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Our next race was a return
to Norwalk to compete in the rain-delayed World Nationals.
We had high hopes of winning that one but all the great horsepower
we brought went into twisting our drive shaft in half at
the start. The car never even broke the beam, which resulted
in an anticlimactic first round loss for us.
Finally, we went to the World Finals at Rockingham. This
was going to be our race. We felt we were well positioned
for a win. On Friday we ran a solid 6.459 at 214.72 placing
us 5th in the field. It is always a great feeling to know
you are in after first round qualifying and being able to
drill down on your race day tune up for the next two rounds.
Saturday’s qualifying went well with us running a 6.495
at 214.72 in the heat of the day and a 6.454 at 214.42 that
evening. The numbers improved that round but we actually
lost a few positions and finished qualifying in the top half
of the field with the seventh spot.
Prior to eliminations, the SpeedVision TV crew approached
us about putting an in-car camera in our car. I was excited
to be a part of giving the fans some insight about our team
along with some great in-car action footage. I want to thank
SpeedVision for the opportunity and the additional exposure
they gave us.
Race day came and we had a tough line up on our side of
the ladder. First round: John Montecalvo. John went into
that race second in the points so prior to the race I was
approached repeatedly about my possible impact on the championship.
We beat Montecalvo. He went faster and quicker but we treed
him, winning with a 6.482 at 213.70 to his 6.479 at 213.74.
At the end of that race, John Nobile was named the 2004 World
Champion.
Sunday, Keith’s cell phone constantly rang from the
teams we work with in the NASCAR community telling us of
the tragic news that a Hendrick Motorsports plane had been
lost. This obviously created a very emotional distraction
for us, but we wanted more than anything to win the event
in their memory.
For second round, we had Frank Gugliotta. He had a great
reaction time but shook and we advanced to the semis running
a 6.477 at 213.87 and earning lane choice against Brian Gahm.
In the semi against Gahm, our car shook. I tried to drive
through it to no avail and had to lift, sending Gahm to the
finals and on to win the event. That wasn’t the season
end we wanted. Watch for the SpeedVision event coverage and
see what it’s like to experience the tire shake from
inside the car during our semi-final match up.
When the season ended we'd attended eight events, qualified
for four and taken the pole for three of those. We'd gone
to the semis twice, the final once and sacrificed one first
round loss to a drive shaft failure. Not a bad rookie year
but we want more.
In closing my online rookie journal, I want to take the
time to say thanks! Thank you to Jeff Burk and Drag Racing
Online for giving me the opportunity to tell our story. Thanks
to the IHRA for a great competitive series to participate
in and to Clay Millican and Jason Line for their mentoring.
Thanks to all of our fans for their support, especially those
in Winter Park, FL. I also would like to thank Hutter Racing
Engines for the hard work and dedication they have shown
our team, not to mention the horsepower they supply us with,
and to the crew at Wilson Manifolds for keeping things running
smoothly at the shop while we’re out racing. Finally,
I’d like to thank Billy Dingman and Keith Wilson who
have used their business-minded strategies to assemble the
best team of crew members, consultants and manufacturers
a driver could ask for.
It was a great season and we are fired up to come back in
2005. We will have a new car and a couple of new engines.
We plan on testing over the winter and coming back stronger
next year. I guess the Prom Queen will just have to wait
for next season!
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