2008 Schedule / Race Results

Date

Track

Qualified

Finished

Race Summary

October 20, 2007 I-10 Speedway

3rd

3rd

This was the first race of the season at the I-10 Speedway.  This track is very bumpy and can be difficult to drive.  It has three corners that are all very different.  We practiced Friday night and the car was great with a tweaked set-up from last year.  Saturday the car was a bit off, but we got it into shape to qualify 3rd.  Bree Brewer and Derek Frolich were ridiculously fast this year.  We started outside pole in the trophy dash and finished right on Gary Scheurell's bumper for second.  I was in 4th at the white flag, right behind Gary again.  He was pretty loose and turned his car around in turn 2.  That put me in 3rd at the checkered.
November 24, 2007 I-10 Speedway 3rd DNF The car was good again both Friday and Saturday.  We were running strong in the main about halfway into the 50 lap main event when the grade 8 bolt for the right trailing arm broke, sending me spinning into 3.  Everyone drove well and missed me and we got off the track with minimal damage to the car.   We will be going through the car front to back and replacing all nuts, bolts, heims, and other parts.
February 2, 2008 I-10 Speedway 2nd DNF The car was great Friday and Saturday.  We qualified second with a 15.917, one of only two cars in the 15's.  Started 3rd in the trophy dash and battled with Gary Scheurell for a lap, giving the 69 car from Indiana a chance to gain some ground.  I got right on his bumper for the checkered, but couldn't quite catch him.  We started 3rd in the race after Bree threw a 4 for the invert.  The car was strong until someone dumped oil all over the track.  The car was basically out of control and I had to let Cody Kutzner and Jack Madrid go by to make sure I didn't wreck them.  One lap later, 3 cars spun due to the oil.  The oil was cleaned up and we were strong again.  Cody Kutzner kept chopping down in the corners, hitting my running boards with his rear tires until we spun and went to the back.  One restart later, going through 3 and 4, two cars came together in front of me and sent me skyward.  I landed hard and was the only one out of the race. 

Crossing the checkered, Larry Meredith was hit inadvertently and turned straight into the wall.  He hit hard and his car immediately caught on fire.  The flames were huge and coming out of the motor and cockpit area.  It took well over a minute and a half before the fire crew got there.  It appears he was knocked out and was pulled out the window.  Larry was taken by helicopter in serious condition to the burn unit in Phoenix.  His car was totaled and he was badly burned. 

March 15, 2008 I-10 Speedway 7th 6th The car struggled a bit Friday night, but after some adjustments we gained some speed.  Late in the night, the pinion bearing in the rear end blew.  We changed out the gears and things were fine again.  Practice Saturday was tough again due to the wind and dust on the track.  This was the first national qualifier, so there were cars from Oregon, Montana, and Vegas.  We qualified slow in 7th.  Started at the back of the fast heat and won, just inches in front of Zach Zimmerly.  We ran pretty strong during the main and picked up a few spots.  After taking the white flag, coming out of turn 2, the rear end took another dump.  Luckily we could still roll and coasted past the start/finish line - only losing one spot.  This puts us 3rd in track points behind Bree and Gary/
March 29, 2008 I-10 Speedway * 4th We debuted the new body and new paint job this weekend.  The car looked good and we put it back on the trailer in one piece!  The Colorado River Fair was in town this weekend, so we got two short practice sessions.  The car felt great during the first practice, then a street stock dumped oil all over the track.  The car was way loose in the second practice and I just about put it in the wall.  We didn't qualify due to time restrictions with the fair, so we started based on track points.  I started 3rd in the dash and finished 2nd.  I just couldn't get the car to turn in 1 and 2 and couldn't get a good line down.  Bree rolled a 2 and since Gary Scheurell wasn't able to be there, I started on the pole.  Bree went by on the outside in 2 and I was able to keep up for a few laps.  Then Broc went by and Jimmy was right behind him.  I just didn't have to speed to keep up with them, so I race most of the race by myself.  Since Gary didn't make it, that put me up to 2nd for the season at I-10.  Bree Brewer won the season easily and ran strong all year.
April 18, 2008 Orange Show Speedway 6th 6th This was the first Friday Night Thunder race of the season and it was a blast!  We didn't qualify well with a 15.0, but the car was decent in the race.  I made it up to 2nd and was running strong, but Bree was able to get inside going into turn 1.  Coming out of 2 I got stuck behind a lapped car and got trained with 4 cars going by.  We finished 6th and with the car in one piece.
April 19, 2008 A Orange Show Speedway 3rd 6th This race was the Larry Meredith 85 lap Feature Event.  We ran twin 42 1/2 lap main events, totalling 85 laps - Larry's number.  The car was much better and we qualified 3rd out of 19 cars.  We started on the outside pole of the dash, but Chad Schug runs well off the pole and took the lead.  With Darren and Jimmy behind me, I didn't have a chance at getting down to the inside line.  I ran 4th but had a great time.

Jimmy set the new track record in qualifying and rolled a 9, putting me into the 7th starting position.  I moved up into 3rd with Ryan Schug and Bree behind me.  Ryan got a nose in and Bree followed him by.  I followed Bree past Ryan then made it by Bree, but her and Ryan got by me once more before the end.  I finished 6th again.

April 19, 2008 B Orange Show Speedway * DNF Larry Meredith had the option to choose how to start the second half of this race.  He chose to invert the field from our finishing positions in the first half.  This put us starting 6th from the back - 13th.  After a spin on the first lap, we got a good start and moved up to 2nd quickly behind Chase in the 22 car.  Chase spent the whole race running his line regardless of any other car on the track, putting us into the in-field to avoid wrecking in the corner four times.  Darren made it by, but Chase kept blocking.  My front bumper eventually fell off with only 4 laps to go.  Chase then took out Bree and Cody in the last few laps.  We took a 12th place finish but didn't get the checkered. 
April 25, 2008 Orange Show Speedway 11* 6th This was the second Friday Night Thunder race at OSS and we had cars from North Carolina and Vegas.  We picked peas for the starting line up and I drew 11.  The car was tight all day in practice, but we got it back in line for the race.  We moved up fairly quickly to 6th and got past Broc Murphy with a little bump, but he took the spot back a few laps later. 
May 9, 2008 Orange Show Speedway 4th* 6th We drew peas again for the starting line up and took the outside second row position.  Due to the number of cars and limited scoring abilities, the track split the Pros/Masters from the Semi-Pros, putting 14 cars in our main event.  Once we got sorted out, we basically ran a follow the leader, green to checkered race and pulled off yet another 6th place finish.
May 10, 2008 Orange Show Speedway 11th 11th The car felt great all day and qualifying felt like a good run, but with a 15.151 and the fast time a 14.6, we were in 11th.  Luckily, the fast qualifier threw an 11 for the invert and we started on the pole.  We ran well and led the first 10 or so laps until Broc Murphy and Darren Amidon got by.  Brent in the 98 got inside me and we ran side by side for a lap, until Brent got a bit loose and drifted up into my car, putting us both in the wall in 2.  We hit the water barrel and were able to continue on the lead lap after pulling the front bumper straight.  We finished 11th after all the mess and stayed on the lead lap with minimal damage to the car.
May 31, 2008 Orange Show Speedway No racing - we will be on our honeymoon!!!
June 14, 2008 Orange Show Speedway
July 5, 2008 Orange Show Speedway
July 26, 2008 Orange Show Speedway
August 9, 2008 Orange Show Speedway
August 23, 2008 Orange Show Speedway
September 13, 2008 Orange Show Speedway
October 11, 2008 Orange Show Speedway
October 25, 2008 Orange Show Speedway