Untitled Document

HammerDown! Hats

BF's B.S. 06/26/01

Hello Hello once again from hot and sticky Mtn. View, California. I know it has been a while (over two months since I have written a column and I have gotten allot of heat about it so this is for you Johnny Rodriguez, Don O'Keefe and Brian Brown..... There are a couple of reasons it has been so long since my last article, first of all my computer commited suicide a while back and I haven't gone out and picked up a new one yet. The other reason is I put allot of time and effort into trying to get my dad's USAC Western States Sprint Car back together and on the race track again. Thanks to John Santomauro who put a new front clip on the car and a huge thank to the following people who helped me get back on the track include Darren Powers, Brian Sperry, Jonathan Foster, Matt Britt, Tony Mace, Steve Turnross, Lee Bandettini, Kim Mace, and Lee Brewer.

We headed out to Altamont for a shakedown run on the fast 1/2 mile. To say that I was happy to be back in the seat would be an understatement. We had a very good day and we got out of there after runnning about 75 laps. We then made plans to go to the next USAC race in Tucson, Arizona. Only one thing stood in our way, we didn't have a tow rig that would get us there, so it looked dim. But once again I was bailed out by someone elses generosity. Flynn racing offered the upstairs of their trailer to tow me to Arizona. I was thrilled at the offer and we made plans on picking my race car up at my dad's house. A huge thanks go out to Ryan and Tim Flynn, Stan Cosper, Wyatt Price, Brian Endicott and Matt Britt for helping me get the car to the race track to begin with. Brian and Matt went a couple of hours out of their way to come here and get me and they got to my dad's around 12:45 a.m. on Friday morning. After taking everything down the street where the trailer was parked at the school we loaded everything then hoisted the car into its rightful place upstairs. By the time we were done it was almost 2:00 a.m. and we were on our way. We made it almost to Palm Springs before our first major stop for gas and food. Then it was into Arizona and our final stop for dinner and to wash the truck and trailer.

We made it into Tucson around 9:00 p.m. The rest of the Flynn Racing team was in Chico running a Civil War race (which Ryan won for his first ever Sprint Car Main Event). The next day we were teasing Brian and Matt that they didn't need them anymore!!!! After a good nights sleep we went out to the track and did the hurry up and wait gig as we were unloaded, put the shocks on the car, mounted tires and still had time to spare before the first hot lap session. In the first set I went out on the high banked bowl and it was fun but the car was a little tight on exit and we worked to fix it for the next session. In the 2nd set we were pushing very badly and now had to do something before qualifying. We loosened the car up even more but it was worse yet and I was stumped as we had never had problems like this before. An old right front tire was the culprit and we went out for the heat race. I struggled in the heat race as now the car was very loose and we had gone too far, now it was time to find the happy medium.

I was looking forward to running the B-Main to get more laps in but with weather a factor they decided to scratch the B-Main and start all 22 cars in the A-Main. As I got ready for the A-Main, we made more changes and I couldn't wait to get back out there and try it out. It was not to be for me as I pushed off for the A-Main my tires were not turning over and I knew right away I was in trouble. I thought the motor had locked up as I couldn't get the car out of gear and the brakes were locked. I flat spotted a brand new set of rear tires and that ended my night. I was very disappointed as the cars took the green without me and once again I could only watch as my fellow competitors raced around the track. They only went 14 laps until a huge thunder storm and the resulting crash ended the night early for everybody. Ryan was involved in the crash and we loaded up both our cars and headed back for California.

I am glad that I got the oppurtunity to run a race out of state but I wish the results would be better. I am looking to make my next start at Carson City in August. We made it back to my place by 7:00 Sunday night and the long weekend was now over and it was back to work on Monday. That was a long way to go for about 25 laps of racing, but I have been around long enough to know that is racing and that is why I love the sport.....See ya at the races...BF

The HammerDown! Autograph Shirt - This baseball style shirt features the new HammerDown! alternate logo and plenty of space for Autographs. $15 Order Now

back to HammerDownUSA.com main page.