pick up more speed.
Congratulations to our team mate Jimmy Wilkins for his win after an extensive repair/redesign of his car.
9-28-19
Feature win #2!
Steven was hooked up tonight and won the heat race too.
8-24-19
Showtime Speedway
In the morning, Steven and I went to Melbourne to pick up his new truck.
We had brake trouble in practice, but fixed it and finished second in the heat.
The feature was a good one. Jimmy and Steven ran side by side for a few laps at the start; Jimmy was on the inside and took the lead. He pulled away, but Steven changed his line and caught back up. Then he went on the attack and nearly passed. The race was shortened, otherwise I believe he would have won.
We started off our day on the radio with Robert Howell and the crew at WAUC Racing Country. Clink on the logo to listen to the broadcast.
On the way to the track, we had some time to kill, so we kayaked on the Peace River.
When we finally got to the track, Steven was hooked up. He won the heat and the feature; his second TQ feature of the year so far.
10-26-19
TQ win #3
We were fast all night, and Steven won the heat and feature. The RR tire was leaking, but he hung on and did great.
The track had a Halloween candy giveaway at intermission, so he took the car out for that.
I have spent most of the year in Murrells Inlet, SC, and I have been commuting to Florida to race. 630 miles each way to the track!
11-9-19
This was a different kind of night. I could not make the trip from SC, so for the first time Steven was in charge of loading and transporting the racecar. He did great with the 170+ mile trip to the track.
He finished second in the heat and feature. Steven ran down the leader at the end, but ran out of laps.
Go Pro video from Steven's car!
Victory Lane interview click HERE
We had an old friend in the pits with us tonight....Don Frey from the Hialeah years.
11-23-19
TQ win #4 in 2019
TQ wTQ wubWe were hooked up and Steven drove hard. He won the heat and feature, and was nearly a half lap ahead at the finish.
Victory lane interview
Something a little different...I took the TQ out for practice for the first time. I don't fit very well in there, so I only took a few laps. Sad to say it is the only time I've been on a track this year.
12-7-19
In-car camera
Steven was on his own again tonight. He did all the loading, towing and of course the race driving.
He spent most of the feature trying to pass the leader. In the last lap, Steven "rolled the dice" and really went for it on the outside, BUT he turned it around in turn 2! Oh well, he was going for the win.
This was certainly a different year. Steven won four features in the TQ, and one in karting. He had no crash damage, no blown engines and only one DNF that came in a kart race. Great job young man!
On the other hand..... this was my first year with no laps in competition since 1987. I am looking forward to getting back in the seat, and expect to be running in 2020.
Onward!
